On The Subtitle Translation Of English Films And TV Programs From The Perspective Of"Principle Of Least Effort"

With the coming of the information age, the ways and methods of culture exchange around the world have been diversified, among which the exchange of screen culture, one of the most accessible way to the public, has gained more and more popularity. The foreign films and television programs give birth to audio-visual translation. There are two strategies of audio-visual translation:dubbing and subtitle translation. As the strategy of subtitle translation allows the viewers to appreciate the original foreign culture, it is much more favored by the viewers now. However, the academic research in the area of subtitle translation was relatively few. And many of them concentrate on the subtitle translation of movies, while few attention is given to the subtitle translation of television programs. The author uses one subtitle translation practice of an audio-visual program as the case and analyses what should be omitted and what should be kept, how to choose the right translation strategies and methods to maximally fulfill the auxiliary function of the subtitles.Principle of Least Effort, which is one of the guiding principle of human behaviors, means to exchange the least effort for the most benefit. Zipf, the presenter of The Principle of Least Effort, put forward two ways of least-effort in communication, namely the least-effort of the hearer and the least-effort of the speaker. Because of the time and space constraints in subtitle translation, target language subtitles should not only convey the information in the source language subtitles clearly, but also be as concise as possible at the same time. The author argues that when the information is successfully presented in the "communication" between the translator and the audience, the function of subtitle translation is fully implemented. Combining that with Principle of Least Effort, the author puts forward the least-effort of the translator and the least-effort of the audience.Based on the principle of least effort, this thesis discusses how the translator should combine the least-effort of the translators and the least-effort of the audience in subtitle translation of films and television programs, in order to fulfill the function of the translated subtitles to full extend. In the beginning part of this thesis provides the task description, and it mainly introduces the status quo, the content and significance of this research. The second part focuses on the task process from the aspects of preparation, the translation process, and translation review. In the last part to the author uses a subtitle translation practice as an case, and analyses this practice with further details by combing with the request of the Principle of Least Effort. This thesis argues that in the practice of subtitle translation, the translator should bear the Principle of Least Effort in mind to make the target language subtitles to achieve the desired effect. The author also hopes this thesis could server as an modest spur on the study of subtitle translation in China through her own practice.