A Report Of Chinese-English Translation Of Subtitles Of Hexi Corridor (Excerpts) From The Perspective Of Relevance Theory

Films and television works provide an important channel for cultural exchanges between China and other countries.Hexi Corridor,a documentary with 10 episodes broadcast on CCTV,chronicles the history along the Hexi Corridor from the Han Dynasty(汉代)to the founding of the People’s Republic of China and provides a glimpse into the development of Western China.The translation of episodes 3 and 4 is discussed in the report.The source text,which featured three distinct types of information,namely lexical information,logical information and encyclopedic information,presents the history,culture and strategic importance of the Hexi Corridor.Relevance theory views translation as a double ostensive-inferential communication process.The main task of the translator is to enhance the relevance of the target text,and seek optimal relevance between the original text and the target reader.In light of the fact that subtitle translation is also a communicative act,the translator should present a target text that most closely matches the original text in an attempt to facilitate target audiences’ comprehension of the original information with less effort.In line with relevance theory,the translator should establish optimal relevance when dealing with lexical,logical and encyclopedic information so as to achieve successful communication.Hence,relevance theory is taken as the theoretical basis of the report.Under the guidance of relevance theory,the report gives an analysis of the subtitle translation of Hexi Corridor based on three distinct types of information,namely lexical information,logical information and encyclopedic information.It explores how to achieve optimal relevance in subtitle translation by providing a strong contextual effect to reduce the target audience’s processing effort while conveying the communicative intentions of the original subtitle.In this regard,translation methods of generalization and reduction are employed respectively to deal with lexical information in proper nouns of official titles and parallel four-character words in an attempt to improve lexical readability through word form,word length,word frequency and word style.In terms of logical information,inverted sentences and run-on sentences are translated respectively by adjustment and reconstruction to present a logical pattern that is compatible with the target audience’s cognitive abilities.In this way,the original emphatic function is restored and the logic is clarified.Besides,to manifest the underlying meaning of the encyclopedic information in the context,explicitation and paraphrase are used to translate culture-loaded words and allusions to historical stories respectively,so as to evoke similar cultural and mental experiences in the target receptor.In line with the translation methods proposed above under the guidance of relevance theory,the report intends to give a reference of strategies for subtitle translation of documentaries regarding lexical information,logical information and encyclopedic information.