Movies have altered dramatically the way we communicate with the world during the past a few decades. As a result, subtitle translation has been playing a pivotal role in the process of cultural output. When it comes to the subtitle translation, one can never turn up their nose at the strategies applied. The thesis, Analysis on Subtitle Translation in Forrest Gump(2011) by Hou Shuang, has demonstrated various principles such as popularization, simplification etc., which make it possible for the audience to know about the movie. The author also sets forth how to deal with the difficulties that arise from cultural differences.

Discussions about subtitle translation strategies can also be found in the essay written by the Chinese scholar Song Zhiguang (2014). His paper, On the Translation Methods of the Subtitle in English Movies, integrates overall translation principles, which ranges from the essence of subtitle translation to features and techniques of subtitle translation.

These articles serve as enlightenments for following researchers and enable them to carry out their studies in a more systematic way. As time goes by, many scholars make further study on the analysis of subtitle translation. Some try to explore dubbing translation simultaneously, bridging the gap between subtitle translation and literary translation; some have been attempting to find a better way to introduce the beauty of target language and culture; others show their interest in the analysis of rhetoric used in subtitle translation. And also, some researchers and scholars analyze movie translation from much broader perpectives, such as pragmatics, liguistics etc..

In order to achieve better translation effects, the strategies like domestication and foreignization can never be ignored. Chen Tingyi and Zhou Min(2014) analyzed the English movie Ice Age from the perspective of domestication and foreignization. They throw light on how to make the target audiences arrive at the intended meaning of the original author without paying unnecessary efforts. Beside, Wei Yunhui(2012) also mentions those two strategies in his article and takes some examples to show how domestication and foreignization could be properly employed in movie subtitling, making full use of the advantages of each and combining them appropriately. They all consent that domestication and foreignization were not opposed to each other, but complementing each other. Their researches make a great contribution to the development of subtitle translation.

Some brand new standpoints have been put forward in some articles on the subtitle translation of English movies. Lv Yuyong and Li Min(2013) hold that cyberwords are also supposed to be used in subtitle translation to serve the purpose of entertainment. Wu Wei(2013) and Zhao Ning(2005) propose some approaches for the translators about how to overcome the time restriction and space restriction which keep bothering the translators.

Speaking of strategies for subtitle translation, we have to take into consideration which kind of movie it is for more accurate translation. For example, Yang Wenting(2013) analyzes the English sitcoms The Big Bang Theory through some distinctive measures such as shift of perspective, language compacted, etc., which are on the basis of Eugen#183;Nida#8217;s ”Functional Equivalence” principle. Different types of movies provide us with different new methods to study translation, including adaptation theory and skopos theoy. Therefore, it is of great significance for us to bear in mind the type of movie we are translating.

The same English movie often has a few different translation versions because of the distinctive strategies and the translator#8217;s preferences. We know that each version has its own merits and demerits. Zhang Anran(2015) makes a comparison between different subtitle translation versions of the English movie Flipped. The author believes that the translators do not have to cling to one strategy so that the translation could be accepted by people from all walks of life. And also, different versions are appreciated. Anran provides more possibilities for the subtitle translation.

Conclusion

In general, those studies involve many respects of the subtitle translation. Subtitle translation can be considered as the important way to introduce foreign culture. Chinese scholars concentrate on the principles and strategies for subtitle translation. They analyze the special characteristics of subtitle translation and pave the way for further studies. However, the research on English subtitle translation is still immature and the majority of researchers carry out studies only from their own experience. Obviously, there is still a long way to go to improve the subtitle translation.