TITLE:
Strategies for Chinese Translation of Commercial Advertisements from the Perspective of Translation Schema Theory
AUTHORS:
Zihao Zheng
KEYWORDS:
Translation Schema Theory, English Commercial Advertisements, Schema Conversion, Chinese Translation Strategies
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.14 No.6,
June
30,
2026
ABSTRACT: Against the backdrop of deepening globalization, the localized Chinese translation of English commercial advertisements has become a key step for brands entering the Chinese market. This paper introduces the translation schema theory from the interdisciplinary field of cognitive psychology and translation studies, and systematically explains the mechanisms of activation, adjustment, and reconstruction of linguistic schemas, cultural schemas, and formal schemas in the process of Chinese advertisement translation. By analyzing cases of English-to-Chinese advertisement translation, this paper proposes that translators should consciously identify the schematic elements in English advertisements and perform schema conversion or reconstruction based on Chinese readers’ cognitive habits and cultural background, so as to achieve the dual goals of effective information transmission and emotional resonance in the Chinese translation of English commercial advertisements.