About the problem of wordplay transmission (based on the material of English and Russian advertising texts)

Pavlenko Elena Aleksandrovna ORCID: 0000-0001-7276-1448 PhD in Philology Senior lecturer, Department of English philology and translation, St. Petersburg University 199034, Russia, Saint Petersburg, nab. University, 7-9 eapavlenko@inbox.ru Kuraleva Tatiana ORCID: 0000-0003-3738-9198 PhD in Philology Senior lecturer, Department of English philology and translation, St. Petersburg State University 199034, Russia, Saint Petersburg, nab. University, 11 t.kuraleva@spbu.ru

Vyunova Ekaterina Kirillovna ORCID: 0000-0001-9977-7829 PhD in Philology Associate professor, Department of English philology and translation, St. Petersburg State University 199034, Russia, Saint Petersburg, nab. University, 11 e.vyunova@spbu.ru

introduction

The modern trade and market economy is based mainly on competition. One of the means to help stand out among competitors is advertising. The more high-quality, catchy and memorable the slogan or advertising text is, the higher the probability that this particular company will be chosen by the consumer. The method of attracting the attention of the consumer that attracts linguists is the use of wordplay when composing an advertising text ^[10]. It is the violation of the usual patterns and the effect of surprise in slogans that attract the reader's attention ^[19]. In advertising, wordplay is understood as a deliberate violation of language norms and rules of communication, distortion of cliched phrases and phraseological units, in order to give the text an emotional coloring.

Wordplay is especially characteristic of English-language advertising. This is explained by the fact that, firstly, the grammatical structures of the English sentence are less multicomponent, which allows you to create quite compact and implicit slogans, while enclosing a lot of meanings and meanings in them. The second reason is the abundance of borrowings from Latin, German and French, which generates an abundance of homophones in the vocabulary ^[16].

Currently, the problem of defining and transmitting wordplay in different types of text is widely covered in linguistics. There is no doubt that there is a need for a systematic analysis of different types of wordplay, including in the advertising text, as well as ways to translate them. With the development of translation studies, the requirements for the quality of translation are also growing, the criteria for assessing the quality of translation are changing, which, in turn, is a difficult task due to the specifics of the subject of research. In addition, a fairly young science of translation is constantly being improved, which entails an increase in the requirements for the quality of translation.

Wordplay as a separate linguistic phenomenon has attracted and continues to attract the attention of both foreign and domestic scientists. Among the most famous works on this topic, it is impossible not to highlight the doctoral dissertation of S.Zh.Nukhov "Language game in word formation" ^[9], which describes in detail the phenomenon of language game and analyzes its mechanisms; the PhD thesis of A.S.Dzhanumov "Pun and its functioning in a bilingual situation (English-Russian correspondences)" ^[3], the author of which classifies certain types of language games and identifies the features of their translation; N.V.Yakimenko's PhD thesis "Pun as a linguo-stylistic device in English and ways to recreate it in translation" ^[13], which aims to study the linguistic and stylistic features of wordplay in English and translation strategies; PhD thesis S.A.Kolesnichenko "Conditions for the implementation of the stylistic technique of wordplay in English" ^[6], the author of which focuses on the functioning of the language game as a stylistic technique in English. Despite the sufficiently fundamental work on this issue, it cannot be said that the concept of a language game has been fully disclosed by researchers. These works allow us to get an idea of the concept of wordplay in domestic and foreign linguistics and create various classifications of wordplay based on the ways of its creation. In view of the multifaceted nature of the problems, as well as the certain novelty of the proposed approach, it seems necessary for us to focus on some theoretical positions in the further presentation, which are considered in the work as initial ones.

The relevance and novelty of the following is determined by the lack of a systematic description of the types of wordplay in the language of modern English-language advertising in the aspect of translation / transmission into Russian. Moreover, the research material in this work was modern authentic sources of advertising materials dated to the beginning of the XXI century, on the analysis of which the methods of transmitting the language game were considered. Despite the research conducted in this area, numerous little-studied aspects remain in solving the problems of language play, which are of undoubted interest both from the point of view of theory and practice. The object of the study was advertising slogans selected by the continuous sampling method (the volume of the collected case is about 500 units).  The purpose of the work is to identify the features of the transmission of wordplay in the advertising text. This goal defined the following range of tasks: to describe the structure of the language game and its dependence on the text material; to determine the range of emerging connotations and associations; to determine possible methods of applying translation correspondences when translating into Russian; to determine the boundaries of using the reception of translation compensation and refusal to use direct transmission in favor of creating a new wordplay depending on the linguistic and extralinguistic context; to determine and justify the success / failure of the techniques used and to identify the most successful strategies for translating the language game.

