Functionalist Translation Theories Applied To Subtitling Translation From The Cultural Perspective

Cultural translation has long been one of the hottest academic topics. As one ofits branches, subtitling translation is drawing increasing attention from scholars bothat home and abroad, due to the wide spread of foreign audiovisual materials.Subtitling translation of audiovisual materials is a new field of translation boasting itsown uniqueness regarding the cultural exchange in people’s daily life. Based on thetheories related to functionalist translation, the thesis probes into the subtitlingtranslation of American humor embodied in the sitcom “FRIENDS” from the culturalperspective.Reiss’ typology considers subtitles as a mixed type of text combininginformative, expressive and conative texts. For different purposes, subtitlingtranslation should resort to different strategies accordingly. Based on Vermeer’stheory of Skopostheorie, subtitling translation aims to reach the most audiencespossible, through the delivery of the linguistic and cultural information loaded in theoriginal audiovisual material of which the aesthetic and commercial values can be inturn better realized.In the field of subtitling translation, Europe is ahead of other parts of the world,both in terms of the scope and depth of research. In China, audiovisual translation hasnot received enough attention, let alone subtitling. Owing to the lack of systematicsubtitling translation theory or professional institutes exclusive to subtitling, thesubtitling quality of foreign audiovisual products cannot be guaranteed. Particularlyurged by the fast-growing Internet, subtitling translation with satisfactory quality is ofgreat significance.The famous American sitcom “FRIENDS” was on TV from the year1994to2004. The sitcom has been used for educational purposes owing to its Americancultural typicality and popularity. Dialogues of the sitcom which embody American humor open a gate for language learners to understand American culture.From the cultural perspective, the author analyzes the different categories ofAmerican humor in “FRIENDS” through case studies under the theoretical frameworkof the functionalist translation. The aim is to find out how to preserve and presentAmerican humor to the most possible.Case studies explore the cultural reasons for American humor creation, the wayof humor presentation, translation difficulties, and cultural factors which affectsChinese people’s appreciation of American humor. At last, the author puts forthfeasible solutions based on the functionalist translation theory and points out that thetranslator should pay close attention to adopt the appropriate translation strategy so asto improve the cultural exchange.