Language Characteristic and Meaning of Chinese Brand Names in Thai Food Products in China
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Abstract
Objectives: This research article aims to study language characteristic and analyze the meaning of Chinese brand names in Thai food products in China.
Methods: The data were collected from the brand names of four types of Thai food products—rice, snacks, pastries, and dried fruits—which were sold on 3 websites in China, namely www.taobao.com, www.1688.com and www.tmall.com, from June to October 2022. The data were collected only from the brand names that appeared on the packaging, which includes Chinese brand names, Thai brand names, and English brand names. The analysis was divided into 2 topics: the study of language characteristics and the analysis of meanings.
Results: The results on language characteristics revealed that there are 7 forms of brand names appearing on the packaging, of which the bilingual form—Chinese brand name alongside English brand name—is the most common. The number of syllables used in Chinese brand names ranges from 2 to 9 syllables, with 3 syllables being the most popular. Six methods to form grammatical structure for Chinese brand names were found. The modifier-head method was the most popular, followed by the borrowed word transliteration method, subject-predicate method, parallel method, verb-object method, and new forming word method respectively. As for the meanings of Chinese brand names, 22 semantic groups were found. The analysis of semantic structure of Chinese brand names found that the compound semantic structure is the most common type, followed by single semantic structure.
Application of this study: The results of this study provide guidelines in the area of language characteristics and meanings for naming Chinese brands for Thai food products for Thai entrepreneurs, academics, and brand name developers. It is also hoped that the results of this study can be used as basic knowledge that can serve as a guideline for the study and the development of Chinese brand names for the academic and business circles related to Thai food products.
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