METHODOLOGY

Due to the ambiguous approach to the study of wordplay, there is no generally accepted definition of this phenomenon.  For example, A.V. Fedorov wrote that wordplay is an unexpected comparison of the meanings of words that are identical or close to each other in terms of sound ^{[12, p.297]}. T. P. Karpukhina speaks about the uncertainty of the concept of wordplay, confirming this by introducing a synonymous series: "pun", "wordplay", "word game", "language game", "word game", "word game" [5 p.81]. A.M. Lomov and A. P. Babushkin define a pun as a kind of language game based on ambiguity, generated by homonymy and causing a comic effect [7 p.16]. T.F. Efremova, giving the definition of the term "pun", writes that this is a witty expression based on homonymy and polysemy of words, while noting that "wordplay" is a synonymous term ^[4]. 

As for foreign scientists, it can be noted that in their works there is no clear definition of the concept of "wordplay" and its differentiation with other concepts that are similar in essence. For example, describing the use of puns in advertising, W. Redfern alternates the use of the terms "pun" and "play on words", i.e. "pun" and "wordplay", respectively ^[18]. The author does not differentiate the terms in any way, using them as synonyms. James Patterson defines a pun as a kind of language game, along with metaphor, idioms, homophones, homographs ^[17]. However, giving the definition of a pun, the author mentions that it is based on homonymy (while calling homonymy one of the types of language game); this is the only distinguishing feature of this figure of speech. Why exactly a pun is a form of wordplay, and not its related name, the author does not mention.

A.V. Urazmetova gives the following definition: "A pun in a broad sense is any verbal game that creates a discrepancy between the plan of content and the plan of expression in order to form a comic effect, it is a complex phenomenon that focuses the linguistic binary of meanings" ^{[11, p.160]}. This definition seems to be the most appropriate and complete, since it takes into account the effect of surprise, which produces a pun on the recipient, a mandatory comic effect. In addition, a generalized way of creating a word game is also mentioned — the use of binary meanings of words. Thus, the definition of A.V. Urazmetova will be accepted as a working one for this work.

The difficulty in translating puns lies in the need to convey not only the semantic content, but also to preserve the comic effect by preserving the graphic or phonetic form of the pun. Reflecting on what is more important to preserve — the form or the content (idea), S.A. Kolesnichenko notes that in difficult situations it is possible to preserve the content with the loss of wordplay; or the wordplay itself can be transmitted, but in this case there will be a replacement of the image, a deviation from the original idea [6 p.105]. But in the second case, the translator risks losing touch with the context both narrowly and broadly. 

N. M. Lyubimov wrote that in cases with a sound game, the translator has every right to change the visual appearance of the phrase, otherwise it will not be possible to convey the comic effect that the author sought [8 p.245].

In contrast to the existing idea of untranslatability, which is considered relevant by some scientists, for example, Humboldt ^[14], a number of researchers are confident in the inconsistency of this theory. L.S. Barkhudarov [2 p.240], V. Koller ^[15] wrote about the so-called fundamental possibility of translation (translatability). The researchers note that what can be expressed in one language can also be expressed in another language through various techniques.

Sometimes, in order to achieve the adequacy of translation, it is necessary to resort to adaptation, to the ethno-cultural norms of the translated language. An adequate translation is understood as a translation that sufficiently fully and accurately, without distortion, conveys the content of the original and its intent, as well as expressing the same communicative attitudes [1 p.200]. This is achieved through various translation transformations, including transliteration, descriptive translation, calcification, elimination, assimilation, etc. Sometimes translators may resort to "translator's notes", going beyond the text to allow the reader to more fully understand the context of the situation. However, this technique is considered an extreme measure, since switching between text and comments can adversely affect the reader's perception of the material.

The research material was text and visual commercials collected by a continuous sampling method from Internet sources in the amount of 500 examples. The corpus was assembled on the material of videos from the Internet platform YouTube and two databases of slogans (https://www.sloganbase.ru and https://www.sloganlist.com ). The methods of component, semantic and extralinguistic analysis in both languages served as the method of studying the material, since the method of sociological research is not within the framework of this work – firstly, this work was carried out in line with linguistic research, and not at the junction of linguistics and the study of advertising; secondly, in this study, the focus is on pragmatics and the pragmatic effect in particular, the measurement of which seems to us the most objective indicator of the success / failure of the transfer of wordplay from one language to another. The collected corpus of examples seems sufficient to draw conclusions of a linguistic nature. 

results

The study of the material revealed various ways that the translator resorts to when transmitting wordplay. It seems reasonable to us to start with the transfer of wordplay, in which the method of wordplay formation is preserved, since from a translation point of view such a result is the most successful – the structure and lexical fullness of the original is preserved while maintaining a similar communicative effect on the recipient of the translated text. Let 's give an example:

1. Have a break, have a kitkat!  There is a break — there is a kitkat!

The verb "to have" is polysemous in both languages, in this case its two meanings are important: to have something and to eat something. The translator managed to beat the ambiguity of verbs and preserve the lexical component of the wordplay, as well as the pragmatic effect.

