关于英文电影片名翻译中文化内涵的思考[大全五篇]

第三篇：浅析最新电影片名翻译

浅析最新电影片名翻译

摘要：近年来，有关电影片名翻译的文章大量涌现。表明中国的片名翻译正逐步成为翻译研究的热点。片名是电影内容的眼睛与灵魂，它直接起到“导视”的作用。优秀的影视片名，应顺应观众民族文化心理，突出电影主题；顺应不同语言习惯，发挥语言优势；，惯应电影商业特点，传递广告信息，达到招徕人群，激发观众观看欲望的目的。随着电影产业的逐步扩大，出现了大量的新词翻译，本文将从最新的资讯出发浅析商业背景下电影的翻译策略。

引言：电影是一门艺术．它通过多种信息传播媒体作用于人的感官进而产生某种效果．而电影片名是一部电影的浓缩和灵魂所在，妙趣横生、生动活泼、独特新奇的电影片名．是激发观众的欣赏欲望．决定一部好的影片能否成功的打开国内外市场．创造新的票房记录的关键。但一个成功的译名不同于其它体裁的翻译．需要有一定的翻译方法来进行指导，有鉴于此．笔者根据电影片名的特点在分析具体译例的基础上对最新的英文以及中文电影片名常用的翻译方法进行了进一步探讨。

一． 电影片名的翻译特点 1.归化和异化

作为对传统翻译理论的一个重大突破，德国功能派的翻译理论为翻译理论的研究开辟了一个新视角。该理论以目的论(Skopos theory)为中心，强调如何翻译都有其目的性，即目的决定方法。翻译方法和策略是由译文的预期目的来决定的。目的论中的“目的性原则”为其基本原则，而其“连贯法则”和“忠实法则”必须服从于目的法则。这些观点为一些不符合传统翻译标准的翻译方法提供了有力的理论支撑，尤其适用于影片名这种有明确目的性的文体的翻译。影片名是影片内容的浓缩和精髓，简短、生动的语言承载了丰富的文化内涵。影片名的翻译不仅是语言的翻译，而且还包含着文化上的转换。由于中西方语言和文化存在着巨大的差异，在翻译过程中，译者首先要考虑英语国家的语言模式和文化特色，英语国家观众的文化习惯和审美意识，以加深对片名文化内涵的理解。更为重要的是，译者还必须考虑本国观众的接受能力，要适当融入本国文化，然后通过适当的方式将片名译为形神兼备，雅俗共赏的文字，以达到吸引观众、传播文化的目的。以此目的为指导，笔者认为影片名的翻译方法可以分为两种：归化和异化。例如，在2009年风靡中国影视市场的电视剧《蜗居》，以其贴近社会现实的特点深深吸引着万千影迷。由此，网络上也出现了很多关于蜗居片名的翻译，a nutshell of a house，my humble residence, 以及还有，sex, house, and city.而电视剧蜗居事实上是讲述的在房价飙升的现实社会中，人们都成为了房奴，生活的现实有时候让人们偏离了原本的轨道，迷失了自己。基于这样的主题，笔者认为蜗居是一部中国电视剧，那么英文的翻译面向的就是外国观众，因此上述前两种翻译没有很形象生动的表现出蜗居的主题，当外国观众看到a nutshell of a house，以及my humble residence的时候可能会感到迷惑，把这部电视剧理解为是讲述蜗牛的房子或者是一个人的陋室，这就大大的降低了这部电视剧的深度。而最后一种翻译sex, house, and city，会让人第一时间想到宁外一部经典的外国电影Sex and The City（欲望都市），观众就会明白这是一部关于都市生活的电视剧，实质上其主题上与欲望都市也有着异曲同工之妙。

蜗居的翻译可以称得上是一种归化翻译。归化（domestication）是指在翻译中采用透明，流畅的风格，最大限度淡化原文的陌生感的翻译策略（Shuttleworth&Cbwie, 1997;43-44）。它应尽可能的源语文本所反映的世界接近目的语文化读者的世界，从而达到源语文化与目的语文化的“文化对等”。而归化也区别于意译，意译主要是局限于语言层面的价值取向，归化则是立足于文化大语境下的价值取向。电影的片名翻译是以宣传目的来达到其商业目的，有时候归化翻译能很好的达到一定的商业效果，例如，Leon, 就有两个版本的翻译，一个是杀手里昂，宁一个是这个杀手不太冷，凡事看了这部电影的人都记住了第二个名字，虽然第一个译名也没有错，因为电影本身也是讲的杀手里昂的故事，但是第二个译名利用矛盾修辞法，让我们读到的这不仅仅是一部枪战片，也是一部表现温情的电影，事实证明，里昂高大而善良的形象永远留在了观众的心里。这个杀手不太冷的片名的翻译，让大多偶然进入电影院的人选择了这部电影，这就是归化的力量。当然，也有归化造成了相反的效果的，例如，gone with the wind的片名翻译，笔者认为电影翻译为乱世佳人是有不妥，这部经典的文学作品，意在表达战争让人脱变的过程，如果仅仅翻译为乱世佳人，让人更加关注的是乱世和佳人，没有变化这一说，文学题目翻译为飘，是比较经典的，让人有着无尽的联想与回味。

