Research on the Cultural Connotations in Chinese and Western Brands.doc

中西品牌用词与其文化内涵关系的研究research on the cultural connotations in chinese and western brandsabstract: brand naming, a burgeoning linguistic industry derived in the us more than 20 years ago, with the development of it industry and new economy centered around silicon valley, has been flourishing as an practical business application of language with potential multi-disciplinary interests to linguistic community. with brisk development of science and technology, product publicity plays an important role in a countys expansion of international markets and the development of famous brand products, and cultural connotations in brands are an integral part of product publicity. based on data of chinese and western brand names, this paper attempts to make an research on the brand naming from cultural aspects, elaborate the principles of classification in brand naming and offer some examples. for further understanding on cultural connotations in chinese and western brands. this paper will first introduce the national and international literature review, second illustrates the basic types of brand names and principle of brand naming, and then focus on the main classification of brand naming and cultural connotations, finally an overview of this study and future research.key words: brand naming；cultural connotations；chinese brand；western brand摘要：品牌命名，二十多年前萌芽于美国的一个语言学新产业，随着以硅谷为中心的it业及新经济的发展，今天己成为商界运用潜在的语言学多学科知识的一种重要形式。在科技高速发展的今天, 产品公共化在拓展国际市场和发展名牌产品中扮演重要角色，而品牌的文化内涵是必不可少的组成部分。基于所收集到的中西品牌名称，本文将从文化方面研究品牌命名，详尽阐述品牌命名的分类原则并且附于实例。为了更好的了解中西品牌用词的文化内涵，本文将首先介绍国内外有关文献综述,其次说明品牌的基本类型及命名的原则，然后详述品牌命名的主要分类及其文化内涵，最后概述本研究和将来研究的设想。关键词：品牌命名；文化内涵；中国品牌；西方品牌contentsi. introduction .1ii. literature review.1a. national research.1b. international research.2iii. relationship between culture and brand naming.3a. definition of culture.3b. definition of brand.3c. relationship between culture and brand naming.4iv. brand names and brand naming.4a. basic types of brand names.4b. principles of brand naming.4v. the main classifications of brand naming.5a. personal names or place names.6b. animal names or plant names.6c. numbers.7d. lucky words8e. hinting the products information.8f. create new words.8vi. conclusion.11 work cited.13 research on the cultural connotations in chinese and western brands i. introductiona brand name is the representative and soul of a brand. it reflects the brands personality and characteristics. a good brand name can not only arouse consumers unique association and distinguish the product from others, but also can boost consumers buying desire and stimulate the consumption. besides, a good brand name is an aid to strengthen both corporate image and product image. therefore, the study of brand name conduces to the establishment of a better brand strategy and it will increase the possibility of success. with brisk development of science and technology, the acceleration of economic globalization has greatly extended the scope of international economic cooperation. economic and business contacts between different countries are becoming increasingly frequent. faced with intensive market competition, most countries, especially developed countries are making much more efforts to expand international markets and increase their markets shares through developing hi-tech products, improving product quality, creating famous brand products, setting up product distribution system, perfecting after-sale service and intensifying product publicity. product publicity is an important means of international competition and effective way of promotion. it plays an important role in a countys expansion of international markets and the development of famous brand products, and cultural connotations in brands are an integral part of product publicity. therefore, the cultural connotations in brand naming are of great significance to the development of international trade. brand naming is a cross-cultural communication. it involves the study of languages, regional cultures, consumers psychology and different manners of beauty appreciation. ii. literature reviewa. national researchwhile in china, brand naming, especially the researches on brand naming theories are slower than its practical application. the systematic research of this field is almost a blank. the related research focuses on peoples name and toponym. the important writings on this topic are the following: xiao yaotian the research on chinese names, wang quangen perspective of chinese naming, wang jianhua image of culturepeopless names, sun benxiang on toponym etc. nevertheless, the writings on brand naming, especially the theories on brand naming are rarely seen, the related documents are only found in the writings of marketing, advertising and psychology. cao zhiyun analyzed the language structures and culture phenomena of chinese brand naming, and illustrated the characteristics of brand language such as distinction, explicit, art and social function (cao 165). wang fengxin elaborated the cultural implications of chinese brand naming, and thought brand naming included proper names, place names, animal names, plant names, physical phenomena, reiterative locutions, homophones, color terms, figures, materials, functions, moral values, aesthetic judgment, special terms of christianity, pseudo-foreign brands (wang 376). he chuansheng illustrated the motivation of brand formation from the perspective of psychology, marketing, sociology and culture; meanwhile, he analyzed the effects of brand verbalization to modern english (he 232). meng hua explored the meanings and traits of brand naming from the perspective of semiotic linguistics, held that the brand names are less restricted