Le traitement des noms de produits dans la traduction francais-allemand

Abstract

Product names play an important role in commerce today. From a translation theory point of view, it is implicitly supposed, however, that they do not raise translation problems. Indeed, translators are simply expected to render them in the target language without making any changes. The present study reveals nevertheless that the processing of product names is associated with uncertainty among trainee translators and professional translators alike. Five trainee translators and 5 professional translators were asked to translate a text from French into German while thinking aloud. Their verbalisations were transcribed into what are termed think-aloud protocols and analysed in parallel with their written translations. The analysis of their written translations shows that more than half of the participants did not opt for one translation strategy alone when processing the product name Galeo 4710, which figures in the French source text. Instead, they vacillated between different solutions. The think-aloud protocols confirm that the processing of product names can raise translation problems for at least the following reasons: (1) The presence or absence of a definite article; (2) The need to attribute gender to the product name; (3) Whether to change or preserve the product name; (4) Rhetoric (reinforcement of the product name by the use of possessive modifiers). The results have implications for both teaching translation and research.