2. Gillette. The best a man can get. Gillette. There is no better for a man!

In this case, we see that the translator has resorted to an antonymic translation: the compound verb predicate "can get" is changed to "no". When translating, the rhyme "Gillette – get" and "Gillette – no" has been preserved. In addition, the visual appearance of the slogan has also been preserved, attracting attention by the method of parcel.

3. Melts in your mouth, not in your hands. Melts in the mouth, not in the heat.

When forming the slogan for advertising M&M's chocolate dragees, the idiom "to melt in one's mouth" was used, which has the meaning "to taste delicious and feel soft or become soft when put in one's mouth". The second meaning is revealed thanks to the second part of the sentence "not in your hands", i.e. the first part is already played out in its direct meaning — chocolate melts in the consumer's mouth, not in the hands. The translator managed to preserve the way of forming a wordplay, since there is a similar phraseology in the Russian language — "melt in your mouth". In addition, to enhance the communicative effect (one of the goals of advertising is to ensure brand awareness) and to form an additional way of creating a wordplay, rhymes, the translator changed the lexical composition of the second part of the sentence to "... and not in the heat". 

The analysis of the material showed that in 29% of cases the translation of the slogan can be performed by a play on words formed by the same method as in the original. At the same time, a complete lexical and grammatical coincidence is impossible, which is explained by the cardinal difference between English and Russian.

The second – and most common in our material - way of translating wordplay (more than half of the cases) is a translation in which the wordplay was formed in a different way from the original, but at the same time the pragmatic effect was preserved without losing the language game. It is very difficult to achieve an equivalent and adequate translation with minimal changes in the structure of the wordplay, so translators resort to translation by creating a new, different from the original, wordplay. At the same time, it is important that the pragmatic effect is the same as it was intended when creating the original slogan. In this case, translation transformations will be the main method of creating a translation.

Let 's give an example:

4. Daewoo, that's who.   Daewoo. Get a favorite.

In this example, there is a replacement of the wordplay formed by rhyme, a wordplay formed by playing the ambiguity of the verb "to start".

The meaning of the original is to focus on the brand of the car "Daewoo" by means of the demonstrative pronoun "that" and the interrogative pronoun "who". Thanks to the final rhyme, this slogan is well remembered, which is the purpose of the advertising text. In Russian, the verb "to start" has many meanings. In the context of this slogan, it can have the following meanings: to acquire, acquire something; to put into action, into working condition; to excite. All three meanings can be implemented within a sentence, and such ambiguity ensures the memorability of the slogan. It can be assumed that in this case the translation turned out to be more successful than the original.

5. A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play. Mars. Everything will be in chocolate.

In both cases, the slogan is formed using phraseology. The original refers the recipient to the idiom "An apple a day keeps the doctor away". Due to the association with the idiom, the buyer has a subconscious feeling that the chocolate bar will help to cope with all the problems. In addition, the advertisers formed a rhyme (day - play). When translating this slogan, the Russian idiom "in chocolate" was used, which colloquially means "to benefit, especially in an initially not winning situation." The communicative intention can be formulated as follows: "even if there are problems, a Mars chocolate bar will fix the situation," which, in principle, corresponds to the intention of the English original. It is fortunate that it is the chocolate bar that is advertised, so this idiom fits well into the advertising slogan. When translating, the rhyme was also lost, but the translators managed to fulfill the pragmatic task — to convey to the buyer that life would improve with a bar from this company. That is why we can assume that the goal of the translation has been achieved.

6. Maybe she's born with it, Maybe it's Maybelline. Everyone is delighted with you, and you are with Maybelline.

When translating this slogan, a holistic transformation was made. There was a complete rethinking of the original slogan, the general internal form, semantics and pragmatics. In the English version, the wordplay is based on the graphic and sound similarity of the word "maybe" and the brand "Maybelline". Such a wordplay is impossible to convey in Russian. In the translation of the slogan, the wordplay is formed using grammatical homonymy, since the second part of the sentence can be perceived in two versions: - "... and you (are delighted) with Maybelline". In this case, the emphasis is on the fact that the potential client will be satisfied with the company's products; ? "... and you use cosmetics from Maybelline" (by analogy with "being dressed from Dior", etc.). Such ambiguity generates a play on words in the translation of the slogan and allows us to conclude that the translation goal has been achieved.

Of all the analyzed slogans, 56.4% were translated with the formation of a wordplay in a different way from the original. This is obviously explained by interlanguage differences and the need to sacrifice form and semantics in favor of pragmatics.

