Brand Names Lost in Translation
中國品牌搞洋化 結果鬧笑話
By Dan Levin

BEIJING – Chrisdien Deny, a retail chain with more than 500 locations across China, sells belts, shoes and clothing with an “Italian style” – and a logo with a font similar to Christian Dior’s.
在全中國有500多處門市的連鎖零售業者克雷斯丹尼，販售「義大利風格」的皮帶、鞋子和服飾，商標字體類似克里斯汀．迪奧。

Helen Keller, named for the deaf-blind American humanitarian, offers trendy sunglasses and classic spectacles at over 80 stores, with the motto “you see the world, the world sees you.”
以美國聾盲人道主義者海倫凱勒為名的眼鏡業者，在80多家門市銷售時髦的太陽眼鏡和復古款眼鏡，廣告詞是「你看世界、世界看你」。

Frognie Zila, a clothing brand sold in 120 stores in China, boasts that its “international” selection is “one of the first choices of successful politicians and businessmen” and features pictures on its website of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and Venetian canals.
在中國有120家店面的服飾品牌佛朗尼．齊拉，誇稱自家的「國際」特選是「成功政商人士首選之一」，網站還有比薩斜塔與威尼斯運河的照片。

To make their products appear more sophisticated, many homegrown retail brands have hit upon a similar formula: Choose a non-Chinese name that gives the impression of being foreign.
為了讓商品看起來更高深，許多中國本土零售品牌發現了類似的準則：挑個洋名號，營造舶來品的印象。

“Buy Chinese brands? Never,” said Fu Rao, 20, a university student, who was browsing at the Japanese outlet store Snidel in a Beijing mall one recent evening. Ms. Fu complained that Chinese products were shoddily made and lacking in style. “Foreign stuff is so much better,” she said.
「買中國貨？門都沒有。」說這話的是20歲的大學生傅饒，她最近某晚在北京商場的日本服飾品牌Snidel的暢貨中心閒逛，抱怨中國商品粗製濫造，沒型。她說：「舶來品可就好多了。」

As Chinese retail companies try to attract consumers, mystifying maladaptations of English have spread across the country’s storefronts, shopping bags and clothing labels. Wanko, Hotwind, Scat, Orgee and Marisfrolg (the L is silent) all sell clothing. A sponsor of China’s national golf team is the apparel chain Biemlfdlkk.
中國零售業者努力吸引顧客之際，讓人疑惑的改編英文已席捲全國的店面、購物袋和服飾品牌。Wanko、熱風、Scat、歐季、瑪絲菲爾（Marisfrolg，L不發音）都賣衣服。服裝連鎖業者比音勒芬（Biemlfdlkk）是國家高球隊贊助商之一。

For years, as China’s economic growth soared, branding was largely considered a low-priority left to executives more concerned with the next product introduction, said Joel Backaler, author of “China Goes West,” a book on Chinese companies seeking to build international brands.
中國經濟成長飆升多年來，品牌塑造大抵不受企業主管重視，他們更關心下一次新產品的發表，說這話的是《中國走向西方》一書作者周樂達，該書講述中國企業努力打造國際品牌的歷程。

In China, many Western brands have chosen a Mandarin-language name that will convey relevant qualities to consumers, like Coca-Cola, whose Chinese brand name – Kekoukele – translates as Tasty Fun. Other foreign brands such as Cadillac stick with a phonetic transliteration that has no Chinese meaning, signaling their foreign cachet.
在中國，很多西方品牌選擇能向消費者傳達相關特質的中文名字，比如Coca-Cola的中文名為可口可樂，意謂美味與歡樂。另一些外國品牌如Cadillac（凱迪拉克）堅持將名字音譯而無中文寓意，以表明外國品牌身分。