电影片名翻译中也多用到异化的方法。异化（foreignization）是指偏离本土主流价值观，保留原文的语言和文化差异（Venti,2001）；或指在一定程度上保留原文的异域性，故意打破目标语言常规的翻译（Shuttleworth&Cbwie, 1997）。它主张在译文中保留源语文化，丰富目的语文化和目的语的语言表达形式。例如，英文电影“The Seven YearItch”是好莱坞影星玛丽莲．梦露出演的一部影片。影片讲述了一个这样的故事：男主人公结婚刚7年，在妻子度假期间，被新搬来的一位漂亮的女房客吸引，整日想入非非，但最后幡然悔悟，重新回到妻子身边。该片名在翻译时保留了原语的语言形式，直接译为<七年之痒>。实际上“七年之痒”是外来词，传说古代罗马人认为人的健康状况七年要改变一次，婚姻在第七年时也会出现危机。随着该片在国内的放映，这个词在国内也被广泛使用，用来形容婚姻生活中出现的危机。并随着时间的推移，其意义得到了延伸，泛指许多事情到第七年便可能出现危机。由此可见，这种异化不仅已得到中国观众的认同，而且已成为汉语语言文化中的一员。同样，异化也是有别于直译的，直译是注重完全的对等，例如Pirates of the Caribbean, Kung Fu Panda, 这些片名都属于完全的直译，而异化是在直译的基础予以染色加工，使之更具有美感和吸引力，却又具有异国情调。

随着中西方电影市场的不断融合，单一的归化或者异化在不断的退化，为了适应国际化的需求，如今大多数的片名翻译都采用归化和异化的融合法，例如，《魂断蓝桥》可谓是我国翻译史上有口皆碑的佳译电影译名。原作题名是“WaterlBridge”，直译是《滑铁卢桥》。可中国观众提到“滑铁卢”，必然会联想到拿破仑，因为那里是他被威灵顿打败的地方。它位于比时的布鲁塞尔附近，而片名中的滑铁卢桥却在伦敦。况且前者使人联想到炮火连天，烟雾弥漫，而后者却是一首幽怨动人的爱情歌。根据内容，译者顺应了国人尽知的蓝桥的民间故事，加上“魂断”二字，既保存了题名的基本的形式，又非常贴切地表达出名的悲剧内涵。2.音译 音译是使用一种语言读写出另一种语言的词或词组发音的翻译方法。在片名翻译中．这种方法使用较少．但又不可或缺。对于片名中涉及到人名、地名，如果为观众所熟知，或具有重要的历史文化意义，则应当音译。反之则可予以归化，采取意译、另译的方法加以处理。音译保留了原片名的韵律节奏，以其浓郁的异域特色吸引广大观众。如：《泰坦尼克号》(Titanic)、《卡萨布兰卡》(Casablanca)、《宾赫传》(&n Hut)、《居里夫人》(Madam Currie)、ZhouEnlai(《周恩来》)、Genghis Khan(《成吉思汗》)等。音译也可看做是直译的一种，但是更加朗朗上口，为人所记忆。比如轰动全球的Harry Potter就是一种音译，由于电影的成功让片名变得很具商业效力。3.混译

混译，又叫兼译，是指将音译、直译和意译等翻译方法融合成一体，兼顾使用。如果原片名具有浓厚的民族色彩。或者包含了一些陌生的专有名词，如人名、地名等。采用音译、直译就可能不为观众理解。这种情况下就应该采用混译，对原片名作部分保留，或作适当的增补和修改。眼下比较火的美国情景剧The Big Bang, 译为生活大爆炸，源语里面没有涉及生活二字的意思，但是译文里面译出了，观众可从片名里面读出生活情景的味道，加上爆炸的意思，可以想象出一定是一部不可多得的喜剧。

4、直译意译结合

有时会出现直译、意译都难以恰如其分地体现原片内容，激发观众审美愉悦的情况。有些翻译后，晦涩难懂，不伦不类；另一些则平淡无奇，了无意趣。此时就需要抛开原片名的形式和内容，以原片内容为基础，另起炉灶，把译语观众眼中平淡无奇的源语片名，用人们喜闻乐见的语言形式生动形象地再现出来．比如，Ghost{{人鬼情未了》，初看Ghost有种恐惧感．想有个“鬼”题目的电影，一定是恐怖片，但电影是围绕感情铺张的，毫无恐惧感。描述了一段动人的人和鬼之间荡气嘲肠的爱情故事。让不知道情节的观众有去看的欲望，达到了理想的效果。

5．音译意译结合

由于东西方语言和文化的差异，采用人名、地名、事物名称作为片名的电影，除了可以根据观众是否熟知为原则分别采取音译或意译外，还可先音译再结合影片内容适当增词，以充分表现原片内容，或更符合译语习惯。如动画片Shrek，译成《怪物史莱克》肯定比((史莱克》要好得多。因为单纯从字面上判断不知道史莱克是什么东西，而“怪物”一方面，显得生动有趣，突出了动画片的风格；另一方面，能勾起观众的好奇心。由此可见，尽管直译法和音译法在影片名的翻译中占有主导地位，但电影翻译不同于—般的书名翻译，它其实足一种广告翻译，也就是一种因为实际需要而故意灌进原来没有的意义的一种传达方法。所以不盛严格追求“信、达，雅”的标准，只需要择其善者而从之就可以了，其重点在于在翻译允许的范畴内最大程度的吸引观众。

