A Study On The Subtitle Translation Of FRIENDS From The Perspective Of Relevance Theory

As a means of communication, as well as a vehicle for mutual understanding around the world, audiovisual production becomes a powerful tool for reaching cultural diffusion. With the close tie of economy and culture among different countries, a flood of foreign audiovisual productions pour into China. In China, subtitle translation is a new emerging and particular mode of translation and becomes an importantly integral part of translation, so it is necessary to explore its characteristics and development at a deeper level. Research both in practice and theory of audiovisual production in our country lags behind some western countries. Lack of theoretic guidance relating to audiovisual translation and a flood of audiovisual productions pouring cause an unbalanced situation and contradiction.This thesis is designated to make an analysis of subtitle translation in Friends, a well-known American sitcom, based upon relevance theory. Subtitle translation can be explained under framework of many translational theories but relevance theory seems to the adequate one which can be applied to subtitle translation. Relevance theory claims that language communication is an ostensive-inferential process: the hearer makes an inference based upon the communicator's intention and seeks relative information, that is, communication is the process where assumptions from optimal relevance are selected with minimum processing efforts to achieve adequate contextual effects. As for translation, it is an ostensive-inferential process of interlingual interpretation, also a kind of mode of language communication. How to translate should be in accord with intention and expectation and based upon optimal relevance.Subtitle translation has its own characteristics: space and time constraints, which distinguishes it from other types of translation so that translators should exert more efforts when dealing with subtitle translation. Subtitlers should make a correct assumption of target audiences from their specific cognitive environment to accurately estimate their expectation, seek optimal relevance based upon full mastery of the intention of original TV maker, employ translation strategies to make sure that target audiences could obtain maximum information with minimum effort, which exactly coincide with the optimal relevance of relevance theory, that is, adequate contextual effects within minimum processing efforts. Hence, the author selects relevance theory as theoretical basis to subtitle translation, presenting the case study of subtitle translation and hoping to provide a wide theoretical basis for the research of subtitle translation.