Film Title Translation From The Perspective Of Communicative Translation Theory

This thesis focuses on film title translation between English and Chinese from the perspective of communicative translation theory of Peter Newmark. Films, one of the most influential mass media, have developed to achieve their proper place as a reputable art form and a precious tool of intercultural communication. Film titles---the important part of films---fulfill four functions, which are vocative, informative, expressive, and aesthetic. Though each function has its own emphasis, the informative, expressive and aesthetic functions are, in the end, to serve vocative function, which determines the underlying standing of the target language and culture. Communicative translation theory, which means that the translator attempts to produce the same effect on the target readers as is produced by the original on the source language readers, is of great importance to film title translation between English and Chinese. It stresses the spread of information according to the target language and culture. Hence culture serves as the source of communicative translation theory. Based on communicative translation, tentative criteria--- first, the translation should be target-culture-oriented; second, the translation should be artistic,giving full play of the vocative value and the aesthetic value of the title; finally, the translation should be consistent with the content of the film---are proposed by this author to guide film title translation between English and Chinese, and some problematic versions are discussed in the light of these criteria. In addition, different versions of the same English film title among Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are expounded and the causes of the phenomenon are investigated.