Linguistic features of English advertisement slogans and methods of their translation into the Ukrainian language

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State University of Trade and Economics

National Transport University

LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF ENGLISH ADVERTISEMENT SLOGANS AND METHODS OF THEIR TRANSLATION INTO THE UKRAINIAN LANGUAGE

Sheverun N.V., Candidate of Sciences in Education, Associate Professor

Nikolska N.V., Candidate of Sciences in Education, Associate Professor

Kositska O.M., Candidate of Sciences in Philology, Associate Professor

Annotation

The relevance of the work lies in the fact that the effectiveness of advertising texts, in particular in the conditions of globalization, is determined by the presence of universal arguments of various kinds (emotional and informational, subconscious and conscious), which contributes to the attraction of a certain number of consumers, which they can cover properly. Advertising actively applies various value attitudes by attracting social and ideal values (the desire for a better life, love for family and friends, justice, freedom, patriotism, civil rights, morality and others), or individual and material values (benefit, economy, reliability, profit, protection, guarantee, effectiveness). The article is dedicated to the research of linguistic features of the English-language advertisement slogans and features of their translation into the Ukrainian language. In the process of the research the basic functions of advertisement text are exposed among which influencing, emotive, aesthetic, informing, reminding, attractive, popularizing, convincing, estimating, arguing, regulating, designing and educational are distinguished. It is distinguished, that an advertisement not only informs a reader but also forms at him bright advertisement character through the system of depict-expressive facilities of language. As a result of the research it is revealed that the basic component of advertisement is slogan. The variety of slogans' types is explained. The widespread types of tropes, that are used in advertisement slogans are described. The translating aspects of the English language advertisement slogans are investigated. It is determined that translation of advertisement slogans from English into the Ukrainian language is realized with considering of the following aspects, as linguocultural, pragmatic and actually translating.

Key words: text of advertisement, slogan, depict-expressive means of language, functionality of advertisement report, translation.

Анотація

slogan advertising english language

ЛІНГВІСТИЧНІ ОСОБЛИВОСТІ АНГЛІЙСЬКИХ РЕКЛАМНИХ СЛОГАНІВ ТА СПОСОБИ ЇХ ПЕРЕКЛАДУ УКРАЇНСЬКОЮ МОВОЮ

Актуальність роботи полягає в тому, що ефективність рекламних текстів, зокрема в умовах глобалізації визначається наявністю в них універсальних аргументів різного порядку (емоційні та інформаційні, підсвідомі та свідомі), що сприяє залученню певної кількості споживачів, яку вони можуть охопити належним чином. Реклама активно застосовує різні ціннісні установки шляхом залучення суспільно-ідеальних цінностей (прагнення до кращого життя, любов до рідних та близьких, справедливість, свобода, патріотизм, цивільні права, моральність тощо), або індивідуально-матеріальних (вигода, економія, надійність, прибуток, користь, захист, гарантія, ефективність). Стаття присвячена дослідженню лінгвістичних особливостей англомовних рекламних слоганів та особливостей їх перекладу українською мовою. У процесі дослідження розкрито основні функції тексту реклами серед яких виділено впливову, емоційну, естетичну, інформативну, нагадуючу, привабливу, популяризуючу, переконливу, оціночну, аргументуючу, регулятивну, проектуючу та навчальну. Відзначено, що реклама не лише інформує читача, але й формує в нього яскравий рекламний характер через систему зображувально-виражальних засобів мови. У результаті проведеного дослідження з'ясовано, що основним компонентом реклами є слоган. Пояснюється різноманітність типів слоганів. Описано поширені види тропів, які використовуються в рекламних слоганах. Досліджено аспекти перекладу англомовних рекламних слоганів. Визначено, що переклад рекламних слоганів з англійської на українську мову здійснюється з урахуванням таких аспектів, як лінгвокультурний, прагматичний та власне перекладацький.

Ключові слова: рекламний текст, слоган, візуально-виражальні засоби мови, функціональність рекламного повідомлення, переклад.

