Application of traslation approaches to advertising

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES f0WGii GRADUATION PAPER APPLICATION OF TRANSLATION APPROACHES TO ADVERTISING Advisor: Prof NGUYEN VAN TRUONG Student: MAl THJ KHANH HAN TV D9i H9C Huflit Student's number: 0171241 Class: BA0102 II III 1111111111 1111 111111111 101000452 Ho Chi Minh City, July 2005 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES roWGli GRADUATION PAPER APPLICATION OF TRANSLATION APPROACHES TO ADVERTISING Advisor: Prof NGUYEN VAN TRUONG Student: MAl THI KHANH HAN GOA~N oC \'l - CU (~ ?, THUViEN ~ D \* "1 Student's number: 0171241 IV-S- Class:BA0102 C HUFL T (' ~~ ~-1J~6-r-Hi-~ Ho Chi Minh City, July 2005 Application a/translation approaches to advertising ADVISOR'S ASSESSMENT -. . .-. -. -_. -. . . _. -. -. - By Mai Thi Khimh Han Advisor: Prof Nguyin Van Tn(cmg Application o/translation approaches to advertising EXAMINER'S ASSESSMENT - - By Mai Thj KhCmh Han Advisor: Prof Nguyhz Van Tnrcmg Application a/translation approaches to advertising -_. -. By Mai Thi Khfmh Hall Advisor: Prof Nguy€n Van Tnrang Application of translation approaches to advertising At first, I would like to offer my thanks to the Department of Foreign Languages for giving me a precious opportunity to conduct this graduation paper and all teachers and professors who have helped me widen my knowledge over the last years I also take this favorable chance to express my appreciation to Ms Bui Thi Thanh Truc and Mr Vu Quoc Anh, Vice-Deans of the Foreign Languages Department for their instruction, supports and encouragement Above all the others, I send my heartfelt gratitude to Prof Nguyen Van Truong, my trustworthy advisor With his lucid ideas, invaluable guidance and corrections, I have more excitement and determination to accomplish my graduation paper Last but not least, I sincerely thank HUFLIT's librarians and my family, who have offered me valuable materials and words of cheer, a stimulus for me to work harder By Mai Thj KhCmhHan Advisor: Prof Nguyin Van Tntcmg Application o/translation approaches to advertising ABSTBACT Advertising industry is growing faster and faster in Vietnam To the accompaniment of foreign businesses in the Vietnamese market is their advertisements both in Vietnamese and English These advertisements could be the original ones or the versions To the same products, their advert translations are many a time different from the texts of advertisements in the source language Therefore, the study aims at finding out how to apply effectively translation approaches to slogans and bodies of advertisements A large number of slogans are rendered successfully because they can create stopping-power at the readers Although there are many ways to translate a text, communicative and semantic translation with the use of phrases and simple sentences are most preferred because they can convey naturally the sale message of the products However, the limitation of time and relevant materials is in the way of my study Therefore, I suggest that further research on the application of translation approaches to advertising should be carried out By Mai Thi Khimh Hem Advisor: Prof Nguyln Van Tn(cmg Application a/translation approaches to advertising TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ABSTRACT INTRO D U CTI N CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF ADVERTISING & TRANSLATION APPROACHES ADVERTISING 1.1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 1.2 DEFINITIONS OF ADVERTISING 1.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF ADVERTISING TRANSLATION APPROACHES CHAPTER 2.1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 2.2 DEFINITION OF TRANSLATION 2.3 USEFULNESS OF TRANSLATION 2.4 TRANSLATION THEORy 2: KINDS OF TRANSLATION METHODS AND TECHNIQUES TRANSLATION METHODS By 11 1.1 WORD-FOR-WORD TRANSLATION 11 1.2 LITERAL TRANSLATION 12 1.3 FAITHFUL TRANSLATION 13 1.4 SEMANTIC TRANSLATION 13 1.5 FREE TRANSLATION 14 1.6 IDIOMATIC TRANSLATION 14 1.7 COMMUNICATIVE TRANSLATION 15 Mai Thj Khimh Han Advisor: Prof Nguy€n Van Truong Application o/translation approaches to advertising INTRODUCTION In 1986, the open-door policy was first applied to Vietnam's economy After nearly 20 years now, the market economy of Vietnam has got more and more dynamic It has brought more opportunities for investors as well as producers to develop and expand their businesses At the same time, the people's standard of living has been