Specifity of reproduction of English-language advertising texts in the Ukrainian language

Dnipro

СПЕЦИФІКА ВІДТВОРЕННЯ АНГЛОМОВНИХ ТЕКСТІВ РЕКЛАМИ УКРАЇНСЬКОЮ МОВОЮ

У статті проаналізовано принципи використання перекладацьких трансформацій під час перекладу англомовних рекламних текстів, систематизовано основні способи перекладу англомовних рекламних слоганів українською мовою, охарактеризовано особливості англомовних рекламних текстів, досліджено перекладацькі аспекти англомовних рекламних слоганів. Головна увага в роботі зосереджена на стратегіях перекладу мовних засобів англомовних рекламних слоганів українською мовою, серед яких прямий переклад, адаптація та ревізія. Аналіз використання перекладацьких трансформацій під час перекладу рекламних текстів показав, що найбільш вживаними перекладацькими трансформаціями є лексичні (конкретизація, генералізація, вилучення слів (компресія), додавання слів (декомпресія), транспозиція (номіналізація), контекстуальна заміна), граматичні (зміна порядку слів у реченні, поділ речення (внутрішній і зовнішній)) та лексико-граматичні (антонімічний переклад). Реклама - це явище надзвичайно багатогранне і багатоаспектне. Увага науковців до рекламного тексту зростає, не згасає інтерес і значущість розгляду специфіки перекладу текстів англомовної реклами. У процесі перекладу таких текстів перекладачеві доводиться вирішувати як суто мовні, лінгвістичні проблеми, зумовлені розходженнями в семантичній структурі й особливостях використання двох мов у процесі комунікації, так і проблеми соціолінгвістичної адаптації тексту. Оскільки головною метою перекладу є досягнення адекватності, то головною метою перекладача є вміло застосовувати різноманітні перекладацькі трансформації, щоб якомога точніше передати всю інформацію, що міститься в тексті оригіналу. Переклад рекламних текстів завжди є творчою переробкою оригіналу, для чого необхідно володіти необхідними знаннями та бути компетентним перекладачем. Надзвичайно важливим є виявити прагматичне функціонування рекламного слогану та його вплив на реципієнта. Врахування різних аспектів перекладу англомовних рекламних текстів українською мовою сприяє досягненню еквівалентності та адекватності перекладу.

Ключові слова: рекламний слоган, перекладацька стратегія, перекладацька трансформація, адекватність перекладу, транскреація.

Formulation of the problem

The relevance of our study is that advertising is a dynamic phenomenon that is changing very rapidly, which, in turn, necessitates the systematization of linguistic aspects of translation of English-language advertising texts and determining their pragmatic functioning. This problem has been and is being posed from different angles, it continues to attract the attention of linguists and translators, and today it cannot be considered sufficiently studied.

Analysis of the researches

Today the researchers focus on lexical features (T. V. Krutko (Krutko, 2006)), conceptual structure, syntactic, stylistic, structural- semantic, communicative-pragmatic features of advertising text (Ye. P. Isakova (Isakova, 1999), N. S. Lysa (Lysa, 2003), A. I. Radu (Radu, 1999), the evaluative component of the text and the linguistic means of expression of evaluation (O. Ye. Tkachuk- Miroshnichenko (Tkachuk-Miroshnichenko, 2001), S. A. Fedorets (Fedorets, 2007), G. Leech (Leech, 2006)). The research works of U. K. Kyrmach (Kyrmach, 2011), M. M. Litvinova (Litvinova, 2011), D. M. Dobrovolska (Dobrovolska, 2016), O. S. Bylinska (Bylinska, 2016), A. O. Malyshenko (Malyshenko, 2011) and others are devoted to the problems of translation of advertising texts. However, this topic cannot be called comprehensive, as this issue is characterized by multifaceted and insufficient study of its embodiments. Every year, the translation aspect of advertising research will gain momentum as the media world evolves and changes at high speed.

The objectives of the article

The aim of the research is to establish the linguistic features of the English-language advertising texts and to find the ways to reproduce them during the translation into the Ukrainian language. The main task of the article is to establish translation strategies and translation transformations used during the translation of English-language advertising texts into Ukrainian, as well as to analyze the features of the translation of English-language advertising texts.

The subject of research is translation transformations, strategies and features of translation of advertising texts, as well as the specifics of maintaining a pragmatic function during translation. The object of the research is 37 slogans of English advertising and their translation into Ukrainian.

Presentation of the main material of the study

Advertising is a complex and multifaceted system of psychological influence on a person. English-language advertising space knows no boundaries. It seems that the advertising texts are aimed at demonstrating the lexical richness of the English language (Coleman, 2010: 78).

