Applying Adaptation Theory To Humor Subtitling Of English Sitcoms

Sitcoms constantly resort to the dialogues between the characters involved for the frequent production of humor, aiming to evoke laughters among the viewing audience every half a minute. Thus the quality of subtitling directly influences the viewers'apprehension of the source humorous text and even determines the ultimate success or failure of the original audiovisual works. Considering the prosperity of the English sitcoms on the Internet as well as the unique features of audiovisual translation, it is necessary to view the sitcoms from the translational angle in order to enhance the quality of subtitling in this area. This thesis attempts to study humor subtitling of English sitcoms from the perspective of adaptation theory, aiming to offer other researchers a fresh angle to humor subtitling of English sitcoms.The introduction section points out the significance of the present study, research questions and methodology in addition to thesis structure. The ensuing chapter clarifies the notion of subtitling and approaches its features from the perspectives of semiotic traits and media-related constraints followed by the revelation of its role. After reviewing studies on subtitling and humor translation, it is pointed out that translation of humorous subtitles in audiovisual background prove to be a daunting task. Then adaptation theory proposed by Verscherueren is introduced. Three properties of language are illustrated, namely variability, negotiability and adaptability. While expounding adaptation theory, Verscherueren introduces"four angles of investigation"for the description and explanation of pragmatic phenomena, referring to contextual correlates of adaptability, structural objects of adaptability, dynamics of adaptability and degree of salience.On the basis of adaptation theory, the principles for guiding humor subtitling should be adaptation to the communicative context and the viewers'response. To be more specific, in the process of translation, subtitlers need to take into consideration not only the linguistic factors of subtitles but also other channels for information transmission, such as image and sound. With full access to various forms of information, the true humorous intention of the source language can thus be reasonably revealed and translation can be carried out accurately. Moreover, the audience'response cannot be ignored. Subtitlers should make full adaptation to the audience's age, educational level and other cognitive elements in order to choose the most appropriate forms of expressions in the target language to convey the maximum humorous effect. Then a case study of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory is conducted, which approaches the strategies applied in humor subtitling of the English sitcoms from the perspectives of language and culture. In terms of language humor or word-play, mainly three forms are involved: puns, foreign languages and dialects in addition to reorganized single words. When dealing with the heavy presence of cultural humor in the sitcoms, translators may flexibly manipulate five strategies for adaptation to the viewers'expectation and aesthetics: literal translation, annotation, substitution, explication and omission. The ultimate goal remains to be realization of adaptation of subtitles to the target language norms and the viewers'cognitive environment.The conclusion part starts with a brief review of the study conducted in this thesis by reiterating its academic contributions. Then limitations are revealed. In the end it points out the possible areas for further studies.