Diploma Paper-Nistor Petronela Elena

UNIVERSITATEA “ALEXANDRU IOAN CUZA” din IAȘI
FACULTATEA DE LITERE
SPECIALIZAREA TRADUCERE ȘI INTERPRETARE
LUCRARE DE LICENȚĂ
Coordonator ştiinţific,
Conf. univ. dr. Oana COGEANU-HARAGA
Absolvent,
Petronela Elena NISTOR
IULIE 2021
ALEXANDRU IOAN CUZA UNIVERITY OF IASI
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SPECIALIZATION TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETATION
THE TRANSLATION OF ADVERTISING:

A STUDY OF COSMETIC PRODUCTS
Coordinator,
Conf. univ. dr. Oana COGEANU-HARAGA
Candidat,
Petronela Elena NISTOR
JULY 2021
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................ 1
CHAPTER I: AN APPROACH TO THE LANGUAGE OF ADVERTISING ................. 3
1.1. The Language of Advertising ........................................................................................ 3

1.1.1. General information about translation ....................................................................... 3
1.1.2. Translating advertising .............................................................................................. 4
1.1.3. Persuasive Technique used in Advertising ................................................................ 6
1.1.4. The Discourse of Advertising.................................................................................... 7
Medium .............................................................................................................................. 7
Product ............................................................................................................................... 8
Technique........................................................................................................................... 8
Consumer ........................................................................................................................... 9
1.2. Approach to language of advertising .......................................................................... 10

Equivalence in translation ................................................................................................. 10
The role of translator ........................................................................................................ 11
1.3. Images in Advertising ................................................................................................. 11
1.4. Categories of Advertisements ..................................................................................... 14

Television Advertising ..................................................................................................... 14
Magazine advertising........................................................................................................ 15
Internet advertising ........................................................................................................... 15
CHAPTER II: STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF COSMETIC ADVERTISEMENTS ... 17
2.1. Analysis of the source and the target advertisement.................................................. 17
2.2. English peculiarities in translating cosmetic slogans ............................................. 26

Stylistic aspects ................................................................................................................ 26
Lexical aspects ................................................................................................................. 27
Syntactic aspects .............................................................................................................. 28
CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................ 29
REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 32
APPENDIX A ..................................................................................................................... 34
APPENDIX B ..................................................................................................................... 35
INTRODUCTION
Advertising is one of the most used ways of promoting a product today, both locally and
globally. It plays an important role in society because it has the power to manipulate people to
buy a particular product even if they do not need it. We are surrounded by advertising at every
step, whether we are talking about television, billboards, radio, press, social media or any other
means. The advertising text keeps the curiosity alive and aims to arouse a certain reaction
among the recipients. Advertising is a global concern for humanity, which is why translation is
primordial and increasingly important in an international context. This is why I am going to
talk about the advertising translation that I see as an art that takes into account some well-
defined linguistic principles: stylistic procedures, terminological issues, comparative stylistics,
pragmatic orientations, textual and functionalist approaches, equivalence and culture. Here
comes the translator and his primary role in choosing the appropriate translation strategy. Most
of us are not aware of these strategies, becoming easily manipulative. Thus, studying the
discourse of advertising proves an extremely useful opportunity, as it offers insights into its
internal persuasive mechanisms.
I chose to approach this topic because over the university years everything revolved
around the notion of translation. Moreover, advertising is a topical issue and I consider it very
important to have a solid knowledge of the advertising language and translation strategies used.
I did this study on a topic I am passionate about: cosmetics.
This paper examines the importance of advertising translation for cosmetic products
in the today’s global world. In this paper, I intend to talk about the important role of translation
in advertising and to look at the translation strategies used in the translation for cosmetic
products.
I have chosen this topic because I think that it is crucial to have a complex and solid
background for the linguistic study of advertising as far as advertisements appear everywhere.
Moreover, I was interested in the methods and ways of advertising and the strategies that
translators use to adapt the message to the target audience. In addition, this paper attempts to
describe the relation between the translation and advertising, the ways and methods approached
in the discourse of advertising.
The research assumptions of this study are based on some key questions in the study
of advertising translation: Are the images an important factor in the advertising discourse? How
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effective are television and magazines for the promotion of cosmetics? Is the online
environment an appropriate and efficient environment to buy cosmetics? Is the translator a key
element of this type of discourse? Are translation strategies oriented to the target audience? Is
the slogan an element used to capture the reader’s attention and to persuade? What is the
dominant translation strategy used by the translator in the advertising discourse?
As far as the aims of this paper are concerned, I shall discuss them by taking into
account each part of this diploma paper.
The theoretical part deals with general information about translation and advertising.
It provides a clear view of some essential aspects such as what is translation and advertising,
how do persuasive messages appear to be presented in advertising, the effects of advertising on
culture, how is the discourse of advertising designed, the approach of language of advertising
and the methods and ways of advertising.
The practical part is an analysis of the theory implemented. I will analyze how social
media represents the "king" of sale nowadays and how social media marketing creates a content
that attracts attention and help in the persuasive function to sell that item. Furthermore, the
practical part aims to highlight the challenges of translating advertisements and slogans. In fact,
my study identifies the translation strategies adopted in the description of cosmetic products
and the particularities of cosmetic slogans.
The corpus I have compiled is represented by cosmetic product advertisements. My

choice is reinforced by the fact that more and more women tend to buy cosmetics due to the
brand prestige and slogans used.
Bringing together elements, this paper is aimed at providing an original and comprising
analysis of cosmetic product advertisements. It aims to detect the hidden persuasive
mechanisms that allows the advertising discourse to fulfill its purposes. This paper allows a
cognitive framework for those who are interested in studying the language of advertising.
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CHAPTER I: AN APPROACH TO THE LANGUAGE OF
ADVERTISING
In this chapter, I shall write about the discourse of advertising by taking into account the
notion of translation and advertising, the discourse of advertising, the approach to the
language of advertising, the role of images in advertising, and the categories of
advertisements. All this information creates a theoretical overview of this particular type of
discourse.
1.1. The Language of Advertising
Advertisements are part of our life. People encounter advertisements everywhere around them:
on Television, billboards, press, social media, internet, radio and many other means. Nowadays,
the demand for advertisements is continuously increasing. Advertising represents the promotion
of an item and is a fundamental tool to spread information about a product. This kind of
promotion is connected to issues of language, more specifically with the translation process.
At this point, it can be said that advertising and translation are two different disciplines that
interrelate. As advertising is an international concern, translation is becoming more and more
important. My research states how these two concepts are closely linked and offers general
information about them.
1.1.1. General information about translation
Translation represents a way to communicate between cultures. It is seen as the core of every
sector of the world, transmitting information and knowledge. Translation is a primary
phenomenon because it derives from people's need to know another culture, to be in constant
contact with others.
According to J.C. Catford, the translation is “the substitution of a text in one language for
a text in another language” (Catford, 1965, p. 1). In his book A Linguistic Theory of Translation,
he explained that translation is a uni-directional process as it “always performed in a given
direction, 'from' a Source Language 'into' a Target Language.” (Catford, 1965, p. 20). Thereby,
he emphasized the importance of the source text and the target text in the process of translation.
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Translation has been formulated from different perspectives and has various approaches.
Another relevant definition is given by Eugene Nida (1964) who claims that translating means
“to reproduce in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent in the source language
message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style.” In his opinion, the biggest
challenge faced by a translator is the form and the meaning: “If he attempts to approximate the
stylistic qualities of the original, he is likely to sacrifice much of the meaning, while strict
adherence to the literal content usually results in considerable loss of the stylistic flavor.” (Nida,
1964, p. 2) In addition, he also stressed the other difficulties encountered by the translator in
the translation process: originality, faithfulness, the medium of communication, the proper
understanding of his own role. This means that the translator's mission is to transmit the text
target the same meaning as in source text.
Another important contribution in translation goes to Mona Baker. In her book In оther
wоrds: А cоurse bооk оn trаnslаtiоn (1992) emphasizes equivalence and ethics in translation.
In her view, the word is the basis for the translation process, being “the smallest unit we would
expect to possess individual meaning.” (Baker, 1992, p. 11). Generally, the above-mentioned
definitions show that translation is considered a means of communication.
To conclude, the difficulties of dealing with such discipline derive from the variety of
perspectives from which it can be approached. Translation is a complex process that implies
linguistics, pragmatic, semantics and many other branches. It exists and is being performed all
the time, in every part of the world. Besides, the source text and the target text, one important
aspect is culture. A translator is not able to perform this activity without a strong background
of the target culture. In my paper, I will demonstrate how translation is a key-issue when it
comes to advertising worldwide because no advertising can be successful without a good
translation. Translating advertising texts represents a challenging process because the translator
may face serious problems in what the culture specific-terms are concerned. Such problems
may lead to translation inaccuracies that will negatively affect the target receptors.
1.1.2. Translating advertising
In this section, I will talk about the issue of translating advertisements. As I stated
above, translation and advertising are two ways of communication. As far as advertising is
concerned, this is a form of communication used to persuade people to buy. The two work
together and an advertisement would not be successful internationally if it did not have a good
translation.
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Like other communication techniques, advertising is used throughout society for
different purposes, to inform or to convince, and is used by organizations to convey messages
likely to provoke a reaction from the public concerned, and with the help of public relations,
they want to gain their trust. Having said that, advertising represents a special form of
communication whose purpose is to inform and persuade potential customers about products
and how to use them. More, advertisements are placed anywhere the audience can have access
and people encounter them through every medium.
Advertising represents a distinct text type with a special language. Advertisements aim
to transmit a message that is easy for customers to bear in mind and have to keep the original
meaning unchanged, even if the translator uses a series of translation strategies to convey the
original message to the target audience.
Advertising only satisfies for a moment, because the happiness it offers is transient,
and the magic disappears after the purchase of the product, so we want another product that
appears on the TV. That being said, the magic comes and disappears with the emergence of
new products, advertising being the engine of creating false pleasures and needs.
There is a divergence of opinion when it comes to advertising. Many scholars have

