中英商标中的文化差异
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Abstract: Brand name is a special language phenomenon which is
closely related to culture and reflects its people’s
beliefs, moral values
and habits and so on. This article analyzes the culture differences
between China and western countries in brand names. The
purpose is to understand the different cultural connotations in brand
names and thus provide some reference for the cross-cultural marketers.
KeyWords: Brand names, cultural connotation, cultural differences
1. Introduction
As we all know, the market competition in the 21st century is
not only the competition of products, the competition of quality and
the competition of service, but also the competition of corporation
images, the competition of brands and the competition of brand
names. Only those who possess more strong brands can success in
this competition. Therefore, giving a good name for a product is extremely
important.
A brand name (is also called trademark words) is the part of a
brand that is commonly pronounced when referring to a brand, that
is, the part of a brand that can be vocalized. A brand name that has
been given legal protection is referred to as a trademark. The brand
name is probably the most meaningful part of a brand to consumers.
When a consumer asks for a brand at a store or recommends a brand
to another person, it is the brand name that he or she uses. Brand
name is a special language phenomenon. Language is the carrier of
culture; it can reflect and express the culture. A brand name is always
originated from some specific cultural background, and reflects
different national habits, cultural characteristics, values and
beliefs. So in the cross-cultural marketing, the cultural association
of the brand name and the target culture should be paid close attention
to and culture-loaded words used as brand names should be
adopted carefully.
Therefore, the study of the cultural differences in Chinese and
English brand names has a significant meaning for international
marketing. This paper will discuss the cultural differences from the
following 4 aspects: (1) from different semantic associations (2)
from different heroes (3) from different beliefs (4) from different
concepts of values.
2. Different Cultural Implications in Chinese and English Brand
Names
Brand names are the cultural signs created by human beings,
and have profound symbolic meaning. Brand names of different
peoples, different societies and different countries have different
symbolic characteristics and different symbolic images. This is decided
by the variety of the social cultural types. Therefore brand
names can reflect different cultural characteristics.
2.1 Different Semantic Associations
According to G. Leech (Leech, 1974 in Hu Zhuanglin, 2001:
159), there are three types of meaning in word. The first type of
meaning is conceptual meaning---makes up the central part. It is
“denotative”in that it is concerned with the relationship between a
word and the thing it denotes, or refers to. The second type of
meaning is associative meaning, which has five subcategories, i.e.
connotative meaning, social meaning, affective meaning, reflected
meaning and collocative meaning. The third is thematic meaning.
Because of different cultural backgrounds, different values, different
geographical environment, different history, the word with the
same conceptual meaning will has different associative meanings in
different languages. Even those in the natural world, such as natural
phenomena, celestial bodies, animals, plants, etc. have different
connotations to different nations. For example, for the westerners,
the sun is the symbol of Jesus, while in china it symbolizes the
greatest leader, Chairman Mao. Let alone the different associations
of animals and plants to different nations. All these mentioned can
be reflected in brand names.
2.1.1 Different National Symbols
With the development of society, every country has formed its
own national symbols or cultural symbols. What the great wall and
a dragon to us Chinese is just what the statue of the liberty goddess
and an eagle to Americans, and what the crown to the British. And
these symbols are often used as brand names. For example, “ 长城
干红”(a kind of wine),“金长城”(computer), Crown (mobile), Eagle
(American ginseng tea), Eagle (glue stick).
2.1.2 Different Associations of Animals and Plants
Because of the different history and culture, there are lots of
differences in the associations of animals and plants between china
and English-speaking countries. The difference can also be reflected
in Chinese and English brand names.
Long Li ng- yun
( Col l ege Engl i sh Dept . Hengyang Normal Uni ver s i t y, Hengyang Hunan 421001, Chi na)
摘要: 商标是一种特殊的语言现象, 它是与文化紧密联系的, 同时它也反映了人们的信仰, 道德观和习惯等等。本文分析了中英
商标中存在的文化差异, 揭示了商标中的文化涵义.
