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Andasearlyas1996,dePedroproposedascalefordescribingthe
transnationaladaptationofTVadvertisementsbasedonthedegreetowhich
boththeverbalandthevisualarechanged,includingthosecaseswherean
entirelynewcampaigniscreated.
Finally,manyofthesestudiesalsoengagewithculturalissues,oftenidentifying
suchissuesastheverymotivationforintersemiotictranslation.
Culturaltransfer
Thereareseveralwaysofmakinganadvertisingtextaspersuasiveaspossible.
Each,however,islargelyculturespecificandhastobeexaminedcarefully
whenanadvertisingorpublicitytextistransferredacrossdifferentlanguages
and/orsocialgroups.
Intheirstudyonmultinationalorganizations,Hofstede(1980/2001,1991)and
HofstedeandHofstede(2005)foundthatdifferentnationalpopulationsshow
differentorientationstowardswhattheauthorscalldimensionsofculture(see
alsoCULTURE).DeMooij(1998/2005,2003,2004)appliesHofstede’s
modeltoadvertising,mappingthesedimensionsontodifferentconsumer
behavioursandadvertisingstyles.Forinstance,Italiansappeartoscorehighon
the‘uncertaintyavoidance’dimension,meaningthattheyvaluebeingreassured
bywhattheyalreadyknowmorethanbeingsurprisedbysomethingnew.This
mayexplainwhyadvertisingcampaignsinItalytendtoadoptastylethat
complieswiththetargetgroup’sexpectations(Brancati2002:76–7),ratherthan
resortingtohumour,punsandothercreativeresourceswhicharepopularin
GreatBritain,forinstance(Pennarola2003).
Butitisnotonlytheform,orstyle,ofadvertisingcampaignsthatchangeacross
culturesandlanguages.Inordertofulfiltheirpersuasivepurpose,publicity
materialandadvertisementshavetomotivatethetargetgrouptochangetheir
consumerorpublicbehaviourbyappealingeithertotheiraspirationsorfears.
Suchaspirationorfears,however,areoftenculturespecificandshouldbe
carefullyhandledinthetranslationofadvertisingmaterial,eveninthecaseof
values,suchascleanliness,whichmaybeassumedtobeuniversal(Torresi
2004).
Culturalvaluesandstereotypeshaveimportantimplicationsforprofessional
practiceandtraining:FuentesLuqueandKelly(2000:241)pointoutthat‘the
roleofthetranslatorininternationaladvertising…caninnowaybelimitedto
“purelylinguistic”issues’,andsuggestthattrainingcoursesshouldhelpwould
betranslatorsofadvertisingmaterialtobecome‘interculturalexperts’.Guidère
(2001)agreesthat‘toaccomplishhismissionsuccessfully,thetranslatoris
requiredtothinkandtointegrateacertainamountofdata,notonlyabout
marketingandbasiccommunication,butalsoaboutgeopoliticsandethnology’.
Adab(2000,2001)similarlystressestheimportanceofculturalvalues,placing
theminabroaderfunctionalistviewthattakesintoaccountsituationalfactorsas
wellaslinguisticonesinthecontextofadvertising.
Thediscussionofculturalissuesinthetranslationofadvertisingmaterialwould
particularlybenefitfrominsightsontheculturaladaptationofEuropeanor
AmericanadvertisingcampaignsandmessagesfornonWesternaudiences.
ImportantresearchhasbeencarriedoutinthisareabyscholarssuchasGuidère
(2000a),whohighlightsthedifficultiesoftranslatingadvertisementsintoArabic,
Zequan(2003),whotracessomeoftheterminologicalchoicesmadeinthe
translationofabeautyspaadvertisementfromEnglishintoChineseto
differencesinreligioustraditions,andChuanshengandYunnan(2003),who
provideanextensiveoverviewofbrandnametranslationstrategiesinChina.Ho
(2004)analysestheculturaladjustmentsheintroducedinhisowntranslationof
commercialadvertisingforSingaporeasatouristdestination,againfromEnglish
intoChinese.
Asfaraspromotionalgenresareconcerned,anobviousexampleofthe
importanceofculturaladaptation(andappropriation)toensurecustomer
motivationcanbefoundinthetranslationoftouristbrochures.If,asSumberg
(2004)pointsout,theprofileoftheadvertiseddestinationispoorlyadjustedto
thetargetreadership’stouristexpectations,thebrochurewillfailtosellthe
destination–eventhoughthatbrochuremightverywellreflecttheactualprofile
andrealityoftheplacebetterthanaheavilyadaptedtranslation.Thishighlightsa
certaintensionbetweenthetranslationof