by the rules of language structure, but more embody the creativity and subjectivity of language (zhu 28-29). b. international researcha nascent yet flourishing language industry in us, the brand naming industry, which was established as a new language profession and industry with the emergence of specialized naming companies more than twenty years ago, has attracted the attention of both the field of theory and the field of practice in the us on september 16, 1998, naseem javed, the initiator of the first naming company in the us made a speech entitled “super corporation must have super names”. he introduced in detail about the historical development of american naming industry, the problems in brand naming，the latest tendency of international brand naming, the structures of brand naming of global company, the power of names and the rules of naming. it was a summary that the field of practice made on the brand naming industry. carrolls whats in a name? arnolds whats in a name: famous brand names? stilings famous brand names, emblems and trade-marks, joness whats in a brand? murphys branding: a key markting tool have made research on naming in their writings. worth mentioning is the omnipowerful brand, the monograph of delano, has discussed the rules and processes of brand naming from the marketing perspective.ingrid pillers ph.d dissertation american automobile names can be reckoned as one of the best literatures on brand naming which are available at present. the formal lingual items used as automobile names are simplexes, syntagmatic word-formations, non-syntagmatic word-formations, free syntactic phrases, proper nouns, non-established borrowings, and numerals in various portions. iii. relationship between culture and brand namesculture, which has been heatedly debated, is a multi-dimensional and all-encompassing subject. it is extremely complex. some scholars share the idea that culture consists of two components, one visible and the other invisible. and language, as apart of culture, is an important medium to pass down culture. therefore, brand names, as an expression of language, definitely have a close relationship with culture. and the brand naming mustnt ignore the cultural elements. a. definition of culture“people living apart from one another develop unique cultures, but elements of different cultures can easily spread from one group of people to another.” language is the carrier, container and the instrument of culture. without language, it would be difficult to convert the cross-cultural communication goals to actions. the british cultural anthropologist, edward tylor, offers us the classic definition of culture: culture or civilizationis that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society (miller 14). b. definition of brand.one definition of brand is “a synthesis of all these elements, physical, aesthetic rational and emotional and cultural, which is a perception created in the mind of consumers who ascribe beliefs and values to the product” (j. m. murphy 3). and according to the famous american economist richard t.hise, “a brand, i.e. trademark is a name term, sign, symbol, design or a combination of them which tells who makes it or who sells it, distinguishing that product from those made or sold by others” (hise 257).c. relationship between culture and brand namesaccording to peter newmark, culture refers to “the way of life and its manifestations that are peculiar to a community that uses a particular language as its means of expression” (peter newmark 94). “language is intrinsically bound up with culture. it expresses, embodies and symbolizes cultural reality” (kramsch, claire 3). it is believed that where there is language, there is culture hidden behind. brand names, they are influenced by culture and in turn reflect culture. therefore, culture has its understanding characteristics which can be associated with brand names.iv. brand names and brand naminga. basic types of brand nameswith the expansion of many factories, more and more commodities come into being. so do brand nameswherever we go，whatever we do，we will meet brand names of different categoriesthey are various and can be classified from different angles. “from the angle of the linguistic structures of brand names，they can be roughly classified into the proper name brand names, the common word brand names and the coined word brand names”(he 34). the following will show examples.1. proper name brand names: 长城(electric appliance), 李宁(sport shoes), 杜康(alcohol), mcdonalds(restaurant), channel(cosmetics), nike(sport shoes), and etc. 2. common word brand names: 熊猫(electric appliance), 光明(milk), 红牛(drink), crocodile(clothes), camel(cigarette), apple(computer), and etc. 3. coined word brand names: 健力宝(drink), 美加净(cosmetic), 富达(dust collector), kodak(camera and film), nescafe(coffee), rolex(watch) and etc. b. principles of brand namingbeing an essential component of a product, brand naming is often invented on the basis of certain principles. no matter where a product is from, brand naming must follow and in turn reflect the following principles.1. the “kiss” principlethe “kiss” principle is the brevity principle，which refers to “keep it short and sweet”this principle is observed both in brand naming and in advertising. the “kiss” principle is carefully observed in brand naming and it is proved to be effective in persuading consumers to make a purchase.2. the novelty principlethe novelty principle requires brand names to be “new”, “fresh”, and “distinctive” with eye-catching appeal. why would the consumers choose this brand rather than others? the priority is the brand name that can leave a deep impression upon the consumers. 