论文总字数：27669字

摘 要

基于大量的翻译实践，奈达提出功能对等理论理论，主要表现在四个方面：词汇对等，句法对等，篇章对等，文体对等四个层面。本文基于这一理论，以近几年来在我国十分受欢迎的漫威宇宙系列电影《银河护卫队2》的字幕翻译为例,选取YYeTs字幕组翻译版本,从词汇，句法，篇章，文体四个方面进行探讨分析，总结得出如何在功能对等理论指导下做好字幕翻译，证明功能对等理论在以电影为媒介的字幕翻译中，对文化传播具有重要意义。

关键词：功能对等；电影字幕翻译；《银河护卫队2》

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 1

2.1 A Brief Introduction of Functional Equivalence 2

2.2 An Overview on the Film Subtitle Translation 3

3. A Brief Introduction of the Film Guardians of the Galaxy 2 4

4. On the Subtitle Translation of Guardians of the Galaxy 2 from the Perspective of Functional Equivalence 5

4.1 The Analysis of Examples on Lexical Equivalence 5

4.2 The Analysis of Examples on Syntactic Equivalence 6

4.3 The Analysis of Examples on Contextual Equivalence 7

4.4 The Analysis of Examples on Stylistic Equivalence 9

5. Conclusion 11

Works Cited 12

1. Introduction

Functional Equivalence was proposed by the famous American linguist Eugene A. Nida. The theory is mainly developed in Nida"s study of the translation of the Bible and eventually becomes one of the most important theories in translation. The core idea of the theory is "functional equivalence".

In recent years, Eugene A. Nida"s translation theory of functional equivalence has been applied in many fields. It can help translators a lot not only in commercial translation which requires accuracy but also in literary translation which requires aesthetics. Especially, under the influence of the globalization of the world economy, the film market, as a medium of cultural communication, needs the help of outstanding translation theory. Therefore, it is necessary to apply functional equivalence theory to film subtitle translation. Series movies of Marvel Universe have come into vogue recently. However, if its subtitle translation fails to achieve the desired effect, the influence will be greatly reduced. As one of the films of the MCU film series, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 was released in 2017, which means that its subtitle translation has time effect. This year witnessed the final result of the first series of MUC films, which means that many people will go back to the previous one, and that means studying the film becomes more meaningful. This thesis takes the movie Guardians of the Galaxy 2 as an example, combining Nida"s functional equivalence theory which is widely used nowadays, to analyze how to make film subtitle translation more accurate to better explain and deliver the film and its connotation.

Next, this article will give a brief introduction to the current situation, advantages and disadvantages of functional equivalence theory, as well as the content of subtitle translation. At last, it will focus on analysis of subtitle translation in this movie from the perspective of Functional Equivalence and a conclusion will therefore be made at the end of the paper.

2. Literature Review

Functional Equivalence is a theory that Nida revised repeatedly and finally formed. Foreign scholars have fully studied its deep connotation and found that it is practical in many aspects of translation. Many scholars in China, such as Liang Shuang and Yang min, have applied the theory to subtitle translation and concluded the importance of Functional Equivalence theory to subtitle translation, thus proving that the theory and subtitle translation complement each other.

2.1 A Brief Introduction of Functional Equivalence

Functional Equivalence was first proposed by Eugene A. Nida, a pioneer in the fields of translation theory and linguistics, in 1964 from Toward a Science of Translating. However, at the very beginning, it was not called functional equivalence but dynamic equivalence which was born when Nida translated the Bible as a prestigious Bible translator. Until 1993, Eugene A. Nida made it functional equivalence for fear that the term ‘dynamic’ has been misunderstood as referring only to something which has impact. Some articles said that except the name，dynamic theory was just as same as functional theory. That’s not true. There are some differences between them, which Nida defined as follows:

“Dynamic equivalence is therefore to be defined in terms of the degree to which the receptors of the message in the receptor language respond to it in substantially the same manner as the receptors in the source language. This response can never be identical, for the cultural and historical settings are too different, but there should be a high degree of equivalence of response, or the translation will have failed to accomplish its purpose.” (Nida 12)

Zhang Yin proposed that: “Eugene A. Nida’s translation theory—functional equivalence attempts to convey the thought expressed in a original text, and avoid strict adherence to the original text in favor of a more natural rendering in the target language. ”(Zhang 178-179)

Nida also divided functional equivalence into four levels called lexical equivalence, syntactic equivalence, contextual equivalence and stylistic equivalence.