Obviously, it is not always possible to translate with the preservation of wordplay, but omitting wordplay during translation is an extreme and undesirable measure, especially when transmitting an advertising slogan taking into account its attractive function. Let 's give an example:

7. Genesis does what Nintendo doesn't. Genesis does what Nintendo can't.

Due to the difference in grammatical forms of English and Russian, it is impossible to keep the pun. This example is a demonstration of the loss of wordplay in translation. Behind the English slogan is the history of the long-term rivalry between the two companies "Genesis" and "Nintendo". In its slogan, the company "Genesis" focuses on its superiority over the company "Nintendo" through wordplay. The name "Nintendo" contains the auxiliary verb "do". In the slogan "Genesis", this feature was beaten: a negation was added to the verb "do", thereby changing the name to "Nintendo't". It is not possible to keep this pun because of the difference in grammatical forms of English and Russian. In the event of a situation in which the fulfillment of the translation goal is not possible, the optimal solution is a translation in which the slogan will produce the most pragmatic effect close to the original; at the same time, the preservation of the wordplay becomes secondary.

8. Dodge. Grab life by the horns.  Dodge. Take the bull by the horns.

This case is an example of translation by selecting the equivalent of an idiom, which, however, cannot be considered successful from the point of view of achieving the goal. The authors of the translation omitted the wordplay created by the authors of the slogan. The original idiom sounds like "take the bull by the horns", which is the direct equivalent to the Russian version of "take the bull by the horns". However, in the original, the word "bull" was replaced by the word "life", i.e. literally "take life by the horns". The mountain ram depicted on the car's logo creates an even more extensive layer for language play. However, in Russian, the slogan against the background of the logo looks comical, because the logo does not depict a bull. By recreating and literally translating the idiom that served as the basis for the creation of the wordplay in the original, the authors missed important subtleties, which caused the loss of that very language game.

9. Duz does everything. Duz does everything.

This slogan advertising the line of cleaning products "Duz" is another example of omission of the wordplay. In this case, it is really difficult to translate without losing the wordplay. This is caused by the difference in the vocabulary of Russian and English. The authors of the slogan translation followed the strategy of word-by-word translation. Of course, it was possible to convey the meaning, but the loss of the language game led to a lack of sonority of the slogan.

10. Dentsu can. Dentsu can

The advertising slogan of the company producing alcoholic cocktails is based on the homonymy of the modal verb "can" and the noun "can" (tin can). Thus, the idea is laid that a tin can with a drink from this company is able to quench thirst and make life better. When the slogan was Russified, the modal verb "can" was translated by its direct equivalent to be able, which led to the loss of wordplay and the loss of communicative effect.

The analysis of the collected material showed that omission of wordplay is an extreme measure, to which translators resorted in 13.9% of cases. In many cases, it is really not possible to preserve the wordplay, but it is certainly possible to preserve the communicative intention and effect (for example, in Example 9, you can offer the translation "Duz - will clear everything at once!", in which, due to rhyme and hyperbolization, the slogan becomes memorable and provides recognition).   

conclusions

Wordplay in the advertising text, in particular in slogans, is an indispensable tool for attracting the attention of a potential buyer, as well as a profitable "weapon" in the competition. Of course, the linguistic features of slogans and, in particular, the use of wordplay in them must be taken into account when translating in order to ensure maximum preservation of communicative intent and communicative effect.

The marker of the quality of the translation of the advertising text should be the preservation of the communicative effect and, preferably, the communicative intention while observing the main purpose of the advertising text – to ensure brand recognition. If the translators manage to make a pragmatic adaptation while preserving the pun, then it seems possible to conclude that the purpose of the translation was achieved during the translation. In most cases, the achievement of a translation goal is impossible without the use of translation transformations.

Based on the material we have collected, it can be seen that in more than half of the cases, the achievement of the translation goal was achieved by creating a word game using a method different from the original, which indicates that it is not always possible to preserve the original way of forming a word game. In this case, the best option is to preserve the pragmatic effect exerted by the slogan on the recipient, with the creation of another wordplay. At the same time, as the analysis showed, when creating a word game based on phraseological units, translation by selecting an equivalent can lead to a translation error and a negative result when translating. It should also be noted that in some cases it is impossible to fulfill the translation goal, since the translation either distorts the meaning of the original slogan and preserves the wordplay, or the original idea of the slogan can be transmitted only with the loss of the wordplay. Sometimes the translation of wordplay requires a deeper translation and socio-cultural analysis, since only under this condition it becomes possible to achieve the translation goal.

In the event of a situation in which the fulfillment of the translation goal is not possible, the optimal solution is a translation in which the slogan will produce the most pragmatic effect close to the original; at the same time, the preservation of the wordplay becomes secondary.

Further research on this topic is of great interest, since it seems absolutely necessary to develop recommendations for the adaptation of advertising texts, taking into account the peculiarities of the source language and the translation language, as well as socio-cultural norms.  

You can simply select and copy link from below text field.