On Translating Subtitles Of Chinese Films:Cultural Default And Translation Compensation Perspectives

With China becoming more and more influential, Chinese films begin to step into the Western world, which makes film subtitling translation important. The translated subtitles not only influence the image of Chinese films in the global market, but also determine the dissemination of Chinese culture embodied in the films.In the light of theories related with cultural default and translation compensation, this thesis is a probe into subtitling translation of Chinese films through a case study of Ang Lee’s "family triology". In thesis is presented the research situation of film subtitling translation. This is followed by an illustration of the basic concepts, categories, characteristics and constraining factors of film subtitling translation. Then cultural default is introduced, which is the theoretical basis of this thesis. There are numerous factors causing cultural default, including the way of thinking, the value system, religious beliefs as well as customs and habits. The default cultural information can present difficulties for target audience, which calls for proper translation compensation in film subtitling translation. After analyzing some mistranslations that lack compensation in Ang Lee’s "family trilogy", the need for translation compensation in film subtitling translation is reaffirmed. Then the translation compensation strategies to deal with cultural default are put forward, namely, paraphrase, contextual amplification, shift of perspective, adaptation, specification, and generalization. The application of translation compensation strategies holds great significance in understanding and translating subtitles of Chinese films. Employing above strategies, translators can maximally maintain and disseminate the rich cultural information implied in Chinese films.