Influence Of Cross-cultural Differences On Translated English Advertisements From The Perspective Of PF

Advertisement, a manifestation of language in action, is a widely used medium of communication that we are all exposed to in modern society. However, many translated English advertisements have serious pragmatic failures in our country. This paper points out that the pragmatic failures in advertisement translation are mainly caused by cross-cultural differences. From the perspective of pragmatic failures, the author attempts to explain the influence of cross-cultural factors on English versions of Chinese advertisements. It is expected that people concerned would take effective measures to achieve better pragmatic effect in translation and English advertising. In this paper, data are analyzed according to the borrowed and modified framework of pragmatic failures proposed by Jenny Thomas (1983). It is suggested that the pragmatic failures fall into two major types: pragmalinguistic failure and sociopragmatic failure. The author also makes a discussion on the poor communicative effects of these pragmatic failures and cross-cultural differences for their abundance in this type of translation. The analysis tends to illustrate how the theoretical insights of pragmatics instruct advertisement translation. Such a research is of practical significance to people in both business and linguistic circles, and to our country's economic development. Meanwhile, some tentative measures improving English translations of Chinese advertisements are recommended. This thesis also puts forward suggestions on helping foreign language learners to foster their pragmatic competence.