Abstract：With the development of social economy, countless Chinese products are flooding into international markets. Advertisements play an important role in the process of exploring the market for our products, enhancing the brand image, publicizing enterprise culture and winning the competitiveness in the trade market. Therefore, advertisement translation plays a significant part in international marketing. Advertisement translation requires not only semantic equivalence, but also recreation of advertisement function. It stresses that the translated advertisement should be infectious and can improve the effectiveness of the original text. At present, advertisement translation is booming but not mature. Owing to the differences between Chinese and English language features and cultural customs, a lot of pragmatic failures occur in advertisement translation, which ultimately leads to marketing failure.

Based on Thomas's pragmatic failure analysis principle, this paper analyzes some pragmatic failures in advertising brand names, advertising headlines and slogans and advertising bodies by taking C-E advertisement translation as a case study. At the same time, this paper investigates the reasons for pragmatic failures from two aspects including pragmalinguistic failures and sociopragmatic failures. Finally, it puts forward some suggestions to avoid pragmatic failures, so that advertisements can achieve the expected effect.

Keywords: advertising translation  pragmalinguistic failure  sociopragmatic failure

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Background of this Study-1

1.2 Significance of this Study-1

1.3 Structure of this Study-1

Chapter Two Literature Review-2

2.1 Pragmatic Failures-2

2.1.1 Definition of Pragmatic Failures-2

2.1.2 Classification of Pragmatic Failures-2

2.1.3 Previous Studies on Pragmatic Failures-2

2.2 Advertisement Translation-3

2.2.1 Present Studies on Advertisement Translation Aboard-3

2.2.2 Present Studies on Advertisement Translation at Home-3

2.2.3 Reflection on the Present Situation of Advertisement Translation-4

Chapter Three Pragmatic Failures in C-E Advertisement Translation-5

3.1 Pragmalinguistic Failures in Translation-5

3.1.1 Pragmalinguistic Failures in Translating Brand Names-5

3.1.2 Pragmalinguistic Failures in Translating Headlines and Slogans-5

3.1.3 Pragmalinguistic Failures in Translating Bodies-6

3.2 Sociopragmatic Failures in Translation-6

3.2.1 Sociopragmatic Failures in Translating Trademarks-6

3.2.2 Sociopragmatic Failures in Translating Headlines and Slogans-7

3.2.3 Sociopragmatic Failures in Translating Bodies-7

Chapter Four Causes of Pragmatic Failures in C-E Advertisement Translation-9

4.1 Causes of the Pragmalinguistic Failures-9

4.1.1 Transference of Pragmatic Rules-9

4.1.2 Transference of Pragmatic Meanings-9

4.1.3 Overgeneralization of Linguistic Materials-9

4.2 Causes of the Sociolinguistic Failures-10

4.2.1 Different Associative Meanings-10

4.2.2 Different Values-10

4.2.3 Different Thinking Patterns-10

4.2.4 Cultural Vacancy-11

Chapter Five Suggestions to Avoid Pragmatic Failures in C-E Advertisement Translation-12

Chapter Six Conclusion-13

References-14