【英语论文】英文电影名翻译的文化因素.doc

【英语论文】英文电影名翻译的文化因素 英文电影名翻译的文化因素内容摘要随着世界范围内频繁的文化交流翻译越来越受到关注英语电影是我们了解异域文化的窗口英语电影名称的翻译显得尤为重要本文研究了不同的英文电影名称翻译原则和策略说明好的翻译要中和两种不同的文化西方文化和中国文化译者在翻译的过程中不仅要考虑到原片的内涵还要结合文化因素这样才能得到更加满意的英语电影名称翻译关键词 英语电影名称翻译文化因素ABSTRACT With the promotion of frequent culture communication around the world translation is drawing more attention English film is an access to know the exotic culture and the English title translation is especially important The paper does researches into different English title translation principles and strategies and obtain that a good English title translation should combined with the cultural factor There are two cultures influencing the translation the western culture and the Chinese culture Translator should consider both the original film content and the cultural factor in the translating process Iin this way can translator obtain a successful English film title translationKey words English film translation Cultural factor CONTENTSAcknowledgementsiAbstract in ChineseiiAbstract in EnglishiiIntroduction11 Culture and film111 Cultural differences between Eastern and Western world1com Geographical differences2com Difference in historical background 2com Difference in religious beliefs2com Difference in values212 Film and film title3com Film genres3 com Naming methods of film title32 Film title translation421 Four principles of film title translation4com Informative value principle4com Cultural value principle4com Aesthetic value principle5com Commercial value principle522 English film title translation Strategies6 com Nativization6com Alienation623 Some cases7com The classic cases of English film title translation with culture factor 7com Different features of mainland Hong Kong and Taiwan translation103 Conclusion10Bibliography11The Cultural Factors in English Film Title TranslationIntroductionIn a world of globalization Chinese people are receiving a large number of things that covers almost all aspects such as society religion economy technology and culture Film is one of the important manifestations of culture The frequent movie culture communication around the world is a way can introduce the exotic culture to people in different countries and regions But sometimes the English film and title influenced by the literature history philosophy religion tradition custom of western nations cultural system becomes the communication barriers between Chinese and English culture circles In the process of translation translator chooses regulates strengthens and excludes the English cultural elements And at the same time the typical Chinese characteristics and images are added to the translation As a result of the reconstruction the general audiences are willing to accept the new images of culture and understand it betterFilm title undertakes the first impression of the whole work As soon as people see the film title they will associate something familiar in their mind and understand the content better before seeing the film For example if Chinese story梁山伯与祝英台was translated into Romeo and Juliet of China western people are able to understand its content and profound influence quickly On the contrary The Butterfly Lovers or LiangShanbo and ZhuYingtai would confuse the western audience The title阿甘正传maybe is one of the reasons why Forrest Gump are so popular in China The true story of Ah Q 阿Q正传 is the work of Lu Xun who was a great thinker in China With the impression of Chinese culture people will want to know who he is in this film At present there are many papers talking about translation of literary works or scientific literature but few of them are concerned with the translation of films let alone film titles The paper studies the translation process of film titles from the point view of culture and it analyses some translating strategies and principles of English film title At last the paper sets several film title translation examples to illustrate that translation should combine with cultural background1 Culture and film11 Cultural difference between Eastern and Western worldLanguage is not only a carrier of culture but an important part of culture Each nation has own cultural information On one hand it represents a nations historical and cultural background On the other hand it also includes peoples outlook on life lifestyles and modes of thinking and so on The translation is a conversion for words and languages which date from different culture background social environment and mode of thinking In a word any translations couldnt exist alone without culture and the assent of translation is cultural communicationIts more important to learn two kinds of culture than to command two kinds of languages for a really successful translator in that words will lost their meanings if they left the culture Therefore when we translate something we must pay attention to difference between Chinese and western culture and also choose some effective wayscom Geographical differencesThere exist evident difference between climate and geographical environment under Chinese and western We can find them everywhere For example we often say that A spring river flows East however in western countries they dont think so Because their river flows from southeast to northwest into sea Take another example American often says that from sea to sea to express the whole country because the influence of geographical environment 王国桥200842 But we dont think socom Differences in historical backgroundEvery people know that China is famous historical country and we have 5000 cultural basis During long history procession we have contributed for human beings too much For example four great inventions Meanwhile we had some sayings such as know themselves know yourself while in western countries they are expressed in other ways For example they like to use waterloo standing for failure because