Cultural Elements in English Film Subtitling and TranslationStrategies英语电影字幕翻译中的文化因素及翻译策略AbstractWith the rapid development of science and technology,cross-culturalcommunication has become increasingly prevalent.A growing number of people are eager to acquire knowledge about foreign countries, because of the differences in languages andcultures, translation has become indispensable in the process of culture exchange. Since China’s entryinto the WTO, lots of foreign films have poured into our country and became increasingly prosperous in China. However, thisprosperity is in sharp contrastwith the current situation of the translation of films.Sothis paper willpresent the study ofEnglish film subtitle translation. The focus of thepaper is to discuss how to deal with cultural elementsin English film dialogues while translating. Through studying the guiding principles and strategiesfor film subtitle translation, we can have a deeper understanding of foreign culture and its languages.Key words: English film subtitle translation; cultural elements; functional equivalenceContentsAbstract摘要I. Introduction (1)II. Literature Review (3)A. Previous Studies on Film Subtitle Translation (4)1. Development of Foreign Films in China (4)2. Film Subtitle Translation Studies Both at Home and Abroad (4)B. Summary of Past Studies on Film Subtitle Translation (5)III. Cultural Elements in Subtitle Translation (5)A. The Notion of Culture (6)B. Cultural Elements in Film Subtitle Translation (6)1. Word Sets and Cultural Connotations (7)2. Cultural-Specific Words (7)3.Cultural Images from Literary Works and Daily Life (8)IV. Strategies for Translating Cultural Elements in Film SubtitleTranslation (9)A. Problems in Film Subtitle Translation (10)1. Problems Concerning Translators (10)2. Problems Concerning Culturally Loaded Words and Expressions (10)3. Problems Concerning Film Pictures and Subtitles (11)B. Principles for Film Subtitle Translation (12)1. Principle of Accuracy (12)2. Principle of Conciseness (12)3. Principle of Achieving Equivalence (13)C. Strategies for Translating Cultural Elements in Film Subtitle Translation (14)1. Transliteration (14)2. Literal Translation (14)3. Paraphrasing (15)4. Replacement (15)V. Conclusion (16)Works Cited (16)I. IntroductionWith the rapid development of science and technology and the advent ofinformation age, cross-cultural communicationsbecome increasingly important.Film, as a kind of popular entertainment, is a “reflector” of the culture of itssociety. Imported films not only entertain viewers, but also educate them and broadentheir outlook on life by showing them exotic cultures. Watching foreign films is a fastandeasy way to get knowledge about foreign languages and cultures. Film translationis increasingly drawing attentionfrom audience. Film has become an indispensable part of people’s lives and exerted strong influence onthe formation of people’s language,living patterns and even values. Film translation is undoubtedly one of the commonest forms of translationencountered in daily life in modern society.This paper has four chapters. Firstly, the paper presents previous studies on this field both at home and abroad which can give us a general ideaabout film subtitle translation.Then it deals with cultureand film subtitle translation. To sum up, this paper comes to theconclusionthat the guiding principles for film subtitle translation should beconciseness, accuracy and principle of achieving equivalence. Film subtitle translation is different from other kinds of translation. Translators may be faced with many problems. To solve these problems, translators should follow these principles and adopt some strategies to produce high-qualified version. Therefore, the chapter four presents strategies to deal with cultural elements.II. Literature ReviewSubtitle translation can be seen as the best way to introduce the target language and culture, for Chinese, it mainly refers to English and its culture. As a result, some of the scholars have noticed the importance and urgency of film subtitle translation and theyhave done some researches on it. Therefore, it is important to have a literature review about film subtitle translation.A. Previous Studies on Film Subtitle TranslationFilm translation has a rather complex history of theories and practices. It isborn with the appearance of talkies, which also can be called as sounded movies. Compared with other forms oftranslation, the history of this new type of translation is rather short, not to saysystematic and theoretical study concerning it. It’s really a pity tha t film translationhas been largely ignored by translation studies for a long time. However, until now, it has been gaining more and more attentions andinterests from scholars and theorists.1. Development of Foreign Films in ChinaThis paper makes its focus on translating film dialogues from English to Chinese.Therefore, the development of foreign films, English films especially inChina shouldfirst be presented.Foreign film made its first appearance in late Qing Dynasty. At that time, onlythe royalty have the chances to see films. Most of these imported films are silent, therefore, it is safe to say before liberation, China virtually has no film translation.In early 1949,theChangchun Film Studio of Northeast China was founded and fromthen on, filmdubbing started. After China opened itself to the outside world in 1978, there began a boomof film translation as a result of looser control over the import of foreign films(Qian 89). Also there was a change from dubbing to subtitle translation.