【摘要】：本文就廣告中雙關(guān)修辭的應(yīng)用，以語(yǔ)音雙關(guān)、語(yǔ)義雙關(guān)、語(yǔ)法雙關(guān)、借代雙關(guān)為例探討如何從奧斯汀的言語(yǔ)行為理論的角度來(lái)對(duì)廣告中的雙關(guān)語(yǔ)進(jìn)行翻譯。雙關(guān)是廣告中常用的一種修辭手段，不僅能傳遞給消費(fèi)者商品的基本信息還能吸引人們的眼球。在廣告中適當(dāng)?shù)貞?yīng)用雙關(guān)可以使廣告更容易理解和被人銘記并且毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)地刺激商品的消費(fèi)。雙關(guān)的翻譯因其雙重意義是比較困難的。根據(jù)奧斯汀的言語(yǔ)行為理論，當(dāng)翻譯廣告中的雙關(guān)語(yǔ)時(shí)，譯者應(yīng)同時(shí)注重其言內(nèi)行為與言外行為從而促進(jìn)其言后行為。

【關(guān)鍵詞】：雙關(guān);英語(yǔ)廣告;言語(yǔ)行為理論

【Abstract】：This article dwells on the application of puns in advertisements and takes homophonic puns， semantic puns， grammatical puns and metonymic puns as examples to illustrate how to translate puns in advertisements from the perspective of J. L. Austin’s Speech Act Theory. The pun is one of the most common rhetorical devices used in advertisements. Puns can not only deliver the basic information of the products to customers but also catch the eyes of people. An appropriate application of puns in advertisements makes the advertisement easy to be understood and remembered. It also can undoubtedly stimulate consumption of the goods. Due to such reasons， the translation of puns is difficult because of the double meanings. According to Speech Act theory， while translating puns in advertisements， a translator should pay attention to both its locutionary act and illocutionary act so as to achieve its perlocutionary act.

【Key Words】： puns; English advertisements; Speech Act Theory

I. Introduction

The word“Advertise” derived from the Latin word “adverfure”and its original meaning was“ to attract attention and to induce”. Thenit transformed to “attract others’ notice and to inform somebody something” as time went by.

Advertisement can be regarded as a special means for customers to know about the goods in such a quick fix society and it plays an important role in facilitating the sales volume of a certain product. Advertisements influence the customers’ view and attitude towards the products imperceptibly due to the illocutionary force of the advertising slogans. For achieving the illocutionary force， advertising English has distinct characteristics. Generally， advertising discourse is concise and rich in artistry with the use of rhetorical devices. Rhetorical devices usually use words in a certain way to convey meaning or to persuade. It can also be a technique to evoke an emotion on the part of the reader or audience. So there are various types of rhetorical devices used in advertising. Among these rhetorical devices， pun is widely used in advertisements because of the feature of humor， also， pun expresses abundant meanings through connotation.

1.1 The Concept and Features of Pun

Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary defines pun as “The clever or humorous use of a word that has more than one meaning， or of words that have different meanings but sound the same.”“A pun is play on words， or rather a play on the form and meaning of words”（Feng Cuihua， 2006： 59）.The feature of pun is that it shows wit and humor，creativeness and originality of language. The pun word in advertisements should not only has its own certain meaning but also beclosely related to the characteristics of the product or the brand name of a product. Such condition doesn’t occur often. So once an advertisement applies the rhetorical device of pun， it must have a thorough consideration. Therefore， when translating pun in advertisements， we should take consideration of both the double meanings of the pun and pay attention to its special pragmatic functions of attracting the customers’ attention， arising their interests and then achieving the perlocutionary act so as to stimulate consumption.