二、恰当的影片名的特点

以上我们探讨了一些电影片名翻译的方法，究竟什么样的片名翻译才是好的翻译，我们下面就作者的见解以及电影的大众评价作一些探讨。

l、切合原影片的内容，反映原影片的主题，突出原影片的风格。一部好的电影作品应该是主题鲜明的，或讲述警匪之战，或描写爱情、或反映社会伦理、或展开科学幻想等等。不同主题的影片风格各不相同。警匪片一般惊险刺激，给人以悬念，如《生死时速》(speed)；爱情片或浪漫缠绵，或哀婉动人，往往给人以回昧，如《钢琴别恋))ffhePiano)；社会伦理片主题严肃，予人以警示或启迪，如(雨人))(Rain Man)；而科幻片常常集荒诞、幻想和恐怖于一体，描写现实社会中不存在的幻想世界，如《外星人》(E．T．1，这些名应能很好地反映原影片的内容。又如美国喜剧片Mrs Doubffire，讲的是一位离婚的男子Daniel Hiltard为了能天天见到孩子们，装扮成一位肥胖的老太太去前妻家帮佣的故事。影片中喜剧场面不断出现，令人捧腹。《肥妈先生》这个译名利用“妈”与“先生，这对矛盾的称呼语，很好地突出了影片的喜剧风格。相反，如果译为《道特菲尔太太》或《疑火太太》，则喜剧味就荡然无存了。

2、言简意赅，便于记忆。电影是雅俗共赏的艺术，同时又是一种大众娱乐形式。从某种意义上讲它是一种商品应该广为流传。为了便于传播，电影片名当言简意赅，便于记忆。简单地说，就是要意义概括，用词少。应该说很多影片的译名是符合这一要求的。不难看出，这些译名都仅用寥寥数字将原影片的内容及内涵译出无遗，实属言简意赅。而且，他们大都只有四个字，就像汉语成语，念起来富有节奏感，易于上口，便于记忆和传播。有些影片译名未能达到这一要求，在实用性上大打了折扣。有一部电影名字为《奇普里安·波隆贝斯库》，这个片名使人非常反感，因为记不住，讲起来也很吃力。如果原名比较简洁，译名做到简洁也许并不太难，难的是原名很长，十分拗口，这时译者的功力就非常重要了。有一部美国影片，片名长得惊人，口q Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Afraid toAsk。如果直译过来，译名一定冗长拖沓，难以记忆，此片在台湾公映时译为性爱宝典，既含蓄典雅，又简洁易记，不失为佳译。再看一例，1995年美国拍了一部反映同性恋题材的电影，叫ne Incredibly True Adven—tures ofTwo Girls in Love，翻译为《双妹奇恋》，可以说做到了高度概括，简洁明了。

3、符合汉语的语言规范，且适合我国观众的欣赏习惯。电影片名是电影制作者精心设计的。应该说，有些影片名并不需要译者另行设计，只需将原片名按等值原则用对应的中文直译即可。当然，这样做的前提是不造成我国观众的理解困难，且必须符合汉语的语言规范。例如，有一部美国校园生活片，片名叫Mr．Holland’S Opus。影片讲述了一位平凡的音乐教师贺兰先生的故事。贺兰先生在教学岗位上兢兢业业地干了30年，他不富有，也不出名，但他的成就超过了名和利，他所在学校的每个学生都受过他的影响，他就是交响乐团的指挥，每一个学生都是他的音符，每一个学生都是他的作品(叩us)。片名直译应该是《贺兰先生的作品》，现在译为《春风化雨》，译名比原名有更深刻的主题意义，展示了影片看似平凡实际上不平凡的故事，这个译名的妙处还在于它寓意深刻，得影片之神髓，让观众产生美好的联想。“春风化雨”常用于比喻良好的教育，看到这个译名，中国观众很容易联想起古典诗词名句“润物细无声”，还会联想“园丁”，从而对影片中的老师肃然起敬。美妙的译名也像一件艺术精品，给人以美的艺术享受。

三、电影翻译对译者的要求

从翻译的角度来讲，片名翻译的好坏是译者功力和素养的见证。与任何翻译一样，片名翻译也有理解和表达的问题。译者首先应对影片内容、背景有深刻了解。这样才能准确地理解原名，然后确切地用译语表达出原名的含义，使译出来的片名与影片内容相吻合，这是片名翻译最起码的要求。要出佳译，对译者必须有更高的要求。笔者认为。一个优秀的电影翻译工作者应该具备以下素养。l、较强的电影审美鉴赏能力。译者在译片名之前必须先看电影(当然也可以看剧本)来了解影片内容，但译者不是普通的观众，从某种意义上来说，他是在为普通观众看电影，因为他翻译的产品是为普通观众服务的。译者是一个特殊的观众，其特殊之处在于他不只是“看”，而是要通过“看”来感知、理解，调动情感，触发联想，进入一种再创作的境界，即“审美鉴赏”。电影的审美鉴赏包括对电影文化特征(如电影的民族性、时代性和社会性)的审美鉴赏和对电影艺术特征(如电影艺术构成手段和电影艺术风格)的审美鉴赏，以求进一步从看到的东西中解读更丰富的内涵。去破译更深刻的艺术价值和社会价值。简单地说，鉴赏电影的目的是要获得对影片深层意义和真正意义的理解。这种理解对于译者来说是十分重要的，因为它是准确表达的前提。但是仅仅理解了还不能保证一定能准确地表达，要做到准确地表达，译者还须有良好的文学功底。·

2、良好的文学功底。影视翻译为文学翻译之一部分⋯⋯要求译者对中文及外文均须有一定的根底，需要有文学家的灵感和艺术家的匠心，只有这样的译者才能够恰如其分地把握原名的神韵并准确地加以再现，甚至超越原名的艺术水准，更好地体现影片的主题意义，生产出如《春风化雨》、《魂断蓝桥》这样的佳译。

3、正确的翻译心态。译者应本着对电影艺术和观众负责的态度去工作，既不能草率地翻译，更不能为了追求物质利益而乱译，胡译。翻译中译者尤其要把握好一个“度”的问题，既不哗众取宠，也不低级媚俗。比如文艺片的片名一般认为应译得文雅一些，娱乐片宜译得通俗一些，但是文雅不等于故作高雅，通俗也并不等于媚俗，译者不能一味地为迎合某种“品位”或追求某种利益而使译名过“度”。