rapidly improved; so they require a higher level for their needs of food, safe water, lodging, clothes, cosmetics, and vacation packages, etc As a result, advertising, the most efficient way to help producers meet the customers' demands, prospers Advertisements basically use languages as means to draw customers' attention, and supply the audience with necessary information about the new products Advertisements are written not only in Vietnamese (in Vietnamese newspapers) but also in English (in newspapers and magazines published in English) English language advertisements are mainly used for foreigners who live and work in Vietnam Although the number of foreigners living and working in Vietnam are not many, the producers still have to give them much care And I realize that in many cases, there is incompatibility between English and Vietnamese adverts for the same kinds of products That is because the advertisers have used different translation methods and techniques to render ideas and to catch customers' attention through the advertisements In this study, I'm going to go through translation methods and techniques much involved in advert translating Thanks to synthesizing, analyzing and evaluating both English understanding and Vietnamese why the in advertisements, translating approaches are we can have applied a better to deal with advertisements By Mai Thi Kh(mh Han Advisor: Prof Nguyin Van Tnrimg Application o/translation approaches to ath!ertising The research aims at providing basic translation knowledge which is useful for students majoring in English Interpreting-Translating under-graduates see how language is changed Another purpose is to help in advertisements, which is especially important for those who want to devote themselves to the advertising realm The organization of this research is as follows Chapter I introduces and states the overview known as basic hypothesizes definitions, and characteristics of the research including the history, of advertising History and definitions of translation are also described in this chapter Chapter shows definitions and examples of translation methods and translation techniques Then their application to various advertisements comes in chapter Chapter deals with some good as well as bad translations of advertisements, and some factors needed to be taken into consideration when translating advertisements The final part is the conclusion of the study By Mai Thj Khimh Hem Advisor: Prof Nguyhz Van Tnrang Application o/translation approaches to advertising In the case, the product is considered to be in unmissible to people, something one loves, something important and essential, something bringing benefits to its owners Clearly, "partner" makes the product be highly appraised In addition, "your" creates something dear and intimate When reading this headline, every girl feels captivated in the slogan In the common sense, if a reader feels to be a part of the products and can take the advantage of the products to be more self-reliance, they will never miss it Copy Client: ROHTO Date: December 30, Lip on lip Total Pages: 01 2002 Product: Description: Print ads Headline: Your perfect lipstick's partner Ke't hqp ly tuang vai son mOL S/H: Gives your lips a fresh and smooth look Cho Ian mOi tue1it:1n va mlmg Body: Providing many nourishments such as Vitamins and ]ojoba Oil, Lip On Lip will balance moisture of your lips and make your lips more glossy For your fresh and stunning looking lips everyday, it's never enough with lipstick You need to add in a touch of Lip On Lip to make a difference Below products: I.ipbase: helps your lipstick long-lasting and makes your lips supple Up Gloss: provides moisture to make your lips shinny and more gorgeous By Mai Thi Khemh Hem 51 Advisor: Prof Nguyin Van TnrrYng Application of translation approaches to advertising Ke't hQp Iy Wang vOi son moi Cung~pl~t ~u baa dUdng ch!! g6m cae loll; Vitamin vi linh ~u Jojoba lip on Lip can bAng dQ {m cho IAn moi va 18m ctIo i M;;mhme Kh6ngnga eVc nhanh Bimlinh S6ng d('>ngnhu tMt Through the above English and Vietnamese vocabulary lists, we can see that translators can flexibly render the word in source language to target language as there are similarities in meanings among the English and Vietnamese words 3.2 Grammatical structure Through my research, I find that the structures used in advertising could be a word, a phrase, a clause, a sentence, a conversation, or a paragraph With these structures, I