1.2 The Concept of Speech Act Theory

Speech act Theory is an important theory of pragmatic research in linguistics. It was firstly proposed by the English philosopher J. L. Austin and has been developed by J. R. Searle. The understanding of this theory depends on both contextual conditions and communicative purpose. According to the theory， “l(fā)anguage is not only used to inform or to describe things， it is often used to ‘do things’， to perform acts” （Liu Runqing， 2006： 149）. What’s more， the addressor who is speaking can perform three speech acts at the same time， which are named： locutionary act， illocutionary act and perlocutionary act.“ These three kinds of speech acts can be explained respectively as： X： He said that... Y： He argued that... Z： He convinced me that...”（He Ziran， 2002： 221）. Designing advertising slogans can be regarded as locutionary act. Then audiences’ speculation or understanding about the advertising language by virtue of their own cognition and experiences is related to the illocutionary force， which refers to “the communicative value assigned to an utterance as the performance of an illocutionary act. An utterance is said to be a certain illocution because it has a certain force”（Liu Runqing， 2006： 333）.

1.2.1 Locutionary Act

Locutionary act “refers to the utterance of a sentence with ostensible sense and reference”（Wen Xu， 2012： 87）. It’s an act of conveying literal meaning of syntax， lexicon and phonology. People are likely to use a word which is not only totally fit for the present context but also transmits other meanings that is inconvenient to be told directly in advertisements or they tend to hit the advertisement effect with the help of polysemy of words. The purpose of such elaborate design cannot be achieved if we just pay attention to the locutionary act of the advertisements while translating.

1.2.2 Illocutionary Act

Illocutionary act， which refers to “the extra meaning of the utterance produced on the basis of its literal meaning”（Liu Runqing， 2006： 149）. However， addressees may not hit the intended meaning all the time， and also sometimes， they pretend to miss the point because they have no desire to perform the perlocutionary act.

1.2.3 Perlocutionary Act

Perlocutionary act ，“It can be understood as the actual effect brought about on the addressee by means of the utterance”（Wen Xu， 2012： 88）. Generally， perlocutionary act is the real purpose in producing our utterances. Almost all advertisements share one common goal that is to stimulate consumption， in other words， it is consumer who makes them work by performing the perlocutionary act.

1.3Previous Studies on Translation of Puns

The study of pun translation is much more developed in the west than in China. This may culturally be due to the different senses of humor. Western culture emphasis a lot on humor， as a result， western studies of humor and other similar rhetorical devices have reached a considerable degree. While the study of pun translation from English to Chinese is quite in adequate in China.

1.3.1Western Studies on Translation of Puns

The most famous figure of pun translation study abroad is Delabastita who has systematically draw a conclusion of pun translation and his theory still serves as a guide to translators. He presented ten methods of pun translation， which are as follows（Dirk Delabastita， 1997）

a.To translate the pun in the source language with the same type of pun in the target language and the double meanings of source language are retained.

b.To translate the pun in the source language with a different type of pun in the target language and the double meanings of source language are retained.

c.To translate the pun in the source language with a pun in the target language， but the original meaning（s） of the pun word gets changed.

d.To translate the pun in the source language with a quasi-pun （like repetition， alliteration， synonymy and antonymy etc.） in the target language.

e.To translate the pun in the source language with a non-pun word（s） in the target language and one layer or two layers of the meanings of the pun is conveyed.

f.To skip the pun word in the source language.

g.To copy the pun word in the source language without any translation.

h.To translate the non-pun word with a pun word.

i.To add a pun word（s） in the target language.

j.To translate the pun in the source language with editorical techniques.（like exegesis.）

Delabastita’s theory is based on the study of the inter-lingual translation among the western languages. So his translation techniques may be very popular in the west but seldom used in China.

1.3.2 Chinese Studies on Translation of Puns

Wang Chunyan who was a lecturer in Jiangsu Polytechnic University approves of the idea of translator’s subjectivity. He argued that the translator should apply his or her own ability of creation and mastering language in translation of puns in English advertisements to try to make the target language readers get the most complete information and the aesthetic feelings.

