A Comparative Study Of The Subtitling And Dubbing Strategies Of Multilingual World War Films Into Chinese

Against the background of deepening globalization,multilingual films,in which different languages coexist and play a crucial role in film narrative,have taken on a larger market.This multilingual phenomenon raises interesting new questions for Audiovisual Translation(AVT)studies.Subtitling or dubbing multilingual films has attracted attention from many scholars,especially those in Europe.Significant contributions and fruitful results have been made and achieved in this area of study.On the contrary,the translation of multilingual films has not attracted wide attention in domestic AVT,which is in sharp contrast to the current practice of audiovisual translation.On the one hand,an increasing number of multilingual films have been imported into China from different countries every year,including war films involving multiple languages.On the other hand,the language ability and cultural awareness of the Chinese audience have greatly improved so that they are more sensitive to the use of language in film.However,the mainstream translation method for multilingual films tends to be standardization and there are few translation studies on multilingual films.Therefore,it is necessary to explore the current situation of the translation of multilingual films and carry out further studies.As one of the themes often involved in multilingual film research,war films are also an important genre in China’s film translation,which has a great impact on the Chinese audience.This widespread impact is mainly due to the artistic charm of the film itself,but also inseparable from the high-quality subtitling and dubbing.Faced with the increasing multilingual elements in films,what strategies will translators of these two domestically mainstream audiovisual translation modes adopt to address this new challenge? What are the effects and what factors will affect the application of translation techniques and strategies? Therefore,this thesis selects ten classic films set in two world wars.By adopting a descriptive perspective complemented by statistical analysis,it first investigates the multilingual elements and their artistic roles in the film.Secondly,translation techniques are identified and counted after the author elaborates on the translation constraints and challenges of subtitling and dubbing.Their effects are discussed based on the specific plots as well.What’s more,through data analysis,this study summarizes and compares the translation strategies of the two versions of the same film,as well as the changes in strategies in different periods.Finally,an attempt is made to explore the internal and external factors that influence translators’ choices.The study finds that multilingualism in these films is mainly used to enhance authenticity and reflect characters’ national identities and whether they are allies or foes.It’s the primary source of contradiction and an important driving force for the plot.A total of seven subtitling techniques and four dubbing techniques are found.The two versions of four films adopt the same strategy,to mark multilingualism or not to mark it.Both the subtitled and dubbed versions show a tendency to preserve multilingualism.Besides,it can be inferred that modern translators tend to break conventions by changing the position of subtitles or retaining a large amount of the original soundtrack in dubbing after the author examines the strategies and techniques of films from different periods.Finally,the study finds translators’ selection of strategy is subject to a variety of factors,including internal factors(the importance of multilingualism and language restrictions embodied in translation mode)and external factors(practicality and the intentions of the agents).Through the descriptive study of ten multilingual war films,this study contributes to depicting the current situation of multilingual film translation in China and enriching the domestic AVT.At the same time,with the enhancement of linguistic diversity in all kinds of films,this study is expected to provide references for translators to select appropriate translation techniques and strategies.