四．结束语

随着电影产业的不断扩大，大众对电影的质量要求不断提高，电影产业是一个商业化的产业，需要根据大众的需求进行不断的自我提升，笔者这里研究的片名翻译是一部电影的外包装，外包装的精美直接影响着其销量的好坏，虽然外装内部的产品质量才是重头戏，但是在这个高速运转的社会，人们讲求的是效率，好的片名就是高效率的基础，所以笔者建议片名的翻译应该契合观众的口味，基于如此，我们就不能单单注重翻译理论，理论应该随着实际不断的变化。多种理论结合实际无疑不是未来片名翻译的趋势，同时，译者的理解以及翻译背景知识必须足够的丰富，以使片名翻译的准确性和吸引性。笔者建议译者应该以尊重影片的内容为基础，不断创造新的词汇来应对更复杂的片名翻译。

参考文献

黄泽萍，华南师范大学 南海校区，《 内地与港台三地影视翻译比较 》

刘艳君，河南农业大学外国语学院，《英语电影片名昀翻译及其对译者硇要求》 李彬，徐州工程学院外国语学院，《目的论指导下电影片名的翻译》

第四篇：浅谈英文电影片名的翻译

浅谈英文电影片名的翻译

[摘要] 随着国际间的交流日益频繁，电影作为文化艺术形式，也是中外文化交流中重要的一部分。电影片名的翻译受着文化差异的影响，就电影翻译中如何更好地再现原片的文化特色和艺术效果，以求在源语文化和译入语文化中达到最大程度的对等，更好地实现跨文化交际，让人们欣赏到优秀的外文影片。

[关键词] 电影片名 中西文化差异

翻译技巧

电影作为一种世界性、大众化的艺术形式，在各国的文化交流中所发挥的作用也越来越明显。尤其是大量英文影片的引进, 电影翻译也备受关注。电影片名的翻译属于跨文化交际的活动，从一种语言到另一种语言, 不同的文化背景、思维方式、价值观以及审美观等目的语文化环境下, 如何翻译出让观众认同并接受的电影篇名, 是翻译者为之努力的方向。

一、电影是文化艺术的载体，电影片名的翻译属于跨文化交际活动 文化的性质决定了在不同地域和时空的文化有着不同的表现形式。因此，电影片名的翻译也应尽可能地正确把握源语民族语言中的文化信息，适时地进行选择和适应，以求在源语文化和译入语文化中达到最大程度的功能对等。语言是文化的一部分,也是文化的载体。翻译作为跨文化交流的一个桥梁, 与其说它是语言的翻译, 不如说是文化的翻译。因此在翻译的过程中, 不但要知道词语本身的字面意义, 还要弄清其所承载的文化意义。

二、中西文化差异对电影片名翻译的影响

在中西方不同的文化背景中，对事和对物有着各自不同的文化寓意。同一事物,在不同的民族文化中有着不同的文化寓意。电影 “Red Shoes”（英国），主要讲述了英国一名芭蕾舞女演员面对爱情与事业不能做出正确选择，最终走向悬崖的悲惨故事。尽管《红舞鞋》正确无误地译出了英文的原意，却没有更深的寓意。后来这部英国影片又被译成《红菱艳》。译者把那双红舞鞋比作了中国观众妇孺皆知的红菱。它寓意红菱虽出于污泥，却仍美丽动人。特别是那两只弯弯的红菱角，犹如中国古代浸入了女子血泪的三寸金莲。与《红舞鞋》相比，《红菱艳》这一片名更体现出了电影的意境美。再如，美国电影 “American Beauty”.大陆和香港都有自己各自的片名译文版本。大陆译作《美国美人》，香港译作《美国丽人》。而这两个简单的直译版本都很不贴切。根据 The American Heritage Dictionary（<<美国传统词典>>），“American Beauty”是一种玫瑰花，花大叶长，呈紫红色。这种花美丽而神圣，象征着崇高而神圣的爱情。影片中，导演用联想的手法，用这种花用来象征着一个女孩的爱。因此台湾译本《美国心·玫瑰情》更加传意贴切。

审美是人类独有的一种复杂而高级的活动,包含了复杂的感觉、心理、思维、情感等一 系列多样又统一的精神活动。审美作为普遍的社会文化现象，是人类文明长期发展的结果。文化背景的不同，决定了审美情趣的差异。审美的差异决定了译者要深入把握源语电影作品的思想美学内容，用目的语的艺术形式传达原作的形象、情感和语言的艺术美，从而将原作的审美体验生动形象地传递于译入语的电影艺术观众。例如，在某些形象的审美上，汉文化也不同于英语文化的审美习俗。在中国传统文化中，芙蓉总是与美丽动人联系在一起，唐代诗人李白就用“天然去雕饰，清水出芙蓉。”这样的诗句来描绘美人杨贵妃。影片 “Bathing Beauty”译为“出水芙蓉”更自然贴切，迎合了中国人的审美心理。再如，“Blood and Sand”翻译成“碧血黄沙”，贴近汉民族的修饰与生动传神的审美需求，而英语的表达惯式则不使用修饰性的形容词。译名不仅充分展现了原名的文化价值和商业价值，还忠实了电影的内容。

三、英文电影片名翻译的标准、方法及技巧

近代著名翻译家严复提出的“信、达、雅”的标准。奈达提出的对等概念，金隄从三个方面对该概念进一步阐释：接受者概念、效果概念、对等概念。关于效果概念，他指出，在明确了效果指信息对接受者的作用后，需要强调它应该包括信息的全部作用，也就是接受者从中所获得的一切理解和感受。包括主要精神、具体事实、意境气氛三大要素(1998：18)。笔者认为，这进一步明确了严复“信、达、雅”标准的内容。效果概念是否全面掌握，实质就是翻译过程中是否真正以等效为目标。

