An Experimental Pragmatic Study of Readers’Preferences for Methods Used in Translating Chinese Brand Names

摘要

This survey investigated different methods for translating Chinese brand names into English.Results of Pre-investigation show that five methods are most frequently used in translating Chinese Brand Names into English:English,Pinyin,Coinage,Acronym,and English+Pinyin.Two further experiments were conducted.The results of Experiment 1 indicated that participants evaluated translations produced using English as their most favored and English as the most appropriate method to translate Chinese brand names,showing low interest in translations by Pinyin and Coinage.The results of Experiment 2 further supported the English method as the most favored one in comparison to the Acronym and English+Pinyin,methods,and likewise in the methods used to translate different categories of brands.A“Mother-Tongue”Effect is observed in translation.This study concludes that English is the most effective method for translating Chinese brand names.