3. the readability principlethe readability principle indicates that a good brand name must be easy to be read and not likely to be mispronounced and misunderstood. to realize the function of brand names, peoples habits of reception, either in language or in culture, must be taken into consideration in brand naming. 4. the extentionality principlethis principle indicates that a brand name should have the capability to cover products as many as possible. in this way, it is much easier for a new product to come into the market and be beneficial for the business expansion of the company. 5. the protectivity principlethe protectivity principle refers to the fact that the brand naming should be registered and protected legally. when naming a new product, we must be sure whether it meets all the legal requirements. one of the great fears of commercial enterprises is that a carefully chosen brand name will fall into public domain. moreover, there is another terrible condition. all in all，brand names are the medium and bridge between producers and consumers. the ideal brand name can convey information about the product and motivate the consumers to appreciate the product. however, if a brand name is not carefully designed，it will be a total abstraction, offering no clue to the product, and it will be a loss of the producer. therefore, when naming a product, the designer must take these five principles into consideration in order that the brand name could be unique and distinctive, carrying favorable messages. and also it comply with the rules and guidelines rooted in sociology, psychology, semantics and the law.v. the main classifications of brand naminga. personal names or place namesat the initial stage of brand naming development, manufacturers usually employ the initiators of the firm, the inventors of the products or places of production as band names. with the rapid development of economy, buyers markets have been formed. therefore, manufacturers flood the market with mass-produced goods of the same kind and have keen competition. at the stage, brand names are in great abundance. brand naming takes the central place in the marketers consciousness so as to defeat their rivals.there are some examples茅台(alcohol), 伊利(drink), 燕京(alcohol), 青岛(alcohol), 鲁花(oil), 石狮(cigarette), it makes it clear that the products are made in china, and symbolizes it is a unique. to western, band naming also has place name. kfc (fast food) naming by kentucky state, cologne(perfume) produce cologne in the west country of germany, nokia(mobile phone) a small town in the north of finland, the original company of nokia locates here, marlboro(cigarette) a small town in the west of america; lancome(cosmetic) lancosme, the original in the middle of france, in order to easily read, substitute lancosme in lancome. compared with chinese brand names, western band names prefer personal names to place names. we can still find a lot of examples of western brands with the peoples names, dell(computer), ralph lauren(fashionable clothes), tiffany(jewellery), calvin versace(cosmetic), ford(automobile), disney(film company), mcdonalds(fast food), which vividly shows that western cultural values individualism, and hold the belief that individualism is the foundation of their civilization. different from the chinese tradition, the western culture advocates and fosters individualism, the westerners stress individualism, and the westerners attach more importance to the individual development than the cooperation of all members. more examples of the western brand naming originated from the peoples name are the following: pierre cardin(fashionable clothes), giorgio armani(fashionable clothes), fox(company), daimler(automobile), gillette(razor blade) family name of first manager camp. some western companies use capital word of the several inventors to compound abbreviation as brand names. the famous examples are following p&g(detergent), the inventors are procter and gamble, hp(computer), the inventors are hewlett and packard, dhl(the biggest international airline express company), and the inventors are dalsey, hilllbom and lynn. while in chinese brands, few of them are the name of a person. except 张小泉(scissors) , 王麻子(knife) , 邓亚萍(sports goods), 李宁(sports goods). the theory of “oneness of heaven and man” has been dominant and influential in chinese culture, so chinese people are inclined to take into consideration all things as integral parts of a whole unity. the chinese are used to sacrificing individuals will, independence, and innovation in organizations, collectivism means respect. the above respective values are embodied in the brand naming vividly. from above examples, we apparently find western people are more like using personal names to name their products.b. animal names or plant namespeople living in different cultures hold different attitudes and beliefs towards animals，plants，and numberswhat is considered a good omen in one culture may not symbolize the same in another. both the westerners and chinese name their products with the animals. many animals have become a kind of symbolism in peoples thinking, and this symbolism is reflected in the language. however, because of different cultures and values, the implications of animal words in one language do not necessarily coincide with those in another. in western, people dont like use birds or worms as brand names because of its association with poor quality. however, in china people like to use it as brand names. “孔雀” is a chinese brand name. like 孔雀(tv set) have high quality, the hue true to nature. just on the opposite, western people hold a different attitude toward the bird. they think peacock is filthy bird, used to describe someone who behaves “in a vain and arrogant way”, 蝴蝶(