The lexical equivalence means that a word’s usage in a language decides its meaning. It puzzled translators in the process of translation how to find the equivalent in the other language. A word may have different synonyms, especially a word with polysemy, so equivalent is interwoven with one another. Though there are no exactly identical words among two languages, translators can use different words to express the same meaning. As for the syntactic equivalence, it is known that English grammar is very different from that of Chinese. For example, attributive postposition is hardly seen in Chinese, while in English, it is very common. Different grammar rules coerce translators into converting the syntactical structure when translating to make the language conform to the expression custom in the target language. Nida thought that “The translator must strive for equivalence rather than identity.”（Nida, E.A 112）That proved contextual equivalence means language exposes different meanings and functions in different context. It requires translators to translate the passage in the context. To achieve this level, Translators must both have a deep understanding of Chinese and English culture and be careful about its background. Last but not the least, the style of the passage can’t be ignored because style was also an essential part of a text. Just as Guan Qin claimed, “Language is a carrier of the culture; any kind of language reflects its corresponding culture. English and Chinese are two totally different language systems.” (Guan 270-271) Stylistic equivalence required the translation must have the same style of its original text. For example, the original text rhyming, the translation must rhyme too. This equivalence demanded heavily as translators must be able to write bilingually graceful.

2.2 An Overview on the Film Subtitle Translation

The speed of development of subtitle translation is quite different between China and foreign countries. Foreign scholars focus on developing translation theories, while Chinese scholars mainly use the research theories for reference and constantly improve them to make them more practical.

The study of film subtitle appeared earlier in the west. Several articles had appeared to study subtitles by the1960s. In the 1990s, the importance of subtitle translation was greatly enhanced in foreign countries, and various scholars and theories came out one after another. Since then, the study of subtitle translation began to develop rapidly.

The study of film subtitle translation in China started relatively late. In addition to the few researchers, the narrow scope of research and the inability to form a theoretical system are important factors restricting the development of research in China. Nida"s translation theory was introduced into China in the 1980s. After the emergence of his theory, various scholars scrambled to study and quote it, setting off a climax of subtitle translation and theoretical research. Many famous scholars, such as Xu Wenbao and Liu Miqing, have studied Nida"s theory. By the 1990s, Newmark"s translation theory had also been introduced into China. Scholars combined these two theories and made reflections and criticisms on Nida"s theory. Later, Nida"s functional equivalence theory gradually got developed in China and applied to subtitle translation.

In recent years, the film industry has developed better and better, and more and more films have been introduced into Chinese film market, which makes the speed of film subtitle translation faster. Therefore, the attention should be paid not only to the quality, but also to the quantity of translations. The pressure of living in modern society is very great, so many people will choose to watch movies to release pressure and get physical and mental pleasure. Therefore, when translating the relaxed film subjects, we should try to translate the sentences as easily and happily as possible. Moreover, film works cannot be separated from real life, so translators can combine some popular languages to enhance the life atmosphere of the film. What’s more, China"s social economy is developing by leaps and bounds, and now our country"s excellent film works are constantly springing up. In order to adapt to the development of globalization, it is very meaningful to spread our works abroad. This will change our traditional subtitle translation mode and translators also need to do translation works from Chinese to English.

To sum up, there have been a large number of scholars who have made meaningful studies on this topic, and under the guidance of these research literature, we can carry out this study in a deeper way.

3. A Brief Introduction of the Film Guardians of the Galaxy 2

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to 2014"s Guardians of the Galaxy and the fifteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

The main characters include Peter Quill, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Baby Groot, Rocket and Ego. In the first part, Quill is an orphan whose mother died of brain cancer and whose father is missing. After he was adopted, he became a great thief. Suddenly, one day, because of a mission, he met Garoma and a group of small partners and fought side by side. In the second part, Quill and Gamora, together with several partners from different planets, form the guardians of the galaxy. In the process of escaping, Quill met his biological father Ego. At the time Quill was happy with his father, he was surprised to learn that the brain cancer of his mother was caused by his father. So Quill was very angry, and although his father was very strong, the guardians of the galaxy bravely defeated him.

The language style of this film is very humorous, and each character"s language has its own characteristics, which is suitable for the research object. Moreover, because this series of films is very influential and representative in China, it is perfect for the research.