Introduction of the problem

At the beginning of ХХІ century an advertisement grew into global industry by means of facilities of mass communication with thousand people concerned. In history of advertisement technologies an evolution took place from a mass advertisement to dividing of consumer audience into the so-called target groups. In modern society advertisement is a powerful industry and product of its activity, sent to providing of potential addressee of advertisement report by information about commodities or services with the aim of their popularization.

Analysis of recent research and publications

An advertisement becomes the object of enormous amount of discussions of scientists, legislators, figures of politics, culture, specialists in PR sphere, linguists. Linguistic features of advertising texts are the subject of research by both foreign and domestic linguists. Researchers, that engaged in the analysis of language of advertisement is О. Horbach (2018) [13], О. Hryniuk (2018) [13] and others. The problem of linguistic features of genre of advertisement is examined in works of А. Soloshenko (1990) [9]. Scientific investigations are considered on the material of different languages in such directions as linguistic analysis of advertising texts (V. Zirka [4], O. Zelinska [3], E. Kovalenko [5] and others); stylistic features (N. Gal [2], N. Kovalenko [6] and others), structural and semantic features analysis (O. Vinareva [1], Yu. Korneva [7] and others); study of verbal components of advertising text (L. Havkina [11]); characteristics of social and pragmatic features of advertising broadcasting (N. Furmankevich [10]). However, the problem of advertisement translation continues to remain actual as it is related to the fact that with expansion of international connections of our country with other states an important role acquires presence in the state of skilled specialists on translation of advertisement. None single good translation can not be done without taking into account the feature of the text of translation. Important today is a study of mechanisms of verbal influence of advertisement texts, analysis of language means, on which logical and emotional argumentation are grounded in an advertisement for the sake of persuasion and motive of audience to the action, providing of possibility of advertisement text to memorizing. Language features of advertisement are the subject of permanent study both in foreign and in domestic linguistics.

Scientific novelty of the article is that it proposes the analysis of the linguistic features of English advertisement slogans and methods of their translation into the Ukrainian language.

The main purpose of the study consists in the ground of structural features of English-language advertisement discourse and methods of advertisement slogans translation.

To achieve the goal of the research, we used a set of methods: method of interpretative analysis of the English-language advertisement slogans, method of translating contrast analysis for comparison of data, facts, events, analysis and synthesis of obtained results at research and comparison of the Englishlanguage advertisement slogans and their translation into the Ukrainian language.

Results and discussions

Given research gives additional comments concerning peculiarities of English-language advertisement slogans into the Ukrainian language translation to the general theory of translation.

Obtained results of conducted research represents the substantiation of structural features of Englishlanguage advertisement discourse and methods of advertisement slogans translation.

Advertisement text belongs to the most popular subjects of research in modern linguistics, that is conditioned by its role in forming of opinion of both separate man and nation on the whole. Becoming inalienable part of public life, today an advertisement is determined as part of culture, that develops in accordance with the own laws and is characterized by not only unlimited possibility of influence, but also by the specific forms of expressiveness.

The specificity of the text of advertisement stipulates its structural features, directed at realization of many functions among which influencing, emotive, aesthetic, informing, reminding, attractive, popularizing, convincing, estimating, arguing, regulating (accountable for direction of perception of information by an addressee about the subject of advertisement in certain direction), differentiative (which separates the advertised product in consciousness of target audience from competition analogues), designing (accountable for creation in thinking of recipient of model of the use of promoted product in everyday life), educational are distinguished.

