A Study On Subtitle Translation From The Perspective Of German Functionalism

Films and TV programs are essential in modern society. They are important channels for entertainment and information. The popularity of foreign audio-visual products also facilitates exchanges and communication among various cultures. As a result, recent years have seen a growing demand for audio-visual translation (AVT). Subtitle translation is one kind of AVT. Compared with Europe, China lags behind in terms of subtitle translation practice, theoretical study and quality standards. This thesis is an attempt to apply the functionalist theory to subtitle translation, with a view to improve the quality of English to Chinese subtitle translation.This thesis is composed of five chapters.First, a brief introduction to the research background in China and abroad is presented.Second, German functionalism, its four representatives and their main theories are introduced systematically.Third, analysis of the particular text—subtitle, its features and constraints are discussed in detail.The fourth chapter is the discussion of subtitle translation in the perspective of functionalism. This chapter is the core of the essay. The functionalism leads the author to focus on the final effect in view of the audience. From this starting point, the types of subtitle translation, the influencing factors, and the strategies are analyzed in turn. Suggestions of four principles of subtitle translation are proposed based on analysis in the previous chapters. According to these principles, the strategies of subtitle translation are summarized into four categories: direct translation, paraphrase, condensation, and deletion. The preservation of original language content is gradually reduced on this order.The fifth chapter is the conclusion. It summarizes the whole paper, points out the limitations of the study, and gives some suggestions for the future study.