On Domestication and Foreignization of Film Subtitle Translation from the Cultural Perspective-- a Case Study of Kung Fu Panda 2

从文化角度浅谈电影字幕翻译中的归化和异化---- 以《功夫熊猫2》为例

Introduction:

Since the films came into being , they have won the advantages over other media as the most important carrier of culture and played the leading role in the culture communication. With the rapid development of Chinese economy and the deepening of China's opening, China is communicating more with other countries , among which film exchanges account for a large proportion. As a special translation mode, subtitles translation is playing a more and more important and indispensable role in both the practice of translation and intercultural communication. But in China, since the current theories have scarcely been used in subtitles translation, the studies on subtitles translation for Chinese movies have relatively lagged behind other countries. Therefore, it is necessary for us to explore the profound significance of subtitles translation of Chinese films from a new perspective. Domestication and foreignization are two methods of dealing with cultural factors in translation. After a discussion of the theoretical knowledge of film subtitles, the paper traces the manner in which these two tactics are effectively employed. As a practical example supporting the thesis, the case of producing English subtitles for the Chinese movie , is included. By analyzing the subtitle translation of Kung Fu Panda 2 and its success in transmitting Chinese cultures abroad and meeting the taste of the target audience, this thesis attempts to prove that a right cultural attitude is quite important and the right attitude will do a great benefit to the nourishment of the two cultures and the development of the whole human-beings. The cultural attitude of this movie by keeping the two together is Kung Fu Panda 2 reasonable and practical both in introducing the source cultural of the target one and in enriching the two. Through the above analysis, the paper comes to a conclusion that the theory of foreignization and domestication develops a theoretical framework for subtitles translation. It is helpful for us to understand the nature of subtitles translation, and sum up the relevant subtitling strategies.

Literature Review

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.

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.