On Chinese Translation of English Cosmetics Advertisements in the light of Communicative Translation Theory

Gu Yingying（辜莹莹）

Abstract： The thesis tries to explore Chinese translation of English cosmetics advertisements in the light of Peter Newmarks communicative translation theory， which aims to draw scholars attention to this translation practice， thus improving the quality of translation.

Key words： Cosmetics Advertisements; Communicative Translation Theory; Translation Techniques

1.Introduction

So far， a number of studies on cosmetics advertisements translation have been conducted in the light of relevance theory， functional equivalence and German functionalist approach. Yet only a few of them focus on this field from the perspective of Peter Newmarks communicative translation theory. Thus， the author will conduct further research and study from this perspective in order to draw more scholars attention to this translation practice， thus improving the quality of translation of English cosmetics advertisements.

2. The Characteristics of Cosmetics Advertisements

A successful advertisement can draw consumers attention， arouse their interest and finally urges them to buy. In order to achieve this， words and sentences chosen used by advertisements should be quite appealing.

In terms of vocabulary， positive adjectives are frequently used to highlight the strengths of products and bring good feelings to people. For example， Marie Claire uses the following expression “A flawless skin， a porcelain-clear complexion”. “Flawless”，“porcelain-clear” are an exaggeration to make women customers think that if they use this product， they can get white skin. Besides， simple， short， one-syllable but persuasive verbs， like buy， come， love， feel， keep， are usually seen in advertisements because advertisers want to make the greatest profits. This reflects the designing rule of advertisements KISS， that is， keep it short and sweet. Plus， “you”， “yourself” are frequently seen in advertisements like Express your emotions and forget wrinkles， open your eyes to a new you. In terms of syntax， there are so many simple declarative sentences， imperative sentences， interrogative sentences in English cosmetics advertisements to attract consumers attention and curiosity. For example， the most unforgettable women in the world wear Revlon， Feel the passion， What you really need for whitening？

3. Peter Newmarks Communicative Translation Theory

According to Peter Newmark， texts can be divided into three categories： that is， expressive text， informative text， and vocative text. He also puts forward that different types of texts call for different approaches to translation. The translation of an expressive text should be faithful to the original both in ideological content and in linguistic style. The translation of an informative text should be faithful to the “truth” of the original. The translation of a vocative text should follow the need to elicit the readers response. He also assumes the informative and the vocative as suitable for communicative translation. That is to say， communicative translation is applicable for Chinese translation of English cosmetics advertisements. When it is applied in the translation practice， the translator will have much freedom as long as the target text can “produce on its readers an effect as close as possible to that obtained on the readers of the original”. （Peter Newmark， 2001）

4.Translation Techniques of English Cosmetics Advertisements

Advertisers try to promote cosmetics with the help of advertisements and hope Chinese potential consumers will purchase the cosmetics after reading the advertisements. Thus， some common translation techniques will be adopted to make Chinese translation of advertisement attractive， impressive， informative and infectious enough to persuade Chinese consumers to take action.

4.1 Free Translation

Free translation refers to being faithful to the content of the original， but not limited to the structure and rhetoric. On the premise of guaranteeing the original content， the version of cosmetic advertisements should be more in line with the readers reading habits， aesthetic taste， brand connotation and cultural factors.

According to Peter Newmarks communicative translation theory， the receptors reaction is highlighted. Therefore， the Chinese translation of English cosmetics advertisements should achieve the effect to arouse Chinese consumers interest. In a sense， using free translation technique can exploit the connotation of a cosmetic advertisement， not just the denotation of words. When translating， the translator will be more cautious about choosing words in order to exerting greater influence on the target language readers. Two examples are given below.

