免费英语论文范文(18)
Version A: 没有什么能像可乐那样令您神清气爽。
Version B: 清新可口，别无所求。[8]
In this advertisement for soft drink Coke, the word “can” has two meanings, one refers to “the metal container for liquids”, and the other “the modal verb”. So the advertisement can have two interpretations: “Coke refreshes you like no other can(tin,drink)can refresh you”. The pun can’t be preserved, as the translator is unlikely to find a Chinese word or phrase that can cover the two meanings of the original. So under the circumstance, the translator can choose other strategy like compensation, explication or omission to render the advertisement. “Version A” is a case of explication, in which the main idea of the original is conveyed. However, we can see that this translation seems to be a little clumsy, so the reader deserves a better translation. As we know the purpose of an advertisement is to attract the reader’s attention, interest, to appeal to the reader, so in a sense, at first sight it has to be readable and memorable. However, “Version A” seems to be incapable of achieving this purpose. To make it “sweet and short”, the translator can use the well-established four-character phrases in the Chinese version, as shown in “Version B”. The original pun is omitted in this translation for the sake of stylistic effect, otherwise the version will be longer and hence less forceful.Compared with “Version A”, this one being concise and impressive,though imperfect, it is more likely to be accepted by the reader. On the other hand, in the aspect of meaning,the phrase “别无所求” conveys a wealth of implicatures, for instance, “it suits you best”, “it is the best”, “it brings you the greatest happiness”, etc. So “Version B” can produce adequate contextual effects in the reader’s cognitive environment without causing his/her unnecessary processing effort, and optimal relevance is achieved through omission and compensation. From the above examples, we can see that some puns in the original can be preserved in the target text, while others can’t. This may be due to language constraints, difference in cognitive environment and so on. However, what is important is that relevant strategies like creation and compensation should be adopted to make up for the loss of meaning, emotional force, or stylistic effect so that the translation can closely resemble the original in relevant respects and in this way optimal relevance can be achieved.
