标题: 商标名称转为普通名词 [打印本页] 作者: jinlj 时间: 2007-9-17 18:21 标题: 商标名称转为普通名词 The name of the game is the name. ~ Scott Winokur
原是某品牌的名称,但因其为先发品牌,或是在某一领域市场占有率很大,因此,该品牌便成为这类产品的通用名称。 例如,Kleenex (台湾译为可丽舒) 是全美、乃至全世界最大规模的清洁用纸品牌, 对美国一般人而言,Kleenex 就等于 tissue (面纸、卫生纸), 例如 I have a runny nose. Can you give me a Kleenex? 商标名变成普通名词的过程在语言学里, 称为 "genericide" (A brand name or trademark that has become a generic name for its product category.), 而该产品成为该产品类别的代名词 (generonym)。 现在,我们就来看一看原是某品牌的名称,但现已转为该类产品通称的一些词汇。
Perspex
Perspex (UK Trademark 英国商标) 珀斯佩有机玻璃;透明压克力;透明塑胶 (用作档风玻璃的丙烯树脂);聚二-甲基丙希酸甲脂
Perspex, produced in 1930, is a trade name for a strong transparent (透亮的) plastic material which is often used instead of (取代) glass. It is widely used for watch glasses, advertising signs, domestic baths (家庭用的浴缸), motorboat windscreens (汽车/汽艇的挡风玻璃), aircraft canopies (飞机的座舱罩), and protective shields (保护罩). Its chemical name is polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). It is manufactured under other names (亦称): Plexiglas, Lucite, Acrylite (压克力材质), and Rhoplex (in the USA).
Note:
Plexiglass: light-weight transparent thermoplastic polymer, used as a glass substitute.
塑胶玻璃(质轻透明的热塑性聚合体,被当成玻璃替用品)
Lucite: transparent plastic material used as a substitute for glass
合成树脂(透明的塑胶物质,用来作玻璃之代用品)。
Filofax is a small book in which a record can be kept of telephone numbers, future plans and visits, business meetings, etc.
P.S. calendar book 月历的记事本;day planner 日历计事本
linoleum
(亚麻) 油地毡。外表涂了一层氧化亚麻仁籽油的帆布地毡。The word derives from Latin lineum, 'flax', and oleum, 'oil'. 1860 年及 1863 年 F. Walton 取得专利。1878 年时因早已家喻户晓,并且是唯一可描述此类产品的字被 Trade Marks Register 注销此一专利名称。
yo-yo
溜溜球。一种玩具,以细绳中穿两个圆木盘或塑胶盘,用左右食指拉动,圆盘上下旋转。有趣的是华裔音乐家马友友英文名为 Yo Yo Ma。根据金氏记录,源自 16 世纪时菲律宾丛林战所用的武器名,据说原意为‘来吧!来吧!’come-come。
zipper
拉链。源自 1920-25 美国所生产的一个厂牌名。
然而,英文词汇中亦有一类的字,其部份构词亦源于品牌名称,例如, McJob 或 McDonaldized job (在麦当劳打工) 已收录在字典里,意指‘在速食店等服务业打工,低薪资、低福利,无须动脑,重复做相同动作的工作’ (a low-paying, non-challenging job with few benefits or opportunities, typically in the service sector.)。