Functional Equivalence Approach In Subtitle Translation

Traditionally, translation was used to make religious, literary, scientific or philosophical texts available to people. In the twentieth century however, with the birth of film art, a new type of translation material appeared. Translation of moving picture soon became a new field of translation. With the arrival of talkies—sounded movies in the late 1920s, audiovisual translation began in earnest.Audiovisual translation is born with the appearance of talkies. Compared with other forms of translation, the history of this new type is rather short, not to say systematic and theoretical research concerning it. Research methodology is still uncertain;problems are sometimes difficult to work out;explanations are groped for in the dark.The present study is a target-oriented research. The author puts focus on the analysis of the translated subtitle of the highest prize at the 46th Cannes Film Festival in 1993 Farewell My Concubine directed by Chen Kaige. The functional equivalence approach put forward by Eugene Nida is adopted into the research. Attempt will be made to find out the various factors influencing subtitle translation and some applicable translation strategies which can be applied to the practice of subtitle translation. A descriptive rather than prescriptive method along with a case study will be adopted in this study.According to Nida translating means communicating and this process depends on what is received by persons hearing or reading a translation. What is important is the extent to which receptors correctly understand and appreciate the translated text. A minimal definition of functional equivalence could be stated as "The readers of a translated text should be able to comprehend it to the point that they can conceive of how the original readers of the text must have understood and appreciated it." A maximal, ideal definition could be stated as "The readers of a translated text should be able to understand and appreciate it in essentially the same manner as the original readers did."After analysis the thesis comes to the conclusion: though it is subjected to many constraints like space and time constraints, audiovisual translation is a sub-branch oftranslation study as literary translation is. The theory of functional equivalence is adaptable to audiovisual translation as well. In audiovisual translation the aim of the translators is to make the viewers of a dubbed or subtitled text be able to comprehend it to the point that they can conceive of how the original viewers of the film must have understood and appreciated it. Film translators ought to work out a series of methods and strategies which are adaptable to audiovisual translation under the guidance of this theory.