A Case Study Of The Translation Of Military Terms In The Chinese Subtitling Of Generation Kill

Relevance Theory is a communicative theory proposed by Deidre Wilson and Dan Sperber. It regards communicative activities as cognitive activities, which follows the ostensive-inferential model. Based on their proposal, Ernst-August Gutt explored the relationship between Relevance Theory and translation. He believed that translation is an act of communication between the translator and the target audience, and it involves two rounds of ostensive-inferential communication. The translator should search for optimal relevance in his translation, which makes it possible for the target audience to obtain enough contextual effects with minimum efforts.Chinese subtitles serve as a tool for the Chinese audience when they appreciate foreign TV series. The US miniseries Generation Kill centers on the US servicemen. It offers its own perspective on the Iraq war through their eyes. Accurate and appropriate translation of the many military terms in the series will help the Chinese audience better appreciate the series.This paper explores, through the lens of relevance theory, and by means of case study, the translation of different types of military terms in subtitling as witnessed in the two versions of Chinese subtitles of Generation Kill. Based on the characteristics of the military terms and subtitle translation, this paper compares the differences of military terms translation in the two versions of Chinese subtitles in order to discover an appropriate approach.