In Analysis of Structure and Translation Strategies of English Puns written by He Fangzhi， the author discusses two kinds of translation strategies： Literal translation and Compensatory translation. “Although the author proposes the two translation strategies ， the two strategies cannot solve all the translation of puns. Therefore， this thesis has some limitations”（Liu Ting， 2012）.

Many scholars such as Zhuang Xiaoyan analyzes the translation of puns from the perspective of Nide’s functional equivalence to achieve its “equivalent effect”， “to produce the same effect （or one as close as possible） on the readership of the original. This is also called the ‘equivalent response’ principle. Nida calls it dynamic equivalence”（Newmark， 2001： 48）.

The aims of using translator’s subjectivity， Compensatory translation and functional equivalence are all to find ways to interpret the connotations in puns and achieve the advertisements’ illocutionary act. Then the translation of advertisements’ ultimate goal is the perlocutionary act. So speech act theory can be used to research the translation of puns in English advertisements in a more comprehensive way.

2.The Translation Practicesof Puns in English Advertisements

Generally speaking， there are many levels in puns， such as phonetic levels， lexical levels， syntactic levels and other linguistic levels among whichhomophonic puns， semantic puns， grammatical puns and metonymic puns are used more frequently in advertisements.

2.1 The Translation Practices of Homophonic Puns in English Advertisements

The homophonic pun， a common type， uses word pairs which sound alike but are not synonymous. It can be illustrated by such pairs： “know” and “no”， “bare” and “bear”， “meat” and “meet” and so on. Here we use this concept in a boarder way. Some translators choose Chinese words which own the similar pronunciations of the words in source advertisements when they are translating English advertisements to Chinese and vice versa.

（1） Longfor

譯文：龍湖。

In this succinct title， the Chinese pinyin of the first character“龍” is the same as the English word “l(fā)ong”，which boasts two meanings， one means something that is continuing for a large amount of time， or for a larger amount of time than usual， the other means something measuring a great length from one end to the other.Besides， the designer chooses the English word “for” for the second Chinese character“湖”instead of Chinese pinyin“hu”. Therefore， the whole advertisement title conveys the goodwill that the Longfor Group will serve their consumers wholeheartedly forever， which reminds us of one of minuscule purple flower named “forget-me-not”， standing for everlasting love.

（2） To mall， for all， in Tmall.

譯文：上天貓，就購(gòu)了。

This is the advertisement of Tmall website. Tmall is a Chinese-language website for business-to-consumer online retail， spun off from Taobao. Tmall seems to bring passion to people to create a retail miracle on November 11 each year.So the advertisement of such a website should not only indicates that people can buy goods in Tmall but also reflects that the products in Tmall are all-round. The words “mall”， “all” and “Tmall” have similar pronunciations with the same vowel sound. Such kind of language creates a special effect upon the consumers. Meanwhile， the Chinese advertisement of Tmall has an application of a homophonic word “購(gòu)” and “夠”. Although we cannot see the word “夠” from the surface of the advertisement. We can get the meaning of this concept from the same sound with the word “購(gòu)”. So this advertisement has a binary meaning. For one is “Come to Tmall and shop.”，for another is “Come to Tmall， and you’re all set.” Such correspondence is difficult to reach in the Chinese-English translation of puns in advertisements， which achieves the illocutionary act and perlocutionary act of the original advertisement as well as keeps the similar format as the former.

All these cases mentioned above， if there is the pronunciation of an English word can be found a counterpart in Chinese， and then translators can choose the corresponding Chinese word firstly. However， while translating homophonic puns in English advertisements， there are so many Chinese words which share the same pronunciation， so translators need to make the second choice that is to single the most appropriate one out. And according to Austin’s speech act theory， utterance which bears locutionary act tends to be meaningful and idiomatic， therefore， the locutionary act has been done when people see these advertisements.

