interpretation of the original. Starting from the view of Yan Fu＇s Three-Word Translation Theory is to inject new vitality to Pun Translation.
4.2 Translation Skills of Puns in English Advertisement from Yan Fu＇s Three-Word Theory
Probing into Yan Fu＇s Three-Word Translation Theory more specifically, translators can find many concrete skills helpful for translating puns in advertisements. In this part, Skills in “Faithful” Translation centers on looking for and creating the equal words or expressions to achieve the equivalence between two languages. Skills in “Expressive” Translation mainly point at seeking sound translation for puns by means of addition, omission and division. And Skills in “Elegance” Translation contribute to make a pleasurable version by employing rhetorical approaches. Together with these skills, it is possible to present a desirable version of Pun Translation in advertisements.
4.2.1 Skills in “Faithful” Translation
As the most foundational theory of translation, Faithfulness requires the nearness to the content and style of the original. At the same time, it demands that translators possess a good knowledge of both English and Chinese culture because advertisements are the media of culture .Language skills build a bridge for the transition of two cultures. In this section, with the help of language management, translation skills in“Faithfulness” for puns in English advertisements mainly focus on choosing and creating the similar meaning to realize the loyalty to the original content, helping the target readers arouse the same emotional resonance.
4.2.1.1 Choice of Equivalent Meaning
Finding synonymous expressions in the two languages is always necessary for appropriate translation. When doing the translation from English into Chinese, it is better to take both form and meaning into account in using Chinese words or
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expressions which are equivalent to their English counterparts. In other words, we need to find out the similar sayings in Chinese to convey the double meanings of the original puns. In this way, the translation not only shows the cultural connotation of the original puns for target audience but also achieve the true communicative effect（Lian Shuneng87-92）. Look at the following example:
Example1: One man’s disaster is another man’s delight! The sale is now on! Chinese version：几家欢乐几家愁！拍卖进行中！
In this English advertisement, the designers vividly make use of the famous English proverb \man’s meat is another man’s poison.\(甲之佳肴，乙之毒药) .The words \information that the business is sparing no expense, while for consumers it is a delightful opportunity. This advertisement is just like the commonly seen shop sign such as \sale\which is a typical marketing way to promote sales. After totally understanding the message of the advertisement, the translator skillfully uses an Chinese idiom“几家欢乐几家愁”that people are very familiar with to attain the equivalent meanings of the original puns. Here the Chinese equivalent expressions “几家欢乐”and “几家愁” subtly match the “ man’s delight” and “ man’s disaster”. Thus, in this way, the translation not only successfully completes the equivalent conversion of both form and meaning in the two languages, but also makes Chinese readers receive the same feelings that the English readers have (Xu Zhang100).
4.2.1.2 Creation of Similar Meaning
As a result of the cultural differences between the two languages, it is not versatile to choose parallel words or expressions to achieve the goal of equivalent transformation. When it is unworkable to find the equal words or expressions to present the double meanings of the original, creation is a clever choice. By the means of creation, a translator can flexibly employ new expressions to create the same meaning that the original text suggests so as to preserve the double meanings of the original.With this method, it is possible to achieve the same level of overall
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resemblance. Moreover, it arouses the inspiration of translators as well as making a deep impression on the readers for its novelty and peculiarity (Wang Chunyan107). Look at this example:
Example 2: He just killed the last dragon! (Kodak)
Version: 柯达胶卷,属于您的家庭欢乐!
Kodak is a film trademark in America. Obviously, word-to-word translation is impracticable in this advertisement. Dragon here is a parody pun. In western culture, dragon is a symbol of evil. Conquering the last dragon is a symbol which means the victory of justice and courage. This advertising is trying to stir the sense of justice and sympathy of the English audience and entice them to buy the product. While for Chinese people, dragon is a token of auspiciousness and sacredness. It is certainly that not a Chinese people would appreciate the literal translation“他刚刚杀死了最后的龙！”.In order to comply with Chinese culture, translators need to figure out what dragon really means in china. Dragon is the ancestor of Chinese nation, which reflects the great importance of family. By creating Chinese expression“家庭欢乐”which means “happy family time” in English, it completes the similar conversion between two cultures. Even if this Chinese version differs a lot from the original one, it can strike the Chinese consumers’ heart and attract their interest, achieving the same contextual effect (Ruan Hongbo43).
4.2.2 Skills in “Expressive” Translation
Based on “Faithfulness”,“expressiveness” is another essential theory that demands higher level of language skills. Expressiveness stresses on the fluency of the target language. When translating puns in English advertisement, translators need to properly and flexibly use his language skills to present the authentic language adapting to Chinese cultural environment and deliver the true meanings of the original puns. Addition, omission and division are three helpful approaches in“Expressive” Translation for improving the smoothness of the Chinese version. By taking advantage of these skills, the translation is able to be as expressive as the
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original and get the same advertising effect.
4.2.2.1 Addition and Omission of the Original Meaning
Addition and Omission are two basic skills for translators to compose expressive version. Addition means adding necessary words in translation, making the version grammatically correct, semantically clear, rhetorically sound, logically acceptable, and culturally appropriate. Sometimes in Chinese there is no similar word that can choose or create to express the double meaning of the English puns. In case that the linguistic features in the original are lost, it is needed for translators to make up for the loss through addition, which is an indispensable skill to complement and explain the original meaning completely and exactly. Omission implies properly omits some words or expressions in order to make the translated version brief, concise and clear. English sentence-building is characterized by an“architecture style” with extensive use of longer or subordinate structures, while Chinese , a“chronic style” with frequent use of shorter or composite structure. Therefore, English from its nature is generally not so brief as Chinese. Since advertisement language is tend to be shot and pithy, omission is inevitably used in translation. As a result, useless and superfluous words or expressions in English can also be omitted to make the Chinese version not only easily understood but also impressive. However, addition and omission do not contradict with each other, instead, each can play to its strength when it is appropriately used (Lian Shuneng129-146).
Look at the next two examples： Example 3: Start ahead. (Rejoice)
Chinese Version: 成功之路，从“头”开始。(飘柔洗发露)
This is an advertisement of shampoo. Here the pun lies in the word “ahead”, which contains two meanings at the same time. The complete surface meaning of “start ahead” is “washing hair with Rejoice” and the implicit meaning is that, “if you want to succeed, you should start ahead”. In translation, in order to preserve the double meanings of the original pun for Chinese consumers to understand, the skill of addition must be applied to compensate the deep connotation in this advertisement. In
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