关键词: 商标; 文化涵义; 文化差异
中图分类号: F760.56 文献标识码: A 文章编号: 1006- 3315( 2007) 07- 046- 03
龙凌云( 1978～) 女, 湖南衡阳人, 助教, 衡阳师范学院大学英语教学部教师。
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科学教育研究2007. 7
In China, animals such as “peacock”,
“phoenix”,
“rabbit”,
“dragon”,
“elephant”,
etc. have positive associations. And they are
popular brand names. For example:“凤凰(Phoenix)”(bicycle),“孔
雀(peacock)”(electrical appliance),“
大白兔(big white rabbit)”
(candy),“
飞龙(flying dragon)”(medicine),“
白象(white elephant)”
(battery).However,they are in quite different situations in English-
speaking countries.“
Peacock ( 孔雀)”is the image of auspiciousness,
beauty and youth in China, so it is often used as brand
name. But in Britain the“peacock”is a bird that represents evil. The
version of “ 凤凰” (bicycle) is "Phoenix", an improper name in
English, which dampens the product's desire to compete in the
Western market. In China“凤凰”is a beautiful and noble bird, and
the symbol of the empress, but to the Western people, the
“Phoenix”is a ferocious monster that revives from the ashes and is
relevant to the thought of death. The famous Chinese brand “大白
兔(White Rabbit)”(candy) in English hints at insecurity or a person
who plays a game badly. Especially in Australia, rabbits are disliked
by the people, since they eat grass and destroy the prairie. Finally,
the versions of “龙(dragon)”, should be discussed. “龙”is frequently
used in Chinese brand names because it is the symbol of the
sovereign power in Chinese culture and sounds loud. But it is quite
a different story for the“dragon”in English that is a wicked animal
and should be wiped out. In the legends, many heroes are described
to struggle with and finally kill it.
“ 松(pine)”,“ 竹(bamboo)”, and“ 梅(plum blossom)”are called
“ 岁寒三友” (literally refers to the three durable plants in winter,
which symbolize the lasting friendship) in china. They have rich
cultural connotations in Chinese culture. So“松”,“竹”, and“ 梅”
are welcome as Chinese brand names. For example, “ 梅花”
(monosodium glutamate), “竹叶青”( drink) . However, to westerners,
they carry no special sense, brand names like“pine”,
“bamboo”
and “plum blossom”may not be treated as the same in the
western culture. And also“ 菊花(chrysanthemum)”,
“ 牡丹花(peony)”,
etc. are very popular flowers in china. The brand names
name after them can arouse Chinese people very good associations.
For instance,“牡丹”( electrical appliance) ,“菊花”(electrical fan).
But in western countries, they can not arouse favorable associations
but even sometimes cause negative meanings. For the Italians avoid
the chrysanthemum because it means death in their country.
2.1.3 Different Associations of Figures
There are some “lucky figures”in Chinese and English. So
such lucky figures are commonly employed in brand naming.
In English-speaking countries, “13”is considered as a very
“unlucky”.
So no one use the figure as a brand name. On the contrary,“
7”is a“lucky”“seven”is a propitious number as the number
“eight”in china, in the famous fairy tale of snow white, there
are seven dwarfs; seven days constitute a week; furthermore,“seven”
means winning in gambling.“Seven”is a lucky figure, bringing
happiness and fortunate. So it is often applied in such brand names
as “Mild Seven” (cigarette), “7-up” (drinks), “Anacin-7”
(medicine),“Mycelex-7”(medicine).
In China, the numbers as“6”,
“8”,
“9”are very lucky ones.
“eight”is a lucky number just because of its special pronunciation,
which is the homophone of“发”(the shortened form of“发财”,
referring
to making a fortunate). The Chinese brand names as “三九
胃泰(999)”(a kind of medicine),“ 活力28 (Robust 28)”(a kind of
washing power) are very successful brand names.
