On Film Subtitle Translation Of The Flowers Of War

Under the trend of current globalization, films have been playing an increasinglyimportant role in cultural dissemination and communication between differentcountries. Film is a comprehensive artistic form which has both artistic andcommercial value. Having developed more than a century, the film has become one ofthe most influential mass media all over the world. Nowadays, with more and moreforeign films imported into China and Chinese films introduced abroad, theimportance of film subtitle translation has become increasingly conspicuous.Moreover, Chinese films producers are eager to achieve awards from theworld-famous international film festivals. Therefore, to occupy a place in the filmindustry of the world and be popular with the audiences from different countries, it isvery essential for Chinese films to have successful subtitle translation.Nevertheless, due to the late start of the studies on film subtitle translation andlack of sufficient attention from the scholars, there is not yet a complete system asguidance. In recent years, the research on the film subtitle translation mainly focuseson the perspective of skopos theory, equivalence theory and adaptation theory and soon; however, seldom has focused on register theory. Register theory is one of theimportant theories from systemic functional linguistics. The concept of register fromHalliday can be defined as a configuration of field, mode and tenor. The threesituational variables could make film subtitle translation operative within a rule-basedprocess. Under the guidance of the register theory, translators should adopt thesuitable translation strategies to convey the most effective message to the audiencesfrom specific social cultural backgrounds. This thesis uses register theory as thetheoretical framework and chooses the2011top-grossing Chinese film--the Flowersof War as a case study, trying to analyze the embodiment and application of threevariables in subtitle translation. In order to optimize the subtitle translation of theFlowers of War and to accomplish the equivalence and effectiveness of subtitletranslation, the thesis will outline, evaluate and amend the original subtitle translation of the film under the guidance of register theory.This thesis presents the background and significance of the research followed bythe research methodology and the basic structure in Chapter One. Then the authorgives a detailed introduction to the historical study achievements both in China andabroad in Chapter Two. In the third chapter, Halliday’s register theory and therelationship between the three variables of the register (field, mode and tenor) areintroduced. Chapter Four is a case study of the film the Flowers of War, which is themajor part of the whole thesis, focusing on the application of the register theory to thesubtitle translation. In the end, the author gives a conclusion for the whole thesis andpoints out that there is still a long way to go in the study of subtitle translation.