影视剧字幕翻译策略研究-以《生活大爆炸》为例_英语论文

Strategies of Subtitle Translation:A Case Study of The Big Bang Theory

摘要

近年来，随着文化交流的深入和互联网技术的普及，越来越多的外国影视作品传入国内，尤其是美剧在中国越来越受欢迎。观看美剧成为人们生活的一种休闲方式，以及满足人们提高英语水平，增长见识的需求。但由于语言文化的差异和障碍，许多人观看美剧必须依赖字幕的帮助。因此，为了满足国内观众观看交流的需要，字幕组应运而生，并带来了极具特色的字幕翻译。字幕翻译不同于专业翻译，翻译策略的选择也有所不同，并且在跨文化交流中扮演着重要的角色。但是，国内对于影视字幕翻译的研究明显落后于西方。而且由于大多数字幕组属于自发组织，翻译的水平和质量没有受到统一的规范，这必将影响双语的交流和文化传播，所以有必要对国内的影视字幕翻译做进一步研究。

翻译目的论的核心概念是翻译过程中的最主要因素是翻译的目的。为了满足不同的目的，翻译时必须采取不同的策略。也就是说，翻译的目的决定了翻译的策略和方法。影视字幕的翻译也具有一定的目的性，根据源语言的语境特点和受众的审美需求，准确地传达原文信息，使影片得到充分理解和欣赏， 所以目的论对字幕翻译具有指导作用。根据目的论的原则，影视翻译的目的是在准确传达原文意思的基础上促进文化交流，所以字幕翻译应做到简洁、生动、易于理解和接受。

《生活大爆炸》(The Big Bang Theory)是一部关于科学天才和邻居美女之间发生的生活趣事的美国情景喜剧，新颖的故事情节和有趣的人物对话广受国内观众喜欢。这也得益于人人影视字幕组(YYeTs)高品质的字幕翻译。人人影视版本的字幕翻译可以说取得巨大成功，成为很多人讨论和学习的对象。因此，本文选取《生活大爆炸》的字幕翻译作为分析对象，探讨研究其灵活巧妙的翻译策略，及其如何在准确表达源语意思的基础上传达了喜剧效果。

分析结果表明，人人影视字幕组的翻译在遵循目的论的基础上，主要采用了归化、注释、意译三种策略。其中，归化主要分为使用流行语和使用具有中国特色的词汇。这些策略使字幕翻译既能准确、简洁地表达了原文意思，又满足了观众的审美需求，传达了喜剧效果，使观众更容易理解剧情，从而促进了文化交流和传播。

关键词：影视字幕，翻译策略，目的论，文化传播

Abstract

In recent years, with the deepening of cultural exchanges and the popularity of Internet technology, more and more foreign film and television works come into China, especially the American television dramas being more and more popular. Watching American TV series becomes a way of leisure in people’s life, also helping them to learn a foreign language and broaden horizons. However, due to the language and culture barriers, most people cannot watch foreign television plays without the help of the subtitling. In order to meet the needs of domestic audience, subtitle groups come into being, bringing a very unique type of translation -- subtitle translation. Different from professional translation, the strategies used in subtitle translation are unique. But compared with the studies abroad, the study of the film and television subtitle translation in China is still lagging behind. Besides, most fansubs are voluntary organizations and their translation abilities are not regulated by a unified standard, which would definitely affect the bilingual communication and cultural exchange. Therefore, it is necessary to make a study of the strategies used in subtitle translation. 

The core concept of the Skopos theory is that the most important factor in translation process is the purpose of the translation. In other words, different purposes determine different strategies. Subtitling of foreign language TV series is also a purposeful activity, requiring accurate meaning transfer according to the source texts’ characteristics and the aesthetic needs of the audience, with an aim of making the film completely understood and appreciated. From this view, the Skopos theory plays a guiding role on subtitle translation and it requires the subtitling to be concise, vivid, easily understood and appreciated. 

The Big Bang Theory is a popular American sitcom telling the funny life stories happened between several scientific talents and a neighbor girl. It is popular among the Chinese audiences for its interesting plots and dialogues, which is also benefited from the qualified subtitle translation. Among them, YYeTs’s subtitling is of great success and becomes the object of discussion and learning for many people. So this paper makes a case study of TBBT’s subtitling, exploring its skillful translation strategies, about how to convey humorous effects building on meaning transfer. 

This study found that YYeTs’s subtitle translation strategies mainly cover three aspects: domestication including using catchwords and expressions with Chinese characteristics, annotation and liberal translation. These flexible and skillful strategies enable the translation to transfer the original meaning concisely and vividly, meet the needs of the audience and convey comedy effects. Moreover, it helps the audiences better comprehend the stories and plots, therefore promote the communication and transmission of culture. 

Keywords: subtitle translation; translation strategies; Skopostheorie; cultural transmission

Contents

摘 要

Abstract

Acknowledgements

Chapter One  Introduction 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Objectives of the study 2

1.3 Theory of the study 2

1.4 Organization of the writing 3

Chapter Two  Literature Review 4

2.1 Subtitle Translation 4

2.2 Skopostheorie 6

2.3 Summary 8

Chapter Three Subtitle Translation Strategies of The Big Bang Theory 10

3.1 A Brief Introduction of The Big Bang Theory 10

3.2 Fansub of the Big Bang Theory 10

3.3 An Analysis of the Strategies Adopted in Subtitle Translation 10

3.4 Summary 16

Chapter Four  Conclusion 18

4.1 Major Findings of the Present Study 18

4.2 Significance of the Study 19

4.3 Limitations of the Study 19

References 20