Transcription

In the age of globalisation the demand for brand names that can be used internationally is increasing all the time. Careful translations and transcriptions of names and claims are crucial, particularly for use in the Asian and Arab language and cultural area.

Before you offer goods or services using your brand names in countries that do not share our Latin alphabet, they should be checked for their appropriateness and ideally adapted.

Names evoke images

The Chinese language is made up of images and has around 50,000 characters. Even slight differences in tone can produce great differences in meaning. The 26 letters of our Latin alphabet are not able to convey what is intended in this language area. Therefore specially trained experts have to translate the content of your brand into Asia’s world of images and determine the characters during transcription, so that any misunderstandings can be ruled out.

Translation or transcription

A literal translation of a brand by Chinese native speakers and marketing experts is possible for brand names with a clear meaning. Apple Computers, for example, has been translated as ‘Ping Guo’ that stands for ‘Apple’.

When transcribing brand names, the Chinese characters that have the same sound as the foreign brand name are selected. Ferrari therefore becomes ‘Fe La Li’.

There are also cases where a combination of translation and transcription is required. Here, the Chinese characters are close to the sound of the original brand, though also pay attention to the product’s characteristics. Therefore ‘Ke Ku Ke Le’ (Coca Cola) stands for ‘Leave your mouth happy’.

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