demonstrated their contribution in explaining the notion of advertising and to debate whether
they are good or not in people’s life. William Leiss, Stephen Kline and Sut Jhally have reported
that advertising plays a positive role in society: “neither our economy nor the mass media could
exist without advertising and regard it as playing a generally positive role in society.” but also
a negative role: “it has a negative impact in general, for example, it encourages people to over-
evaluate “material” things in life.” (Leiss, Kline, & Jhally, 1990, p. 2)
Advertising is an act of manipulation of society through images, words, goods, or other

means. William Leiss, Stephen Kline and Sut Jhally claim that advertising’s power is to arise
“false needs in people” (1990: 26) Therefore, people are seen as victims of the advertising
industry and they are manipulated to buy things they do not really need.
As translation itself requires strength skills, the advertising translation includes various
skills such as terminology skills, culture-specific terms, and good knowledge about the target
audience. These are indispensable skills a translator possesses when translating advertisements.
The translation of a product should be well done so that the company that is launching it to have
success over the boundaries and to achieve its main goal.
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As Ira Torresi pointed out, the translation of an advertisement light open coherence
and cohesion: “the ability to recognize different functions and purposes embedded in the source
text, and approach them appropriately, without losing sight of the overall function of the text
its coherence and cohesion.” (Torresi, 2010, p. 8)In fact, the message must be clear to the
audience, and in this process, the translator must use that strategy that fulfills this purpose.
At this point, it can be said that translating advertisements is not a simple process, as
it seems on the surface. It is rather complex since one of the most important tasks is taking into
account the cultural background.
1.1.3. Persuasive Technique used in Advertising
Advertising is one of the oldest form of marketing in the world. The success of companies is
largely due to advertising because this makes companies know their brand and end up changing
people's attitude toward a product. In order to support this idea, I will come up with the
following statement supported by Helen Ringrow who pointed out in her book The Language
of Cosmetics Advertising that “ Advertising and marketing campaigns are key ways of
penetrating new markets, creating brand awareness, maximizing product sales, and, ideally,
achieving customer loyalty.” (Ringrow, 2016, p. 3)
Specifically, it can be said that the main aim of advertising is to persuade. In order to
persuade a target audience, it is important to understand its values, traditions, beliefs and
attitudes. In fact, culture is another important factor that a translator must take into account. A
good translated advertisement is the one who is adapted to the target culture. As Irina Torresi
notices, “an important quality a translator poses in the process of advertising translation is
persuasiveness. A component of persuasiveness is the ability to recognize and, where necessary
or advisable, to adapt the culture-specific values in order to accommodate both the target
audience’s expectations and taboos.” (Torresi, 2010, p. 8)
The persuasive advertising is increasingly becoming comparative advertising, with

television being the media channel that best enables brand judgment and visualization. This is
why the public relations specialists, if they use them, have a hard work and a long time to study
the population, so that the final message is one that inspires confidence, so the organization will
benefit from the support of the public concerned.
Moreover, Guy Cook also supported the idea of persuasion. He argues, “The crucial
feature which distinguishes advertisements from related genres is their function, which is
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always to persuade people to buy a particular product.”(2001: 10) Therefore, the language of
persuasion is very important for the success of a product. In addition to its informative function
that is performed by language, the main function of advertising discourse is persuasion.
1.1.4. The Discourse of Advertising
Being a specific genre, advertising has a particular kind of discourse. Guy Cook analyzed the
discourse of advertising in his book Discourse of Advertising. He argues that in this kind of
discourse, two main factors that are taken into account: text and context. (Cook, 2001, p. 4) In
his view, the advertising speech works with the two notions: the text, which is a linguistic form,
and the context that includes the following parts:
1. Substance: the physical material that text carries;

2. Music and picture;
3. Paralanguage: voice quality, gestures, facial expression;
4. Situation: the relations between people and objects;
5. Co-text: text found in the vicinity of the text under analysis;
6. Intertext: text perceived by the participants as belonging to other discourse, but which
is associated with the text under analysis;
7. Participants: sender and receiver (or addresser and addresses);
8. Function: the intention of participants. (Cook, 2001, p. 9)
Specifically, he sees the language of advertising in relation to these elements. Moreover, he

explains, “by refusing to ignore context, discourse analysis embarks upon a journey with no
destination” (Cook, 2001, p. 5)At this point, these are the elements that create the discourse of
advertising.
Moreover, he claims that the issue of defining the discourse of advertising is closely related to
that of defining categories of advertisements. In his book, Discourse of Advertising, he
identifies the following four categories of advertisements: medium, product, technique and
consumer. (Cook, 2001, p. 14)
Medium
In advertising, the medium represents the means of mass communication: printed book,
newspapers and magazines, radio, television, and the Internet. (Cook, 2001: 14)
In the modern society, the Internet represents the main medium for advertising. In the
past, the advertisements relied on traditional methods such as television and magazines.
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Therefore, the electronic advertising has taken the place of non-electronic advertising, proving
to be more efficient. From Guy Cook's statements, we can understand how the electronic
environment has advantages because it uses image and sound to manipulate the audience and
attract attention more quickly.
In Advertising: what everyone needs to know by Mara Einstein, she claims “television
is still the leader, increasingly money is moving into digital advertising, now up to $59.7 billion.
Internet advertising spending grew by more than 18 percent from 2014 to 2015 and is expected
to increase another 15.6 percent in 2016, while television spending is up only 0.6 percent.”
(Einstein, 2017, p. 37)
Product
In this category, Cook (2001: 15) made a distinction between advertisements that are
intended to sell and those that are not “not all ads, however, sell products or services; as well
as product ads, there are also non-product ads including, for example, those for charities or
political parties.”
Technique
The third category of advertising suggested by Guy Cook (2001:15) is the technique.
He distinguishes between hard-sell and soft-sell advertisements, reason and tickle
advertisements and short copy and long copy advertisements. As far as the first subcategory is
concerned, he explains that hard selling “makes a direct appeal” while soft selling “relies more
on mood than the exhortation, and on the implication that life will be better with the product.”
(Cook, 2001:15) Since my paper is based on cosmetics advertising, I will choose two ads to
illustrate the difference between Guy Cook's two types of ads.
Both ads are in print and appeal to the image that attracts more audiences through the diversity
of colors, objects and people. The first illustration Error! Reference source not found.1
(Pinterest, 2021) is an example of hard sell advertisement while the second one is an instance
of soft sell advertisement. In the first advertisement from 1985, the Maybelline Company uses
an imperative sentence (“Get the look!”) to make a direct appeal to women who are interested
in beauty. We can see a woman surrounded by many cosmetics and the slogan “I’m at my best
with Maybelline” strengthens the idea that Maybelline makes you feel in your best way.
1
https://ro.pinterest.com/pin/22588435617264433
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However, in the second advertisement Error! Reference source not found.2 (Williams,
2021)from 1942, the Maybelline Company indirectly persuade people that their mascara is a
dream for the whole world. In the advertisement, we observe a couple in love. The ad is from
the War Time and expresses the fact that with the help of that product, even if he is far away
and the distance separates them, the man will always have the perfect image of his woman in
his mind.
Further, Cook provides a second subcategory of advertisements: reason and tickle ads.
Specifically, he claims that the reason advertisements “motivates for purchase”, while the tickle
advertisements “appeal to emotion, humour and mood.” (2001: 15) As far as the technique is
concerned, he identifies the third subcategory: the short copy and long copy advertisements.
(Cook, 2001: 16) According to him, “it is easier to reason in the long copy of a magazine
advertisement than in the twenty seconds or thirty seconds of a television commercial”.
(Cook, 2001, p. 16)
Consumer
The last category of advertisements suggested by Guy Cook is the consumer. He defines this
category as “the most important categorization of ads.” (Cook, 2001, p. 16) Specifically, we
deal with the importance of receiver in the process of advertising. For an advertisement to be
efficient, it must be linked to people’s values and beliefs. That is why companies must be aware
of the needs of their public and their expectations.
The consumer is always associated with a culture. As I mentioned above, culture is a

