Abstract
Globalisation and rapid progress of technologies see the increase of the demand for quicker and more direct access to foreign-language films. Subtitling, as an efficient and economical form of cross-cultural and crosslingual transmission, is set to meet such a demand. While sophisticated computing software has greatly improved the efficiency and accuracy of technical aspects of subtitling, linguistic and cultural challenges in subtitling remain multi-levelled and intriguing. In this paper, the author, basing on her years of practice, explores the concept of subtitling and the various constraints that are intrinsic to subtitling through a detailed analysis of examples selected from eleven subtitled Chinese films, in order to provide guidance to those who are interested in the practice and teaching of subtitling. These constraints differentiate subtitling from standard textual translation, whilst, as this paper argues, presenting heightened challenges in text transfer from a source language and culture to a target language and culture on screen. In the framework of these constraints, key cultural and linguistic challenges in subtitling Chinese films are discussed and subtitling strategies are illustrated in the light of translation as a negotiation, mediation and decision-making process.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 14-27 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Translation Horizons |
Volume | 2 |
Publication status | Published - 2019 |
Keywords
- motion pictures, Chinese
- Chinese language
- translating into English
- subtitles