Exploring The Equivalence In C-E Subtitle Translation Of Chinese Animated Films

Subtitle translation, as an important form of translation about media, has played a more and more important role in realizing the communication among different cultures and regions. As a result, researches in this field are also developing rapidly in China. However, most Chinese scholars have chosen films with real person character as research subjects while the special type--animated film has been paid less attention, especially the domestic cartoons. Under this background, the thesis is largely motivated by the paradox between the growing importance of animated films and the inadequate research into the translation. Also, at present Chinese animation market is filled with Euro-American and Japanese cartoons whereas domestic animation is less unknown to foreign adolescent children. Therefore, the thesis chooses the C-E subtitling translation of Chinese animated films as the research subject. Meanwhile, it is necessary and urgent to conduct the research into C-E subtitling of domestic animated films from theory to practice.The study applies the American scholar Eugene Nida's functional equivalence theory (FET) into the research of C-E subtitling of domestic animation. The theory provides a completely new criterion to evaluate the translated version, which focuses on the message conveyed beneath words and the response of readers/receptors instead of linguistic forms and their literal meaning. Perfect translation, which can find the closest natural equivalent words in the target language, also evoke the same response form its readers as the source does from its readers.The main emphasis of the tentative research is the C-E subtitle translation from the perspective of functional equivalence. Combing the features of audio-visual language of animated films (picture, color, sound effect and humor) and characteristics and functions of subtitling, the author firstly summarizes factors influencing the subtitling of animation (time, place, picture, children's horizon of exception and cognitive level). Then, in order to convey the message at the linguistic level and cultural level, to find the closet natural equivalence as well as possible, the author, guided by FET, put forward some translation methods (deletion, literal translation, explanation, domestication and reductive paraphrasing). And then analyze how to attain pragmatic equivalence at the social-cultural level, the referential level and ethnic style of language. In order to make the argument more convincing, the thesis choose the filmed editions of Pleasant Goat and Gray Wolf: The Super Adventure and Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf Full of Vigor which won many awards, broke the box office record of billion and switch the silent situation of Chinese animation for many years.To conclude, FET can be used to guide the C-E subtitling of Chinese animation and can be applied to evaluate the quality of translation.