On Subtitles Translation Of Verbal Humor From The Perspective Of Functional Equivalence Theory

American sitcoms are extremely popular among the Chinese audience, but little study has been done to humor translation in sitcoms, and a complete, mature and universal guiding theory and evaluation standard for humor translation in subtitles of the sitcoms have not been formed. Therefore, it is necessary to study humor translation in sitcoms systematically so as to improve the quality of sitcom translation.Eugene A. Nida, a prestigious American translation theorist, put forward the functional equivalence theory that the target language receptors should understand and appreciate the translated text as original language receptors do to the original text, which is also the purpose of humor translation in sitcoms, that is, to achieve consistent experience of humor between the audience of the target language and those of the source language.By studying Two Broke Girls, this paper will analyze and discuss the functional equivalence theory in guiding the verbal humor translation, study the feasibility of the application of the theory in humor translation in sitcoms and explore the effective translation strategies based on the functional equivalence theory, aiming at expressing cross-cultural humor accurately.By classifying the verbal humor in sitcoms into common humor, cultural humor and wordplay humor, this paper tries to find out the corresponding translation strategies for different types of humor. The essence of functional equivalence theory is the focuses on the reader’s response. Whatever kind of translation method is adopted, a successful translation should enable the target readers to comprehend the same humor perceived by the original language readers. Function equivalence theory provides a new perspective for humor translation in sitcoms. Audio-visual translators should follow the principles of functional equivalence theory to help the target audience to transcend the barriers of different languages and cultural backgrounds to enjoy the humor brought by the sitcoms like the source language audience.