Adequate translation should evoke in the recipient the same «communicative reaction» as the original text. When translating, we first of all take into account the denotative and connotative components of the content of the source text. However, it is necessary to focus on another important aspect - the pragmatic component, which is the relationship between language expression and participants in communication. The translator, comparing different language and cultural systems, finds key differences in the background knowledge of native speakers of different languages (Harris, 1977: 605).

Both precision and creative translation decisions are needed when translating texts. The importance of their use is evidenced by the emergence of the concept of «transcreation», which was introduced by scientists R. Ray and N. Kelly (Ray, Kelly, 2010: 2). Transcreation is a type of adaptation with elements of copywriting, in which the translator is the creator.

A. Goddard identifies the following features of English-language advertising texts:

1. Emotionally coloured vocabulary in the advertising text should not prevail over logical arguments, it is necessary to explain all the advantages of the product.

2. Advertising should form in the consumer a sense of significance, belonging to a certain circle, to give the feeling that using a certain product a person is slightly superior to those who use other products.

3. Verbalization (expression of thought through words) traditionally precedes creating an image, so advertising is more «copywriting», i.e. its basis is a good text, a bright slogan.

4. American advertising specialists use images that evoke strong feelings and exaggerate them to consumers, while English advertising is more restrained and focused on subtle emotions (Goddard, 1998:105).

The researchers of advertising discourse emphasize that most modern advertising texts have a high degree of expressive saturation, which is achieved through the widespread use of expressive means.

According to M. Yu. Mykolaienko, «the advertising text is considered as a culturological phenomenon, which is characterized by national specificity at the levels of linguistic objectification of cultural and social realities and cognitive-semantic formations of a language. Therefore, we can identify translation as an act of intercultural communication, in which the translator acts as a mediator» (Mykolaienko, 2020: 181).

Yu. A. Firsova notes that the advertising text should not be translated verbatim, due to multiple metaphors, phraseological units, ambiguity and other stylistic features of the language, as well as due to possible differences in the culture of the country of origin and potential audience. In a literal representation, the text may lose the meaning and force of its influence. You should be able to take into account all these ethical, linguistic and psychological differences, translate the text and not make it new, completely different from the original. This, according to the researcher, is the professionalism of the translator, to reproduce the text, not to create a new one, however, take into account all the necessary aspects. In this case, the translator can use synonymous expressions, which must take into account traditional ethnic, national and social characteristics, stereotypes of behavior of a particular audience, which is aimed at products indicated in the advertising text (Firsova, 2004: 250).

Thus, the literal translation of a text from one language to another in the presence of nationally and culturally marked units, if possible, does not achieve its main goal. When translating advertising messages into a foreign language, it is necessary to take into account the specific features of advertising as a kind of literature: brevity, capacity, accessibility of presentation, the relationship of verbal and nonverbal components of the text and national and cultural characteristics of the target audience. If there is a discrepancy between the cultural information contained in the advertising message and the background knowledge of the recipients, the advertisement will be rejected by the audience, and the negative attitude of the recipients to the advertising message may be transferred to the advertised product.

The linguists are trying to deepen their research in the field of translation of advertising texts, strategies and principles. The issue of using certain translation transformations, translation and transmission of the main content of English-language advertising texts, in the Ukrainian language and vice versa, remains incompletely studied today. Zh. Kabanets and V. Konovalova believe that «adequate translation is a translation performed at a level necessary and sufficient to convey a constant layer of content in compliance with the norms of the language of translation» (Kabanets, Konovalova, 2010: 394).

Often in the translation work with advertising texts specific linguistic and cultural-linguistic characteristics are not sufficiently taken into account, and the main thing is the special communicative orientation of advertising messages. The translator should identify the linguistic characteristics of the language of advertising and methods of its translation, analyze the language of advertising and identify its specific characteristics, analyze the parameters that affect the adequacy of translation.

The following strategies for translating advertising texts and slogans can be identified: 1) lack of translation; 2) literal translation; 3) adaptation; 4) revision (Petrushko, 2014).

1) Some foreign companies that present their products on the Ukrainian market leave their advertising slogans without translation, for instance: «It's a Sony» (Sony).

2) The examples of literal translation strategy are the following slogans: «My world. My style. My Ecco» (Ecco). / «Мій світ. Мій стиль. Мій Ecco»; «Only you» (Nivea). /«Тільки ти»; «Taste the Feeling» (Coca-Cola). / «Спробуй почуття на смак».

3) Adaptation is used in cases when the original advertising phrase cannot be simply translated into Ukrainian due to various reasons. Then the translator faces with the task of translating the source text, adapting it to the norms of the language of translation. The essence of this approach is that the photographic material can be saved, but the text is adapted according to the peculiarities of the language of translation. Most often, a foreign company-advertiser faces the problem of adapting the original advertising text. The reason is the typological differences between Ukrainian and English. The strategy of adaptation was most often observed during the study of the translation of advertising material in this article. Therefore, we will consider the translation transformations that make it possible to adhere to this strategy during translation.

