Филологические науки / 6.Актуальные проблемы перевода

Khakhel Olessya

Poltava University of Economics and Trade

MISTAKES IN TRANSLATING ADVERTISING

With the release of new production to a foreign market, advertizing plays large role in making it recognizable for consumption. When releasing on the market a new product the translation of advertizing texts plays large role. If it is the high-quality translation – the success in the market is provided. Often the translation of the advertizing text is the most complex challenge at a stage of emergence of goods in the market as it requires not only linguistic skills, but also cultural adaptation of the text to sales market audience.

The successful advertizing text has to correspond to a set of conditions: to be emotionally significant for target audience, to cause positive associations, to form a positive image of a brand, to be good remember, be clear and laconic. It makes advertizing effective. So the translation of advertizing texts at which the approximate sense remains, but all emotional components of the message are lost when translated, and it has no value for the advertiser. And if to consider that the majority of slogans are under construction with the language game, but admissible for novels and movies a footnote "the untranslatable word-play" is absolutely inadmissible for advertizing … Only then it becomes clear that the translation of slogans and advertizing signs is jeweler linguistic work.

Distinctions in the certain countries, demanding adaptations:

· Distinctions political and social. For example, in the Scandinavian countries advertizing of goods as luxury goods will be considered as a bad taste because political systems in these countries propagandize socially fair ideas.

· Distinctions of culture, tradition. For example, advertizing of Wash and Go shampoo of the Procter & Gamble company in Poland didn't consider that in this country families practically have no pools and generally take a bath, and its advertizing showed the woman, leaving the pool and washing hair in shower, was not conforming to requirements of consumers in this country.

· Errors in advertizing motive.

· Distinctions of requirements and preferences. For example, popular in the USA and countries of Western Europe the fat-free types of the margarine replacing butter and intended for a healthy lifestyle at the expense of the content of smaller quantity of calories and cholesterol, aren't in wide demand for the majority of Ukrainians owing to features of climatic conditions and traditional habit in food and also because in the western countries its most part is use for sandwiches, and in Ukraine for frying and preparation of hot dishes.

· Distinction in definition of a position of goods. So, in Ukraine in the majority of segments of the population the car is still associates with luxury goods, instead of with a vehicle, while in Japan, the USA, France, etc. it’s vicevirsa.

· Distinctions of semantic, sound and other associations and relations to advertizing.

· Distinctions of functions of goods which it can carry out in different countries. So, in countries of Western Europe in bottled water minerals, are valued and in the USA - its purity, absence of unhealthy ingredients are appreciated.

Many examples of ridiculous and funny mistakes of translators already became classics and entered textbooks of foreign languages.  But it changes nothing: new failors are regularly shown when translating advertizing slogans and especially advertizing signs at restaurants.

The Coca-Cola company for a long time couldn't pick up the name for sale in China. The matter is that Chinese say the name of this drink as "Kekukel" that means "Bite the Wax Tadpole". The company was compelled to touch 40 thousand options of writing of the trademark before it was chosen to "Cook Kolya" that means "Happiness in the Mouth". Also the Pepsi company literally translated the main advertizing motto "Come Alive With the Pepsi Generation" into Chinese. Chinese were shocked: the slogan got unexpected sounding of "Pepsi" as "It Will Force your Ancestors to Rise from Graves".

The known company General Motors came to grief, trying to bring to the markets of Latin America the new Chevrolet Nova car. As soon it became clear, No va in Spanish means "can't move".

The producer of a stationery the Parker company also tried to translate the slogan into Spanish. It’s advertizing of the pen in English sounds: "It wont leak in your pocket and embarrass you" The translator was mistaken and confused two Spanish words. As a result, the advertizing campaign of Parker passed in Mexico under the slogan "It Never Will Leak in Your Pocket and Will Not Make You a Pregnant Woman".

Producers allocate huge amounts of money for financing of advertizing campaigns for promoting of the production in a foreign market and can't simply allow a poor translation of the text or even casual flaws in advertizing texts. Mistakes in translation can cost much and even can lead to the international scandal open for the conflict and it is simple to misunderstanding. Also mistakes in translation of advertizing slogans and texts can bring to the effect from such advertizing will be gained absolutely opposite to the expected. And instead of long-awaited profit such advertizing will yield only losses.

References:

1. Harry Aveling. Mistakes’ in Translation: A Functionalist Approach. – 2002.

2. David A. Ricks. Blunders in International Business. – 2006.

3. Laurent Jacque. Global Derivative Debacles: from Theory to Malpractice. – 2012.