Translation Of Humor In Sitcoms From The Perspective Of Functional Translation

Due to the great differences between different languages and cultures, translation is a very challenging task. Additionally, humor usually involves abundant cultural and language specialties, which makes its translation even more difficult. It is therefore meaningful to research on this topic.Both German and English belong to the West Germanic languages, which means they share much linguistic similarities. And the European and American cultures also have a lot in common. Contrarily, Chinese falls into the category Sino-Tibetan languages. Both linguistically and culturally, the Chinese and the American show greater differences. And the way how humor is generated and translated is closely related to these two factors-Language and culture. Exactly because of the above mentioned similarities and differences, this paper compares the English-German translation of humor expressions with the English-Chinese one, trying to better explore the reason why humor has such a "notorious" reputation in the translation circle and how and to which extent this can be solved.In terms of research corpora, this paper has decided for the humor expressions from the American sitcom Friends. These expressions are then divided into three categories:humor based on linguistic features, on cultural backgrounds and on certain situations. Each example is analyzed using the Functional Translation Theory. To conclude, apart from linguistic and cultural characteristics, the audience’s preference, the translator’s choice of translation strategy, his or her knowledge and attitude, and the change of era could all affect humor translation.Thus, a translator should carefully analyze the functional structure of a humor expression, and take into consideration the intention of the author as well as the wish and understanding of the audience. The translator should work toward the aim that a translated humor could both be well-received by the recipient and doesn’t lose much original flavor. If possible, the translator should also communicate with the author to make sure the original intention is well delivered.