电影片名的翻译既要有一定的文化品位，又要有良好的商业效应；既要忠实于原文，又要符合本国观众的语言文化习惯和审美取向。翻译片名时，应在深入理解影片内容和风格的基础上，借助适当翻译技巧与方法，谨慎措辞，言简意赅，传情达意，形神兼备。片名的翻译通常有以下几种技巧与方法：

3.1.直译法

这是最常见的方法。在不违背电影原文思想内容，又能以生动、形象的译入语再现片名。例如： “Basic Instinct” 译作《本能》；”Superman”《超人》； “Spider-man”《蜘蛛侠》；“Tess”《苔丝》； “Rain Man”《雨人》； “God Father”《教父》； “Snow White and Seven Dwarfs”《白雪公主与七个小矮人》； “Dances With Wolves”《与狼共舞》。但这种形式与内容都可直接对应的作品较少。因而要在主要精神、具体事实、意境等方面都达到对等，采用直译加意译的方法是完全必要的。

3.2.意译法

所谓意译，简言之为“神似而形不似”的翻译，但并非偏离原作的含义。意译与直译的区别集中体现在表达形式这一层面上。现实中很多片名含有丰富的文化内涵。直译难以体现其中精髓，译者在综合、分析、理解原片内容、风格、情节甚至于文体等的基础上，对片名进行创造性加工，将它译成能反映原片特点的译名，以实现其文化、审美、经济等方面的对等。“Midnight Cowboy”中的cowboy本意为“牛仔”，是美国特有文化，与汉文化中的“牛郎”并无关系，但作为折衷，《午夜牛郎》似可接受。还有 “Cash Mccall”翻译为《商海情深》； “Gone with the Wind”《飘》； “Ghost” 《人鬼情未了》； “The Piano”《钢琴课》； “Cats ＆ Dogs” 《猫狗大战》； “Seven” 《七宗罪》；再如“Top Gun”是美国海军空战部队学校的一般叫法。影片描述了机师彼得刻苦训练、经过种种磨难最终成功的故事。若译为《高枪》可能会使观众误以为是枪战片，而非励志电影，现译为《壮志凌云》使观众对影片的题材及风格一目了然。同时，“凌云”二字也充分体现出原名 “top” 的方位概念。

3.3.音译法

很多电影片名本身常为表示人名、地名的专有名词，在不引起译入语文化的曲解时，可直接将其音译。如： “Casablanca”《卡萨布兰卡》； “Romeo and Juliet”《罗密噢与朱丽特》 “Rocky”《洛基》； “Jane Eyre”《简爱》； “Harry Potter”《哈利·波特》等。但事实表明，纯音译的例子很少，因为表示片名的人名、地名多为国内观众所不熟悉的。由此应考虑音译加意译这一方法，以取得更好的效果。如： “Patton”《巴顿将军》；

“King Kong”《金刚》；“Forrest Grump”《阿甘正传》等。

四、结束语

翻译是从一种语言符号转换到另一种语言符号的再创造的活动。由于源语和译语的不同特色和各民族的文化差异，把片名从一种语言转化为另一种语言并非易事，而是一个再创造的过程。在影片名的翻译中，译者必须了解源语与译入语之间的语言和民族文化差异，同时要求译者具有对电影艺术的审美能力以及对跨文化交际的敏感性，加之运用恰当的翻译技巧最大程度地保留其文化特色, 尽可能翻译出理想的电影片名，以供人们欣赏。

参考文献

1.肖陆锦.英语影片名汉译技法探讨[J], 江汉石油学院学报（社科版）2.孙致礼.新编英汉翻译教程[M],上海外语教育出版社,2004.7.3.刘宓庆.当代翻译理论[M].北京：中国对外翻译出版公司，1999 4.贺莺.电影片名的翻译理论和方法[J].外语教学，2001.1 5.金隄.等效翻译探索（增订版）[M].北京：中国对外翻译出版公司，1997 6.何跃敏.当前西片译名中的新问题和策略[J.中国翻译，1997(4).

第五篇：英文电影片名的翻译策略范文

On strategies for Translating English Movie Titles

英文电影片名的翻译策略

CONTENTS Abstract………………………………………….……………………………….i 摘要….………..........................................................................................iii Introduction……………………………………………………………………..1 Chapter 1 Characteristics and Functions of English Movie Titles 1.1 The Movie Titles’ Classification 1.2 Characteristics of English Movie Titles 1.2.1 Concise and Memorize 1.2.2 Straightaway Languages 1.2.3 Attractive Box Office 1.3 Functions of English Movie Titles 1.3.1 Information Function 1.3.2 Aesthetic Function 1.3.3 Vocative Function Chapter 2 Principle and Methods of English Movie Titles’ Translation 2.1 Principle of English Movie Titles’ Translation 2.1.1 Information Value Principle 2.1.2 Aesthetic Principles 2.1.3 Target-oriented Principle 2.1.4 Economic Benefit Principle

2.2 Methods of English Movie Titles’ Translation 2.2.1 Literal Translation

2.2.2 Liberal Translation Transliteration 2.2.3 Transliteration 2.2.4 Complementary Translation 2.2.5 Creative Interpretation Chapter 3 Influence Factors on Translating Movie Titles 3.1 The Factor of Cultural Difference

3.2 Lacking a Comprehensive Understanding of the Story 3.3 Influence of Commercial Profits Conclusion...........................................................................................................50 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………53 Appendix…………………………………………………………………………………...54 Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………..55

