毕业设计（论文）-从功能对等理论看《老友记》中字幕翻译.doc

届 别 2013 学 号 200914030422 毕业设计（论文）从功能对等理论看老友记中字幕翻译 On Subtitle Translation of Friends from the Perspective of Functional Equivalence 姓 名 系 别、专 业 外语系英语师范 导 师 姓 名、职 称 完 成 时 间 2012年12月 On Subtitle Translation of Friends from the Perspective of Functional EquivalenceA ThesisSubmitted in Partial Fulfillment of the RequirementsFor the Bachelors Degree in English Language and LiteratureBy Undergraduate ProgramDepartment of Foreign LanguagesXiangnan UniversitySupervisor: Huang LilanAcademic Title: Lecturer Signature_ Approved December 2012CONTENTSAbstract in Chinese.iAbstract in English.iiIntroduction.11. Theoretical grounds. . . . . .21.1 Studies on subtitle . .3 1.1.1 Definition of subtitling.4 1.1.2 Categorization of subtitling.4 1.1.3 Constraints of subtitling.41.2 Studies on subtitling translation abroad and at home.5 1.2.1 A general introduction of subtitle translation.5 1.2.2 Studies on subtitling translation abroad.5 1.2.3 Studies on subtitling translation at home.51.3 Nidas functional equivalence and its application to subtitle translation.5 1.3.1 A brief introduction of Nida. .6 1.3.2 Basic concept on functional equivalence.6 1.3.3 The possibility and necessity of the application of functional equivalence subtitle translation7 1.3.4 How to apply equivalence theory into translation.72. Subtitle translation of Friends under the functional equivalence theory.7 2.1 About sitcom Friends. .7 2.1.1 A brief introduction of sitcom.7 2.1.2 An introduction of sitcom Friends.7 2.2 Subtitle translation of Friends from the perspective of functional equivalence .8 2.2.1 Translation of humor.8 2.2.2 Translation of rhetoric.9 2.2.3 Translation of culture-specific words.102.2.4 Translation of swear words and taboo words.11Conclusion.12Bibliography.13Acknowledgements.14摘 要老友记是美国情景喜剧中的一部佳作。在剧中，个性鲜明的人物、淋漓尽致的表演、匠心独运的剧情编排以及智慧巧妙的言语幽默得到完美的融合，向观众全景呈现了典型的美式幽默。奈达在他的功能对等理论中提出了“读者反应”这一理念。它要求译者应该让译本读者对译本作出和源语文本读者同等的反应。翻译言语旨在同等程度地保留源语文本中的效果，这是为了使中国的老友记观众能够享受到与美国观众以及其他以英语为母语的观众同样的欢笑和感官体验。奈达的功能对等理论为老友记的字幕翻译提供了科学的理论指导。本文从幽默、修辞、跨文化词汇、发誓语和禁忌语方面研究老友记的字幕翻译，发现尽管完全表达原文是很难的，但是一个在功能上与原文相似是可能的。关键词：奈达；功能对等；字幕翻译；老友记ABSTRACTFriends is an outstanding work among American sitcoms.It wonderfully and harmonious-ly combines with particularly individualized leading characters, excellent performance of actors and actress, ingeniously-knit plot and above all the lines in which verbal humor is brilliantly designed. A vast panorama of the American style of humor is exhibited in this sitcom.Nida in his functional equivalence theory builds a of concept “readers response”, accordi-ng to which the translator should make the target reader respond to the translated text as the same way as original reader does to the source text. It aims to retain humorous effects as the same degree as that in source language in order to make Chinese audiences enjoy themselves equally. In this sense, Nidas functional equivalence theory provides scientific guidance for subtitle translating in Friends.This article makes a study of Friends from the perspective of humor, rhetoric, culture-spec-ific words, swear words and taboo words. The study shows it is difficult to express completel-y the original meaning, a good and successful translation which functions similarly with the original show is possible.Key words: Nida; Functional equivalence; subtitle translation; Friends.24IntroductionAs cultural communication and international exchange are developing by leaps and bounds, it becomes possible for interlingual activities and audiovisual products to be introduced into our country from abroad. Therefore, its common now every year a great amount of English movies and TV series are brought into China. This explains why there is a great need of translating subtitles in market. Qian Shaochang2001) makes an appeal that scholars in Translating circles should attach vital importance to translating of audiovisual text. Sitcom translation is a rather special part in subtitle translation area. The final purpose in translating sitcom is to present the character of the original text to the maximum.Friends is famous among American in recent years. Along its ten years broadcasting, it has been a great success and creates new records many times through history in National Broadcast Company. As soon as it was introduced into our country, it has attracted a great number of Chinese fans. Because of widespread popularity, the need of Friends grows badly in audiovisual products market. Many kinds of subtitle translation versions of Friends were produced and published by non-official translators from all around the world on the Internet. The purpose of which is not only to meet the demands of audience but also for commercial benefits. To Chinese audiences, especially for those who dont know about English, the subtitle is the only channel through which they can follow the lines spoken out by characters. In other words, the quality of translation vitally decides the extent to which the Chinese audiences can appreciate Friends. Therefore, the translator should shoulder the responsibility to help Chinese audiences enjoy the pleasure in the way as English audiences do. In this spirit, the author find there is correspondence among the concept “readers response”, the nature of Nidas functional equivalence theory, and the purpose of translating verbal in Friends. 