Application of Memetics in the Translation of English Clothing Advertisements

Abstract

With the rapid development of economic globalization, international trades are also flourishing. As an integral part of economic activities, the vigorous development of the garment industry is an inevitable trend. The advertising industry, which is closely related to the garment industry, is also developing. How to better interpret English clothing advertisements has become a focus. In recent years, a new pragmatic theory -- memetics, has attracted wide attention, especially in the E-C translation of advertisements. How to put memetics into practice has become an urgent problem. Therefore, this thesis analyzes the application of memetics in the Chinese translation of English clothing advertisements and explains in detail the specific examples. Through analysis, readers can better understand and grasp the Chinese translation skills of English clothing advertisements.

The thesis comprises of four parts. The first part introduces meme and memetics, and points out the four stages of meme replication and the significance of studying memetics. The second part analyzes the three principles of English advertisement translation: fidelity, attractiveness, acceptability. The third part introduces the relationship between memetics and English advertisements, memetic classification of advertisement language. It also illustrates the application of strong meme in English clothing advertisements. The last part introduces the principles of the translation based on strong meme. Through analysis, the thesis arrives at a conclusion that when the English clothing advertisement is translated into Chinese with properly used memetics, a high quality context that is both attractive and artistic can be achieved.

Key Words: memestics; English clothing advertisements; translation; strong meme; translation principles