2.2 Different Heroes
During the long history of mankind, people have created colorful
great works and legends of their own and have created the history
by themselves. Great heroes, real or imaginary, dead or alive,
have exerted much influence on aspects of human life, which of
course has extended to the field of brand names. Therefore, a lot of
brand names come from literary works, mythology and history, so
these brand names are of cultural connotation and historical significance.
For example, Olympus (camera): a holy mountain where
gods and goddesses resided in Greek myths. Venus (watch): a goddess
embodying love and beauty in Roman myths. Trident (plane):
the weapon of Triton in Greek myths Eve (female cigarette): the ancestress
of mankind in the Bible. Nike (sports clothing): a goddess
with two wings representing triumph by carrying an olive twig in
Greek myths. Orion (food): a god as a hunter in Greek & Roman
myths. Milo (milk powder) : a man of great strength in Greek
myths, Mazda (automobile):a god representing goodness and
brightness in Persian myths.
It is generally accepted that Chinese culture is one of the oldest
and the most splendid in the world. Words or images from the traditional
literary works, such as “ 四书五经”(the four books and the
five classics),“ 楚辞汉赋”(songs of Chu and poetic proses in Han
dynasty), “唐诗宋词” (poems in tang dynasty and verses in song
dynasty), “元曲明清小说” (popular verses in Yuan dynasty and
novels in Ming and Qing dynasties),“ 民间故事”(folk tales),“ 神
话传奇” (mythologies and legends) are frequently employed in
Chinese brand naming.“嫦娥”(mooncake), (coming from the legend
Chang’e
flies to the moon),“ 杜康”(liquor),“ 红豆”(clothing),
etc. are typical examples.
2.3 Different Beliefs
Different backgrounds or different institutional cultures lead to
different beliefs. Different beliefs, including different totem worship,
different morals and different aesthetic attitudes, often cause
the differences between English and Chinese brand names.
Generally speaking, westerners are relatively open, while easterners
are rather implicative, especially with regard to their respective
attitudes towards sex. This can be fully reflected in the brand names
for bras and perfumes. In English there are brand names for bras
like lovalift, maximizer, merry widow, dateline, overette, pleasures,
romance, pretty secret, chantelle, etc., through which a romantic flavor
is conveyed directly and frankly. However, it is not the case
with Chinese brand names for bras. As the Chinese once experienced
the years when their faces turned pale at the very mentioning
of sex, even today Chinese brand names for bras, such as 古今, 爱
慕, 芬怡, 百利安, 安莉芳, 梦依诗, etc., rarely convey the romantic
passion directly.
The Chinese and the English also hold different aesthetic attitudes
to the concept of beauty. Most Chinese, especially those who
still keep the traditional ideas, consider “ 阴柔”as a criterion of
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科学教育研究2007. 7
欢它这一点。”“我不喜欢铁罐, 因为它看不起陶罐, 常常奚落陶
罐。而陶罐不和铁罐争吵, 我喜欢陶罐。”虽然课文中的陶罐谦虚
友善, 经过许多年后还是那么光洁、美观, 的确比较惹人喜爱, 但
个别学生喜欢铁罐, 认为铁罐不会摔破, 也是真实想法的表露。
课堂上, 学生大胆地发表自己的见解, 真实地展示出自己的学习
情况, 这样才有机会发展自己的个性。
四、真诚尊重学习的选择性
学生的个性是有差异的, 主要体现在兴趣、爱好方面, 这些
个性差异决定了他们对学习内容、学习方式、学习伙伴的需求不