Napoleon had poisoned herecom Difference in religious beliefsThere exists lots of unique religious culture Christianity is the main religion in Britain and America When westerners feel surprised they always like to say Jesus however in the eyes of Muslims and Jews seven day is their religion They think seven day is such place in which God and angels live happily In China Chinese has a lot of proverbs to express religion Such as Oliver boundless is connected with Buddha and so oncom Difference in valuesEvery country has its emotion of language However there exists different ways to express so that they have own value for the same thing The value of westerners is proud of individualist Such as Dont put your finger in the pie is to say that you just do your things rather than disturbing others Westerners are cherish time Some good sayings prove this point for example Time is money can convey their attitude The value of Chinese has been keen on Collectivism Chinese like to work together and think the power of group is much stronger Chinese often said many hands make light a fence of three piles heads are better All of them can stand for the value trend of Chinese Chinese also think high of time However The concept of Time is inferior to westernersWe can take Dog as example between two countries Many of them like to keep dog as a member of their family so that the word of dog always conveys a good symbol For example every dog has its dog means 人人都有得意日in Chinese Lucky dog means 你是个幸运儿and so on On the contract Chinese think a bad symbol of Dog Such as 狗娘养的 狗东西 and so on12 Film and film titlecom Film genresFilm genres are categories classifications or groups of films that have similar familiar or instantly-recognizable patterns techniques or conventions that include one or more of the following setting contents themes plot motifs styles structures situations characters or characterizations and stars 蔡圣勤200335 In this paper movies are divided into six main categories western movie comedy drama movie horror movie the suspense thriller science fiction and war fictioncom Naming methods of film title Before film arts communication film title one has appeared It is a harbinger which has promotion effect A good title translation can enrich films connotation and promote the cross-cultural communication In order to have a better understanding of English movie title we need to know English movie title sources Generally speaking English movies are always named by the backgroundthemeplotmain character or thread of movieNaming by background The background that plays a very important part in characterization has several elements such as time place and environment in which the story happens Many film titles belongs to this sort Casablanca卡萨布兰卡Titanic泰坦尼克Chicago芝加哥Roman Holiday罗马假日Pearl Harbor珍珠港Halloween万圣节Naming by theme The title of the film is a mean to outstand the theme lying behind the story Film title named by theme can convey subjective message establish the entire emotional moodand attract the spectacles Such as Serendipity缘分天注定 Brief Encounter相见恨晚 Ghost人鬼情未了 Brave Heart勇敢者的心Naming by main character s There is always one leading role in a film and in some cases are not only one He or she usually is the hero of the film Here we can see Elizabeth伊莉莎白女王 Jane Eyre简爱 Romeo and Julie t罗密欧与朱丽叶 Harry potter哈利波特 ZhouEnlai 周恩来Naming by plothere is no doubt that plot is the principal factor to name a film A lot of films are named by it Dances with Wolves与狼共舞Around the World in 80 Days环游地球八十天Face Off变脸 Back to the Future回到未来Shakespeare in Love恋爱中的莎士比亚 Interview with a Vampire夜访吸血鬼2 Film title translation21 Four principles of film title translationThe conformity of film Translation and other literary work translation is using figurative language word to express the feeling of the superb thinking art But the film translation has the particularity which makes it differ from other translation that is the film translation should be visible hearable and comprehensible by audience Highlighting film content conveying the theme information establishing the whole emotional tone providing aesthetic pleasure and increasing box office are the ultimate goals of film titles Title translation of cross-cultural communication process in the film often represented the four most basic translating principles and value tendenciescom Informative value principlesTitle translation should pass the content-related information faithfully and then achieves the identity between translate title and original work which is the so-called informative value principle Inaccurate translation is taboo of film title translation In Taiwan Sound of Music once translated as仙乐飘飘何处闻which can simply applied to all types of musical pieces Whats more aDevil wave once swept Taiwan as long as the film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger all translated as 魔鬼XX by ignoring their contents Such as Terminator Taiwan translation魔鬼终结者 Mainland终结者 Kindergarten Cop Taiwan translation魔鬼孩子王 Mainland幼稚园特警 Eraser Taiwan translation魔鬼毁灭者 Hong Kong translation蒸发密令 Total Recall Taiwan translation魔鬼总动员 Mainland 全面回忆Hong Kong translation宇宙威龙 It is difficult for audience to understand and sometimes causes wrong psychological expectations com Cultural valueTranslation is not merely linguistic conversion process it is the cultural exchange of the social phenomenon as wellFor the social development geography climate history political economic values customs ethics and something else are significantly different between the West and the East reflecting cultural values in the title translation promoting cultural exchange and understanding is very important tasks For example First Wives Club which had been translated as大老婆俱乐部 but in English first wife refers to the woman who a man married with at the first time And it has no any associations with