Page 38 - Translation Journal July 2015
P. 38
According to Zhang and Li (2012), “Advertisement is not only an economic activity but also cultural exchange”. With the
increasingly clear developments of imports and exports, it seems crucial to translate foreign trade advertisements according to
consumers’ cultural and ideological backgrounds. Given that consideration of cultural conventions and expectations, and application
of the most appropriate translation techniques seem necessary for translating advertisements, advertising texts have been widely
studied from both linguistic and sociological viewpoints in the research recently conducted in the field of translation studies.
There has long been heated debate over the proper translation strategy for transmission of cultural elements. The major concerns
in translation of advertising are domestication and foreignization, the two disputable cultural translation strategies proposed by Venuti
(1995), which have been the focus of debate since their appearance.
In the domestication strategy, the translator transfers the source text into the target language and adjusts it to the target
conventions and culture. The main purpose of this translation strategy is the receivers. Accordingly, the translator tries to recreate
the effect of the original text for target reader and audience. Following this approach, translations do not read like translations, and
consequently the text seems like an original text.
On the other hand, in the foreignizing strategy, the translator pays attention to the original and transfers the source text or source
culture into the target language or culture. Accordingly, the translator makes readers familiar with the original culture and thought.
Therefore, the target text reads like a translation.
According to Venuti (1984), foreignization involves a text, not necessarily based on the target culture, which conveys linguistic
and cultural differences in the translation. Cultural differences may influence translation because of three cultural factors: Thinking
habits, cultural backgrounds, and customs (Zhang & Li, 2012). In Translator’s Invisibility, Venuti (1984) advocated for the strategy of
foreignization in translation. On the other hand, Venuti (as cited in Wang, 2002) agreed that, like domestication, foreignization has its
own limitations. In addition, Schleiermacher (1813/1963) suggested that foreignization is the preferred method, because it underscores
the foreign culture.
According to Valdés Rodríguez (2008, p. 39), “Translators should be aware of the marketing strategies which lie beneath the
production of the target text”. The difficulty of translating advertisements lies in the correct rendering of their semantic and emotional
meanings in the target culture, and in creating the same effect as the original text for the target customers or readers. Accordingly,
the present research tries to answer the following questions through thorough analysis of the rendering of advertising slogans and
commercial images from English into Farsi:
Research Question 1: Which translation strategies and techniques are most and least frequently applied in Farsi translations of
English advertisements?
Research Question 2: What were the main reasons for applying specific translation techniques and strategies, according to the
cultural filters and translation strategies applied by the translators?
II. Methodology and Materials
Based on Venuti’s (1995) theory of domesticating and foreignizing, and Molina and Albir’s (2002) eighteen classifications of translation
techniques, this qualitative paper tries to analyze the translation techniques of selected advertisements in Iran. By doing so, this paper
intends to bridge the gap between theories of translation in commerce and translators’ practices. To this end, a descriptive case
study of translating English advertising texts and commercial images was undertaken using three corpora to illustrate problems, and to
achieve the objectives of the present research.
Group A: Forty-three English advertising slogans, including twenty-six medical equipment advertisements, and their Farsi translations,
and seventeen miscellaneous English slogans with their Farsi translations were collected from national television channels, and a
medical equipment company, BNM, located in Iran. These were classified as Medical Equipment Advertisements and Slogans.
Group B: Thirty-six English advertising slogans with two Farsi translations, translated by two different translators, including eighteen
1970s English advertisements with their Farsi translations (two translations for each advertisement) and eighteen English mobile phone
and television set advertisements with their Farsi translations (two translations for each advertisement).
Group C: Eighteen English commercial images with their Farsi equivalents, including ten English commercial images with their Farsi
equivalents from before the Islamic revolution in Iran and eight English commercial images with their Farsi equivalents from after the
revolution.
As previously mentioned, the process of rendering cultural items was the focus of this research. Foreignization and domestication,
as proposed by Venuti (1995), are strategies used in analyzing advertising translations based on the coverage of socio-cultural
aspects, as well as linguistic factors. The focus of this research is on the ways in which translators have treated the texts, and whether
they have retained the foreign elements or changed them into conventions of the target language or culture. Moreover, cultural and
ideological elements are considered as the units of translation that might be realized in the form of words, clauses, or sentences.
Given that cross-cultural and ideological differences are analyzed, this research can hopefully assist both professional and novice
translators and international marketing translation experts to cope with socio-cultural differences in translating advertisements
effectively into a target culture. In addition, this paper can be helpful for authors who write about translation strategies and techniques,
in particular the translation of advertisements.
