英語電影片名漢譯原則與方法探究【畢業(yè)論文】

1、<p><b>　　（20_ _屆）</b></p><p><b>　　本科畢業(yè)設(shè)計</b></p><p><b>　　英語</b></p><p>　　英語電影片名漢譯原則與方法探究</p><p>　　A Study on the Principles and

2、 Techniques in the Translation of Film Titles from English to Chinese</p><p><b>　　Contents</b></p><p>　　AbstractIV</p><p>　　1 Introduction1</p><p>　　2 Pri

3、nciples of Film Title Translation1</p><p>　　2.1 Principle of informative value1</p><p>　　2.1.1 Theme, scenario and style1</p><p>　　2.1.2 Translation of equality2</p><

4、p>　　2.2 The principle of cultural value3</p><p>　　2.2.1 Spread of culture3</p><p>　　2.2.2 Localization3</p><p>　　2.3 The principle of aestheticism4</p><p>　　2.3.

5、1 Readability4</p><p>　　2.3.2 Resonance5</p><p>　　2.4 Principle of audience psychology and commercial value6</p><p>　　3 Translation Techniques7</p><p>　　3.1 Literal

6、 translation7</p><p>　　3.2.1 Translation of protagonists or place/location9</p><p>　　3.2.2 Translation of the adopted chefs-doeuvre9</p><p>　　3.3 Free translation10</p>&

7、lt;p>　　3.4 Transformation of the film title10</p><p>　　3.5 Interpenetration of the translation11</p><p>　　4 Conclusion12</p><p>　　Bibliography13</p><p>　　Acknowl

8、edgements14</p><p><b>　　摘 要</b></p><p>　　電影片名是電影的眼睛，因此片名翻譯十分重要，電影片名的好壞對于電影票房的成功與否有著重要影響。所以電影片名翻譯成功在影片中起著重要的作用。電影片名翻譯的原則與策略對于大量優(yōu)秀影片的引進與出口顯得尤為重要。本篇論文從信息價值、文化價值、審美價值以及觀眾心理和影片商業(yè)價值角度入手總

9、結(jié)了基本，切實可行的影片名稱翻譯原則。與此同時，諸如直譯、意譯、音譯、影片名稱的改譯和翻譯策略的綜合應(yīng)用也在文中一一列出并加以例證說明。</p><p>　　關(guān)鍵詞：電影片名；價值角度；翻譯原則；翻譯策略；綜合應(yīng)用</p><p><b>　　Abstract</b></p><p>　　Film titles play a vital rol

10、e in the successful translation of films. Hence the principles and techniques applied in translation of film titles are of the great importance as more and more significant films are introduced into domestic and overseas

11、 markets. In the thesis, the author probes into the aspects of informative value, cultural value, aesthetic value and the principle of audience’s psychology and commercial value. Meanwhile, translation techniques like li

12、teral translation, free translat</p><p>　　Key words: Film Titles; Value; Translation Principles; Translation Techniques; Application</p><p>　　1 Introduction </p><p>　　With various

13、films being translated and introduced into different countries in the global age, film title translation principles and techniques are of great importance among cultural communications. Film title translation has been re

14、garded as a kind of cross-cultural activity. “From the perspective of its genre and style, film title translation is included in the aspect of professional translation study.”(Jin Di, 1997) Meanwhile, He Yuemin (1997) ha

15、s pointed out the problems in western film titl</p><p>　　2 Principles of Film Title Translation </p><p>　　Film title translation has a direct impact on the whole film translation. An attractive

16、and impressive film title helps gain mass appeal so that the box-office can be further guaranteed. Basically, film title translation should obey the following principles: principle of informative value, principle of cult

17、ural value, principle of aesthetic value, and principle of audience’s psychology and commercial value.</p><p>　　2.1 Principle of informative value</p><p>　　2.1.1 Theme, scenario and style</p&

18、gt;<p>　　“As is known to all that a film title usually derives from its theme, scenario, protagonist(s) and background as well” (He Ying, 2001). According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionar

19、y, “theme” means “the subject or main idea in a talk, piece of writing or work of art.”(A S Hornby, Sallywehmeier, 2000:1829).The definition of “scenario” is “a written outline of what happens in a film/movie or play” (A

20、 S Hornby, Sallywehmeier, 2000:1549).And the explanation for “style” is “the</p><p>　　In order to maintain informative value, the film title translation should conform to the theme, scenario and style of the

21、 film. Take the following film title translation for example:</p><p>　　2.1.2 Translation of equality</p><p>　　Translation of equality means we should translate film titles in the same or in a si

22、milar way, or to the same degree to guarantee the informative value in film title translation. “When the readability of the source language is pretty good, we should manage to translate the source language fully and equ