Mostly an advertisement not only informs a reader but also forms at him bright advertisement character through the system of depict-expressive facilities of language. Quite often tropes are used in an advertisement. The most widespread types of tropes are: hyperbola (intentional overstatement of qualities or sizes of object: the universe in your computer - всесвіт в твоєму комп'ютері; The world is yours - світ належить тобі, feel like a goddess - відчуйте себе богинею); litotes (a drop of joy - крапля радості, a sip of bliss - ковток блаженства, a piece of Italy every day - шматочок Італії кожного дня), antithesis (turn, where for strengthening of broadcasting expressiveness different concepts are sharply contrasted: Tiguan will give unlimited freedom, both in rocky jungles and off-road (Tiguan подарує безмежну свободу, як в кам'яних джунглях, так і на бездоріжжі), pun (humorous use of different senses of the same word or similar heard words or word-combinations: Good housewife like Losk - хороші господині люблять Лоск (a detergent «Gloss»)), epiphora (reiteration of word or sound combination at the end of a few phrases or parts of the sentence. For example: Not just clean - spotlessly clean! - не просто чисто - бездоганно чисто! (detergent «Ariel») it is repetition at the end of phrase), metaphor (one of the most often used expressive facilities of advertisement; it is not simple trope, metaphors exist in the concept system of man, determining his thinking and consciousness: The easy way to beauty! - Легкий шлях до краси! (cosmetic «Oriflame»), Touch Your Temptation - Доторкнися до спокуси (mobile telephone «Samsung»)) and others like that.

Investigating advertisement text, it can be conditionally divided into 4 basic parts: 1) title; 2) slogan; 3) phrase-echoes; 4) basic advertisement text. A presence in every advertisement text of all parts is not obligatory. Although, a presence of advertisement title is necessary. The presence of other constituents is determined by the type of service and depends on some other descriptions.

The cored component of advertisement text is slogan - «compressed independent advertisement report that can exist as isolated from other advertisement products and presents convolute contents of advertisement campaign» [10, p. 7]. Having regard to it, a slogan passes conceptuality of advertisement text, it is convoluted microtext, that must pass the basic idea of advertisement campaign, but not only to be compressed, gnomic and remembered. On this principle the slogans for the Ukrainian consumers are created, for example: Миргородська: Додає життєвий смак; Чумак справжній: Відчуй ніжність смаку!; Бесіда: Чудовий смак і аромат, so for American and European, for example: Volkswagen: Will we ever kill the bug? (Вб'ємо ми колись цього жука?); Virgin. Atlantic: 4 Engines 4 Longhaul (4 двигуна = 4 подорожі).

Translation of advertisement slogans is a separate problem of work with advertisement texts, that has the brightly expressed specific. Direct and word for word translation of phrase is mostly impossible, and even if possible - it won't pass that meaning, which was inlaid by author. Often it will be to succeed for translator to pragmatic adaptation of text, in order to avoid banality and superfluous simplicity, whereas certain, simple from the first sight phrases, in English have some loading meaning that is lost in the process of translation. So it is necessary to pick up more adequate variant that expresses contents of all advertisement campaign more precisely.

Basing on the conducted analysis of Englishlanguage advertisement texts and their translations into the Ukrainian lanuage, it is possible to distinguish a few strategies that are used in the process of translation. At once it is necessary to notice that such division is conditional enough, but however allows deeper to consider this problem.

Absence of advertisement's translation is widespread enough phenomenon. When it is going about about the products' advertisement, that performs only appeal duty, for example, perfumeries or alcoholic beverages exceptionally. It is possible to assert that slogans that are not translated, become part of visual registration of advertisement, but, depending on their implementation, attention is attracted by its volume as well as they also assist strengthening of expressivity. Although it follows to bear in a mind, that untranslated text can be incomprehensible for the recipient of advertisement. Strangely enough, but a lot of foreign companies that present the products at the Ukrainian market abandons the advertisement slogans without translation. Considering stated below examples, it is possible to draw conclusion, that in an Ukrainian-language environment untranslatable slogans that does not contain elaborate design are presented more successful. For example: Gucci - Gucci by Gucci. Honda - The Power of Dreams. Canon - You can Canon. Land Rover - Go Beyond. It should be noted that the name of trade mark plays a key role here, and text of report is not so important, thus, does not need translation.

Next method is direct translation. This strategy should be used carefully, whereas it doesn't take into account the features of culture of the language-translation. It can be applied in case, when it is necessary to pass plenty of information, for example, in the advertisement of technical products: Office Standard 2007. Providing homes and small businesses with the software essentials they need to get tasks done quickly and easily. Download the 2007 Microsoft Office release, test it in your browser or buy it today (Office Standard 2007. Надання домашнім користувачам і власникам дрібних підприємств найнеобхідніших засобів офісного програмного забезпечення, потрібних для швидкого та легкого виконання різних справ. Завантажте випуск Microsoft Office 2007 або випробуйте його у своєму браузері).