38 | Translation Journal - July 2015
increasingly clear developments of imports and exports, it seems crucial to translate foreign trade advertisements according to
consumers’ cultural and ideological backgrounds. Given that consideration of cultural conventions and expectations, and application
of the most appropriate translation techniques seem necessary for translating advertisements, advertising texts have been widely
studied from both linguistic and sociological viewpoints in the research recently conducted in the field of translation studies.
There has long been heated debate over the proper translation strategy for transmission of cultural elements. The major concerns
in translation of advertising are domestication and foreignization, the two disputable cultural translation strategies proposed by Venuti
(1995), which have been the focus of debate since their appearance.
In the domestication strategy, the translator transfers the source text into the target language and adjusts it to the target
conventions and culture. The main purpose of this translation strategy is the receivers. Accordingly, the translator tries to recreate
the effect of the original text for target reader and audience. Following this approach, translations do not read like translations, and
consequently the text seems like an original text.
On the other hand, in the foreignizing strategy, the translator pays attention to the original and transfers the source text or source
culture into the target language or culture. Accordingly, the translator makes readers familiar with the original culture and thought.
Therefore, the target text reads like a translation.
According to Venuti (1984), foreignization involves a text, not necessarily based on the target culture, which conveys linguistic
and cultural differences in the translation. Cultural differences may influence translation because of three cultural factors: Thinking
habits, cultural backgrounds, and customs (Zhang & Li, 2012). In Translator’s Invisibility, Venuti (1984) advocated for the strategy of
foreignization in translation. On the other hand, Venuti (as cited in Wang, 2002) agreed that, like domestication, foreignization has its
own limitations. In addition, Schleiermacher (1813/1963) suggested that foreignization is the preferred method, because it underscores
the foreign culture.
According to Valdés Rodríguez (2008, p. 39), “Translators should be aware of the marketing strategies which lie beneath the
production of the target text”. The difficulty of translating advertisements lies in the correct rendering of their semantic and emotional
meanings in the target culture, and in creating the same effect as the original text for the target customers or readers. Accordingly,
the present research tries to answer the following questions through thorough analysis of the rendering of advertising slogans and
commercial images from English into Farsi:
Research Question 1: Which translation strategies and techniques are most and least frequently applied in Farsi translations of
English advertisements?
Research Question 2: What were the main reasons for applying specific translation techniques and strategies, according to the
cultural filters and translation strategies applied by the translators?
II. Methodology and Materials
Based on Venuti’s (1995) theory of domesticating and foreignizing, and Molina and Albir’s (2002) eighteen classifications of translation
techniques, this qualitative paper tries to analyze the translation techniques of selected advertisements in Iran. By doing so, this paper
intends to bridge the gap between theories of translation in commerce and translators’ practices. To this end, a descriptive case
study of translating English advertising texts and commercial images was undertaken using three corpora to illustrate problems, and to
achieve the objectives of the present research.
Group A: Forty-three English advertising slogans, including twenty-six medical equipment advertisements, and their Farsi translations,
and seventeen miscellaneous English slogans with their Farsi translations were collected from national television channels, and a
medical equipment company, BNM, located in Iran. These were classified as Medical Equipment Advertisements and Slogans.
Group B: Thirty-six English advertising slogans with two Farsi translations, translated by two different translators, including eighteen
1970s English advertisements with their Farsi translations (two translations for each advertisement) and eighteen English mobile phone
and television set advertisements with their Farsi translations (two translations for each advertisement).
Group C: Eighteen English commercial images with their Farsi equivalents, including ten English commercial images with their Farsi
equivalents from before the Islamic revolution in Iran and eight English commercial images with their Farsi equivalents from after the
revolution.
As previously mentioned, the process of rendering cultural items was the focus of this research. Foreignization and domestication,
as proposed by Venuti (1995), are strategies used in analyzing advertising translations based on the coverage of socio-cultural
aspects, as well as linguistic factors. The focus of this research is on the ways in which translators have treated the texts, and whether
they have retained the foreign elements or changed them into conventions of the target language or culture. Moreover, cultural and
ideological elements are considered as the units of translation that might be realized in the form of words, clauses, or sentences.
Given that cross-cultural and ideological differences are analyzed, this research can hopefully assist both professional and novice
translators and international marketing translation experts to cope with socio-cultural differences in translating advertisements
effectively into a target culture. In addition, this paper can be helpful for authors who write about translation strategies and techniques,
in particular the translation of advertisements.
38 | Translation Journal - July 2015