4) Revision is a strategy that involves the formulation of a completely new advertising text. Photographic material can be stored, but it is risky, because photographic material and text must reproduce a single advertising concept. Revision in the translation of advertising is widely used: «Maybe she's born with it. Maybe it's Maybelline» (Maybelline). / «Усі в захваті від тебе. Ти від Мейбелін!»

The influence of advertising slogans on the audience is the main communicative task of the speaker-author and should be taken into account during translation, so «solving the problem of adequate translation of the text with the help of another language means, the translator aims to find out the purpose of the message» (Porpulit, 2009: 162).

Translation transformation is a technique that, despite the differences between the original and translated languages, helps to make the text of the original and the translation match.

In the process of our researching translations of advertising slogans we found the following lexical translation transformations:

1. concretization of meaning (lexical-semantic transformation, as a result of which a word with broader semantics in the original language is replaced by a word with narrower semantics in the language of translation):

«Stirs every one of your senses even before you drive»(Mazda). / «Прискорює серцебиття».

«Dont be evil» ( Google). / «Не роби зла».

«Think big» (Imax). / «Думай широко».

«Have ityour way» (Burger King). /«Зроби по-своєму».

«Nobody does chicken like KFC» (KFC). / «Ніхто не готує курку так, як KFC».

2. generalization of meaning (it is a lexical- semantic transformation, as a result of which a word with narrower semantics in the original language is replaced by a word with broader semantics in the language of translation):

«Let's make things better» (Philips). / «Змінимо життя на краще».

«Quality never goes out of style» (Levi's) / «Якість ніколи не виходить з моди».

«Probably the best lager in the world» (Carlsberg). / «Мабуть, найкраще пиво в світі».

3. omission of words (reducing the number of language units in the translation or removal of excessive explicit information in the form of an extra word / phrase in the original language):

«Between love and madness lies obsession» (Calvin Klein). / «Між любов'ю і божевіллям - одержимість».

«Red Bull gives you wings» (Red Bull). / «Red Bull надає крила».

«There are some things money cannot buy. For everything else, there's Mastercard» (Mastercard). / «Єречі, які не можна купити. Для решти є Mastercard».

4. addition of words (increasing the number of language units in the translation or technique of translating a word from the original language as a minimum of two lexemes in the language of translation, due to the need to explain the implicit information of the original source, clarifying it at the lexical level for a reader unfamiliar with it):

«For you need confidence» (Barclays). / «Для вашої стабільності потрібна впевненість».

«Letyourfingers do the walking» (Yellow Pages). / «Нехай ваші пальці все обійдуть».

5. transposition (replacement of one part of speech with another):

«You're the boss» (Burger King). / «Ти тут головний».

«Please come in. Nissan ARIYA is refreshingly open, so you can breathe and relax» (Nissan). / «Будь ласка, заходьте. Nissan ARIYA достатньо простора задля вашого комфорту та відпочинку». (nominalization)

«Wireless. Effortless. Magical» (Airpods Apple). / «Ніяких проводів. Ніяких складнощів. Чиста магія». (nominalization)

«Every little helps» (Tesco). / «Кожна дрібниця важлива». (nominalization)

6. contextual substitution. Due to contextual substitution the corresponding word or phrase in the original language is a word or phrase that is not its lexical meaning, and which is selected taking into account the contextual meaning and linguistic norms and usage of the language of translation. There are no exact rules for substituting one word for another, as the translation of words in such cases depends entirely on the context. The good examples are:

«The future is exciting. Ready?» (Vodafone). / «Майбутнє викликає. Ready?».

«Discover the new Corsa - the future-ready German city-car, blending everyday driving fun with exciting big car technology» (Opel). / «Відкрийте для себе Opel Corsa -- перспективний німецький міський автомобіль, у якому щоденне задоволення від їзди поєднано із найсучаснішими технологіями».

«Quality is job» (Ford). / «Якість - понад усе».

«Get ready for beautiful flake free hair! Head and Shoulders» (Head and Shoulders). / «Отримай гарне волосся без лупи».

«Belong Anywhere» (Airbnb). / «Почувайтеся як вдома в будь-якій точці світу».

Moreover, during the analysis grammatical translation transformations have been revealed:

1. replacement of words (in the translated sentence in comparison with the original sentence in accordance with existing syntactic norms of the language of translation):

«Becauseyou're worth it» (L'Oreal). /«Адже ти цього варта».

«I'm lovin' it» (Mcdonald's). / «Я це люблю».

2. partitioning of the sentence which is conversion of a simple sentence in the original language into a compound or compound sentence in the target language known as inner partitioning: