從功能對等看英語廣告的翻譯

On Advertisement Translation from English to Chinese in Light of Functional Equivalence

Abstract

The theories which proposed by Eugene A. Nida have affected many Chinese and foreign translators for a long time, especially the theory of functional equivalence. Functional equivalence refers to the equivalence on the functions but not on the forms and structures.
In our daily life, we live with different advertisements, some of which are translated works. These advertisements are aimed at giving the potential customers a lasting impression and persuading them to buy their product. Therefore, in order to express the ideas of the original works and realize the goal for sale, the translators should take account of the cultural elements and social elements in order to achieve functional equivalence.
This paper consists of three parts. The first part deals with the concept of functional equivalence and its aims and principles. The main aim of functional equivalence is to represent the information of the original work in the target language and achieve the equivalence of functions of languages. In order to make this concept clear, the author gives a brief introduction of different functions. Although different languages have different characteristics, their functions are nearly the same. That is to name the reality and to communicate with the people. The second part deals with the target, principles, requirements and cultural elements of advertisement translation. The third part, the most important part, points out the three main aspects of functional equivalence, semantic equivalence, social-cultural equivalence and stylistic equivalence. At the meantime, the equivalence on different levels and how to achieve functional equivalence in advertisement translation are also systematically illustrated.

Key words: functional equivalence; advertisement translation; cultural elements
 
Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisor, Professor X, both for his intellectual guidance and for his warm and constant encouragement during the process of writing this thesis. With patience and prudence, he labored through drafts of this thesis and pointed out defects in my theorizing. Therefore, I owe all the merits in this thesis, if any, to him, though I am fully aware that the thesis might still contain some mistakes, for which I bear the whole responsibility.
My cordial and sincere thanks go to all the teachers in Applied Foreign Language Department, whose interesting and informative courses have benefited me a lot during my college years. The profit that I gained from their profound knowledge, remarkable expertise and intellectual ingenuity will be of everlasting significance to my future life and career.
I am also very grateful to my classmates, who have given me a lot of help and courage during my stay in the University and throughout the process of writing this thesis.
Last but not the least; big thanks go to my family who have shared with me my worries, frustrations, and hopefully my ultimate happiness in eventually finishing this thesis.

Contents

中文摘要……………………………………………………………...………………………..i
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………….…...ii
Acknowledgements……………………..……………………………………………………...iii
Introduction………………………………………………………………….…………….……1
I. A Brief Review of Functional Equivalence…………………………………………….…….2
A. Definition of Functional Equivalence …………………………………………….…...3
B. Different Functions………...…………………………………………………………..4
C. Aims and Targets……………………..………………………………………… ..…..5
II. A Brief Review of Advertisement Translation from English to Chinese………………........6
A. Targets and Principles of Advertisement Translation…..……….……………………..7
B. Requirements for Advertisement Translation……..……………………………….…..9
C. Cultural Elements in Advertisement Translation………………………………….….11
III. Advertisement Translation from English to Chinese in Light of Functional
Equivalence…………………………………………………………………………….…13
A. The Differences Between Two Languages………………….……………………..….15
B. Functional Equivalence in English Advertisement Translation….……………….…..17
Conclusion……………………………………………….………..……………………….….19
Notes…………………………………………………………………………………….........20
Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………….….22