A Report On The C-E Translation Of The Subtitles Of Feng Wei Ren Jian(Excerpt)

Based on the documentary Feng Wei Ren Jian and its English subtitle translation,this thesis aims to study the translation methods adopted for realizing the cultural functional equivalence between the source and target languages and deal with the cultural conflicts in translating from the perspective of cultural translation theory.Cultural translation theory defines translation as the communication between cultures,a process of negotiation between texts and between cultures.Culture is the key factor that determines the information core,and translation not only expresses in another language what one means,but also interprets new cultural and aesthetic systems.Translation should go beyond the limitations of semantic equivalence and achieve functional equivalence in cultures.Translation equivalence should not be single-leveled,but multi-leveled.Translation should not be limited to the literal re-expression of the source text,but realize the functional equivalence in the target culture.This requires translators to maximize the functional equivalence between the source and target cultures,as well as the harmonious unity between the source text and target text readers.In the process of translating Feng Wei Ren Jian,the author summarizes five methods adopted for realizing the maximal cultural equivalence.With a global perspective,favorable commentaries,vivid sound effects and pictures,the documentary presents various local customs and practices and culinary arts around the world.Its diversity and inclusiveness of cultures are reflected in the large number of cultural loads.That's the greatest of the crucial and difficult points of thistranslation project.Based on cultural translation theory,the thesis analyzes the English translation of the subtitles of the first three episodes,esp.the equivalence degree of the cultural units,and summarizes such translation methods as literal translation,cultural substitution,appropriate transliteration,cultural borrowing and paraphrasing.If there're equivalent expressions,transliteration is effective.Cultural substitution can be applied to the cases of partial equivalence.However,non-equivalence is more frequent because of the differences in the source and target languages.In this case,the translator follows the principle of culture information first and adopts transliteration,cultural borrowing or paraphrasing to keep the cultural information as much as possible and its acceptability to the receptor.In practice,it is impossible to translate without considering the large amount of cultural loads and the conflicts between cultures.Cultural translation theory is practical and meaningful when the translator settles with the important and difficult points.It helps guide the translation of Feng Wei Ren Jian and gives a new view on the translation of documentaries rich in cultural loads.