23、ally into the target language…” (Liu Miqing,1999). See the following examples:</p><p>　　(1) Brave Heart is a partly historical, partly mythological story of William Wallace, a Scottish common man who fights

24、for his country's freedom from English rule around the end of the 13th century. </p><p>　　The movie of Brave Heart is translated as “勇敢的心”. The translation is in accordance with the original English titl

25、e, which translates the film title to the same degree, both wording sequence and semantic meaning. Namely, it’s a word- for-word translation. This translation conforms to the translation of equality and keeps its informa

26、tive value.</p><p>　　(2) Love Story is about Harvard Law student Hockey Jock meets Radcliff music wonk, and they soon enter into a relationship. When they decide to get married, Oliver's father threatens

27、 to disinherit him from the family will, leaving Oliver and Jennifer to start their marriage at rock-bottom. Jennifer and her dad do what they can to bring father and son back together, but the two prefer to remain at wa

28、r with one another. Years go by, and the young couple attempt to have children, only to discover t</p><p>　　It was translated as “愛情故事”, which translates the film title exactly in both wording sequence and s

29、emantic meaning. Namely, it’s a literal translation. This translation conforms to the translation of equality and keeps the informative value.</p><p>　　2.2 The principle of cultural value</p><p>

30、;　　As mentioned, film is a form of art, and film title translation is a kind of cross-cultural activity. We have to pay more attention to cultural value in film title translation. Actually, translation of cultural value

31、sets a high criterion for film title translators. They should understand cultural value and help improve the audience’s criterion for aestheticism.</p><p>　　2.2.1 Spread of culture </p><p>　　Spr

32、ead of culture implies that we have to hold the original culture-specific characteristics in the process of film title translation. Translation theorist Baker has once pointed out, “The translation of the source language

33、 may express an unaccustomed concept in the target language. The translated concept may be abstract or specific, and it usually relates to the religious beliefs, social customs and something else” (Baker, 2000).</p>

34、;<p>　　Benefit of spreading of culture is also to meet the audience’s needs to know the exotic culture and custom. By virtue of culture, people will understand exoticism better. The following are the illustrations

35、:</p><p>　　(1) The Trojan War is a movie about the conflict which is started among the goddesses. It was a famous ancient war in which the Greeks won the war with a trick by employing the “Trojan Horse”. <

36、;/p><p>　　As it was translated as “特洛伊戰(zhàn)爭”, the translation conforms to the principle of the spread of culture. It tells or reminds the audience of the Trojan War happened in the ancient Greece, and inspires the

37、m to find out what the war is about. </p><p>　　(2) The Queen is a movie about an intimate behind the scenes glimpse at the interaction between HM Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair during their strug

38、gle, following the death of Diana, to reach a compromise between what was a private tragedy for the Royal family and the public's demand for an overt display of mourning. </p><p>　　The Chinese translati

39、on is “ 女王”. From this translation, the Chinese audience can learn the film is something about the Queen--Who is the Queen? What happens to her on earth? Their curiosity may arise. Actually, there are several scenes

40、 that British Prime Minister Tony Blair meets the Queen, and their political relationship is more or less revealed in the movie</p><p>　　2.2.2 Localization</p><p>　　Localization in film title tr

41、anslation means the original film title in the target language should be in accordance with the target audience’s culture and value system. Just as Mr. Liu has pointed out, “Since it is worthwhile to translate the origin

42、al informative source language, then we should translate it into acceptable and accustomed target language to realize the transformation of the source language…” (Liu Miqing, 1999：49) .</p><p>　　The advantag

43、es of localization in film title translation are, on the one hand, may appeal to the audience and win their favor. On the other hand, it may carry transformation of translation successfully for the reason of the culture

44、value system in the target language. A case in point is as follows:</p><p>　　2.3 The principle of aestheticism </p><p>　　Translation of films is a kind of “fairly true art”(Jin Di, 1998), and ae

45、stheticism in film title translation should be proved in translation of movie title.</p><p>　　2.3.1 Readability</p><p>　　The definition of readability is, according to the dictionary, “the quali

46、ty of a book, article, and etc. that is easy, interesting and enjoyable to read” (A S Hornby, Sallywehmeier, 2000:1431).To realize readability in film title translation, we have first to obey the rule of conciseness. Tha

47、t is to say, translation of film title should be concise and well-arranged on the basis of holding its informative value. As is known, Chinese people are in favor of readable and accustomed phrases consistin</p>&

48、lt;p>　　(1) Sound of Music is about Mariah, a nun who is sent off by Mother Superior to a retired naval captain for a governess for his seven children. She goes to their house and finds that she is the latest in a long