crucial factor in advertising translation. Ira Torresi defines culture as “the set of values,
traditions, beliefs and attitudes that is distinguished from the national society by major traits
such as language, religion or political and legal system.” (2010: 156)
In the world of beauty, women are the target consumers. They are most concerned with
appearance than men and therefore the global beauty industry is enjoying immense growth. The
beauty industry implements the idea that they have the solution for their problems and make
them feel unsatisfied with their appearance. In order to support this idea, I will come with
Angela Goddard’s statement “Many advertisers encourage women to feel dissatisfied with their
appearance. Consequently, women seek for idealized beauty standards.” (Goddard, 2002, p. 32)
2
https://www.maybellinebook.com/2011/01/mabelline-ad-in-1942-war-time.html
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I will conclude with the Cook’s affirmation: “None of these categorization allows us to separate
off one kind of ad distinctly from another.”(2001:16) That being said, these four categories are
working together in the process of advertising and are elements of the discourse of advertising.
1.2. Approach to language of advertising
In this subchapter, I will present an approach that is adopted in the advertising discourse, and
more I will emphasize the translator in the translation process and the issues encountered.
Equivalence in translation
Many scholars have approached advertising translation over time. One of the most relevant
approaches to the language of advertising put in the light of the concept of equivalence.
Equivalence is the central strategy in many processes of translation.
A notable contribution belongs to Andrew Chesterman who emphasizes in his book

Memes of translation: The spread of ideas in translation theory (2016) the concept of
equivalence in the translation process as a universal strategy to be adopted by many translators.
He claims, “a translation is, or must be, equivalent to the source, in some sense at least.”
(Chesterman, 2016, p. 4). The same idea is supported by Katharina Reiss and Hans J. Vermeer
who claims “ the target text must be able to “achieve”, in its communication with the target
recipients, what the source text achieved in its communication with the source recipients, i.e. it
must convey the same information and have the same effect” (Reiss & Vermeer, 2014, p. 116)
A notable classification belongs to J.C.Catford who distinguishes between textual

equivalence and formal correspondence. (Catford, 1965, p. 27) He explains the textual
equivalence as “any TL form (text or portion of text) which is observed to be the equivalent of
a given SL form (text or portion of text).”(1965: 27), while the formal correspondence is “any
TL category which may be said to occupy, as nearly as possible, the 'same' place in the economy
of the TL as the given SL category occupies in the SL.”(1965: 32) That being said, through
formal correspondence the translation is close to the original text, while the textual equivalence
seeks to fulfill the same message even if transformations take place.
Further, as cited in Chesterman (1997:5), Nida (1964) distinguishes between two types
of equivalence: formal and dynamic. The formal equivalence focuses on the same form and
meaning, while the dynamic equivalence focuses on the same effect. As far as the advertising
translation is concerned, the translators adopt the dynamic equivalence to achieve the same
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purpose in the target setting. This means that in the case of advertisements, if the target audience
responds to an advertisement favorable as the source audience, the translator has succeeded.
Thus, the translation of advertisements should produce the same effect that has on the
source text. Moreover, the translator must reproduce the message even if it implies recreating
the advertisement because a good translated advertisement is the one that can be understood by
the target audience. In other words, if the translator succeeds in producing the same effect as in
the original setting, the translation is successful.
The role of translator
The translation is a key issue for advertising to succeed globally. This is where the status of the
translator and the primary role it plays in sending the same message as in the source text to the
target audience. As far as the advertising translation is concerned, the translator has to bear in
mind the persuasive function to reproduce an adequate reception of the translation in the target
setting.
According to Schoffner (2000) in Anne Schjoldager Understanding Translation

(Schjoldager, 2008, p. 20) the translator must have the ability to understand the translation
process and this includes some competences:
 Linguistic competence: the translator needs proficiency in the languages that he/she is
translating between;
 Cultural competence: the translator needs to know the historical , political, economic,
and other relevant background of the sender and his/her receivers;
 Textual competence: the translator needs to know about genre and register conventions;
 Subject-specific competence: the translator needs relevant background knowledge
about the topic or theme in question;
 Research competence: the translator needs to search for and acquire relevant knowledge
about the topic or theme in question. S/he also needs to be critical of what s/he finds ;
 Transfer competence: the translator needs to be skilled in using a source text
appropriately and in producing a target text. (Schjoldager, 2008, p. 20)
Having said that, the translator must have certain skills and abilities in order not to omit in
translation and to understand the text.
1.3. Images in Advertising
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Nowadays, we can observe the increasing importance of visuals in advertising. It is paid more
attention to the picture than to the language itself. In this section, I will provide an overview of
the connection between images and text. I will demonstrate that behind the picture of
advertisements is often a message on a non-verbal level and that the advertisers appeal to the
image of celebrities to make their campaign more popular.
As Guy Cook (2001: 42) states, there are three means of communication in
advertisements: music, picture, and language. He emphasized the importance of pictures and
music in persuading people and in catching attention, “creating mood, imparting information,
persuading” (Cook, 2001: 42). Specifically, to clarify, it is obvious that in advertising the visual
is combined with the message to create a complete package.
Angela Goddard states that images are “attention seeking devices” (Goddard, 2002, p.
13) as they succeed in catching attention but not in isolation from the text. She agrees with Guy
Cook and states that the advertising images fall into the paralanguage category: “It could be
said to have its own paralanguage, as a result of the type of, clothing the copywriter has chosen
for it.” (Goddard, 2002, p. 13) In addition, Dyer emphasizes the persuasive function of images
in advertising, “Advertising and TV images are so eye-catching and persuasive largely because
the advertisers use some of the most technically sophisticated equipment available and
constantly experiment with new techniques.” (Dyer, 2008, p. 85)
Another important contribution in demonstrating the connection between picture and

language belongs to Paul Marris who claims in his book Visual persuasion: The role of images
in advertising that “In many ads, the use of photographs or video serves as evidence that what
is being shown in the ad really did happen” (Messaris, 1997, p. 6). Furthermore, he provides
three major functions of visual images in advertisements:
1. Elicit emotions by simulating the appearance of a real person or object;

