Subtitle Translation Under The Guidance Of Variation Translation Theory

With the development of globalization and increasing cultural exchanges between countries,we are witnessing more and more foreign shows and movies being introduced into China.Watching foreign shows,American shows in particular,has been an indispensable part of modern life.This highlights the translation of these shows.Film translation could be classified into two main categories,dubbed version and subtitle version.In the last decade,with the development of audience's foreign language literacy and demand for original audiovisual experience,subtitle version gradually grows into the mainstream of foreign films.Since film translation covers multiple fields and disciplines,the study of it should also be interdisciplinary.As one of the translators for the animated version of Batman,the writer has experienced the following difficulties in subtitle translation.1)The timeline cuts long sentences into short and trivial units,which cause difficulties for translators to handle.In order to guarantee the synchronism of target language and source language,it is not ideal to adjust word order as we usually do in translation.To deal with this,translators have to use syntactic linearity,a skill often applied in interpreting,to solve this problem and keep the original word order intact as much as possible.2)In conversing auditory information into visual information,the tones conveyed in the original voice is lost,especially when it comes to sarcasm and humor.The message in target language can sometimes be plain and boring.In this case,translators could add some modal particles or even change the way of expression to achieve the same effect as in source language.3)Culture-loaded message is a barrier in subtitle translation.Different from pure translation or interpreting,subtitle translation is constrained to limited space and time on the screen.Under such situation,it is impossible for simply literal translation.Variation theory,initiated by Huang Zhonglian,offers a solution to these problems.In meeting the special needs of specific group under certain situation,translators apply certain changes in the process.Here in this case,it meets the demands of the audience to receive as much information as possible with high efficiency in the fleeting duration of scenes.4)Time and space constraints are unique in subtitle translation.As a tool to help better appreciate the film,subtitle should not be distractive.Too many words or characters would spoil the viewer experience.In converting redundant oral speeches into written language,simplified translation often better meets the needs.