Some local companies have gone the same route. The golf apparel brand Biemlfdlkk, sold in over 450 Chinese stores, goes by Biyinlefen in Mandarin, using four characters that translate literally as “compare music rein fragrant.” A Biemlfdlkk saleswoman in Guangzhou explained, “It’s a German name.” An employee at another shop said, “It’s the name of a French designer.”
有些本土公司走同一路線。在中國有450多家門市的高球服裝品牌Biemlfdlkk中文名為比音勒芬。廣州一名比音勒芬女性業務員解釋，「這是個德國名字。」另一家門市的店員則說，「這是某位法國設計師的名字。」

Other local companies have chosen simply to mimic well-known foreign brands. “Chinese brands copy because they believe it enables them to get an easy, quick win,” said Vladimir Djurovic, president of the Labbrand Consulting Company in Shanghai. “They play on the confusion.”
另外一些本土公司選擇模仿知名外國品牌。「中國品牌抄襲是因為認為能使自己輕鬆、迅速成功，」上海朗標諮詢公司總裁竹文崢如是說。「它們意圖魚目混珠」。

Across China, sneakers are emblazoned with Adidos, Hike, Cnoverse and Fuma – featuring a smoking puma.
在中國各地，運動鞋被印上「Adidos」、「Hike」、「Cnoverse」和「Fuma」的商標，商標變成一隻叼菸的美洲獅。

Mr. Djurovic, said the company’s work creating brand names in the Latin alphabet has increased significantly in recent years, suggesting that Chinese companies are beginning to realize they cannot just transliterate their Mandarin brand names or mimic Western ones if they hope to win the loyalties of customers around the world. So far, only a few domestic brands have succeeded abroad. One is Haier, the world’s top electronic home appliance brand for the last five years
朗標總裁竹文崢說，朗標用拉丁字母創造品牌的業務近年大增，代表中國企業開始意識到，想在全球各地獲得客戶忠誠度，不能只是音譯中文品牌名稱或模仿西方品牌。迄今中國只有少數本土品牌在海外成功。其中一個是海爾，五年來高居全球家電第一品牌。

Chinese brand names have stoked international controversy in the past. One of China’s most popular toothpaste brands is known as Darlie in English but Hei Ren, or Black People, in Mandarin. In 1985, Colgate-Palmolive bought 50 percent of the Hong Kong company that owned the brand, which was then called Darkie in English. Its logo was a grinning minstrel in blackface wearing a top hat, tuxedo and bow tie. After three years of pressure, Colgate made the logo more racially ambiguous and changed the English name to Darlie, though the Mandarin remains unchanged.
中國品牌曾引起國際爭議。中國一個極受歡迎的牙膏品牌英文叫做「Darlie」，中文叫做「黑人」。1985年，「高露潔-棕欖」收購了持有這個品牌的香港公司50%的股份，當時該品牌的英文名是「Darkie」，商標是個黑皮膚藝人，穿禮服，戴大禮帽和領結，露齒而笑。承受壓力數年後，高露潔淡化商標的種族屬性，把品牌的英文名改成「Darlie」，但中文名稱沒變。

Helen Keller glasses would probably have a hard time selling overseas, too. Though the company’s website includes a lengthy biography of Helen Keller, it omits all mention of the disabilities she worked hard to overcome.
海倫凱勒眼鏡在海外大概也不好賣。雖然公司官網以長篇幅介紹海倫凱勒的生平，卻完全沒有提到她努力克服的生理障礙。

Reached by phone, a brand manager found nothing problematic about the omission.
電話採訪中，一位品牌經理認為省略沒有任何問題。

“So she’s blind and deaf – her personal shortcomings are not related to the spirit of our brand,” said the woman, who gave only her surname, Jiang. “These products help you love and protect your eyes. Why would that be offensive?”
「她失明又失聰，她的個人缺陷無關我們的品牌精神，」只表示自己姓江的女經理說。「這些產品能幫你愛護眼睛。有啥不敬的呢？」

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/27/business/international/adidos-and-hotwind-in-china-brands-evoke-foreign-names-even-if-theyre-gibberish.html

紐約時報中文版翻譯：
http://cn.nytimes.com/china/20141229/c29chinashop/zh-hant/

2015-01-13聯合報/G5版/UNITED DAILY NEWS 張佑生譯 原文參見紐時週報八版右