2.2 The Translation Practices of Semantic Puns in English Advertisements

Semantic punsare thosewords which are both homographs and homophones but have different meaning. It is similar to polysemic words.The application of semantic puns in advertisement can not only make people enjoy the appropriate semantic artistry， but also deepen the impression of advertising goods.

（3） Money doesn’t grow on the trees. But it blossoms at our branches.

譯文：錢(qián)不能長(zhǎng)在樹(shù)上，在我們“行”就能。

This is an outdoor advertisement made by British Bank of Lloyd. The advertisement means “unlike flowers， money cannot blossom on real trees， but it can increase on our imaginary trees.” In this advertisement， the word “branches” has two meanings. For one thing， its literal meaning is the twigs of a tall plant that has leaves. For another， the designer regards the bank as a tree， so the “branches”are not the real twigs which can hold birds， but the embranchments of the bank， which mean business constitutions that keep and lend money and provide other financial services. “The implication of this advertisement is that if you deposit money in Lloyd bank， your money will continue to increase” （Mullen， 2005： 37）. Like buds on a branch， “money”blooms year by year and bears great “fruit” which will never “dry up”. So while translating， we must indicate the implicit meaning of “branches” to show the consumers what the advertisement is designed to.

（4） Spoil yourself and not your figure.

譯文：盡情大吃，不增體重。

It means that we can enjoy eating with no increase in weight.This is a Weight-Watcher ice cream’s advertisement title. The ice cream is designed for dieters. “Spoil” here itself means “enjoying themselves”， while “spoil ones figure”means “destroying the body shape”. The focus of dieters from various countries must be their weight. So the second aspect of meaning makes for achieving the illocutionary act of this advertisement. The dieters will accept the advertisement because ofsuch a humorous tone and be willing to buy the product.

There does not exist a clear distinction between the primary and the secondary meaning of a specific word when we translate semantic puns in English advertisements. It is necessary for us to find a inner link between the two meanings， which helps us know more about the perlocutionary act. Then translators should bear in mind that the purpose of advertisements is to give basic information of the products. So when translators can not translate the puns completely and precisely， translators should give up the artistic rhetoric or the antitheses neatness. Only if the complete information is kept， can the readers understand the advertisements. Then the illocutionary act and perlocutionary act can be achieved.

2.3 The Translation Practices of Grammatical Puns in English Advertisements

Grammatical puns refer to a word or a phrase that has more than two grammatical functions. “It is different from the general semantic pun， and its starting point is the differences of grammatical function. The difference is so rare that it creates a unique landscape”（Levinson， 1983： 124） .

（5） Which larger can claimto be truly German？This can.

譯文：哪種大罐啤酒可稱得上是地道的德國(guó)貨？這罐。

This is an advertisement for one kind of light beer. The word “can” in the sentence can be used as a modal verb （ be able to do something ） or as a noun （ a metal container in which food or drink is preserved without air ）. Because of the use of words with double meanings， the advertisement has a humorous effect--only this specific brand deserves to be the best one， which gives the readers a deeper impression. Whenever people want to buy some beers， this advertising commentary comes to their mind immediately. Then， they are likely to choose this one in various kinds of beer brands.

Similarly， the advertisement of Coca Cola also uses this method.

（6） Coke refreshes you like no other can.

譯文：沒(méi)有什么能像這罐可樂(lè)一樣令你神清氣爽。

In this sentence， the word “can” may be understood as a noun“tin”， and can also be regarded as a modal verb which means “be able to”. The whole sentence can be understood as“Coke refreshes you like no othertin of drink can （refresh you）.” or “Coke is different from other cans because it refreshes you”. “This advertisement is witty and full of wit， which can make the product printed in the memory of the reader together with this advertisement”（Longman， 1994： 78）. In Chinese， we cannot select an appropriate word with an equivalent effect as the word “can”. So we are supposed to make the double meanings clear.