Abstract

With development of culture exchange in the world, more and more English films have been introduced into our country, which have gained preference of the Chinese people.Well translated movie titles tend to attract audiences in one culture to appreciate movies produced in another culture.The translation of movie titles plays an important role in introducing and popularizing western movie culture.After the analysis of the characteristics, functions and translation principles of movie titles, the author of the present study discussed the methods of the English movie titles translation and summarized the influence factors on translation.Key words：Movie titles, translation, principles, characteristic, methods

摘 要

随着文化交流的不断扩大，越来越多的国外影片引进中国，受到观众的喜爱。翻译的精彩的电影片名往往能吸引观众观赏进口的国外影片。电影片名的翻译在引进并传播西方电影文化中起着重要的作用。在分析了电影名称的特征、功能和翻译的原则后，笔者探讨了翻译英文电影片名的技巧，并总结了影响电影翻译的因素。

关键词：英语电影片名;翻译;原则;特点;

Introduction

―Movie is so important that it has become the first arts of the human world,‖ pointed out by French artist and novelist Mona(Baker, 2004, p.40).Movies are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them.With the lapse of time, the process of filmmaking has developed into an art form and industry.Some films have become popular worldwide attractions by using dubbing or subtitles that translate the dialogue into the language of the viewer.What is more, movie titles which contain profound moral play a very important role.The title is the brand trademark of the movie and condenses the pith of the story.The titles are always in the eye-catching position of the playbill.In recent years, our cultural exchanges with the outside world have never been livelier, more and more western movies have come into Chinese market.The translation of English movie titles plays an important role in promoting cultural exchanges, and enriching people’s leisure time.But currently, the film title translation remains a problematic issue.As to the same title, it often has several different translations for one English film title.The Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan versions can hardly achieve unity in most cases, which makes confusion and inconvenience for the audience.Like many other forms of non-literary translation, the translation of English movie titles has not yet received due attention despite their importance.Peter Newmark has called on the translators to bring their attention to ―two underplayed aspects of translation‖, one of which is ―the approach to non-literary translation.‖ Nida also called for ―more attention to exploring new fields in translation‖.As a branch of non-literary translation, the translation of English movie titles, like many other forms of non-literary translation, has not yet received due attention despite their importance.The translation of English movie titles is the important part in the translation of English movie.This paper is based on the analysis of the characteristics and functions, proposes four principles and summarizes five translation methods in the translation of English movie titles.6

Chapter 1 Characteristics and Functions of English Movie Titles

1.1The Movies Titles’ Classification

The first step of translating movie titles is in depth knows the source of titles and the characteristic.The titles mostly come from the clue of story line, background, theme and characters.The movies can be divided into the following: action films;romance films;horror films;disaster films;cartoon films;comedy;adventure films.Actually, most of movies belong to comprehensive kind;such as the Titanic belongs not only to romance films but also to films disaster.1.2 Characteristics of English Movie Titles

1.2.1 Concise and Memorize Movie titles generally highly epitomize movie content, which requires succinct and conciseness, meanwhile contains a wealth of the information of content itself.Generally speaking, the titles are made up of nouns and noun phrases, such as Titanic, Speed, Gladiator and Tarzan.This movie titles obvious to everybody it belongs to what kind of movie.1.2.2 Straightaway languages The film is the art of the common people.The movie titles should suit the original content of the film and reflect the theme of the film, and we straightaway languages, which is convenient for people to know the movie.Such as Pearl Harbor, the Princess Diaries, Twin Sisters, Beauty and the Beast and Kindergarten Cop.Through the titles, you can easily distend what is probably spoken of the story.The straightaway languages make audience readily receptive.7

1.2.3 Attractive Box Office

Movie is a commodity.The investors must pay attention to the box office, or the film industry cannot survive, develop and grow sturdily.Successful box office often depends on an attractive title.So the titles should give the audience suspension, reverie and aesthetic feeling in order to arouse the audience desire of going to movies.When the audience see the title The Silence of the Lamb, they are curious to know why they use lamb or are it a silent lamb.Thus movie got overwhelming success and the title made great contribution.Some movie titles pay attention to the spelling in order to be special and attractive, to some extent, they’re queer.Lost in Translation, Cast Away and It Happened One Night impress the audiences deeply.1.3 Functions of English Movie Titles

Forrest Gump said ―Life was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get‖.So does a movie, you will never know whether a movie attracts you until you watch it.When watching a movie, what attracts you first is the title of the movie.The movie titles need to attract people to have a desire for rushes to the film and feel good after seeing it, so as to reach the purpose of improving box office.Chen hongwei divided the functions of movie titles into three categories: information function, aesthetic function and vocative function.1.3.1 Information Function

The titles give a neat summary of the movie in Straightaway languages.It conveys the information about the idea of the movie to the audience and makes them understand the idea and the story better.This is the titles’ the title The Shawshank Redemption will tell the audience that the story is about a person named Shawshank on the path to redemption.Pearl Harbor will remind the people of the history and the audience will know the story takes place in Pearl Harbor and has connection with World WarⅡ.The informative function is the basic function of movie titles and the most important function.8

1.3.2 Aesthetic Function The translation of movie titles which always apply many rhetoric techniques in Chinese structure is flexible, in order to create a catchy name and to give people a good sense of rhythm.That is the aesthetic function.The aesthetic feeling is a main factor that causes audience to make the decision whether they will go to a movie or not.The aesthetic function is most obviously felt on the romantic movies.Some titles of the classical movies have become the synonym of romance, such as Casablanca, Sleepless in Seattle and the Great Waltz.As W.Somerset Mangham says, words have their weight, sound and appearance.The translators try to select the words that have beauty in sound, form and meaning.These movie titles attract and touch the heart of the audience with nice language and satisfy the audience by the conciseness and vividness.1.3.3 Vocative Function