2. Serve as photographic proof that something really did happen;
3. Establish an implicit link between the thing that is being add and some other
images. (Messaris, 1997, p. 7)
It is also worth pointing out, as Paul Marris states, that picture in advertising plays a
crucial role and helps in its main function of persuasion. Moreover, the image is closely related
to the advertising message and helps to arouse emotional responses among viewers. Beautiful
ads always attracts the attention of consumers and enrich their aesthetic tastes.
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Helen Ringrow highlights that “cosmetics advertisements connect femininity to
sensuality.” (Ringrow, 2016, p. 59) Therefore, the idea of sensuality is promoted in cosmetics
advertising. This is possible by choosing women who inspire confidence by the simple fact that
they wear that cosmetic product and thus encourage other women to need these tricks.
Aware or not, we are all afraid of old age, especially women, who want to be always
beautiful and attractive. Women are horrified that one day they will wake up and not be as
beautiful as they were once, the first white hair, the first laugh, all this has led to the creation of
new solutions to help ladies overcome the second-age crisis that generally manifests themselves
around the age of 40. Women want to deny these natural aspects that occur in the life cycle of
every woman, which is why they call for many solutions that advertising sells. These solutions
show that they can deceive aging and create more confidence in the image of any woman.
As far as my paper deals with advertising for cosmetic products, I will show how the
image plays an important role in advertising and influences potential customers to buy a
particular cosmetic product.
Nowadays, it is well known that brands turn to celebrities to promote their product.
This marketing strategy is being adopted by several industries to facilitate the purchase of a
product. As Guy Cook states “If an ad departs from expectation, it will attract attention and
or/convince.” (Cook, 2001, p. 229) That being said, one important feature of advertising that
convinces the target audience could be the image.
A well-known person is chosen to promote a product so that the public is easier to

handle. On television, radio, newspaper, internet, or other media, celebrities do such campaigns
to promote a product internationally. Companies use the image of a celebrity because they are
aware that this has an enormous impact on the target setting and strength the appeal of their
product. It is also worth pointing out that nowadays an increase in celebrity endorsement in the
beauty industry leads to brand prestige.
The cosmetics manufacturer L'Oréal Paris, for example, uses the famous singer and
actress Jennifer López to endorse its hair product.3 Specifically speaking, the advertiser wants
to bear in mind that this hair product is the first micro-aerated mousse that leads to a gorgeous
color to which any woman dreams. We observe in Error! Reference source not found. the
hair product in the center of the advertisement along with the famous slogan of the L’oreal Paris
3
http://www.celebrityendorsementads.com/celebrity-endorsements/celebrities/jennifer-lopez/loreal/
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brand: “Because you’re worth it”. This direct addressing makes the reader feels as if he/she is
the particular person the advertisers care about. Moreover, we can see the picture of the famous
singer Jennifer Lopez that has extremely rich and healthy hair and on the left side her personal
experience and comments about the product. It also goes on the idea that using this product
women will identify with star, eventually they will feel better and more fulfilled.
Having a brief review of the role of images in advertising translation and showing that they are
a feature of the advertising discourse, in the next section I will present some ways in which
advertising is shown to people.
1.4. Categories of Advertisements
The goal of the advertising campaigns is to sell their products and they resort to all methods
to reach the potential buyer as soon as possible. People are surrounded by both electronic and
non-electronic advertisements. Translators must have a solid background to know to approach
every different kind of category. As for my research, I chose to talk about the most used
methods of advertising.
Television Advertising
Among different types of media, the television medium plays an important place in
the process of advertising. Television is available to audiences worldwide. Therefore, the
advertiser will have inevitably success with television, as it is one of the best tools to promote
a product.
Television advertising on cosmetic products is succeeding through advertising spots.

The commercial is the most effective type of advertising because it uses a complex of
communication means: images, text and sound. All these media capture the viewer’s attention
and allow the product to be shown in action. In fact, TV advertising uses the media proposed
by Guy Cook: music , picture and language that I mentioned in the subchapter "Images in
advertising " and these means make the promotion of the cosmetic product a runaway success.
As Michael Geis states “TV advertising remains the most visible and prestigious form
of advertising and the most convenient way to reach an audience of millions” (Geis, 1982, p.
118) Specifically, to clarify, television has the advantage of millions of simultaneous viewers
and the power to capture attention. The same idea is supported by Gillian Dyer who states,
“They can reach millions of viewers with any one commercial.” (Dyer, 2008, p. 52)
14
Further, what makes it special compared to other ways of advertising is the fact that it
uses image and sound. Gillian Dyer pointed out in his book Advertising as Communication “in
the case of television, the combination of sound and vision ensures the message great force and
impact.” (2008: 48). At this point, it can be said that music and images are stylistic devices that
capture the audience even faster.
Magazine advertising
Magazines, just like television, are a traditional medium used in the advertising process. The
biggest advantage of magazine advertising is the content which is available regularly to the
public. Moreover, magazines use images that, as I mentioned above, have an overwhelming
impact.
Michael Geis compared in The Language of Television Advertising the two forms of advertising
by making a comparison based on the quality and content presented: “Press advertising might,
therefore, be well-advised to use more rational content and offer greater product detail, while
TV advertising should rely on the simple message with a big impact.” (Geis, 1982, p. 121) He
comes to this conclusion because press advertising present daily news, while the TV ad requires
months of production and planning. (Geis, 1982, p. 121)
Internet advertising
In the last decades, the internet represent the “king” of advertising. In the modern world is a
trend towards globalization and it seems that the online medium has replaced the traditional
means of advertising. Brands are increasingly appealing to social networks such as Facebook,
Instagram, YouTube and so on.
The Internet is full of advertisements for cosmetics and otherwise, the public has
much easier access to them even if his intention was different. In addition, on social networks
appear those products that correspond to the preferences and individual searches that satisfy
the needs of each one's requirements. This type of advertising has the advantage of being
accessed simultaneously by more users and of being easier to obtain as stated by Chen, J. L.,
& Dermawan, A. “many enterprises and brands use social media as a marketing tool to
communicate with their consumers because of the proliferation, convenience, and immediacy
of social media.” (Chen, 2020)
Cosmetic products are much easier to purchase through the Internet. The greatest
advantage is that the customer does not have to physically travel to a store and thanks to the
15
web branding promotion activities, the user has a whole package of knowledge about the
cosmetic product. The online branding creates a customer-brand interaction. Basically, the
customer has access to the product description, images, tutorials, and discussion forums to see
the experience of other customers with that product. Moreover, in the online environment
there is the "rating" option where you can create an overview of the product and see the
advantages and disadvantages of the feedback provided by customers. That said, the online
environment is an effective environment for the promotion of cosmetic products, but trust in
the originality of the site must be investigated very well because there are numerous cosmetic
web pages that do not sell original products.
As a conclusion for the entire chapter, it can be said that advertising translation is a complex
process in which both linguistic and marketing notions must be taken into account.
16
CHAPTER II: STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF COSMETIC
ADVERTISEMENTS
In this chapter, I will to put into practice the theoretical part of the language of advertising.
Specifically, this study tackles the translation strategies used in cosmetic product
advertisements. In translation advertising, the focus is on the comparative analysis of language
pairs for highlighting differences, mainly the cultural differences. As far as my paper is
concerned, I will make an analysis between English and Romanian, showing the translation
strategies adopted in the description of cosmetics and their slogans.
Since translation strategies belong to translation studies, it is relevant to consider them

and to see how they function in the process of advertising. It is worth mentioning that
researchers approached differently the translation strategies and come with many
classifications. In the following lines, I will analyze cosmetic advertisements based on Vinay
and Darbelnet’s theory. These strategies come as solutions for translators who encounter
translation problems during their performance.
2.1. Analysis of the source and the target advertisement
Nowadays, translation plays a key role in global communication, as there is a need for a
continued link between cultures. I am therefore talking again about the role of translator, as
mentioned above, and his skills, which are referred to as translation strategies. In the process of
advertising, translation is crucial for the success of the product. To make a successful
advertisement globally, it is needed a translation that conveys the same message to the audience
as the original.
The study highlights the discourse of advertising through an analysis of the

advertisement text from the ST in the English language to TT in the Romanian language. In this
section, I will analyze the translation strategies used in cosmetic advertisements using the theory
proposed by Vinay and Darbelnet in their book Comparative stylistics of French and English:
A methodology for translation (1995). Specifically, in the authors’ opinion, translators can
adopt two directions to facilitate transcoding: direct and oblique translation. (Vinay &
Darbelnet, 1995, p. 31). The direct procedures, or literal translation, are borrowing, calque, and
literal translation. (31-35), while the indirect procedures, or oblique translation, are
transposition, modulation, equivalence, and adaptation. (1995: 35-40)
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1. Borrowing (involves “to introduce the flavour of the SL culture into a translation”)
2. Calque ( “a special kind of borrowing whereby a language borrows an expression
form of another, but then translates literally each of its elements”)
3. Literal translation (“Literal, or word for word, translation is the direct transfer of a
SL text into a grammatically and idiomatically apropriate TL text”)
4. Transposition (“involves replacing one word class with another without changing
the meaning of the message”)
5. Modulation (“is a variation of the form of the message, obtained by a change in
the point of view”)
6. Equivalence (“one and the same situation can be rendered by two texts using
completely different stylistic and structural methods”)
7. Adaptation (“the type of situation being referred to by the SL message is unknown
in the TL culture”) (Vinay and Darbelnet, 1995: 31-40) (Vinay & Darbelnet, 1995,
pp. 31-40)
These strategies come as a solution for translators to avoid errors and to convey the
same message to the target audience. It should be noticed that the classification suggested by
Vinay and Darbelnet is similar to that proposed by Andrew Chesterman in Memes of
translation: The spread of ideas in translation theory (2016). According to him, translation
strategies are classified into three categories: syntactic/grammatical, semantic, and pragmatic.
(Chesterman, 2016, p. 90) Regarding the advertising translation, it is worth mentioning the
information change strategy, which belongs to the pragmatic category, namely addition and
omission. Chesterman defines addition as “the addition of new (non-inferrable) information
which is deemed to be relevant to the TT readership but which is not present in the ST” and
omission as “ST information deemed to be irrelevant (this latter might involve summarizing,
for instance).” (2016: 106) Specifically, these strategies are often found in advertising to fulfill
the primary function of persuasion.
Having the theoretical basis, I will analyze in my study how they are applied in the
description of cosmetic products. For this purpose, I will use the official websites of various
makeup brands and I will comment on the strategies adopted by the translator in the target text.
18
Table 1: Moisture Surge Sheertint Hydrator SPF 25-Clinique
Brand name: CLINIQUE

