A Study On The Subtitle Translation Of National Treasure Files From The Perspective Of Multimodal Discourse Analysis

With the development of multimedia technology and diversifying communication means,documentaries are constantly emerging and rapidly spreading globally,becoming an essential carrier for cross-cultural communication.In recent years,the number of documentaries with bilingual subtitles has increased,and the quality of subtitle translation has become increasingly important.The subtitle translation of documentaries involves the conversion of two languages and the interaction between language and multiple symbol systems,such as visual images and sounds.The theory of multimodal discourse analysis is applicable to the subtitle translation research of documentaries.The documentary National Treasure Files takes national treasures and cultural relics as its main subject,introducing the cultural relics embodying the nationality’s wisdom and the historical and cultural stories behind them.This thesis is based on the theoretical framework of multimodal discourse analysis proposed by Zhang Delu.This study investigates the subtitle translation in National Treasure Files from cultural,contextual,content and expression levels respectively.It also combines the influence of various symbolic signs,such as images,sounds and color on subtitle translation.This thesis studies the subtitle translation of five themes in National Treasure Files.The research conclusions are as follows.At the cultural level,the names of cultural relics,common sayings,poems and historical records in the documentary’s subtitles are important cultural information.It is found that when translating cultural relics names,subtitles and images show a complementary relationship.The replacement,transliteration,literal translation and transliteration&literal translation methods are adopted.When translating common sayings,poems and historical records,subtitles and images present a noncomplementary relationship.The translator mainly adopts addition and free translation methods to supplement cultural information.At the contextual level,the influence of context should be considered.The subtitles of the documentary are mainly commentary by the host,interspersed with interviews.The annotation translation method can preserve the cultural connotation of the commentary.The repetitive information in the interview is omitted to convey the discourse meaning appropriately.At the content level,National Treasure Files mainly involves visual,auditory and linguistic modalities,and there is usually a complementary relationship.This part mainly examines the subtitle translation of dynamic scenes in this documentary.Free translation,annotation and literal translation methods are adopted when involving virtual images.When the descriptions of the real images occur,the free translation method is adopted.The audience can better understand and appreciate the dynamic scenes appearing in the documentary through the interaction between various modalities.At the expression level,both verbal and non-verbal media should be considered.In verbal media,attention must be paid to the spatial layout of subtitles.In non-verbal media,attention must be paid to the influence of the characters’body movements and facial expressions on the subtitle translation.In short,the study on the translation of the documentary’s subtitles is investigated at four levels,hoping to provide references for the translation practice of subtitles for historical and cultural documentaries.