Dubbing Animated Movies Into Chinese:A Study From The Perspective Of Adaptation Theory

With the rapid development of movie industry and the deepening of international cultural exchange,the quantity and quality of animated movies dubbed in Chinese have been on the rise over the last decade.The vivid dubbing of these movies in Chinese not only conveys the themes and contents of the original versions but shapes the features of different characters,impressing Chinese audience greatly.Since the main target audience are children,who have a limited understanding of English or other foreign languages,the translation of the scripts for dubbing and the voice dubbing itself will directly affect the quality and effect of the dubbed versions.Owing to the plain language,interesting contents and dynamic forms,dubbed animated movies are undoubtedly the best choice for children unacquainted with English.They present to the children audience every aspect of foreign life in a simple but entertaining way,becoming one of the important ways to learn about foreign culture and life,exposing them to different cultures,values,customs,lifestyles and cultural differences.Therefore,the dubbing of animated movies does have a positive influence on intercultural communication.As dubbed animated movies have huge development potential plus a broad mass base,they also occupy a significant position in nowaday's film industry.However,there is still a gap between domestic and overseas researches on this topic.Overseas studies on dubbing translation are maturer with more abundant material while there is only a relatively limited number of domestic researches,with even fewer ones concerning the special movie type,animated movies,let alone systematic theories and principles to guide the dubbing of animated movies.The thesis,based on Adaptation Theory,analyzes ten popular American animated movies dubbed in Chinese to offer a new perspective to the dubbing of animated movies.It includes the theoretical framework,the definition of dubbing and dubbed animated movies,their main features,constraints of dubbing,principles of dubbing animated movies,etc..Through comparative analysis and exemplification,linguisticfeatures of dubbed animated movies are deeply analyzed and appreciated from the following four aspects: contextual correlates of adaptability,structural objects of adaptability,dynamics of adaptability,and salience of the adaptation processes.Through analysis,this paper draws the following conclusions: due to the instantaneity and conciseness of animated movie language,the constrains of dubbing,the limited cognitive competence and children's attention,the dubbing of animated movies should be adjusted accordingly.The translation of the scripts should not only be easy and simple but also cater to children's mentality.It is expected to be vivid and humorous,avoiding violence,pornography,vulgarity,etc..In the meanwhile,it should be adapted to the cultural conventions of the target language,the thinking pattern and ideology of the society,etc..Translators should also keep up with the times to update the expressions in dubbed animated movies.