It is necessary to notice that not only large in volume advertisement texts but also advertisement slogans yield direct translation. For example: The computer is personal again (Комп'ютер знову персональний). Carlsberg: Probably the best beer in the world (Мабуть, найкраще пиво в світі). I'm loving it. Mc Donalds. (Я це люблю. Макдональдз) [12, p. 515-516]. It is also worth to pay attention to the fact that in the process of some slogans translation the method of literal translation was applied. For example: My world. My style. My Ecco. (Мій світ. Мій стиль. Мій Ecco); Panasonic: Ideas for life. (Панасонік. Ідеї для життя).

For maintenance of functionality of advertisement report the method of adaptation is used. It is predefined by the fact that in English, simple at first sight phrases can have the deep semantic loading that is lost in the process of direct translation. Thus, it is necessary for translator to search specific facilities for the transmission of semantic and stylistic constituents of original text, to adapt it to the features of language of translation. In the investigated advertisement texts the following examples of adaptation were found: TouchWiz. Personalization is just a touch away (Створюй індивідуальний стиль свого телефону простим дотиком); Same space outside, more space inside (Менший ззовні, більший всередині); Relax. You wear Braska (Релакс Ти в Braska. Geox. Respire. Geox. Взуття, що дихає).

During translating of advertisement texts the method of transliteration is also used - representation of word on letters by means of alphabet of language of translation, when the name of firm-producer has Ukrainian translation, but for maintenance of report's contents the translation can be ommited. For example: Sharp: Sharp Minds, Sharp Products (Гострі уми, продукти Шарп).

The mixed type of transcoding (combination of transliteration and transcription in the word of language of translation) is frequent enough phenomenon as well. For example: Orange: The Future's Bright. The Future's Orange (Майбутнє - яскраве, майбутнє - це Орандж). As we can see from these examples, the word orange - апельсин, and the word sharp - гострий could be translated into the Ukrainian language. But it was not done, because then we would lose informing of these advertisement texts.

Decompression is adding of lexical units to translation, for example: Dove: Talk to your daughter before the industry does (Поговоріть зі своєю дочкою до того, як індустрія краси зробить це). The word industry was translated like індустрія краси, in order that consumers, that have not acquainted with the trade mark of Dove understood the meaning of advertisement report.

A compression is an exception of some lexical units during translation, that does not contain substantial information or mix to create well-aimed translation [8, p. 115) for example: Volkswagen Spacefox: Whatever you imagine, fit in (Такий, як ти уявляв). The part fit in - пристосовуватись, підходити was withdrawn during translation, because it adds no substantial information and would interfere with integral perception of report.

Generalisation is lexical and semantic replacement of unit of source language that has more narrow meaning, by unit of language of translation with wider meaning [8, p. 124]. For example: Land Rover: Go beyond (За межею буденного). The English word-combination go beyond (перевищувати) during translation got wider meaning, for demonstration of greater possibilities for drivers with new Land Rover.

Antonymous translation is replacement of form of word in the language of origin on opposite by meaning in the language of translation (positive meaning - on negative and vice versa) [8, p. 125). For example: KFC Nobody does chicken like KFC (Ніхто не готує курку так, як KFC), Adidas: Impossible is nothing (Неможливе можливо), Levi's: Live unbuttoned (Живи вільно), Finn Flare: Be casual (Будь несерйозним).

Sometimes method of calques - method of lexical unit's denotative meaning of language of original transmission is used without maintenance of voice or orthographic form, but with the recreation of its structural model [8, p. 129]. Calques as translating method served basis for plenty of different sort of borrowings at cross-cultural communication in those cases, when a transliteration was inappropriate. For example: Land Rover: Designed for the extraordinary (Створений для надзвичайного). Although a word has an enormous amount of translations: чудовий, незвичний, видатний and others like that, in translation the method of calques was used for the greater expressivity of this expression.