Translators should first figure out the two different grammatical functions of pun used in the English advertisements， which can be seen in above examples. And then try to translate both of them into Chinese completely and precisely. If translator cannot express the double meanings within one sentence， they can divide it into two different sentences or phrases taking care of the two different functions so that we can achieve the second goal—illocutionary act.

2.4 The translation practices of metonymic puns in English advertisements

Metonymic puns， as the name shows that their aims are to make the brand known by borrowing the name of products. But what’s the purpose of referring to the brand’s name for advertisers in advertisements？ It’s known that advertisement is a special language which aims at changing the thoughts and attitudes of people to buy the products and meeting clients’ needs. “What’ more， once the brand is shown on the advertisements， the public will be familiar with and remember this product”（Keiko， 1992：56）.

（7） Ask for More.

譯文：再來(lái)一支，還吸摩爾。

It is a fantastic advertisement for“More” cigarette. Here“More” also bears two meanings. One refers to an additional number or amount， the other stands for the brand which is “More”. Therefore， the pun ‘More’makes the advertisements understood and the brand memorized. The illocutionary act and perlocutionary act are the same as the last example.

Here is another example：

（8） Nothing is beyond Reach.

譯文：擁有銳致，萬(wàn)事皆成。

It is an advertisement for Reach toothbrush. This is also a classic advertisement. The word “Reach” is skillfully applied to make the sentence meaningful. If “Reach” just be regarded as a general word， it tells the public that the brush is easy to get. Then “Reach” is also its brand name. It can be understood as “ No other toothbrush is better than Reach toothbrush.” Besides， people can associate the content of this sentence with their daily life. We all know that we should clean both the front teeth and back of the teeth every morning. By using Reach toothbrush， we clean our teeth thoroughly and effectively. Chinese character is not case-sensitive， so we should make the brand’s name clear to Chinese consumer for achieving the perlocutionary act.

（9） From sharp mind， come to Sharp product.

譯文：智慧產(chǎn)品，來(lái)自夏普。

Sharp is a Japanese company engaged in the market of the electric apparatus. The advertisement of Sharp used two figures of speech. The word “Sharp” in the advertisement， in fact， is rich in content. The word “Sharp”may represent this registered company and its registered trademark， and also has the meaning of “wise and sensible”. The rhetorical device of metonymic pun cleverly expresses that purchasing Sharp’s product is actually being sensible and sapient， but it also can be understood as they totally gratifies customers’vanity when they choose the products of Sharp. The advertisement shows the confidence of this company， meanwhile it wins the trust of customers in its products.

Widespread as this advertisement is， it causes a stir among people soon. Being touched by advertisements， customers competed to purchase Sharp’s products. The turnover of an entire quarter in Sharp doubled immediately. The figure of speech of metonymic puns used in the advertisement not only strengthen entertainment and humor effect of its products.More importantly， it draws people’s attention to the name of the brand and meet the purpose of product publicizing.

In order to translate words like “More”， “Reach”， “Sharp” with the first letter in capital appropriately， translators are supposed to get a clear understanding that some words own two meanings in English， but it is difficult for us to find the word in Chinese accordingly. Therefore， aiming to present the complete meaning of an advertisement， we translate pun into two different phrases with the typical four word idioms that can satisfy the thoughts of Chinese readers.

3.Conclusion

Peter Lang put forward the notion of “perlocutionary equivalence” in the book Pragmatics at Work （Peter Lang， 2004：61）.While translating， the best translation has the same or similar perlocutionary effects as the source advertisement. But many translators neglect the perlocutionay aim and just pursue the semantic equivalence. According to speech act theory， we are supposed totranslate puns in advertisements with the aim to achieve its illocutionary act and perlocutionary act in mind. If we cannot reveal both aspects of the meanings of an advertisement， we should put its pragmatic functions as primary for persuading the public to buy the goods. As an translator of advertisements， we are not supposed to just imitate the language form of the original indiscriminately. Sometimes we can convert the form of the original in consideration of its illocutionary act and perlocutionary act.

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