49、 line of governesses run off by the children. She teaches the children to sing and that becomes their bonding force, of course leading her to fall in love with their father and marries him. </p><p>　　The mov

50、ie was translated as “仙樂飄飄何處聞”. The title translation is unintelligible and tedious. It lacks readability, and the audience may actually get confused. However, it was more commonly know as “音樂之聲” for Chinese people. Comp

51、ared with the former translation, “音樂之聲” is more concise. It conforms to the theme of the film. The title implies that the film contains beautiful music.</p><p>　　(2) Shining is about a teacher called Jack T

52、orrance, He made a killing dream. His</p><p>　　Son Danny constantly see strange illusion during the hotel.His wife and son are panic and leave the hotal by LuoLang 's car. </p><p>　　The titl

53、e translation “閃靈”is concise and it drips with the rhythmic aestheticism. “Shining” is translated into “閃靈”,which obviously reflects the film is a horror story. Meanwhile, transliteration and free translation applied to

54、the translation title is really amazing.</p><p>　　2.3.2 Resonance</p><p>　　A pretty good translation of film titles carrying information and aestheticism should be resonant. Namely, film titles

55、translation should have the power to bring out images, feeling, and etc. into the minds of the audience for the first time when they read the title (Munday, 2001). Take the following film title translations for example:&

56、lt;/p><p>　　(1) Spider-Man is about a man, When bitten by a genetically modified spider, a nerdy, shy and awkward high school student gains spider-like abilities that he eventually must use to fight evil as a s

57、uperhero after tragedy befalls his family.</p><p>　　The title has two translations. One is called “蜘蛛人”. “人” is banal and stale. The audience may think it is something about a man in the shape of a spider, l

58、ike an ogre. The other is called“蜘蛛俠”. “俠” is full of resonance, and more appealing than“人”in the target language. Obviously, the film seems to tell a hero’s legend. Probably, the hero and the spider have something in co

59、mmon. </p><p>　　(2) Sister Act is about A Vegas singer witnesses a mob murder and the cops stash her in a nunnery to protect her from the hit men. The mother superior does not trust her, and takes steps to l

60、imit her influence on the other nuns. Eventually the singer rescues the failing choir and begins helping with community projects, which gets her an interview on TV. This alerts the mob to her whereabouts, and the chase i

61、s back on.</p><p>　　The title translation “修女也瘋狂”. The title, in fact, is translated under the principle of resonance. A nun is supposed to live in a convent and serve God sincerely and silently. What if a n

62、un is full of passion and crazy? What would happen to her or them on earth? The audience’s curiosity has been triggered.</p><p>　　2.4 Principle of audience psychology and commercial value</p><p>

63、;　　The problems whether the film titles can be successfully translated, whether the title translated can appeal to the audience, whether the title can bring commercial benefits, are the main concerns to translation exper

64、ts. Film titles should be not only full of linguistic characteristics but also should carry rich ethnic value. Hence it is the combination of film art and commercialism.</p><p>　　Translation of a film title

65、should be appealing and attractive enough to draw audience’s attention and trigger their curiosity and interest to see the film when they read the title. Film title, to some extent, is the brand and advertisement of a fi

66、lm. “Actually, film title translation is not text translation but advertisement translation”( Yang Shizhuo, 2006).Therefore, “film title translation should be appealing, popular and verbal”(Liu Miqing, 1998 ).An attracti

67、ve and impressive film title hel</p><p>　　3 Translation Techniques </p><p>　　Film is a comprehensive combination of art. Film title translation is supposed to follow a series of specific princip

68、les and strategies. Since film title has a primary impact on the audience’s imagination of the film, therefore film title translation is expected to be done based on the mentioned principles (informative principle, cultu

69、ral principle, aesthetic principle and psychological and commercial principle) in chapter two. Translation principles are the guide and core while the translation </p><p>　　3.1 Literal translation</p>

70、<p>　　Literal translation, known as word-for-word translation as well as direct translation, is rendering text from one language to another word for word. Literal translation follows closely the form of the source

71、language. “In the real process of film title translation, this method proves simple when the original title reflects almost exactly the content of the film.”(Lu Lou, 2006) As a result, the target name that is applied in

72、literal translation retains the trace of foreign culture. Handled in thi</p><p>　　(1) The God Father tells about The continuing saga of the Corleone crime family tells the story of a young Vito Corleone grow

73、ing up in Sicily and in 1910s New York; and follows Michael Corleone in the 1950s as he attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba. </p><p>　　The movie translates as “教父”. The

74、 translation of the title employs the technique of literal translation, and it is exotic. It follows closely the form of the source language and reflects almost exactly the content of the film.</p><p>　　(2)

75、Brokeback Mountain tells the story of two young men - a ranch-hand and a rodeo cowboy- who meets in the summer of 1963 and unexpectedly forges a lifelong connection, one whose complications, joys and tragedies provide a

76、testament to the endurance and power of love. </p><p>　　The Chinese translation is “斷背山”. The translation conforms to the literal translation rule and reflects the original title. The audience may probably p

77、onder about what the film is about. </p><p>　　However, when literal translation is applied in film title translation, rational and considerate attention should be paid to the target titles in translation.