The movie titles’ vocative function is to impress thousands upon thousands of audiences and evoke their curiosity, attracting the audiences into the cinema.Everyone has curiosity;we will feel curious when we see something fresh and strange and we take delight in learning and are easily influenced.The vocative function is just to influence the audience’s sentiments and arouse their interests.Such as Jumanji left us with one of the biggest cliffhangers, thus arouse our interest in the movie.Another example, Blood Diamond strongly criticized the dirty trade of diamond and described sufferings of the people who during the Sierra Leone Civil War.The director chose blood diamond as the title in his movie to attract audience and also convey the main idea of the movie.Chapter 2 Principle and Methods of English Movie Titles’

Translation

2.1 Principle of English Movie Titles’ Translation

2.1.1 Information Value Principle The information value principle is the most basic principle in English movie titles’ translation.Title translation should convey true information, relate to the movie, and achieve the unity of title and plot, which is the so-called achieving equivalence in information value.Catch at shadows, as wide as poles apart and departure from the information value are the most taboo in titles translation.As the title, it should keep concise, but it should also contain rich information which makes audience guess what the movie is about at a glance.Such as PulpFiction;Meet the Parents;A Rather English Marriage.Another example,，the Third Man once translated into ―第三者‖，may at first seem a story about love triangles ,but in the movie, the third man actually is a person who is the witness of the horrible murder.Primary translation has a long way from the actual content.2.1.2 Aesthetic Principle Since movies possess both the commercial and artistic qualities, an excellent movie should develop its commercial value and have its artistic value as well.Translation is a kind of art.When we translate the movie titles, we should take into account the artistic quality.At the same time, the request to this profession has been becoming more and more strict along with unceasing enhancement of our living standard and the esthetic appreciation.The translation of movie titles demands for escaping away from the strains of original words and penetratingly grasping the artistic quality, thus make an activity of artistic creation.The Bridge of Madison County 廊桥遗梦is believed to be one of the best translated titles.Firstly, it is a four-character expression which appeals to Chinese audience.Secondly, the characters in the title contain great meanings.―廊‖embodies the art of landscaping and aesthetics of structure.― 遗 ‖infers time and space, yearning between lovers and introspection.―梦‖indicates the sincerely desire of the love and the romantic emotional appeal which is imbued with Platonic intention and affords for thought.There are some other good versions with high artistic quality: Ghost人鬼情未了, Sleepless in Seattle 西雅图夜未眠, Gone With the Wind 乱世佳人.10

2.1.3 Target-oriented Principle Movie is a specific form of literature, so it should create value and be accepted by the audiences.The specificity of movie determines that translation should keep the target-oriented principle.That is to say, translators should be on this foundation of faithful to the original, meanwhile, stressed the effect of audience.The translation of titles should be more carefully considered.The translation’ aim is not only to faithfully transmit original words and cultural value, but also attract and be accepted by the audience.2.1.4 Economic Benefit principle The first two installments of the Godfather movie series alone earned more than $800 million at the international box-office, which allows us to realize that movies are big factories.The development of films depends on economic benefit, thus the titles’ translation should stick to the principle.We also understand that the movie’ economic benefit depends on the level of attracting audience.Whether titles are good or bad immediate impact the box office level.For example, Sound of Music was once translated into ―仙乐飘飘何处闻‖, which make the audience feel confused;Later, ―音乐之声‖was widely accepted.Ghost was translated into ―人鬼情未了‖，which become a classic.2.2 Methods of Movie Titles’ Translation Film translation is an important and simple way to introduce foreign culture to audiences.Seemingly short though, the title translation is rather difficult and requires much translation knowledge.Excellent English film translation can bring to the audience great satisfaction both in eyes and ears.There are many techniques of translating the title of a movie and there are also many factors which affect its translation.But, I will introduce the techniques of movie titles’ translation mainly from five categories: literal translation, complementary translation, transliteration, free translation, the combination of literal and free translation.No matter what technique is employed, one fundamental and vital principle that should never be forgotten is that the translation must be related to the story in one way or another.11

2.2.1Literal Translation

Literal translation is the most common method used in film title translation.By converting the source language’s grammatical constructions to their nearest target language equivalents, literal translation can preserve both the content and originality in most cases.In occasions when a title matches the story of a movie perfectly, such as Beauty and the Beast(美女与野兽), Saving Private Ryan（拯救大兵瑞恩），only if the target language sounds not too awkward or unnatural and is capable of describing the story, literal translation can be adopted.Generally speaking, the translated Chinese titles should be capable of describing the story as well as the original English titles do.These titles are easily accepted and memorized by Chinese audience.For example, True Lies(真实的谎言)，Rain Man（雨人），Brave Heart(勇敢的心)，The Shawshank Redemption（肖申克的救赎），and so on.2.2.2 Liberal Translation

