On The Chinese Translation Of English Film Titles

Nowadays, communication between countries with different cultures becomes more and more frequent. Film, as a part of culture, a popular art with both artistic and commercial values, is one of the most influential mass media. Ever since China adopted the policy of reform and opening up to the outside world at the end of the 1970s, large quantities of English films have been introduced into China. Film translation is quite a challenging job, owing to cultural differences between China and western countries. The past two to three decades have witnessed some development in film translation. However, being a special and significant part of film translation, film title translation is an area that is far from being explored. Few monographs at home and abroad discuss this topic. Just a few chapters in some books can be found touching upon this issue and there is a relative paucity of theoretical writings on it. Actually, film title translation is important and creative work. An excellent translated title may contribute a lot to the charm of the film and plays an important part in the introduction of a new film. Up to now, no systematic theories and feasible principles on the Chinese translation of English film titles have been put forward. English film title translation is very problematic in that it is in a state of discrepancy. As for a same film title, the mainland version, Hong Kong version and Taiwan version may be different but coexist, causing confusion to the audience and bringing barrier to communication between the three regions. Having chosen film title translation as her topic, the author of this thesis hopes that attentions would be drawn to the Chinese translation of English film titles both in theory and practice.Proceeding from the features and functions of film title, this thesis analyzes the cultural differences reflected in English and Chinese film titles, puts forward the principles guiding English film title translation and proposes main translation methods in English film title translation. This thesis intends to argue that English film title translation should be under the basic principle of fulfilling film titles' specific functions through the application of proper translation methods. As regard to the discrepancy in translated versions, this thesis respectively discusses and compares the different translation methods and the different features of the translated versions in the three regions, and holds that the differences in socio-cultural context are the main reason for the discrepancy.The present thesis consists of six chapters. The first chapter is the introduction. It reviews the previous studies on English film title translation, and presents the significance of the study, the purpose, research approach and structure of the thesis. The second chapter is a review of the main theoretical achievements made by Western and Chinese scholars on cultural translation and Nida's functional equivalence in relation to the subject of this thesis. Chapter 3 introduces the genre of film, defines the film title to be examined in this thesis, and discusses the features and functions of film titles. Chapter 4 is the focus of the thesis. It firstly puts forward the principles guiding English film title translation, and then elaborates on the methods mainly applied in English film title translation, namely transliteration, literal translation, free translation, combination of literal and free translation and adaptation. It argues that all the translation methods are indispensable and supplementary to each other. Chapter 5 analyzes factors influencing English film title translation and examines this practice within the social-cultural context in China's mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan. After the analysis, the author points out that though belonging to a same cultural system, different social institutions, cultural backgrounds and habits of language use in the three regions lead to the discrepancy of translated versions, and then the author puts forward some potential solutions to the problems. Chapter 6 serves as the conclusion of the thesis. It reaffirms that the translator should translate an English film title under the basic principle of fulfilling its specific functions by applying translation methods in a flexible way according to the particular time, place and audience so that more excellent and unified film titles be offered to the audience in the three regions.