“According to one poll carried by Sinawebsite in 2000, about 70.87% people prefer towatch subtitled film.” (Duan 45). This figure indicates that at presentin China, subtitled film enjoys more popularity than dubbed one.2. Film Subtitle Translation Studies Both at Home and AbroadThe subtitle translation studies began with the development of film industry, hightechnology and globalization. The film industry is unquestionably better developedinthe western world, especially in Europe and the United States. Therefore, the amount of the film ishuge in Europe, and Europe scholars have also done a lot of researches.China also has a long history of film translation. Before 1949, China’s filmindustry, based in Shanghai, was overwhelmed by American and British products.Most of the imported films were silent, so the translation of films was not welldeveloped. Since 1949, China has kept on introducing a great number of films fromforeign countries, so film translation developed accordingly. Subtitle translation wasthe main translation pattern at that time. However, compared with the researches in foreign countries, the related investigations in China are far from satisfaction. Not a single work can be found that far. Only some limited articles are published in some journals.B. Summary of Past Studies on Film Subtitle TranslationSubtitle translation is a dominant form of film translation in our country and it enjoys great popularity among Chinese people. However, the research on English film subtitle translation is still not mature. Though a relatively great number of articles can be found in China, few of them are done systematically. Most of the studies are too general to give specific strategies for subtitle translation. As to cultural elements in film translation, some scholars have noticed the importance of culture in translation process, but their studies are done without theoretical basis, not to mention the systematic analysis. The study of cultural elements in English film subtitle translation still has a long way to go.III. Cultural Elements in Subtitle TranslationCulture is essential for translators. Translators should not only be bilingualism but also be biculturalism. As to the culture elements in this paper, it mainly refers to word sets, such as animal words, color words, words of persons or places; culture-specific words, mainly refers to idioms and cultural images from literary works and daily life.A. The Notion of CultureCulture is a notion that is too broad to make satisfactory definitions. The following are some typical definitions.The Contemporary Chinese Dictionary provides such explanations for culture:1) In terms of civilization and culture: sum total of the material wealth and cultural wealth created by man in the course of the historical development of society, cultural wealth in particular, such as literature, arts, education, and science, etc.2) (Of archaeology) comprehensive body of sites and ruins left behind, which are independent of their locations, in a given historical period. The identical tools, implements, and manufacturing skills are the characteristics of the same culture, as the Yangshao culture, and the Longshan culture.3) In terms of education, culture, schooling and literacy.One definition generally accepted as the most classic is provided by English anthropologist Edward Taylor, in his book Primitive Culture published in 1871. Hedefines culture as “…that complete whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by a man as a member of society”(58).To sum up, culture is a complicated concept, which has both the broad and narrow sense, the culture of narrow sense lays emphasis on spirit, dealing with the social superstructure and customs and habits; and the culture of broad sense deals with different aspects of the society, including the material culture, the culture of the social system and convention and the spiritual culture.B. Cultural Elements in Film Subtitle TranslationFilm is a particular kind of cultural product. It carries and reflects the culture as a whole. Through voice and images, we feel and accept the foreign culture. As the globalization increasingly enhances, more and more foreign films are imported especially from US. Therefore, film translation has become increasingly indispensable.1. Word Sets and Cultural ConnotationsBefore discussing word sets, it is necessary to know something about connotation. According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, connotation refers to a meaning or idea suggested by a word or thing in addition to the formal meaning or nature of the word or thing. Word sets such as animal words, plant words, color words, names of persons and places, etc. have the same conceptual meaning but different associative meanings, which mean different cultural connotations in Chinese and English.Take color words for an example.Timon: Gee, he looks blue! Pumbaa: I’d say brownish gold!Timon: No, no, no, I mean he’s depressed.from Lion King丁满：咦，他看上去灰溜溜的。