1. Theoretical Grounds 1.1 Studies on Subtitle1.1.1 Definition of SubtitlingA lot of scholars give different definitions to subtitling. According to Jakobson(Jackson 1959)., subtitling is “interpretation of verbal signs by means of some other language”.Gottlieb (Gottlied, Herik:1997)defines subtitle as a written, additive, immediate, polymedia translation. According to Mona Baker (2004), subtitling is “a term used to refer to one of main methods of the language transfer used in transferring types of mass audio-visual communication, for example, film and television”.1.1.2 Categorization of subtitlingSubtitles can be categorized into three types by their positions in the film. Those appearing at the beginning of the film including the title, directors, leading actors and actress, major production members, are called “open credit titles”; those appearing after the main feature film including detailer cast and members, sponsors, and many other production information are called “end credit titles”; The rest of subtitles in the main feature film are called “main subtitles”.Main subtitles can be classified into spoken subtitles, movie subtitles with music and graphic according to their functions.Subtitles can also be classified into inter-ligual or intra-linguistic (e.g. for the deaf), open or closed . According to Gottlied (Gottlied:2004), subtitling can be distinguished from the linguistic and technical perspectives respectively.In this paper, I will discuss the open inter-lingual subtitles that are translations of the source language words at the bottom of screen shown with the original pictures and sounds.1.1.3 Constraints of SubtitlingAs a special standard different from traditional translation activities, subtitle translation is characterized by its spatial, temporal and linguistic constraints which create particular difficulties and determine the strategies to be employed in its translation.1.1.3.1 Spatial ConstraintSubtitles often consist of one or two lines of a maximum length of 35 characters. Its a rule that subtitles are placed at the bottom of the picture and are either centered or left-aligned (Baker, 2004).1.1.3.2 The constraint of timeThe notion of time includes two phenomena: text production time and text presentation time to the target-language audience. In this regard, time is seen as a point in sustain from the past to the present.(1) T1, time for production of the original;(2) T2, time for presentation of the original (at least its visual side);（3) T3,Time for presentation of translation.If T1 precedes T2, and T3 is identical with T2, the translation is the same with the original. If T1 is the same as T2, and T2 is different from T3, because in the simultaneous interpreting, the translation is non-synchronous, usually delayed. If T1 precedes T2 and the original work is not presented to the target audience, then the translation is distemporal. However, synchronous translation types and non-synchrono-us types are contemporal.(Baker,2004)The maximum duration time needed for a full single-line subtitle of 7 or 8 words is about 3 seconds and the minimum duration time needed for a single word subtitle is at least 3/2 seconds. 1.1.3.3 Linguistic ConstraintsIntralinguistic constraint means the difference in syntax and grammar between the two languages; extralinguistic constraint is about the problems concerning the reality. Basil Hatim and Ian Mason(1997)make conclusion of four constraints:(1) Certain features of the speech will not automatically be represented in the written form as the result of shift from speech to writing. (2) Subtitle translation has the constraints that given the medium or channel in which meaning is to be conveyed, mostly space limitations and short processing time.(3) The translator has to consider reassess coherence strategies, and take measures like reduction, reduction etc, to make the version more concise.(4) Matching the subtitles to what is actually visible on screen may create an additional constraint. Translator must pay much attention to the synchronizatio-n so as to convey the optical information in a effective way. 1.1.2 Studies on Subtitling Translation Abroad and at Home 1.1.2.1 A general introduction of subtitle translationSubtitling is the translation of the source text of an audiovisual product into a written target text that is added onto the images of original product, its usually at the bottom of the screen.( Diaz-Cintas, Jorge:1999). As condensed written translations of original dialogue, subtitling is synchronizing with the screen image. The target audiences often enjoy the foreign audiovisual products with the help of the subtitling. 