Translation Strategies Of Culture-loaded Words In American TV Series Subtitles: A Study From The Perspective Of Relevance-adaptation Theory

This thesis aims to probe into the translation of culture-loaded words in the subtitles ofAmerican TV series and attempts to explore the translation strategies of such words bycomparing the translation texts under the guidance of Relevance-Adaptation Theory.Nowadays, American TV series are regarded as a bridge for cultural communication forpeople from different backgrounds. The communication can be more seamless when bettertranslations are used. If the culture-loaded words in the subtitles of American TV series arenot properly translated, the audience may lose their interest in the TV series or even build up amisconception towards American culture. Therefore, a study on the translation of theculture-loaded words of American TV series subtitles has both theoretical and practicalsignificance. However, in previous studies of the application of the Relevance-AdaptationTheory in translation, scholars and researchers pay more attention to the strong interpretivepower of the theory and its explanation on translation processes. Furthermore, most of thestudies on culture-loaded words focus on the Chinese literature context, and too few talkabout the subtitles of American TV series. The culture-loaded words in American TV seriessubtitles have their own characteristics. Thus, the translation of these words needs atheoretical guidance and certain translation strategies for the target audience’s fullunderstanding of the meaning of these words.In this thesis, the author is going to analyze culture-loaded words in the subtitles ofAmerican TV series from the perspective of Relevance-Adaptation Theory. The data used inthis paper are Brothers&Sisters, Season5; Friends, Season10; and Grey’s Anatomy, Season9, for their popularity and their representation of the three types of American TV series whichare soap opera, situation comedy, and drama, respectively. First, the culture-loaded words inthe subtitles of these three seasons of American TV series will be transcribed; then classifiedand analyzed under the guidance of Relevance-Adaptation Theory. Finally, the translationstrategies of culture-loaded words in the subtitles will be discussed and explored. The translation of culture-loaded words of American TV series subtitles, for anytranslator, is a process of seeking for optimal relevance, and of adapting both linguisticcontext and non-linguistic context. The translator is supposed to make linguistic and strategicchoices consciously so as to successfully convey the meaning of source language and to adaptto target audience’s cognitive environment and aesthetic expectations. However, in realtranslations, we need to take it into account of the different physical images and connotations,and different relevance degree between the source language contextual assumption and thetarget language cognitive environment. In order to make sure that target audience fullyunderstand the source language effortlessly, translation strategies are supposed to be used,which includes addition, free translation, literal translation, transliteration, omission, andkeeping the original English form are used in the translating process. Annotation is notencouraged due to time and space limitation.