Product: Moisture Surge Sheertint Hydrator SPF 25-Clinique
Source language: English Target language: Romanian
A tinted hydrator that provides 12 hours of Un hidratant nuantator care ofera 12 ore de
hydration, complexion perfection and protection hidratare, perfectionarea tonului tenului si
all in one. (Clinique, 2021) protectie combinate intr-un singur produs.
(Clinique România, 2021)
Table 1 is a product description for the famous cosmetics brand Clinique, namely a skincare
product. In this advertisement, the Clinique Company specify for what this product is used:
“tinted hydrator”. Moreover, the skopos of the advertisement is to show the audience the
benefits of the product: hydration, perfection and protection. In other words, Clinique is one of
the best brand for skincare.
The translator in this case has used a literal approach with the Romanian version, as
there are no cultural elements to create a negative impact on the target culture. The noun "tinted"
was obviously not modified as it was rendered in the target language with the same part of
speech "nuanțator". Moreover, the translator has kept the literal meaning of the words
“hydration” and “protection”, but has made use of adaptation in the case of the word
“complexion” which was translated in Romanian as “tonul tenului”. He made this choice to be
clear about where the product offers perfection.
Even if the description of the product is short, it is very complex, and the translator
used several strategies to convey the same message to the target audience. At this point, it
becomes essential to mention that in the English version, the translator omitted an adjective to
make the message even more objective. That being said, we observe the addition of
“combinate” in the Romanian version.
In order to retain the persuasive impact of the advertising language, the translator has
made use of modulation at the end of the product description. He has changed the point of view
and has partially recreated the message. Specifically, he chose to translate “all in one” with
“într-un singur produs” it should also be mentioned that in the English version, the translator
omitted a verb to make the message even more objective and to beautify the language.
19
Table 2: Purete Thermale - 3in1 One Step Cleanser for Sensitive Skin
Brand name: VICHY

Product: Purete Thermale - 3in1 One Step Cleanser for Sensitive Skin
Cleansing milk, toner, and eye makeup remover Demachiant integral 3 în 1: lapte, tonic și
in one single product demachiant ochi
Sensitive skin and eyes (VICHY, 2021) Pentru femeile cu pielea sensibilă. (VICHY
Laboratoires ROMÂNIA, 2021)
The above description is taken from the Vichy’s official website. The brand aims to inform the
target market and to promote the product globally. Therefore, comes in the role of the translator
to transfer the message from the source text (English) to the target language (Romanian).
Table 2 highlights the special importance that any woman must give to her skin,
particularly those with sensitive skin. In order to retain the persuasive message, the translator
has made use of oblique translation. Especially, it is obvious the translator’s preference for
addition and paraphrase as translation strategies that add relevant considerations to the product.
Unlike the source text, in the target text the audience is directly addressed “pentru
femeile” which involves the target audience for whom the product was designed. In the same
sentence, in addition to the addition strategy, in the target text, omission was also used.
Therefore, the translator preferred to omit the word “eyes” in the target language because it did
not seem relevant to him and considered that the purpose of the product is especially for skin.
Another oblique strategy that must be mentioned is modulation. Specifically speaking,

the translator chose to translate “remover in one single product” by “demachiant integral 3 in
1” in order to be more precise and to offer a variation in the form of the message.
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Table 3: Acne Solutions Liquid Makeup Foundation
Brand name: CLINIQUE

Product: Acne Solutions Liquid Makeup Foundation
Feels so fresh, looks so natural. Non-irritating, Ofera o senzatie atat de proaspata, un aspect atat
oil-free makeup helps blend away blemishes, de natural. Machiaj non-iritant, fara ulei, ajuta la
neutralize redness. Medicated ingredients help acoperirea imperfectiunilor, la neutralizarea
treat existing breakouts and keep them from rosetii. Ingredientele medicinale ajuta la tratarea
coming back. (CLINIQUE, 2021) eruptiilor existente si le previne reaparitia.
(CLINIQUE România, 2021)
This description directly introduces the strengths of the product. Undoubtedly, this is a
persuasive technique aiming at introducing the possible client to buy this foundation. Clinique
describes their foundation as a product that works wonders because it looks natural, but
manages to cover even the biggest imperfections such as redness.
In order to retain the persuasive impact in Romanian, the translator has used frequently
equivalence as the dominant strategy for the translation. That being said, he used the equivalent
“oferă o senzație” for the verb “feels” in order to capture and keep the reader's attention alive.
This strategy is exclusively preferred in advertising translation as it “replicates the same
situation as the original, using completely different wording” (Vinay & Darbelnet, 1995, p. 321)
Secondly, the translator has made use of permutation by changing the position of the
noun “machiaj” in the target text. The noun “machiaj” has been placed at the beginning of the
sentence, while in the English version it is after the adjectives “non-irritating” and “oil-free”.
Table 3 uses transposition excessively as a strategy that involves using a different

grammar class, but the meaning is the same. Clearly, the translator has translated “treat” with
“la tratarea”, “neutralize” with “la neutralizarea” and “coming back” with “la reapariția”. In
this case, we can see a preference of the translator for the use of nouns instead of verbs.
Regarding the last sentence, in addition to the literal translation that was used to
introduce the same effect and message of the product, the translator used modulation. He has
replaced “keep” with “previne” that is much more appropriate in this context than "păstra”. This
strategy represents a very successful decision made by the translator.
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Table 4: Precisely, My Brow Eyebrow Pencil
Brand name: BENEFIT COSMETICS

Product: Precisely, My Brow Eyebrow Pencil
This ultra-fine eyebrow pencil draws incredibly Acest creion de sprâncene ultra-fin desenează
natural-looking, hair-like strokes that stays linii cu un aspect natural incredibil, ca firele de
budge-proof for hours. A few strokes of the rich- păr, ce rezistă mai multe ore. Câteva aplicări de
yet-blendable color will transform brows from nuanță intensă, dar graduală, vor transforma
shapeless & undefined to filled & defined. sprâncenele fără formă și nedefinite în sprâncene
(Benefit Cosmetics, 2021) pline și definite. (Benefit Cosmetics, 2021)
This advertisement for eyebrows belongs to the Benefit Cosmetics brand, which is one of the
best on the market in this field of eyebrow styling. The product description specifies that the
product is long lasting, offers a natural look and guarantees the radical transformation of the
shape of the eyebrows.
At an overview, it can be said that the text is approached literary because the translator
did not deviate much from the source text: “ultra-fine eyebrow pencil” (creion de sprâncene
ultra-fin), “hair-like” (ca firele de păr), “shapeless and undefined” (fără formă și nedefinite). At
this point, it becomes obvious that the translator chose to use words that are easily
comprehended by the target audience.
On the other hand, as we see in Table 4, the translator did not limit himself only to a
literary approach but also used adaptation as a procedure that emphasizes the target culture, in
our case Romanian clients. He chose this strategy because in advertising translation there is a
purpose behind the translation, namely to sell the product to the target audience. Specifically,
he translated “for hours” by “mai multe ore” in order to convince the public of the strength of
the product. Moreover, another oblique procedure encountered in this description is
modulation: “stays” (rezistă) and “color” (nuanță). The translator made use of this strategy in
order to offer a more natural approach and to be as explicit as possible.
There is an addition in the target text “dar graduală”. It is a wise decision used by the
translator because it brings essential information to the product. Here it specifies that the
application of the product must not be done in excess, but must take into account the natural
22
shape of the eyebrows and how to apply the product proposed by Benefit. As a final remark, it
should be mentioned the translation of the word "strokes" in two different ways in the target
text. It was translated as “linii“ and “aplicări“ because the context required such an
intervention, and the translator again used the adaptation to bring it closer to the audience.
Table 5: Fit Me Matte+Poreless Foundation
Brand name: MAYBELLINE

