Abstract

The success of Chinese martial films in foreign film market makes them join the global business competition on behalf of the nation. And their English subtitle translation draws more and more attention. Different from the traditional written text translation, subtitle translation of Chinese martial films is limited by time and space, just as the general subtitle translations are. Besides, their translation is influenced by their specific publication purpose and large amount of cultural background knowledge. Therefore, in some context, traditional translation principles are not available. In “Skopostheorie” of Functionalism, film subtitle translation is a purposeful activity, which can best explain the principles of the subtitle translation of Chinese martial films. Different translation purposes determine different translation strategies. The three rules of “Skopostheories” are Skopos rule, coherence rule, fidelity rule, among which the Skopos rule is the prime rule, the fidelity rule is considered subordinate to coherence rule, and both are subordinate to the Skopos rule. The intention of directors of Chinese martial films and the expected effect from foreign audiences determine the translation strategies. The Skopostheorie gives an available explanation of the flexible strategies adopted in English subtitle translation of Chinese martial films.
Based on the Skopostheories, and focusing on the cultural barriers in the translation, the thesis discusses the strategies of English subtitle translation of Chinese martial films from the perspective of linguistics, that is in syntactic and semantics, with the aid of case study.

Key Words:  Skopostheorie;  Chinese martial films;  subtitle translation; translation strategies

摘　要

华语古装电影在海外电影市场的成功使其逐渐代表着国家和民族的形象参与对外商品输出的竞争，其字幕翻译也日益受到关注。华语古装电影的字幕英译不同于传统的文本翻译，如一般字幕翻译一样受时间空间限制，又因其特定的发行目的及大量的文化背景知识，有一定的特殊性。因此传统的翻译理论在华语古装电影字幕英译的策略上有一定的局限性。德国功能主义的“目的论”提出字幕翻译是有目的的行为。 不同的翻译目的决定了不同的翻译策略。“目的论”可总结出三个原则：目的原则，忠实原则，连贯原则。其中忠实原则，服从于连贯原则，而两者都要服于目的原则。这能很好的诠释出华语古装电影字幕翻译的根本原则。在翻译目的论的指导下，根据华语古装电影导演的特定目标和海外观众的期待信息，译者能够灵活选择华语古装电影的字幕翻译策略。
本文从目的论为指导原则的角度，并着眼于翻译的文化差异，结合华语古装电影实例，从语言学，即文体及语义方面探讨华语古装电影字幕英译的基本策略。

关键词：翻译目的论；华语古装电影；字幕翻译；翻译策略