On Translating English Film Titles From A Cultural Perspective

The film, a popular art with both artistic and commercial values, is one of the most influential mass media with large quantities of English films being introduced into China. The film title, as an important part of the film, is of informative, expressive and vocative functions and its translation is a challenging job. Up till now, no systematic theory on English film title translation has been put forward. As for the same original film title, the mainland version, Hong Kong version and Taiwan version coexist, causing confusion to the audience and bringing barrier to communication across the Straits.Proceeding from the features and functions of the film title, this thesis analyzes the main translation methods and strategies applied in English film title translation. The merits and limitations of each method are discussed. This thesis intends to argue that English film title translation should be under the basic principle of fulfilling the specific functions of the film title through adopting translation methods properly. As regard to the disunity in translated versions, this thesis discusses and compares the different translation methods applied and the different features of the versions in the three regions respectively, and holds that the differences in socio-cultural context are the main reason for the disunity.The first chapter serves as an introduction. It presents the significance of the study, and also describes the purpose, research methodology and structure of the thesis.Chapter 2 is a literature review of the main theoretical achievements made by Western and Chinese scholars on cultural translation studies and functionalist approach in relation to the subject of this thesis. It also includes a brief summary of the previous studies on English-Chinese film title translation in particular.Chapter 3 defines the film title to be examined in this thesis, introduces the genre of film, and discusses the features and functions of film titles. This chapter serves as the foundation for future analysis on translation strategies.Chapter 4 firstly elaborates on the techniques mainly applied in English film title translation, namely literal translation, liberal translation and adaptation, and discusses the merits and limitations of each technique. This thesis argues that all the translation techniques are indispensable and supplementary to each other. In the following part, this author examinesthe English film title translation in the early years (the first half of 20th century) in China within the socio-cultural context; and then compares the features of and respective translation methods applied in English film title translation in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan since the 1950s. This chapter then points out that different social systems, cultural background and habits of language in the three regions result in the disunity of versions.Chapter 5 is the conclusion of the thesis. It reaffirms that the translator should translate the English film title under the basic principle of fulfilling the specific functions of it by applying translation methods in a flexible way. The time factor, place factor and audience factor should be taken into consideration. Besides, this thesis suggests that with the ever-growing communication and exchange among the three regions, the translators across the Straits should leam and benefit from each other so that more excellent and unified renditions of film titles could be offered to the audience in the three regions.