同。学生有选择学习内容、学习方式、学习伙伴等权利。要发展学
生的个性, 就必须真诚尊重学生学习的选择性, 为学生的学习和
发展留下充足、自主的时间和空间, 从而让学生在学习中有更多
选择的机会。让学生在自主的学习中学会选择, 在选择中学会判
断, 给每一个学生自主性的活动实践的机会, 尊重学生对学习的
选择, 才能使阅读具有真正的教育价值。
我们在进行研究性阅读时, 应在更多的环节上, 变教师的
“指令性”为学生的“选择性”, 促进学生个性的发展。比如初读课
文时, 我们往往要检查一下学生是否真的读通了课文, 我们就可
以让学生自己选择单独读或和同伴一起来分工阅读课文, 有时
还可以让学生选择读课文中的一段话或一个最难读的句子, 把
读的选择权充分交给学生, 让学生在读中整体感知, 在读中有所
感悟, 在读中培养语感, 在读中受到情感的熏陶。深读课文时, 我
们要启发学生去提炼课文的主线, 然后开门见山地提出研读专
题, 以便学生充分地展开有选择性的学习。此时, 我们可以把学
的选择权交给学生, 激发学生的学习兴趣, 提高研读质量。
如教《美丽的小兴安岭》这一课, 我和学生一起提炼了课文
主线后, 出示了研读专题: 你喜欢小兴安岭的哪个季节? 请你说
说自己的理由。然后我就让学生分小组有选择性地研读课文, 喜
欢春天的就研读课文第二自然段, 喜欢夏天的就研读课文第三
自然段, 喜欢秋天的就研读课文第四自然段, 喜欢冬天的就研读
课文第五自然段。因为学生研读的是自己喜欢的内容, 自然非常
投入, 学习效果也就出来了。布置作业时, 我们也可以根据学生
的实际情况, 设计有层次性的作业练习, 允许学生在作业的数量
和深度上有一定的选择, 把选择的自主权大胆地交给学生, 充分
相信学生, 让学生根据自己的具体情况有选择地完成作业, 这样
无疑会大大激发学生的自主意识, 更有利于学生的发展。
让每个学生的个性得到发展和完善, 这是人的本性要求, 也
是现代社会发展的需要, 就让个性在研究性阅读中尽情飞扬吧!
参考文献
1 曾宪皆.《试析郭汉民教授的研讨式五步教学法》[J]. 湖南师范
大学社会科学学报。
2 胡小桃.《让研讨式教学焕发出更强的生命力》[J]. 湖南师范大
学教育科学学报。
3 刘文霞《个性教育的实质》内蒙古师范大学学报。
Chinese women’s “beauty”.
While to most English speakers,
“beauty”means to be charming, sexy and healthy. Therefore in
Chinese brand names for women’s
products words like“柔”.
“雅”,
“ 丽”,
“ 秀”,
and “ 纤”are frequently adopted, while in the west,
charming (women’s
underwear), caress (scented soap), uni-charm
(women’s
underwear) are good examples for women’s
products.
This is how the different cultural models work on Chinese and English
brand names.
2.4 Different Concepts of Values
Values are embedded deeply in culture. The concepts of values
vary from culture to culture. China is a country with a long history.
The concept of values of the Chinese people is influenced greatly by
the doctrines of Confucius and Mencius, which have been the dominating
trends of Chinese cultural system. The“filial piety”is one of
Confucius’core values. Influenced by that value, Chinese people
attach great importance to home and family. “old 老”in the Chinese
cultural model is the synonym of “ being wise, experienced
and knowledgeable”.
The elder are to be respected by the younger.
The value system can also be reflected by Chinese brand names. For
example,“老干妈”(food),“ 王老吉”(tea),“ 老干爹”,
“ 妈妈乐”
( washing machine) .
However, to the westerners, things are much more different. They
think much of efficiency, practicality, progress, change, individualism
and youthfulness.“old“in the western cultural model is devalued.
The westerners don’t esteem the old, and moreover, they hate
being considered old. As for family”,
young or old, every one in a
family is considered equal, so it is quite natural for the children to
call their parents by the name. Therefore, the phenomena mentioned
above in Chinese brand names can seldom be found in English
brand names.
3. Conclusion
To sum up, brand name is a very special cultural phenomenon. A
brand name that can arouse customers’favorable associations in
one country cannot in another country. Therefore, when doing the
international marketing, people should pay attention to the cultural
connotations of the brand names in the target country so that the
embarrassment of White Elephant and Golden Cock can be avoided.
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( 接45 页)
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