1.1.2.2 Studies on Subtitle Translation Abroad Compared with subtitle translation studies in China, experts in other foreign countries start doing related researches and practices at an earlier time. Scholars hav-e concluded some merits and demerits and demerits of subtitle, and worked out appli-cable strategies of subtitle translation. In the paper “Culture一bound Problems in Subtitling”, (Nerdergaard-Larsen, Bri-git 1993,(2).) Nedergaard-Larsen defines subtitle translation as a special language exchange type-a condensed written text of the source language oral speeches. Luyken(Luyken1991)believes that subtitle translation includes interlingual message transformation simplified, and condensed text, and change from verbal speech into written text. These are three layers of meaning differ from each other in the theoretical perspective, but closely related with each other in a particular way. Besides, the last two layers of meaning marks the uniqueness of subtitle translation from other types of translation. In ordinary translation and interpretation, there is no transformation between oral speech and written text. Yet subtitle translation requires a transformation from oral signals into written words, Gottlieb regards as diagonal translation in his paper “Subtitling:Diagonal Translation (Gottilieb, Herik 1994, (1). 1.2.3 Studies on Subtitle Translation at Home In 1949,a Russian film was translated in Changchun Film Studio marking the beginning of Chinese subtitle translation study and practice. The importance as well as the guidance or principles of subtitle translation articulated in some of the research papers. Here, some examples are quoted to highlight the importance of it. Professor Li YunXing(李运兴,2001)from Tianjin Normal University highlights the two indispensable features of subtitle translation in his paper “Strategies for Translating Subtitles”, First, there is much information involved in the sources langua-e text, including images, verbal sound, music, body language and other related elements. Subtitle translation supposed to convey as much information as possible. Secondly, audiences of the target language can be clear about the pronunciation and intonation of the source text while enjoying the audio-visual product. As is mentioned above. Professor Qian Shaochang(钱绍昌,2000)from Shanghai International Studies University considers audio-visual translation as a field of growing importance. He started to pick up subtitle translation early in 1984 when he used to work on C-E subtitle translation of some science and education programs and documentaries produced in Shanghai Science and Education Film Studio and Shanghai TV Station. Therefore he is quite an experienced expert in this field. He articulated in his paper film “Translation-A Translation Field of Growing Importance ”, that there are altogether five features for film language:1.listening. 2. Comprehensive. 3. Instant Audio-visual products differ greatly from literature works. 4. Commonness. 5. Limitation. Based on the special requirements of subtitles, ZhaoChunmei, (赵春梅,2002)an editor from CCTV, analyses four main conflicts demands facing a translator in the process of translation一length vs. content, word order vs. picture order, naturalization-vs. alienation, and transliteration vs. semantic translation. 1.2. Study of Nidas Functional Equivalence and its Applicatio -n to Subtitle Translation 1.2.1 A Brief Introduction of NidaEugene A Nida(1914)has been a pioneer in translation theory and linguistics. His theory has imposed a great influence on studies in western countries and he is regarded as Father of Modern Translation Theory. The influence upon Chinese is greater. Before the introduction of Functional Equivalence in 1980s, Chinese translators mainly focused their attention on traditional Chinese translation theories, such as Yan Fus three-character translation principle-faithfulness, smoothness and elegance. Since Nidas theory is based on contemporary linguistics, semiotics, anthropology, communication theory, information theory, it has aroused great interest in Chinese translation scholars when it was first introduced into China. It has contributed so much to the development of Modern Chinese translation.Nida put much importance on the rule of in translating, treating “readers response” as a criterion in evaluating translation. In 1964, his book Toward a Science Translating was published and the proposition of “dynamic equivalence” was first put forward, which defined as “in terms of the degree to which the receptors of the message in the receptor language respond to it in substantially the same manner as the receptors in the source language”.There is no doubt that Nida has made great contribution to modern linguistic and translation theory. In the following sections, we are going to discuss Nidas functional equivalence. 1.2.2 Basic Concepts of Functional Equivalence In 1964, Nida initiated this theory in his paper “Toward a Science of Translate” first given a clear definition of “dynamic equivalence”. Later, in “From One Language to Another” (1986), Nida replaced “functional equivalence” for “dynamic equivalence” just to avoid misunderstanding and stress the concept of function. But Nidas theory never means absolute sameness. As Nida(2001)says, such a view of functional equivalence means diff