Product: Fit Me Matte+Poreless Foundation
Produsul se adresează consumatoarelor care-și
This foundation gives you flawless matte finish doresc să poarte fond de ten, dar care să le ofere
and fits you naturally as you are! un rezultat natural. (MAYBELLINE New York,
(MAYBELLINE New York, 2021) 2021)
Table 5 presents a minimalist description of the foundation promoted by the famous Maybelline
brand. Although the description is very short, it presents in a few words the essential
characteristics and what a woman needs from a foundation to have a star-like complexion. The
product is also aimed at women with oily skin because it offers a matte finish.
In contrast to the other descriptions of cosmetics discussed above where a literary

approach was preferred, in this description it is obvious that the translator deviated completely
from the form and message of the description in the source text to get closer to the target culture.
He chose adaptation as the dominant strategy, which proves that the text is target-oriented.
Based on this point, the translator adapted some words from English into Romania. For a better
understanding, the translator replaced the personal pronoun “you” from the source text with
“consumatoarelor” in the target audience. He made this decision to get closer to the target
audience and to be more specific about the gender of the users of the Maybelline foundation.
In the same idea, he made the following adaptations: “să poarte” (gives) and „să ofere” (fits).
These adaptations personify the foundation and make it seem special and suitable for the
customers.
Another translation strategy that is closely related to adaptation is addition. The

translator of this description added the noun „produsul” and the verbs „se adresează” and „ își
doresc” which are specific to the advertising language in order to focus on the main function of
the advertised product. Naturally, such modifications prove to be a wise decision for the target
23
culture because they manage cultural differences and adds relevant information for the specific
advertised product.
The English version contain one of the most important feature of the Maybelline
foundation "flawless matte finish". By analyzing the Table 5, we can see that the translator
preferred to omit this feature. Naturally, such decision can be considered a failure. Moreover,
the translator chose to omit in the target text the translation of the demonstrative pronoun „this”,
introducing directly the promoted product, namely the foundation. However, the translation into
Romanian respects the persuasive purpose of the advertising language and the translator's
decision to make adaptations proved to be a successful one.
Table 6: : SKIN RECOVERY CREAM
Brand name: AVENE

Product: SKIN RECOVERY CREAM
The Skin Recovery Cream is especially
indicated for hypersensitive and irritable skin. Calmează rapid iritaţiile şi protejează durabil
This cream is very pure and feels soft when pielea sensibilă sau care a devenit iritabilă.
applied, allowing the skin to regain comfort and Elaborată conform Cartei de Cosmetică Sterilă:
balance day after day. fără conservanţi, fără parabeni, fără parfum, fără
Formulated in accordance with the Sterile alcool. (Eau Thermale AVENE, 2021)
Cosmetics Charter: Preservative-free, Paraben-
free, Fragrance-free, Alcohol-free (Eau
Thermale AVENE, 2021)
The Avene Company is marketing their cream as a product that helps irritated and
hypersensitive skin and gives balance and comfort for the entire day. Therefore, the purpose
of the advertisement is to persuade especially consumers with skin problems and to inform
them about the benefits provided by their cream.
Having established the company’s purpose, I will move on to the Romanian

translated advertisement. The translator decided against literal translation and used adaptation
as a major translation strategy that works in the advertising language. The translator chose to
adapt the message of the description to fit the culture and be easier to understand. That being
said, he chose to add the verbs “calmează” and “protejează” to be more concise and specific
24
about the actions of the cream. At a first sight, it is clear that he oversimplified the Romanian
version by choosing the omission procedure. By choosing to eliminate the product
designation “The Skin Recovery Cream”, the purpose of the advertisement was not met. The
designation is very important for product awareness and globalization. Therefore, the
translator made a translation error and inaccuracy for the Romanian public. In the same idea,
we can see that he chose to omit the translation of the second paragraph of Table 6. By this
choice, he omitted important benefits of the cream such as softening, purity, balance and
comfort. This mistake left nothing to the imagination and excluded important information.
The last paragraph of Table 6 is literally translated which is a wise decision because
the information is concerned with specific terms in the beauty domain which could not be
translated using an oblique strategy. However, the translator varied the form of the message
using the modulation procedure. Specifically, he chose to translate “formulated” by
“elaborată”, “in accordance with” by “conform” and “Chart” by “Cartei”. Using modulation,
in this case, shows that in advertising translation the translator takes into account more the
target audience and the relevant information for them.
As a conclusion for the whole section, I can say that the translator has to make
difficult decisions in advertising translation, and the translation strategies proposed by Vinay
and Darbelnet come as a solution for them. Overall, in advertising translation for cosmetics,
target-oriented procedures are used a lot, adaptation being the strategy preferred by
translators.
25
2.2.English peculiarities in translating cosmetic slogans
In this section, I will emphasize the role of slogans in advertising, one of the most important
components that catch the consumer's attention because they are easy to memorize, attractive,
and concise. I will analyze the cosmetic slogans, taking into account some aspects that cause
difficulties.
According to Lavinia Dan in her article Techniques for the translation of advertising
slogans, “Slogans are a way of advertising products. They concentrate in few words the motto
of the company, its aims and the benefits that the products can bring to customers.” (Dan, 2015,
p. 16) That being said, slogans are a major of the advertising process, summarizing the entire
product and brand.
As I have noticed, the advertising language is very complex and has many features.
The same thing happens with slogans. At this point, I will talk about some stylistic, lexical and
syntactic aspects concerning cosmetic slogans.
Stylistic aspects
In terms of stylistics, one of the most approached techniques used by companies in

cosmetic slogans is puns. They are used because attract the reader’s attention and are easy to
memorize. A relative example is the slogan used by the Maybelline company: “Maybe she was
born like that. Maybe it’s Maybelline” We see the maybe-Maybelline pun. They used their
brand name to suggest that Maybelline, the founder’s sister, is a symbol of beauty. Furthermore,
Max Factor used the same technique in their slogan: “The make-up of make-up artist”. The
English slogan highlights the fact that makeup artists use the Max Factor brand. Since makeup
artists use their brand, this implies that Max Factor would be a good brand.
Another stylistic feature used by cosmetic companies in their process of advertising is

ellipsis. This strategy of leaving out words from the slogan deliberately is frequently used. To
reinforce this idea I will come up with the following examples: “The New Scent of Freedom”
(Yves Saint Laurent), “The New Fragrance” (Givenchy) or “The company for woman” (Avon).
It is easy to see that these cosmetic brands have given up the verb to attract the consumer's
attention even faster.
Another stylistic particularity used in the slogans is the alliteration: “You are not born
glamourous. Glamour is created.” (Max Factor). This English slogan suggests that any woman
creates her own beauty that she aspires to with the help of cosmetics that benefit her. Besides,
26
the alliteration in the slogan for the cosmetic brand Clarins: “It’s all about you” emphasizes the
important role played by the potential buyer and expresses the fact that the brand was created
especially for their needs. Generally speaking, these devices: puns, alliterations and ellipsis are
stylistic features of cosmetic slogans that helps in the function of persuasion.
I will conclude with the Angela Goddard’s statement: “The majority of cosmetics are
market using the message that the female appearance can be improved with the aid of products:
one has the opportunity to look younger, slimmer, prettier, and so on.” (Goddard, 2002, p. 2)
That being said, cosmetics come as solutions for women’s issues and are created to make their
life easier. That is why the slogans urge a much dreamed perfection.
Lexical aspects
As soon as I talk about lexicon in cosmetic slogans, it is impossible not to discuss the frequent
use of the personal pronoun. The most used form is the second person “you” which shows
direct addressing to a potential consumer.
The use of the second person create the impression that the product is specially
tailored for the target consumer. This idea is supported by Guy Cook who pointed out “The
‘you’ of ads has a kind of double exophora involving reference to someone in the picture and
to the receiver’s ownself.” (Cook, 2001, p. 158) In his view, the use of this pronoun creates
the illusion that there is a dialogue between the character and the addressee. (2001: 159)
Moreover, the use of the second person singular aims at approaching the public and
gives them the feeling of importance, priority. For a better understanding, let us take the
following cosmetic slogans as examples: “Because you’re worth it” (L’oreal Paris), “Perfect
to you” (Wella), “You make it beautiful” (Avon), “Find your perfect match at Clinique.com”
(Clinique), “Your dreams, our inspiration” (Oriflame), “Your beauty wonderland” (Sephora).
Another common lexical aspect in cosmetic slogans is the use of adjectives.