Make Up Forever is a famous French brand for cosmetics. If it is literally translated into “總是化妆”， this will make us hard to understand. Thus free translation technique can be used to translate it into“浮生若梦”， which means that it is as sweet as dreams and also conveys the Taoist philosophy “life is but a dream” in China. This definitely meets the needs of Chinese consumers and achieves the effect of making people feel good if they use cosmetics of this brand. Another example is the advertisement of Fresh： “Infuse your skin with real roses.” If it is literally translated into “将玫瑰注入你的皮肤”（刘丹，张心艾， 2019）， it sounds like a little bit stiff with no sense of beauty. Chinese translators adopt the expression “朵朵玫瑰，寸寸入肌”， because in Chinese traditional culture， we prefer these four-character expressions， which are short and easy to remember and can also arouse peoples fertile imagination and even their desire to buy.

4.2  Literal Translation

Literal translation is a translation method that preserves both the original content and the original form. In the translation of cosmetics advertisements， the meaning and image of the original text should be kept as much as possible to convey the cultural connotations of the original.

Newmarks communicative translation theory underlines the receptors reaction after reading the translation. However， he also warns that the translator still has to respect and work on the form of the original text as the only material basis for his work. Literal translation is a proper technique to respect maximally the original text， especially when there is no barrier for the target language readers to understand the translation. For example：

The body lotion Little Black Dress from Avon is literally translated into “小黑裙”. This version enables this product to make its way to Chinese market and at the same time retains the original brand culture in that it is quite appropriate for women to wear black dresses on many occasions whether in China or abroad. Plus， the famous brand Chanel always prefers a literal translation of its advertisements， using simple but easy to read expressions to arouse echo in womens hearts. For example， the classic line of Chanel “I wear nothing， but a few drops of Chanel No.5” triggers womens desire for this great perfume. The literal version of “我除了香奈儿五号什么都没穿” directly urges women to derive pleasure from wearing this perfume in a very simple way（刘丹，张心艾， 2019）.

4.3 Amplification and Omission

For the receptors， sometimes it is difficult for them to understand the message which lies in the original， so the translator should make some adaptations to enable the target language readers to understand advertisements more easily. Amplification is a good adaptation to turn the source language into the target language and faithfully convey the message of the original at the same time. Omission refers to the translation strategy of deleting words that do not conform to the target language's thinking habits， language habits and expression patterns， and avoiding repetition. These are identical with Newmarks idea that the translator can add， change or prune content if necessary.

Examples illustrating amplification are as follows： the advertisement for moisture lotion from Laneige is “Everyday New face”， which can be directly translated into “每天一張新面孔”（刘丹，张心艾， 2019）. But when it enters the Chinese market， it is translated into“水漾容颜，清新每天”。We know that Laneige is devoted to the research of moisture products for young women. “ “水漾容颜，清新每天” is a aesthetic version by adopting amplification to perfectly highlight the brand concept and emphasize the clean and moist effects you can achieve by using this product， which will tempts Chinese consumers to buy.

In the translation of cosmetics advertisements， the omission method can be used to delete the words that conflict with the cultural background of consumers， so as to conform to the habits of the target readers and make cosmetics more easily accepted by the target market. Take the advertisement of Fresh as an example： “A revolutionary whipped texture that gives skin an incredible cushiony bounce and firmness like none other.” If it is literally translated into “革命性的纹理赋予肌肤无与伦比的弹性和紧致”（刘丹，张心艾， 2019）， it will make no sense. In the official version “创新质地，如羽轻抚，赋予肌肤令人赞叹的柔软、丰弹和紧致”， long and complicated sentence is divided into short sentences. In order to make the translation more beautiful， omitting the words “Like none other” is more suitable for Chinese peoples reading habits， while preserving the texture and effect of the cream that the advertisement conveys.

5.Conclusion

To sum up， cosmetic advertisement translation is of great significance to foreign  enterprises and there is still large room of improvement in terms of quality. Under the guidance of Peter Newmarks communicative translation theory， some translation techniques mentioned in this thesis may serve a way to better the translation. Other detailed studies on cosmetics advertisements translation will be conducted to meet the new challenges. Only in this way can foreign companies expand their overseas markets and trigger enormous commercial opportunities as well as economic benefits.

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