A Study Of Translating Humor In Film&TV Subtitles From The Perspective Of The Relevance Theory

As globalization intensifies in recent years,international culture-related cooperation is taking place more and more frequently.The introduction and exchange of TV shows and movies is playing an important role in such cooperation.Of all the types of TV shows and movies,comedy is probably the most popular one,because humor is a feeling shared by all mankind,regardless of gender,age,nationality,culture and race.Therefore,a lot TV shows and movies made in foreign countries,especially America and Britain,have been introduced to Chinese audiences.However,some Chinese audiences complain that some comedy TV shows and movies that are popular in their original countries are “not that funny” when they are translated into Chinese.In order to maintain the humor in these foreign comedy shows,we have to rely on subtitle translation.Therefore,subtitle translation has been attracting more and more attention from researchers of translation studies.Based on the key principles of the relevance translation theory,a research has been carried out on the translation of the subtitles of Fresh off the Boat,a popular American situation comedy.The humor appeared in Fresh off the Boat has been classified into several categories,and two versions of translation of these humors,which are done by SSK fansub group and Dajia fansub group,are analyzed.The case study is aimed at finding out how to establish optimal relevance between the original English subtitle and the Chinese translation,and between the creator of the show and the target language audience,and ultimately,convey the humor to the target language audience.Specific strategies to translate different types of humor in subtitles are put forward in the conclusion.Hopefully,these strategies could contribute to future subtitle translation.