摘 要

随着各国文化交流的加深和数字多媒体技术的快速发展，影视作品交流空前活跃，众多的外国影视剧不断被引进中国，影视剧的字幕翻译也成为了一个新的翻译实践领域，成功的影视剧字幕翻译有助于跨文化交流，因此字幕翻译的研究至关重要。翻译目的论是由德国功能派翻译学家汉斯·弗米尔在20世纪七十年代末提出的一种翻译观，该理论主张翻译方法和翻译技巧由译文的预期目的或功能决定。本文以翻译目的论为理论基础，将英剧《唐顿庄园》作为个案研究对象，从语言层面和文化层面探讨字幕翻译的相关问题，以及如何将翻译目的论更好地应用到字幕翻译之中。本文分为六个部分，第一个部分是引言部分，介绍了研究背景和研究目的，第二个部分阐述了字幕翻译的特点与限制，第三个部分论述了翻译目的论的发展和原则，第四个部分从目的论角度分析了《唐顿庄园》的源文本，第五个部分对目的论视角下的翻译技巧进行了案例分析，最后的部分是整篇论文的结论。

关键词：字幕翻译；目的论；《唐顿庄园》；翻译技巧

Abstract

With the frequent international communication as well as the rapid development of digital multimedia technology, many foreign films and TV series are introduced to China. Chinese audience begin to appreciate foreign films and TV series. Watching foreign films and TV series in people’s spare time is not only an indispensable way of entertainment, but also an important window for people to learn about western societies. Successful subtitle translation of films and TV series contributes to cross-cultural communication. Therefore, the research on subtitle translation is of great importance. Skopos theory is a concept from the field of translation studies. It was established by the German linguist Hans Vermeer. It holds that the purpose of the translation determines the choice of translation methods or techniques. The paper takes British TV series Downton Abbey as a case study on the theoretical basis of Skopos Theory. The paper will discuss related aspects of subtitle translation in terms of language and culture and how to appropriately apply Skopos Theory to subtitle translation. The paper is divided into six parts. The first part clarifies research background and research purpose. The second part gives an introduction of features and constraints of subtitle translation. The third part outlines the development, several rules and advantages of Skopos Theory. The fourth part analyzes the source text of Downon Abbey from the perspective of Skopos Theory. The fifth part makes a case study of translation techniques guided by Skopos Theory. The final part is the conclusion.

Key Words: subtitle translation; Skopos Theory; Downton Abbey; translation techniques

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Features and Constraints of Subtitle Translation 3

2.1 Features of Subtitle Translation 3

2.2 Constraints of Subtitle 4

3 Overview of Skopos Theory 6

3.1 Rules of Skopos Theory 6

3.2 Development of Skopos theory 8

4 Analysis of Source Text of Downton Abbey Guided by Skopos Theory 9

4.1 Introduction of Downton Abbey 9

4.2 The Skopos of Source Text of Downton Abbey 10

4.3 The Skopos of Subtitle Translation of Downton Abbey 10

5 Case Study of Translation Techniques Used in the Subtitle Translation Guided by Skopos Theory 12

5.1 Conversion 12

5.2 Amplification 13

5.3 Omission 14

6 Conclusion 16

References 17

Acknowledgments 18

On Subtitle Translation from the Perspective of the Skopos Theory: A Case Study of Downton Abbey

1 Introduction

As one of the most remarkable features of modern society in the 21^st century, globalization not only influences the development of economy, but also contributes to the progress of social culture. Globalization has deeply influenced our lives in many aspects. With the acceleration of the process of globalization, the connections among different countries become closer, and consequently cultural exchanges among countries are also increasing rapidly. Films and television series, as one of the important carriers and expressions of cultures, have been taking responsibilities for international cultural exchange and popularization. A growing number of people begin to know more about the cultures of other countries by means of watching foreign films and TV series. Because of differences in languages, the target audience need to appreciate the overall plots, styles and aesthetic values of films and TV series by virtue of subtitles. Since most of foreign audience have to understand films and television series and their cultural connotations by translated subtitle, it’s necessary to study subtitle translation.

Research of western scholars on subtitle translation could date back to the end of the 1950s. As films and television series continually developed and became people’s main way of entertainment, research on subtitle translation in the West has been paid more attention. In the 1990s, subtitle translation studies in the West made breakthrough progress. However, the study of subtitle translation in our country begins later than western countries. Chinese researchers in the field of translation always pay much attention to the translation of literary works, while subtitle translation is ignored by most translators to some extent. Compared with the west, subtitle translation in our country lacks professional research. Although some famous translators have put forward a few rules of subtitle translation, the mature and complete translation theory has not yet come into being in our country. There are no uniform and authoritative standards of subtitle translation, which is in contradiction to the need of excellent subtitle translation. Fortunately, the practicability and significance of subtitle translation gradually gain attention. It is urgent to guide the subtitle translation with an effective theory.