Strategies for Subtitle Translation #8211;A Case Study of Downton Abbey

浅析英文字幕翻译策略#8212; 以英剧《唐顿庄园》为例

Literature Review

As we all know, TV series not only serves the function of recreation and relaxation for people's daily life no matter near or far, but also provides opportunities for them to get to know each other. Under such situation, subtitle translation plays an increasing vital role in recent decades and one should never look down upon the importance of the strategies of it.

The thesis, Skopostheorie and its Application to Subtitle Translation of Audio-visual Products(2009) by Zhang Hongqing, has expounded that there are many restricted factors in subtitle translation, such as time restriction, space restriction etc, which require it possible for the audiences to understand what they watch with no obstacles. The author further theorized specific methods to solve all these difficulties appear when it comes to subtitle translation.

The study of the subject can also be found in the paper Subtitle Translation Strategies of English Video（2013)written by Zhang Liwei, Wang Xiaoling. It gives the general requirements and principal points for translation strategies which provides a large amount of experience and valuable reference for later researchers. refers to the translation skills and discuss the present disadvantages in subtitle translation in depth.

To get the best possible translation, it#8217;s important to provide the translator with additional information that might help them better understand the context their translation appears in. In Zhao Lu#8217;s paper Audiences#8217; Influence on the Selection of Subtitle Translation Strategies（2014）discussed and provided views on the issues of long sentence, cultural blending, choice of words, and a range of possible solution from the perspective of the audiences. Meanwhile, the author gradually lead the thesis to the topic-- the importance of the audience for TV series subtitle translation which emphasizes the dominant role of audience in the discussion of subtitle translation strategies.

On the other hand, the thesis written by Gao Bing(2010) analyzed Kung fu Panda from the perspective of the target text intention or function. Audio-media texts#8217; peculiar stylistic and rhetoric features, including its colloquialism, imaginativeness, cordialness and rhythmicalness. In subtitle translation, in order to achieve the purpose of subtitle translation, the interpreter shall follow the principle of simplicity and understandability which require them to adopt corresponding translation strategies.

As time goes by, more developmental concepts and views emerged in the field of subtitle translation. A Study of Subtitles Translation from the Perspective of Adaption Theory（2013）written by Cheng Rongrong mentions that subtitle translation is subject to integrity, partial, instantaneity and popularity. Since British TV shows#8217; subtitle translation is a progress with dynamic selection, on the one hand, people who translate it need to mention the vocabulary, sentence, context of the show and the language style. On the other hand, they also need to take good care of the audiences#8217; mental, social, physical and linguistic world. Only in this way can our Chinese audiences get the same message with English speaking audiences from the TV show. In addition, A Study of the Translation Strategies of Subtitle from the Perspective of Cultural Translation(2012)written by Wu Yingga, which provides a brand new view to the subtitle translation. She suggests that culture rather than words or sentence is the basis of translation. Cultural equivalent is the fundamental principle for subtitle translation, it means that translation should never be limited to the description of the original text.