78、After all, there are certain differences between the source language and the target language in terms of linguistics and culture. Therefore, literal translation should be only applied to the proper titles which can refle

79、ct contents of films literally. Otherwise, the counterparts in the target language may mislead the audience and they prob</p><p>　　(1) Ghost is a story. Sam and Molly are a very happy couple and deeply in lo

80、ve. Walking back to their new apartment after a night out at the theatre, they encounter a thief in a dark alley, and Sam is murdered. He finds himself trapped as a ghost and realizes that his death was no accident. He m

81、ust warn Molly about the danger that she is in. But as a ghost he can not be seen or heard by the living, and so he tries to communicate with Molly through Oda Mae Brown, a psychic who didn't even realize</p>

82、<p>　　This title has two translations. One is translated “鬼”. Applied literal translation, the title translation misleads the audience, or they may think it is a horrible film. It disobeys the content of the film, a

83、nd the translation does not disclose the real intention of the film. Another translation is “人鬼情未了”. Although the translation is not done with the literal translation rule, it conforms to the film and reminds the Chines

84、e audience of the old love story named<<倩女幽魂>> which tells a similar st</p><p>　　(2) Waterloo Bridge is a war. On the eve of World War II, a British officer revisits Waterloo Bridge and recalls t

85、he young man he was at the beginning of World War I and the young ballerina he met just before he left for the front. Myra stayed with him past curfew and is thrown out of the corps de ballet. She survives on the streets

86、 of London, falling even lower after she hears her true love has been killed in action. But he wasn't killed. Those terrible years were nothing more than a bad dream </p><p>　　This title also has two nam

87、es. One is “滑鐵盧橋”. Applied literal translation, the title is a piece of misleading information. The audience can’t help thinking the Waterloo War, which is quite different from the film if the title translated as it is.

88、Another one is“魂斷藍橋”. The title translation conforms to the informative value. It keeps the theme, scenario and style of the film. “魂斷”means “death”, “藍” foretells the film is a tragedy. Furthermore, the translation titl

89、e meets an opera named “藍橋會” in C</p><p>　　3.2 Transliteration</p><p>　　The definition of transliteration, according to Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary, is “to write words o

90、r letters using letters of a different alphabet or language.” (A S Hornby, Sallywehmeier, 2000:1881) Transliteration can be developed into two segments: translation of protagonists or place/location; translation of the a

91、dapted chefs-doeuvre. This technique of transliteration carries out the translation principles of information and culture.</p><p>　　3.2.1 Translation of protagonists or place/location</p><p>　　“

92、Transliteration keeps the rhythm and form of the original title, and it is a common translation skill adapted in translating film titles containing names of protagonists, events and places that target audience are famil

93、iar with ” (Ren Jingming, 2006). Film titles focusing on translation of protagonists and places appeal to the audience and keep traces of exoticism. Take the following film title translation for example: </p><

94、p>　　(1) Hamlet is about a Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarrying the murderer, his uncle. Meanwhile, war is brewing.</p><p>　　The Chinese translation is“哈姆雷特

95、”. The title is translation of the protagonist，and the audience learn the film is something about Hamlet.</p><p>　　(2) Titanic is about a voyage. Fictional romantic tale of a rich girl and poor boy who meet

96、 on the ill-fated voyage of the 'unsinkable' ship.</p><p>　　The Chinese translation is“泰坦尼克號”. The title is a translation of a ship that witnesses the whole story. It is a scene that bears features o

97、f the region where the film is produced.</p><p>　　3.2.2 Translation of the adopted chefs-doeuvre</p><p>　　Transliteration turns out to be indispensable; especially the film is based on the liter

98、ature works that are popular in the target market. Translation of the original film titles that bear content of literature works is admirable, for those names of famous literature works have been already of great cogniti

99、ve value and appeal to the target audience. Obviously, film titles translated in such a way can have a positive impact on the box-office and attract more audience. Chefs-doeuvre means a repres</p><p>　　(1) P

100、ride and Prejudice is based on Jane Austen's novel about five sisters - Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty and Lydia Bennet - in Georgian England. Their lives are turned upside down when a wealthy young man (Mr. Bingley) a