Adjectives play an important role in the language of advertising and slogans because they
represent the defining feature of the product. They have the function to enrich the vocabulary
and to promote the product. Specifically speaking, adjectives in cosmetic advertising inform
the consumer in two ways: to know what is the product and how is the product. That is to say,
let’s take the following slogan used by the cosmetic brand Covergirl: “Eazy, breezy,
beautiful.” Even if at first glance it seems trivial, in essence, these three adjectives have a
strong message. They incorporate the essential features of the brand and make it known
27
through these features worldwide. Another relevant example is the slogan used by Clarins:
"No. 1 in European luxury skin care". The adjective they use refers directly to the quality of
their products and the fact that they are in first place throughout Europe.
Syntactic aspects
Regarding the syntactic aspects in cosmetic slogans, I will limit myself to the role of imperative
sentences. The imperative sentences used in slogans work exactly for the persuasive role played
by advertisements. They are used to persuade the consumer and aim to make them pay for the
product.
For instance, the famous cosmetic slogan for Rimmel London: “Get the London
Look!” encourage people to use their products and presents itself as a command, encouraging
women that the products they present give the desired results. The same strategy is present in
the slogan used by Revlon: “On the red carpet. Be Unforgettable!” They urge again to
perfection, to an impeccable appearance that any woman can have if she buys their products.
To conclude, I can say that slogans are an essential component of advertising and as I
have shown they have some distinguishing features. The most dominant devices used in English
slogans are the adjectives and pronouns that function as marketing tools for the direct
persuasion of the potential consumer.
The entire chapter was an analysis of six cosmetic product descriptions from the source
text to the Target Text and an analysis of English cosmetic slogans. My main purpose was to
analyze the translator’s approaches and strategies in dealing with the advertising language. The
next chapter represents the conclusion for the entire paper.
28
CONCLUSIONS
Advertising is a complex field that is approached from many points of view. The research
carried out in this paper shows the link between translation and advertising and reveals the
particularities of the advertising discourse in detail. The aim of this paper was to discuss the
translation of advertisements for cosmetic products and to analyze the translation strategies
used in this particular domain.
Chapter I was an approach to advertising language. I have explained the advertising

language from the perspective of the notion of translation and how it has been defined over
time. Moreover, I have shown that translation is closely related to advertising. For this
purpose, I have offered general notions of the concept of advertising and I have emphasized
its main function for which it is in the world of marketing and translation: the persuasive
function.
First of all, through its persuasive function, it manages to convince the population
that the product is made for them and therefore they purchase it because it manages to get into
the audience's mind and knows their expectations. Thus, persuasion creates brand awareness
and popularity.
After mentioning some scholars who support the persuasive function in advertising
language such as Helen Ringrow, Ira Torresi and Guy Cook, I presented the four categories of
advertising that Guy Cook states that form the advertising discourse: medium, product,
technique and consumer. Following this classification, I can say that the Internet and
television are the most used media for advertisements. Moreover, cosmetic advertisements fall
into the category of soft-sell advertisements because they justify their need in people's lives,
but also in the category of hard-sell advertisements because they appeal directly to buyers. I
have demonstrated this especially in slogans where the personal pronoun "you" is used for an
approach to the public.
In addition, I can say that the consumer plays an essential role in the destiny of the
brand. Cosmetic companies make women feel dissatisfied with their appearance and so they
resort to their tricks. Specifically speaking, the success of a product depends on the people’s
29
values and beliefs. That being said, I have shown that these four categories: medium, product,
technique and consumer are the elements of the discourse of advertising.
Further, I talked about the concept of equivalence and how it is used in advertising. I
demonstrated this statement in the analysis of ad pairs in Chapter II. In fact, I have shown that
it is important for the target text to be equivalent to the source text in order to convey the
same message and have the same effect on the culture. To support this idea, I described the
portrait of the translator using the description proposed by Schoffner in 2000 which specifies
that a translator must possess the following competencies: linguistic competence, cultural
competence, textual competence, subject-specific competence, research competence and
transfer competence. Moreover, I also specified the fact that in advertising translation the
translator must bear in mind the persuasive function in order to reproduce an adequate
reception in the audience’s mind.
Another essential element for my study of cosmetic advertising were images. I came
to the conclusion that people pay more attention to the image than to the text. Advertisers use
this visual aspect because they know they will succeed. In my paper, I talked about the image
of celebrities used to promote a product, namely, I commented on a print ad from the
cosmetics brand L'oreal Paris in which they use the image of the famous singer Jennifer
Lopez. Lastly, I chose to talk about the most used methods of advertising for the cosmetic
business: television advertising, magazine advertising and internet advertising, showing how
the internet is the king of advertising nowadays.
Chapter II is an analysis of six descriptions for cosmetic products and an overview of

particularities in English cosmetic slogans. In this chapter I have again emphasized the
primary role played by the translator and the decisions he must make when he encounters a
translation problem. Therefore, I will state the results I have reached in my research.
The first observation is that cosmetics come as a help for women who have skin
problems such as redness, acne, but also to make them shine at important events. At this
point, it becomes essential to specify the fact that cosmetic products present themselves as
solutions.
The first approach in the examination of cosmetic products concerns the decisions
made by translator in this particular genre of translation: advertising. Specifically speaking,
the translation strategies that they adopt in this field. I have focused on the identification of
translation strategies used by cosmetic brands. In my paper, I have analyzed six pairs of
30
advertisements based on Vinay and Darbelnet (1995) and Andrew Chesterman’s theories. My
first observation is that literal translation is frequently used because of its faithfulness of the
source language. Additionally, the translator use also the oblique translation to derive from
the initial form in the source text and to convey the same message but with the help of other
words. The dominant strategies were adaptation, modulation, addition and literal translation.
The majority of source words were rendered literally in the target description. The Romanian
translations were equivalent to the source descriptions as the translators used the procedures
of adaptation and paraphrase when necessary in order to adapt the message for the target
culture and to avoid translation inaccuracies. In the general framework of cosmetics
advertising, target-oriented procedures are used a lot, namely, adaptation / localization. This
strategy implies the fact that the translator need to adapt the text in order to maintain the
meaning and not to create confusion and errors. It enables translators to add words that add a
promotional value of the product and helps customers to have a good understanding of the
advertised product.
Besides examining the descriptions for cosmetics, another essential element in the
advertising translation that I analyzed was the slogan. I concluded that it plays a very
important role because it summarizes in a few words the mission of the brand and is the
element that captures the attention. In my research, I have commented about some stylistic,
lexical and syntactic aspects concerning cosmetic slogans. I have observed that it appeals to
puns, ellipsis and alliteration in order to catch the reader’s attention. In addition, the most
used parts of speech are pronouns and adjectives. It is an obsessive tendency to use the second
person "you" to create the impression that the product is specially tailored for the target
consumer. The use of adjectives in cosmetic slogans is another preference. They incorporate
the main characteristics of the products, and in my research, I found that the dominant
adjectives in cosmetic advertising are "beautiful", "perfect", "natural" "soft" and "glamorous".
In the same vein, imperative sentences are related to the syntactic aspect of the slogans and
help to persuade the consumer.
Finally, the study provides insight into the language of advertising and the translation
strategies used in this particular genre of translation.
31
References
Baker, M. (1992). In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation. London and New York: Routledge.
Benefit Cosmetics. (2021, March). Retrieved from Benefit Cosmetics Web site:
https://www.benefitcosmetics.com/en-my/brows
Benefit Cosmetics. (2021, March). Retrieved from Benefit Cosmetics Web Site:
https://www.benefitcosmetics.com/ro-ro/brows
Catford, J. (1965). A Linguistic Theory In Translation Theory. London/Oxford: Oxford Univerity Press.
Chen, J. L. (2020). The Influence of YouTube Beauty Vloggers on Indonesian Consumers’ Purchase
Intention of Local Cosmetic Products. International Journal of Business and Management,
15(5), 100-116.
Chesterman, A. (2016). Memes of translation: The spread of ideas in translation theory (Vol. 123). .
John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Clinique. (2021, March). Retrieved from Clinique Web site:

