A Study On The Subtitle Translation Of Chinese Films From The Perspective Of Translation Variation Theory

With the economic globalization and the rapid development of the Chinese film industry,more and more excellent Chinese films have flooded into overseas markets.These films have also become an important window for the world to understand Chinese culture.In order to help foreign audiences to better appreciate Chinese films and thus to expand the overseas market of Chinese films,it is important to make the subtitle translation excellent enough.Film is a comprehensive art integrating sound,language and picture.The thesis maintains that the translation of the subtitle must match the plot of every picture of the film;Secondly,the instantaneousness of the film subtitle determines that the subtitle translation will be restricted by the number of words,so the translation must be concise and readable;In addition,most of the subtitles are the copy of the dialogues in the film.Therefore,the translation should conform to the oral expression habits of the characters in the film.The sentence structure hence should be simple and the translation should not too difficult to understand.These characteristics of film subtitles determine that the translation should be simplified,facilitating audiences to grasp the core of the dialogues in an instant,keeping up with the plot of the film and the switch of the picture.Therefore,in many cases,the translator will make an adaption in its translation,such as selecting and editing.In 2001,Professor Huang Zhonglian proposed Translation Variation Theory.The concept of “translation variation” is proposed and entitled to “complete translation”.It means that the translator will use some special translating strategies,such as addition,deletion,narration,condensation,adaptation,to modify the original text according to the specific needs of special readers under certain conditions.Therefore,Translation Variation Theory successfully explains the causes of the translating strategies applied in the subtitle translation practices.Meanwhile,it also has a good theoretical and practical guidance for the subtitle translation of film.Youth is a film directed by famous Chinese director Feng Xiaogang.The background of this literary film is during the Sino-Vietnamese War and the early stage of the Chinese reform and opening up.The protagonist is a group of young members from an art troupe.Therefore,the language in the film has the features of that era: Firstly,many political terms appear in the dialogues;Secondly,some subtitles are lines of military theatrical performances,many of which are the selection from Chairman Mao Zedong's poems;In addition,many lively slangs with Chinese cultural connotations are used.Comparing the Chinese and English version of the subtitles of Youth,it can be found that three translating techniques,namely,selecting,editing and interpreting,are more frequently used in the translation,which is closely related to the characteristics of the subtitle translation and to the language features of the film itself as well.In 2017,Youth won a high reputation at home and abroad,which is closely related to the success of its English translation.On the other hand,it also shows that the Translation Variation Theory can play a good guiding role in the subtitle translation of domestic film.The thesis hopes that more practical application of the theory into the translation practice of Chinese films,and urge the translator to adopt more flexible translation strategies to maximize the charm of Chinese films and display it to foreign audiences,hence promoting more Chinese films to go abroad,and spread Chinese culture worldwide.