1．目的及意义

Functional equivalence theory, put forwardby linguist Eugene A. Nida, is a translation theory focusing on the quality of translation in which the message of theoriginal text has been transported into the receptor language that the response of the receptoris essentially like that of the original ones. Distinct fromtraditional translation theories, Nida shifts his attention from the form ofthe message to the response of receptors. According to Nida, what is importantis the extent to which receptors correctly understand and appreciate thetranslated text. Namely, achieving translation adequacy in terms of readersresponse is of paramount importance in this theory. Nida also proposes sixprinciples for producing functional equivalence. From his point of view, whatis needed are translators with unusual sensitivity to the resources oflanguage, the importance of culture, and the art of translation.

Humor, the quality of being amusing orcomic, especially expressed in literature or speech is classified by manyscholars with distinct perspectives and methods. According to different modesof transmission, there are verbal humor and nonverbal humor. The former type isconveyed by jokes, and the latter one is mostly performed by the intriguingbody language. As to The Big Bang Theory, it is a popular American televisionsitcom consisting of an enormous amount of verbal humor translation which canbe divided into different types according to various characteristics.

Based on functional equivalence theory mentionedabove and a fixed translation version, this paper will mainly discuss whetherthe translation indeed conveys the equal or similar humorous effects to targetaudiences. If not, it is hoped that this paper will offer refined translationversion and practical suggestions to verbal humor translation in The Big Bang Theory.

Many scholars have done plenty of researchon translation under Functional equivalence theory. Scholar Zhang Hongchao madean in-depth study on the translation of English idioms from three dimensionsfrom the lens of functional equivalence theory: the comparative equivalencemethod, the complete equivalence method and the abstract equivalence method.Through putting forward some effective translation strategies, his study has helpedreaders better comprehend the meaning of English idioms and translation skills.Some scholars have applied this theory to the analysis on subtitle translation.Zhang Lingyun, a postgraduate student from Central China Normal University, haswritten a paper about TED subtitles and has attempted to achieve the closetnatural equivalence as to offer the audiences with the best viewing experience.She has chosen five TED Talks, analyzing selected cases from the perspectivesof linguistic, stylistic and cultural features individually. She has pointedout that it is recommended to adopt translation strategies such asforeignization and domestication to handle the original text, achievingfunctional equivalence in the translation.

More specifically, some scholars haveexplored humor translation under the theory of functional equivalence. Ascholar named Chen Lizhen discussed the functional equivalence theory inguiding the verbal humor translation, exploring the effective translationstrategies based on the functional equivalence theory in order to expresscross-cultural humor accurately. By classifying the verbal humor of an Americansitcom named Two Broke Girls into three categories (common humor,cultural humor, wordplay humor), the author has tried to find out thecorresponding translation strategies for different types of humor. In theconclusion part of the paper, the author has given corresponding approaches totranslating different varieties of humor from the perspective of functionalequivalence.

To sum up, to present the similar or equalhumor to target audiences with the cross-cultural background calls forappropriate translation strategies and abides by the principles for producingfunctional equivalence. It is hoped that effective translation methods and suggestionswill be raised in this paper.{title}

2. 研究的基本内容与方案

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This paperwill focus on receptors’ response towards the verbal humor translation in an American sitcom named The Big Bang Theory, to find out whether theselected translation creates the equal or similar humor effects on targetaudiences. With the support of functional equivalence theory proposed by Eugene A. Nida, this paper will analyzeevery selected case with the aim at evaluating the humor effects and givingadjustment of translation if it is requisite.

Documentary method will be used toconduct in-depth discussions on functional equivalence theory and principleswithin this field, demonstrating how this theory applied in humor translation. In addition, case analysis will be adopted asa significant method in this paper. Cases will be classified into varioustypes, each of which will be analyzed respectively. Through this direct way topresent the application of this theory to the translation version, suggestionsto each case will be given individually.3. 参考文献

[1] Su Y. A study of interpreting strategies from the perspective of functional translation theory[J]. Blooming Season, 2018(32): 81-82.

[2] Zhang Y. On E-C film subtitling translation from the perspective of functional equivalence theory[J]. English on Campus, 2016(13): 232.

[3] Nida, E. A. Language and Culture: Context in Translating[M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2001.