https://www.clinique.com.au/product/11480/64320/makeup/foundations/bb-cc-
cream/moisture-surgetm-sheertint-hydrator-spf-25#/shade/01-Very-Light
CLINIQUE. (2021, March). Retrieved from CLINIQUE Web site:
https://www.clinique.co.za/product/1599/9285/makeup/foundations/anti-blemish-
solutionstm-liquid-makeup
Clinique România. (2021, March). Retrieved from Clinique România Web site:
https://www.clinique.ro/product/11480/64320/makeup/fond-de-ten/bb-and-cc-
cream/moisture-surgetm-sheertint-hydrator-spf-25
CLINIQUE România. (2021, March). Retrieved from CLINIQUE România Web site:
https://www.clinique.ro/product/1599/9285/makeup/fond-de-ten/acne-solutions-liquid-
makeup
Cook, G. (2001). In The Discourse of Advertising. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Dan, L. (2015). Techniques for the translation of advertising slogans. Proceedings of the International
Conference Literature, Discourse and Multicultural Dialogue, LDMD (Vol. 15, pp. 13-23)., pp.
13-23.
Dyer, G. (2008). Advertising as communication. . Routledge.
Eau Thermale AVENE. (2021, March). Retrieved from Eau Thermale AVENE Official Website:
https://www.avene-me.com/en_MO/face/specific-products/intolerant-skin/skin-recovery-
cream
Eau Thermale AVENE. (2021, March). Retrieved from Eau Thermale AVENE România official website:
https://www.eau-thermale-avene.ro/fata/ingrijire-specifica/piele-intoleranta/crema-pentru-
piele-intoleranta
Einstein, M. (2017). Advertising: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford University Press.
Geis, M. L. (1982). The language of television advertising. . Academic Press.

32
Goddard, A. (2002). The language of advertising: written texts. Psychology Press.
Leiss, W., Kline, S., & Jhally, S. (1990). Social communication in advertising: Persons, products &
images of well-being. Psychology Press.
MAYBELLINE New York. (2021, March). Retrieved from MAYBELLINE New York Web Site:
https://www.maybelline.co.in/face/foundation/fit-me-tube-foundation
MAYBELLINE New York. (2021, March). Retrieved from MAYBELLINE New York România Official
Website: https://www.maybelline.ro/Produse/Machiajul-tenului/Fond-de-ten/Fit-Me-Matte-
and-Poreless.aspx
Messaris, P. (1997). Visual persuasion: The role of images in advertising. . Sage.
Nida, E. A. (1964). Toward a Science of Translating. Leiden: E.J. Brilll.
Pinterest. (2021, February). Retrieved from https://ro.pinterest.com/pin/22588435617264433
Reiss, K., & Vermeer, H. J. (2014). Towards a General Theory of Translational Action: Skopos Theory
Explained. London and New York: Routledge.
Ringrow, H. (2016). The Language of Cosmetics Advertising. Springer.
Schjoldager, A. (2008). Understanding translation. Academica.
Torresi, I. (2010). Translating promotional and advertising texts. Manchester, UK and Kinderhook
(NY): St. Jerome publishing. .
VICHY. (2021, March). Retrieved from VICHY Web site: https://www.vichy-me.com/en-us/Skin-

Care/3in1-One-Step-Cleanser-for-Sensitive-Skin-PURETE-THERMALE/p16496.aspx
VICHY Laboratoires ROMÂNIA. (2021, March). Retrieved from VICHY Laboratoires ROMÂNIA web site:
https://www.vichy.ro/Ingrijirea-tenului/Demachiant-integral-3-in-1-PURETE-
THERMALE/p24067.aspx?gclid=Cj0KCQjw78yFBhCZARIsAOxgSx3-
J_a_VzXNZh6ibLfs2pBabX0LQSZzkdmYzzDVUD_Lr1qzc_PRI3YaAoeFEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Vinay, J. P., & Darbelnet, J. (1995). In Comparative stylistics of French and English: A methodology for
translation (Vol. 11). John Benjamins Publishing.
Williams, S. (2021, February). THE MAYBELLINE STORY. Retrieved from
https://www.maybellinebook.com/2011/01/mabelline-ad-in-1942-war-time.html
33
APPENDIX A
TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Get the look! ........................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Figure 2 : just as he dreamed, her eyes would be ................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Figure 3: Jennifer Lopez for L'oreal Sublime Mousse .............................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
34
APPENDIX B
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Moisture Surge Sheertint Hydrator SPF 25-Clinique .............................................. 19
Table 2: Purete Thermale - 3in1 One Step Cleanser for Sensitive Skin ................................. 20
Table 3: Acne Solutions Liquid Makeup Foundation ............................................................ 21
Table 4: Precisely, My Brow Eyebrow Pencil ...................................................................... 22
Table 5: Fit Me Matte+Poreless Foundation ......................................................................... 23
Table 6: : SKIN RECOVERY CREAM ............................................................................... 24
35

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UNIVERSITATEA “ALEXANDRU IOAN CUZA” din IAȘI

THE TRANSLATION OF ADVERTISING:

CHAPTER I: AN APPROACH TO THE LANGUAGE OF ADVERTISING ................. 3

1.1. The Language of Advertising ........................................................................................ 3

1.2. Approach to language of advertising .......................................................................... 10

1.3. Images in Advertising ................................................................................................. 11

1.4. Categories of Advertisements ..................................................................................... 14

CHAPTER II: STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF COSMETIC ADVERTISEMENTS ... 17

2.1. Analysis of the source and the target advertisement.................................................. 17

2.2. English peculiarities in translating cosmetic slogans ............................................. 26

The corpus I have compiled is represented by cosmetic product advertisements. My

1.1. The Language of Advertising

1.1.1. General information about translation

1.1.2. Translating advertising

There is a divergence of opinion when it comes to advertising. Many scholars have

Advertising is an act of manipulation of society through images, words, goods, or other

1.1.3. Persuasive Technique used in Advertising

The persuasive advertising is increasingly becoming comparative advertising, with

1.1.4. The Discourse of Advertising

1. Substance: the physical material that text carries;

Specifically, he sees the language of advertising in relation to these elements. Moreover, he

The consumer is always associated with a culture. As I mentioned above, culture is a

1.2. Approach to language of advertising

A notable contribution belongs to Andrew Chesterman who emphasizes in his book

A notable classification belongs to J.C.Catford who distinguishes between textual

The role of translator

According to Schoffner (2000) in Anne Schjoldager Understanding Translation

1.3. Images in Advertising

Another important contribution in demonstrating the connection between picture and

1. Elicit emotions by simulating the appearance of a real person or object;

A well-known person is chosen to promote a product so that the public is easier to

1.4. Categories of Advertisements

Television advertising on cosmetic products is succeeding through advertising spots.

Since translation strategies belong to translation studies, it is relevant to consider them

2.1. Analysis of the source and the target advertisement

The study highlights the discourse of advertising through an analysis of the

Brand name: CLINIQUE

Brand name: VICHY

Another oblique strategy that must be mentioned is modulation. Specifically speaking,

Brand name: CLINIQUE

Table 3 uses transposition excessively as a strategy that involves using a different

Brand name: BENEFIT COSMETICS

Table 5: Fit Me Matte+Poreless Foundation

Brand name: MAYBELLINE

In contrast to the other descriptions of cosmetics discussed above where a literary

Another translation strategy that is closely related to adaptation is addition. The

Table 6: : SKIN RECOVERY CREAM

Brand name: AVENE

Having established the company’s purpose, I will move on to the Romanian

In terms of stylistics, one of the most approached techniques used by companies in

Another stylistic feature used by cosmetic companies in their process of advertising is

Another common lexical aspect in cosmetic slogans is the use of adjectives.

Chapter I was an approach to advertising language. I have explained the advertising

Chapter II is an analysis of six descriptions for cosmetic products and an overview of

Clinique. (2021, March). Retrieved from Clinique Web site:

Dyer, G. (2008). Advertising as communication. . Routledge.

Geis, M. L. (1982). The language of television advertising. . Academic Press.

Messaris, P. (1997). Visual persuasion: The role of images in advertising. . Sage.

Nida, E. A. (1964). Toward a Science of Translating. Leiden: E.J. Brilll.

Pinterest. (2021, February). Retrieved from https://ro.pinterest.com/pin/22588435617264433

Ringrow, H. (2016). The Language of Cosmetics Advertising. Springer.

Schjoldager, A. (2008). Understanding translation. Academica.

VICHY. (2021, March). Retrieved from VICHY Web site: https://www.vichy-me.com/en-us/Skin-

Figure 1. Get the look! ........................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.