can't say which is the most effective because that depends on the intention of each advertiser and how much the translator can grasp the writer's ideas Each product requires a different advertisement that has the ability of capturing reader's attention advertising and persuading them to buy the product in both the origin and the translated Generally, language of one, does not consist of complicated structures or sentences as they would dispere the readers' attention on decoding the meaning and they would deviate their attention from the main things of the advertised products Advertisers and translators often use short, simple forms that are easy to understand but can carry all the things that the advertisers want to tell the customers Translation should be short but condensed and persuasive That is one of the main factors that lead to success in advertising According to a research of Nguyen Thi M('>ng Tien ( Advertising Message Strategies, 2001), simple sentences and phrases are used most in advertising thanks to their simplicity and conciseness The percentage of phrases appearing in advertising is 80%, and simple sentences 90% According to Vietnamese mode of thoughts, the Vietnamese always spring from simplicity, and the use oflanguage in advertising is no exception That means, to By Mai Thj Khcinh Han 57 Advisor: Prof Nguy€n Van Tnri'mg Application of trans/ ation approaches to advertising the popular, the copy of an advertisement must be a simple sentence with two elements, subject and predicate However, when translating an advertisement into English, grammatical structures of advertisements could be preserved, but often changed Foreigners prefer phrases most because the phrases are considered to be succinct and emphatic 3.2.1 Sentence Simple sentences are the basic and most popular sentences They have only a finite verb and give a full meaning Their function is to carry reflexive meaningful information Because of this characteristic, simple sentences are widespread in advertisements Examples: Dau 1ft tMt? Dau 1ft Wega ? What is real ? What is Wega ? MQi vi nhiin d€u tUng 1ft mQt dua tre ( Song B~ch D~ng ) All the greats were children once (Ngo Quyen) Cac san phfim cua LG mang d~n cho gia dinh b~n cUQcs6ng ti~n nghi & h~nh phUc LG brings to people a convenient & valuable life By Mai Thj Khimh Han 58 Advisor: Prof Nguyin Van Tnrcmg Application of translation approaches to advertising Cae san phftm ella LG mang den eho gia dinh ban eUQesong TI~~ ~GHI & HANH PHVe L La Vi Song LG - Ht.temg vi tuyf#t vat cho man an II mte owave ~LG ~ Lite\, God - H; I//Ong r6eu *hitfn ,; sOng IIIcing minh -Intello ••• e iPublisher Burstein, A 1998 Twelve Steps to Ctreating Successful Advertisements Oxford Press Duff, Aland 1989 Translation Oxford University Press Ilyas, A 1989 Theories of Translation: Theorical Issues and Practical Implications Mosul: University of Mosul Publisher Le NgQc Ttl 1996 Tuc Ngfr Anh Phap Viet va Mot S6 Thanh Ngfr Danh Ngon Hanoi: Khoa HQc Xii H(>iPublisher Luu TrQng Tuftn 2004 Mot S6 Ccr S6' Ly Lwm VS Dich Thuat Anh Viet, Viet Anh V6'i Van Ban Khoa Hoc Ky Thuat Hien Nay HUFLIT's Review Ly Tung Hi~u 2004 Advertising and Language of Advertising Khoa HQc Xii H(>iPublisher N.H Vi~t Ti~n, Elizabeth Hodgkin, Hfru NgQc, & Mary Cowan 1999 A Handbook for the English Language Translator Giao D\lc Publisher 10 Newmark, P 1982 Approaches to Translation Prentice Hal1 11.Nguy@n Duc Chau 2004 Phucrng Phap M6'i Bien Dich-Phien Dich Tre Publisher 12 Nguy@nKh~c KhoaL 1997 How Do Medium and Small-Sized Enterprise Deal with Advertisements? Hanoi Publisher 13.Nida, E.A 1975 Language Structure and Translation USA: Standard University Press By Mai Thi Khcinh Han Advisor: Prof Nguy€n Van Tnrimg Application of translation approaches to advertising 14.0gilvy, David 1985 Ogilvy on Advertising 1st edition New York: Random House 15 Taflinger, R An Introduction to Advertising 16 Trfrn PM Thuy@t.2002 Hoc Dich Ti@ngAnh Chinh Xac Hon Thanh hoa Publisher 17 Trfrn Van Ca 2004 Preliminary Study of the Translation Theory Hung Vuang Publisher 18 Twang Quang Phil.200! Giao Khoa Can Bim Mon Dich Anh Viet-Viet Anh Hochiminh city: National University Publisher 19 vo Xuan Trang 2004 Problems of Dictation in Language of Signboards and Advertisements in Hochiminh City Khoa HQc Xli H9i Publisher INTERNET: http://www.putleamingfirst.com/language/19avert/advert2.html[ accessed on June 2005] By Mai Thi Khimh Han Advisor: Prof Nguy€n Van Tnrimg