On English Film Title Translation

This thesis discusses English film title translation from the perspective of Skopostheorie. The author proposes that the skopos of film title translation is to call upon audiences to see the film. Based on Skopostheorie, a model is established aiming at providing a theoretical framework to guide film title translation. According to this model, the process of film title translation is divided into three stages. After a brief introduction of each stage, the author details on the considerations the translator need to made in cultural, information providing, aesthetic and emotion arousing aspects at the third stage. Rules and suggestions are established in each aspect to consummate the film title translation model. The feasibility and effectiveness of this model is also tested through the demonstration of its working procedure. This thesis also presents a detailed analysis of the unique features of film title translations in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan respectively. The author proposes that the disunity of the translation of English film title in the three regions should be remained. An effective method is put forth to avoid causing confusion to the audience when they are confronted with several translated versions.