電影名稱的翻譯方法

摘要：電影作為現(xiàn)代社會的一種文化形式，在很大程度上促進(jìn)了世界各國間的文化交流。近年來，我國引進(jìn)了大量國外影片，其中不乏經(jīng)典之作，但也參有許多糟粕，那么電影愛好者們面對這些琳瑯滿目的電影作品，該如何取其精華之作呢？電影名稱的翻譯在其中起到了很大的作用。如何把電影名稱翻譯得既不脫離電影的本意，又能吸引觀眾的興趣，就成了電影翻譯者們的任務(wù)。本文列舉了一些電影名稱的翻譯實(shí)例，總結(jié)出了幾種常見的翻譯方法，即音譯，直譯,意譯，音意結(jié)合法。關(guān)鍵詞：電影名稱翻譯；音譯；直譯；意譯；音意結(jié)合法Abstract:Asaculturalformofmodernsociety,filmhasgreatlypromotedculturalexchangesbetweencountriesintheworld.Inrecentyears,Chinahasintroducedalargenumberofforeignfilms,includingmanyclassicworks,butalsoalotofdross.Sohowdomovieloversgetthebestofthemwhentheyfacethesedazzlingmovieworks?Thetranslationofthefilmnameplaysabigroleinit.Howtotranslatethenameofamoviewithoutbreakingtheoriginalintentionofthefilmandattractingtheinterestoftheaudiencehasbecomethetaskofthefilmtranslators.Thisarticlegivessomeexamplesoftranslationofmovietitles,andsummarizesseveralcommontranslationmethods,namelytransliteration,literaltranslation,freetranslation,andthecombinationtransliterationandfreetranslation.Keywords:translationoffilmnames;transliteration;literaltranslation;freetranslation;combiningtransliterationandfreetranslationCatalogueTOC\o"1-3"\h\u1Introduction 11.1ResearchBackground 11.2ResearchSignificance 12.TheFunctionofFilmNames 12.1TransferFunctionofFilmNames 22.2AttractiveFunctionofFilmNames 23.CharacteristicsofFilmNamesandPrinciplestoFollowinTranslation 33.1CharacteristicsofFilmNames 33.1.1SimpleandUnderstandable 33.1.2Unification 33.1.3AttractingtheAudience 43.2PrinciplestoFollowinTranslationofFilmNames 43.2.1InformationPrinciples 43.2.2RecreationalPrinciples 43.2.3Aestheticprinciples 44.TranslationMethodofFilmNames 54.1Transliteration 54.2LiteralTranslation 64.3FreeTranslation 64.4CombiningTransliterationandFreeTranslation 7Conclusion 8References 9Acknowledgements 101Introduction1.1ResearchBackgroundWiththegradualdeepeningofreformandopeningup,culturalexchangesbetweenChinaandtheWesthavebeencontinuouslystrengthened,andalargenumberofoutstandingforeignfilmshavebeenintroducedintoChina.Theaudiencechoosesforeignfilmsmostlybasedontranslatedones,whichposesachallengetoChinesetranslators.Thetranslationoffilmtitlesshouldnotonlyconveytheoriginalworksaccuratelyandregularly,butalsoovercomeculturalbarrierssothatChineseaudiencescanunderstandtheessenceofthefilm.1.2ResearchSignificanceAmovieisacommodity,whichdeterminesthatthetranslationofthetitleisdifferentfromothertexttranslations.Itisnecessarytofollowthebasicprinciplesoftranslation“faithfulness,expressivenessandelegance”,butalsototakeintoaccountcertaincommercialpurposesandattractattentionsoftheaudience.Therefore,whentranslatingEnglishfilmtitles,thefollowingcommontranslationprocessingmethodscanbeused:literaltranslation,freetranslation,transliteration,combiningtransliterationandfreetranslation.Theuseofthesetranslationmethodscanaccuratelyconveytheessenceofthefilmtotheaudience,sothattheaudiencecanenjoytheexcellentforeignmovies.Meanwhile,theEnglishenthusiastscanexperiencethesubtletransformationbetweentheoriginalnameandthetranslatedname,andenhancetheirenthusiasmforculturalcontrastandexchangebetweenChinaandtheWest.2.TheFunctionofFilmNamesFilmisbothaformofculturalcommunicationandabusinesseconomicculture.Asaformofculturalcommunication,theculturalconnotationisextremelyimportant.Therefore,intermsofthetranslationofthefilmname,itisnecessarytoaccuratelyandaccuratelyconveytheculturalcontentthatthefilmwantstoconvey.Thenameofthemoviecannotbetoolong,butitmustaccuratelyexpresstherichculturalconnotation,sothetranslatoneistotransfertheculturalconnotation,andtheotheristoattractaudiences’attraction.2.1TransferFunctionofFilmNamesAsaformofculturalcommunication,thefilmnameisasummaryofamovie,thus,itisfirstandforemosttoaccuratelyandrefinethecoreculturalconnotationthatamoviewantstoexpress.Forinstance,in1995,theAmericandirectordirectedthefilmSeven,theChinesetranslationof“《七宗罪》”.TheoriginalEnglishnameofthefilmisSeven,asimpleandstraightforwardnumber7.Themeaningsofnumber“7”varyindifferentculturalconnotations.InChineseculture,“7”ishomophonicwith“氣”,soitisoftenconsideredtobeabadsymbol,whichisusuallyunpopularwithChinese.WhileinWesternculture,“7”isaccompaniedbyastrongreligiouscolor.Forexample,thesevenvirtuesofmankindinreligion;thesevendaysofcreationinthefirstchapteroftheBible;andthesevensinsdescribedinthisfilm.TheoriginalEnglishfilmnameisconciseandclear,becauseintheWesternculturalbackground,thereligiousculturecontainedinthenumber“7”isenoughfortheaudiencetohaverelevantassociationsbeforewatchingthemovie,andalsoenoughtomaketheaudiencehaveasenseofsuddenenlightenmentafterwatchingthefilm.Asasuspensefilm,themoviehasbothsuspenseandconnotation,andhastosaythatitisdoingverywell.TheChinesetranslationof《七宗罪》isappropriateandprecise,becausethecoreword“七”hasnotbeenneglected,andthecoreword“罪”hasbeenadded,thecorrespondingexplanationhasbeengivenintermsofitsculturalconnotation,andthereisnoexcessivelyelongatedsubject,sothistranslationhasreachedthetransferfunctionoffilmnames.2.2AttractiveFunctionofFilmNamesNowadays,thefilmindustryisdevelopingrapidly,andtheproductionofmovieshasalsoincreaseddramatically.Themovieboxoffice,whichisthechoiceoftheaudience,isnotonlyareflectionofthedegreeofrecognitionofamovie,butalsoanintuitivedataofitsprofitvalue.Therefore,theinfluenceofthefilmtitleontheaudienceandtheimpactontheboxofficeofthemovieisundoubtedlyhuge.Themostintuitiveexampleiswhatweknowabout××mobilizationanditsseries1.2.3.4.5.ThefirstmovietitledTotalMobilizationisToyStory,alsoknownas《玩具總動員》.Afterthefilmhasacertaininfluence,thetranslationhassomeuniquecommercialvalue.ThentherewastheappearanceofthemovietitlessuchasFindingNemoandCars.3.CharacteristicsofFilmNamesandPrinciplestoFollowinTranslation3.1CharacteristicsofFilmNamesThefilmisapopularartthatisbothtastefulandpopular,andsuitableforallages,inadditionithasthewidestaudienceandthegreatestinfluenceamongmanymedia.Thetitleofthefilmcanbedescribedasthetrademarkofthefilm,itdirectlyplaystheroleof“guide”,anditshouldbeassimpleastheexcellentliteraryworkstosummarizethecontentoffilminaconcisemanner,revealitstheme,andstimulatetheaudience’sassociationanddesiretowatch.3.1.1SimpleandUnderstandableThetitleofthefilmshouldbeshort,conciseandeasytounderstand.Ifthetitleistoolong,bigoysters,itwillnetherbeeasytopopularizethepublic,noracceptabletotheaudience.TheauthorhasconductedstatisticsandanalysisonthenameoftheChinesefilmoftheHongKongAcademyAwardsandfoundthatfour-charactertitlesarethemostcommonones,whichalsoreflectsthattheChinesedohaveapreferenceforevennumbers,andthisfilmnameisinlinewiththeChineseaestheticpsychologyandhabit.3.1.2UnificationAsthehighlightofthefilm,thetitlemusthighlygeneralizethecontentofthefilm,achievingtheunityofformandcontent,revealingthevariouselementsofthefilm,andbringingusefulassociationandspiritualenjoymenttotheaudience.3.1.3AttractingtheAudienceThenameofafilmislikethebrandofaproduct.Akeycriterionforthesuccessofafilmnameistoseeifitcanattractalargeaudience.Goodfilmnamesattractconsumerswiththeireffects,therefore,thefilmnameshouldbenovelandunique,andstimulatethedesireoftheaudiencetosee.3.2PrinciplestoFollowinTranslationofFilmNames3.2.1InformationPrinciplesTheprincipleofinformationreferstoconveyingtheinformationofthetargetlanguageascomprehensivelyandaccuratelyaspossibleinthetargetlanguage,soastoachievefunctionalequivalenceinformandmeaning.Ofcourse,suchatranslationisthemostideal,butduetodifferencesinlivinghabits,culturalpractices,religiousbeliefs,etc.,therewillinevitablybeunequalsituationsbetweenlanguages.3.2.2RecreationalPrinciplesAsaformofmassentertainment,filmsarefilledwithcommercialandentertaining.Agoodfilmtitlewillhelptoincreasetheboxofficeofmovies,whileaimpropertitlewillalsobringadverselyaffectontheboxofficeofmovies.AustinPowerswastranslatedinHongKongas《至out特務(wù)in嬌娃》,whichmadepeoplefullofconfusion,whilethetranslationinto《王牌大賤諜》isnotsimpleandclear,butalsohighlightsthethemeofthefilm,presentingthecomedystyle,anddepictingthecharacteristicsofthemovieprotagonist.3.2.3AestheticprinciplesAsanart,thefilmhascertainaestheticvalue,thus,thetranslationofthefilmnamemustalsopayattentiontoart,sothatbothformandspiritareperfect.Forinstance,themovieOneFlewOvertheCuckoo’sNest,istranslatedinto《飛越杜鵑窩》inHongKong,whichisinappropriateandalsobringsconfusiontotheaudience.Thisisaextremelyseriousandprofoundfilm,byusingthepunmeaningofcuckoo’snest“psychiatrichospitals”thatimpliesthecrueldestructionofhumannatureandbasichumanrightsinauthoritariansociety.Therefore,themainlandtranslationiscalled《飛越瘋?cè)嗽骸?whichisapt,expressiveandthought-provoking.4.TranslationMethodofFilmNamesYanFu’stheory“faithfulness,expressivenessandelegance”isgenerallyacceptedasthebasicrequirementoftranslation,andsofar,thereisnotheorycanreplaceit.Therefore,histheorycanalsobeusedtoguidethetranslationoffilmnames.AnotherAmericantranslationtheoristEugeneNidaoncepointedout:“sincenotwolanguagesareidentical……itstandstoreasonthattherecanbenoabsolutecorrespondencebetweenlanguages.Hencetherecanbenofullexacttranslations.Thetotalimpactofatranslationmaybereasonablyclosetotheoriginalbuttherecanbenoidentityindetail(Nida,1964:156).”EugeneNidaprovidesthetheoreticalbasisforthetranslationoffilmnames,thatis,thetranslationshouldbeascloseaspossibletotheoriginaltext,ratherthanpursuingabsoluteequivalence,becauseabsoluteequivalenceisimpossible.Thetitleisthepositionandtoneoftheentirefilm,anditnotonlyconveysthesubjectinformation,butalsoprovidesapleasantaesthetictaste.Accuratetranslationcanbethought-provokingandmemorable;onthecontrary,itcanleadtomisleadinginformationandevenmaketheoriginalintentionofthefilmdisappear.Themethodsoftranslatingfilmnamesareasfollows:4.1TransliterationInaccordancewithLongmanModernEnglishDictionary,transliterationmeanstoreplacelettersofonealphabetbylettersofanotherwiththesamephoneticsoundsortowriteawordorwordsinthelettersofanotheralphabet.Inotherwords,transliterationistoexpressthewordsinanotherlanguagewiththesameorsimilarpronunciation,anditpreservesthesourcelanguagepronunciationwithoutconveyingitsmeaning.Englishmoviestendtousethenameofpersonorplaceastitles,suchasCasablanca,Hamlet,etc.Iftheaudienceisfamiliarwiththesepropernouns,transliterationisagoodway,becauseitnotonlyconveystheoriginalname,butalsoandretainstheculturalcoloroftheoriginalname.Herearesomesimilarexamples:Rockyistranslatedinto洛奇,Gandhiistranslatedas甘地,Titanicisrenderedinto泰坦尼克,Troyisrenderedas特洛伊andKingHongas金剛.However,notallpeopleorplacenameshavetobetransliterated,whichrequiresspecificanalysis.Forinstance,iftheAmericanfilmErinBrockOvichwastransliteratedinto艾琳·布羅克維奇,itwillreducereadability.Infact,it’sjustasymbolwithoutspecialmeaning.ThefilmisaboutamothernamedIrenewhowonthelargestcivilcompensationcaseinAmericanhistorywithuncompromisingcourageandperseverance,ifitistranslatedas《永不妥協(xié)》,whichcannotonlyconveythethemeofthefilm,butalsoappreciatetheheroine’spersistence.4.2LiteralTranslationLiteraltranslationreferstokeepingtheoriginallanguageformasfaraspossible,includingwords,sentencestructure,metaphorandsoon,whilerequiringlanguagefluencyandeasytounderstand.Whentheliteralandimplicitinformationoftheoriginalnamecanachieveequivalence,theuseofliteraltranslationisthemostidealtranslationmethod,whichisalsothemostacceptablesituationfortranslators.Forexample,DancewithWolves,TheSilenceoftheLambs,BraveHeartarerespectivelyrenderedinto《與狼共舞》,《沉默的羔羊》,《勇敢的心》.Herearesomesimilarexamples:CitizenKaneisrenderedas《公民凱恩》,Supermanistranslatedas《超人》,CloudAtlasisrenderedinto《云圖》,theJurassicparkistranslatedinto《侏羅紀(jì)公園》.4.3FreeTranslationFreetranslationonlyrequiresthatthemainideaoftheoriginaltextbeexpressed,withoutpayingattentiontodetails,andthetranslationisnaturalandsmooth.Freetranslationdoesnotpaymuchattentiontotheoriginalform,includinggrammaticalstructure,words,metaphorsandotherrhetoricalmeans,butfreetranslationdoesnotmeanthatthecontentcanbemodifiedoraddedatwill.Whentheliteralandimplicitinformationoftheoriginalnameareindependentandincompatible,althoughtheliteraltranslationcansatisfytheinformationprinciple,yetitisdifficulttomeettheaestheticneedsofaudiences.Inaddition,whenthetitleinvolvesculturalfactors,ifitistranslatedliterally,itmaybringambiguity,confusionandmisunderstandingfortargetaudiences,andevenleadtodisputes.Atthistime,itmaybeappropriatetoemployfreetranslation.TaketheAmericanfilmThelma&Louiseforexample,ifitistranslatedas《塞爾瑪與路易絲》,obviouslythisisjusttwonames,suchtranslationisnotattractivetotheaudience.Thefilmisaroadmoviethatbefilledwithaextremelystrongfemalecolor,andittellsthedesperaterebellionoftwowomenunderthepressureofmen.Attheendofthefilm,thetwowomendrovedownintothecanyonandthecamerawasfixedintheair.Thesadmusicandthesobbingvoice,togetherwiththebeautifulandhappypicturestheyhadjustsetout,seemedtobeseparatedfromtheworld.Thefilmisrenderedas《末路狂花》byfreetranslation,whichisjustrightandenjoysendlessaftertaste.Hereisanotherexample,WangJiawei’sfilm《花樣年華》isrenderedintoIntheMoodforLove,whichisagoodexampleoffreetranslation.Theexquisitecheongsam,recurringintoxicatingmusic,slowmirrorswithmusic,andthesubtleemotionsbetweentheheroesandheroinesmakepeopleenchantedbytheatmosphereoflove.Therefore,IntheMoodforLoveisanexcellenttranslation.Herearesomesimilarexamples:GonewithWindisrenderinto《飄》,Ghostisrenderedas《人鬼情未了》andLegendsoftheFallas燃情歲月.4.4CombiningTransliterationandFreeTranslationForthenameofamoviethathasnopracticalmeaningormeaningtotheoriginaltext,transliterationisemployedaccordingtothepronunciationofthetargetlanguage,meanwhile,consideringthetargetlanguageculturea