4. On the Subtitle Translation of Guardians of the Galaxy 2 from the Perspective of Functional Equivalence

Word, sentence, passage and style are researched for many years in translation for they directly influence the quality of translation. From the part of film subtitle, the four factors determine whether audience can easily watch the films. Only when the four aspects are dealt with correctly can popular films all over the world like this can be interpreted well.

4.1 The Analysis of Examples on Lexical Equivalence

Example 1

SL: --How is that a priority? --Blame Quill.

TL: --这时候整这玩意儿? --怪奎尔啊。

In the source language, “priority” means “优先权” in Chinese. However, if we translate this word like this, this sentence will become strange in the target language because it doesn’t have such expression like “为什么这件事有优先权” in Chinese. The sentence “这时候整这玩意儿” has the same meaning as that expression but it looks and sounds more idiomatic in Chinese.

Example 2

SL: Taserface.

TL: 电击脸。

This sentence is not translated well. Taserface is a type of gun used by the police to produce a strong electric current and make one unable to move for a short time by giving them a small electric shock. The word “taserface” is a homonym in English with “testis”, and Rocket here laughs at the man because it thinks about that. If the translator just translates it according to the original meaning, the audience will not be able to get the information. Therefore, in order to pursue lexical equivalence, we should learn from another translation version and translate it into “电击杀冒脸”. In this way, “杀冒” is a homonym with “傻帽”, and the word has the same expression as what it should be.

4.2 The Analysis of Examples on Syntactic Equivalence

Example 1

SL: I must cut through it from the inside.

TL: 我必须从里面切穿它。

In English, the adverb of position is usually placed at the end of the sentence and tends to be after the verb. While in Chinese, the adverb of position is placed before the verb. So the phrase “cut through it from the inside” is translated into “从里面切穿它” rather than “切穿它从里面”. If the sentence is translated word by word in sequence, the audience will have trouble understanding the content.

Example 2

SL: There is a cut on its neck.

TL: 它脖子上有个裂口。

The sentence structure “There be…” is a common sentence structure in English while there is no corresponding sentence structure in Chinese. Consequently, “there be” structure is usually translated as “…有……” in Chinese. In this way, the syntactic equivalence will be realized and the meaning will be delivered to the audience well.

Example 3

SL: I was raised alone on Ego’s planet.

TL: 我从小一个人在伊戈的星球长大。

In English, the passive voice is more often used than that in Chinese. Here "be raised" is translated to “长大”, not “被抚养”, which can better achieve syntactic equivalence in the target language.

Example 4

SL: It’s a show that doesn’t exist.

TL: 这是一个根本不存在的综艺。

In the source text there is an attributive clause, which is put after the antecedent to modify antecedent “show”. However, in Chinese, modifiers are used put before the noun. Therefore, the version is not natural in Chinese sentence structure. If the sentence is translated as “这个综艺是节目根本不存在”, it can be more equivalent at syntactic level.

4.3 The Analysis of Examples on Contextual Equivalence

Example 1

SL: Which will be its loss.

TL: 那就是它们倒霉了。

The word “loss” means “减少，亏损，失败，遗失” in Chinese, and it doesn’t have the meaning of “倒霉”. But, combining with the previous plot, we know that the beast is about to appear, Quill and others are ready for weapons, and are confident to defeat it. The only usage that matches the plot here is “失败”, but if the sentence is translated as “那它们会失败了”, the language seems very stiff, which does not match the overall tone of the film and does not conform to the habits of the Chinese context. Therefore, this translation pays attention to contextual equivalence and deals with the problems according to the actual situation.

Example 2

SL: You just need to find a woman who is pathetic like you.

TL: 你只需要找到一个跟你一样不着调的女人。

The background of this sentence is that Drax the Destroyer is talking about dancing with Quill. Through the previous plot, we know that Quill said he 1oved dancing very much, but Gamora didn"t like it. The word “pathetic” can be understood as “可怜的，乏味的” here. But if it is translated like that, the audience may not totally get tits point. Drax the Destroyer is a man who cannot know exactly how others feel, so he just finds it funny, and obviously, the director wants to make Drax the Destroyer to make a joke and let the audience laugh. With these factors, “pathetic" is translated into “不着调的", which not only indicates that Quill is unreliable, but also that he is so pitiable to be out of rhythm when dancing! Another point is that this translation reflects Drax the Destroyer"s humor, which conforms to the character"s setting.

Example 3

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