the concubine in Chinese cultureThis witty comedy is about how a group of abandoned women avenged their self upon their ungrateful ex-husbands The other translation 发妻俱乐部would be more accurate for its content Another example one of the United States best 100 classical films TheThird Manwas initially translated to第三者 leading many Chinese audience always to mistake it as a film of marriage ethics In fact the third man refers to the third witnesses of car accident and according to the film plot the translation version changed into 第三个人or黑狱亡魂 is more reasonable In a word an accurate film title translation can reflect the original idea of its title and theme vividly One way to access this target is to combine typical national cultural characteristics with translation making it embodied traditional culture and charm com Aesthetic value principleFilm title translation aims at getting rid of original word constraints and grasps its aesthetic ideas deeply And then it also conveys the original film image emotion artistic beauty of language through their own language at the same time the audience can feel the aesthetic experienceRefined words make titles convey its ideas vividly In order to achieving the aesthetic value refining every single word is essential By comparing the following three groups of English title translations we can easily realize the second Chinese translation can convey Chinese culture better Ex1 You Cans Take It with You你无法带走浮生若梦 Ex2A Man from Snowy River来自雪河的人雪河男子汉 Ex3Ordinary People普通人凡夫俗子Refined words make title sounds melodiously Translators making use of rhythm tone cause title is read tunefully smoothly and beautifully Outland天外天cadencerhymeCourage Under Fire生死豪情cadenceSinging in the Rain雨中曲rhyme纯属虚构Picture Perfect alliterationHome Alone小鬼当家four-character phrase Forest Gump阿甘正传four-character phrase A Place in the Sun郎心如铁simileA Few Good Man好人寥寥 repetition Old Wives for New旧宠新欢contrast True Lies真实的谎言 contrast com Commercial value principleHigh level of commercial profit is one of the aims that film arts pursue for The translation of good film title is not only integrating art and faithfulness it is but also promoting the film advocacy and stimulating peoples desire for watching By using noticeable title translation which can play up atmosphere and create suspense we can achieve the film commercial publicity purposesSuch as Sister Act修女也疯狂when people seeing this title they might feel confused Because in general people mind sister is someone who is peaceful kind and undisturbed it is strange it has connection with something like crazy Therefore people would ask themselves Why sister become crazy and step into the cinema for seeking the answer The other examples like It Happens One Night一夜风流The Rock勇闯夺命岛Ghost人鬼情未了The English Patient英伦情人are all successful commercial film title translations22 English film title translation strategiesTranslation is not only the conversion between two languages it also involves the conflict between two different cultures Because language is a part of culture and any language problem has cultural background How to convey films theme under different cultural background is a problem during translation And there are two basic strategies in the cultural conversion of translation alienation which emphasizes original language culture and nativization which emphasizes target language culture 贾南南2008 com NativizatonNativization is the transformation of foreign culture it means domestication and localization Nativization advocates to adapt the cultural habit of target language as much as possible to consider for the reader and to eliminate linguistic cultural barriers The most important feature of nativization is the fluent translation Nativization lets the the translate works be read as mother tongue language and in order to achieve this purpose it should minimize or even cover the cultural differences The target language mainstream cultural values replace the original language cultural values the strangeness of the original language culture has been diluted and the translation be easy to understandcom AlienationAlienation is to keep the features of original language culture as much as possible Alienation aims to exchange different cultures by word transplantation introduce the exotic culture and different characteristics by the alienated translation Alienated translation keeps the differences of cuture Firstly it can enlarge the cultural horizons of readers Secondly we can compare the cultural difference better and understand the origianl language culture deeper Thirdly alienated translation enrich the culture of target language country greatly and promote cultural communication between different areasLets look at some examples to compare the differences between nativization and alienation1He made you for a highway to my bed but Ia maiddie maiden-widowed nativization他要借着你做牵引相思的桥梁可是我却要做一个独守空阁的怨女而死去 alienation 他本要借着你做捷径登上我的床可怜我这处女活守寡到死是处女2早霞不出门晚霞行千里 nativizationPink clouds in morning says it may rain pink clouds at dusk means it will be fine alienation Red sky at nightshepherds delight red sky in the morningshepherds warning 3癞蛤蟆想吃天鹅肉 nativizationA case of the toad on the ground wanting to eat the goose in the sky alienation A toad hankering for a taste of swan Translation is not only the pursuit of nativization or alienation the essence of translation is communication and lets people understand the original meaning As to the film title translation if we only want to express the original characteristic and general content of the original film we can adopt alienation and if we want to explore its connotative meaning further we should use nativization23 Some casescom The classic cases of English film title translation with cultural factor Movies date from life and embody the local culture Film title translation is not simply the process of