In the 21st century, with a growing trend in international economic exchanges, quality and services of commodities are no longer the only consideration for consumers. Sometimes, a sparkling brand name may catch customers’ eyes firstly, which means the translation of brand names is becoming a decisive factor for enterprises to sell their products to their target market. For companies, a good brand name can boost its sales volume and promote its image. For example, since China joined the WTO, more and more foreign commodities have kept flooding into Chinese market. Therefore, our domestic market meets a big challenge. At the same time, China also exports its commodities abroad. So many domestic modern enterprises have been aware of the influence of brand names on their companies. However, when looking back on the previous study of the translation of brand names, it is easy to find that the previous study of the translation of brand names is usually related to many theories, such as the Adaptation Theory. Adaptation Theory, proposed by Verschueren , mainly focuses on the cultural elements when translating brand names. Some scholars claim that “as to the application of the Adaptation Theory in translation, the point is that we must have a good understanding of the meanings to be transferred, tastes of the target consumers before expressing the meanings in a way that the target consumers enjoy”. (Fu, 2003)

Through the above analysis, it is easy to find that the Adaptation Theory is heavily concerned with the lexical meaning of a word. The research in this field is far from enough. However, Skopos Theory is more applicable in translating brand names. Therefore, this paper will focus on some translating methods under the guidance of Skopos Theory. It should be helpful to Chinese learners of English who are interested in translating brand names.

1.2 Research Significance

With the fast development of international trade, the translation of brand names has became one of the important competitive elements in world market, for a successful translation can stimulate consumption and improve the image of a company. Therefore, the translation of brand names has aroused people’s attention. Through researching the previous study, it is generally believed that people usually follow the traditional translation methods and ideas when translating brand names. As a result, the translated brand names are usually inflexible and rigid. The author believes that Skopos Theory is a suitable theory to guide the translation of brand names. In other words, the Skopos Theory advocates that what you will do depends on your purpose. It should be in line with the purpose of brand name translation. That is to attract consumers to buy more goods.

2 Literature Review

The study of Skopos Theory can be traced back to the last century. In 1971, the rudiment of Skopos Theory emerged in the book of Possibilities and Limitations in Translation Criticism. The book was written by a German functionalist, Kathatrina Reiss. She emphasized the importance of the purpose of translation and “developed a model of translation criticism based on the functional relationship between the source and target texts.”(Chen, 2012)

Later on, the concept of Skopos Theory was put forward authentically in the book of General Function of Translation Theory. The book was written by Hans J. Vermeer and Katharine Reiss together. Hans J. Vermeer believed that the word Skopos is “a technical term for the aim or purpose of a translation” (Chen, 2012). He insisted that people’s behavior could be changed with the given situation. His famous idea is that the translation strategies you want to adopt depend on what purpose you want to achieve. Additionally, Hans J. Vermeer also put forward three rules to illustrate the translation practice: the Skopos Rule, Coherence Rule and Fidelity Rule.

The latest representative figure was Christian Nord. For applying the Skopos Theory in translation much appropriately, Nord proposed Function plus Loyalty Theory. She suggested that the practice of translation should follow the meaning of the original text at the same time.