Besides literal translation, liberal translation is also commonly adopted by us.Liberal translation is also called free translation, which does not adhere strictly to the form or word order of the original.As English movie titles are mostly made up of one or two key words and highly concentrated, literally translated titles sometimes cannot make the Chinese audience understood.And there are some titles that contain lots of culture which is only well-known by westerners;Chinese audience will be confused if we translate these titles through literal translation.However, when we use free translation, the version won’t totally conform to the original titles.Though most translators treat literal translation as their first choice, in the field of English movie title translation, liberal translation is used more.Liberal translation can bring the connotation into play and elaborate the pith of the title.Gone with the Wind was translated into乱世佳人, is a good example.2.2.3 Transliteration Transliteration is a subset of the science of hermeneutics.It is a form of translation, and is the practice of converting a text from one script into another.Some foreign movies generally take the name of the heroine or where and when a story takes place as the title.For

instance, Harry Porter(哈利波特)，Tarzan(泰山)，Aladdin(阿拉丁)，Casablanca(卡萨布兰卡), Notting Hill(诺丁山).But only use transliteration is probably fairly rare, because the domestic audience generally do not know the titles which take the name of the heroine or geographic name as titles.So we should take into account combining the transliteration with liberal translation.For instance, Patton(巴顿将军), Forrest Gump(阿甘正传)and All Quiet on the Western Front(西线无战事).2.2.4 Complementary Translation

The translation of the English movies have to take into account the inner foreign culture of the movie itself;需要考虑电影自身所包含的外国文化

in such circumstances, the complementary translation is necessary.The complementary translation is on the basic of literal translation and liberal translation, thus making the translation adapts to the audiences’ psychological reception and cultural expectation.For example: Philadelphia(费城故事)，Seven(七宗罪)，Shrek(怪物史莱克)，Titanic(泰坦尼克号).2.2.5 Creative Interpretation Language in English movie titles is creatively used and there are some titles that are not suitable to be translated with the skills mentioned above.As a result, with the purpose of strengthen artistic quality and influence, the translator sometimes has to create a new title or choose a best title which can describe the story and convey the most information to the audience.Cross-cultural factors have semantic and pragmatic impacts on translation, which requires translators to adopt flexible translating tactics, this is the create interpretation.The translator should be aware of these differences and try to creative a new title according to the story and his or her understanding of the western culture and history.In some English titles, the heroes’ or the heroines’ names are very unfamiliar to Chinese audience because sometimes the heroes or the heroines are ordinary people.Transliteration cannot tell the audience more than a name.However, if we create a new title mainly connected with the story, the audience will get it through.For example Dorothy Dandridge(红颜血泪), transliteration gives audience the version多萝西・丹德里奇, but who is多萝西・丹德里奇? How old is she? What does she do? The audience gets nothing from this kind of translation.As a matter of fact, Dorothy Jean Dandridge(November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965)was an American actress and popular singer, and was the first African-American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.She performed as a vocalist in venues such as the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theater.On her way to her success, she made so much effort and endured all the unequal treatment.红颜血泪 exactly described her lifetime—A black beauty who fought against the discrimination and paid her tears and even blood to get her success and gained people’s recognition.Another simple, The Professional(这个杀手不太冷).The title refers to the hero of the movie, Leon, a killer, very skillful and cool.One of its versions is 杀手莱昂.Appropriate to the identity of our hero as it is, it does not reveal another important side of Leon, which the version 这个杀手不太冷 vividly carries.Chapter 3 Influence Factors of Translation

This section attempts to make a deep study from the perspectives of cultural differences, comprehensive understanding towards to story and Influence of commercial profits, which affect the English movie titles’ translation.4.1 The Factor of Cultural Difference The different historical, cultural and religious factors build up different customs and courtesy.Therefore, culture is assignable factor in translation.During the course of translating, incorrect translation may result from such factors as grammar, structure, inter-cultural differences, and so on.Some translations of titles are totally unrelated to the film.The main cause lies in the lack of consideration of different characteristics of the original language and the cultural elements in those different types.For example American Beauty(美国丽人),The mainland and the HK versions both have made a mistake in taking the literal meaning of Beauty.According to the American Heritage Dictionary, ―American Beauty‖ is a type of rose bearing large, long-stemmed purplish-red flowers.And the rose is a profound image in the Oscar winner of the Best Picture in 2001, so the Taiwan version 美国

心，玫瑰情 seems more to the point.4.2 Lacking a Comprehensive Understanding of the Story

The precondition for translating the title is the depth knowledge of the story;this is the first step to make a right and the best choice among many possible versions.But in many cases, the translator, probably without going to the movie before translating the title, has to come up with a version simply from the original English and a synopsis of the movie.The Day After Tomorrow is an American science-fiction disaster film in 2004 depicting catastrophic effects of global warming in a series of extreme weather events that usher in global cooling and lead to a new ice age.The film did well at the box office.The title also quickly leapt red.It was translated by literal translation as ―后天‖，but after seeing the movie , the audience will consider the title ―后天‖improper, ―明天过后‖ was more properly.4.3 Influence of Commercial Profits

As we mentioned above, movie itself is a sort of commodity and the movie titles are attractive to draw the audience’s attention and then film producers are able to access to economic interests.As a result, we always see a lot of exciting, passionate, mysterious or thrilling words in the titles though some of these titles actually reflect nothing of the original story.Here are some examples: Backtrack

-------------赤面杀手

Platoon

-------------杀戮战场 Charlie’s Angels-------------霹雳娇娃

Conclusion

The translation of the title of a movie is an interesting topic.Movies play an important role in the culture exchanges between different countries.The translation of movie’s title plays an important role in introducing and popularizing western movie culture.However, the translation of film titles, as a special and significant part of film translation, is a far less explored field.The translation of the film titles is a special process of re-creation.It isn't easy to obey the content and the forms of the original titles, but a hard research to the film themes, social problems, the ethnic association and national condition.Owing to the diversities of the west and the east, the westerners' opinions towards the translation are naturally different from the easterners.We wouldn't only see a part of the film and rush into translating it into literal translation or free translation.Translation is also a process of cultural communication because of the differences of the principles of the translation, the linguistic customs of the foreign countries and the characteristics of the film titles.That is not only to the audience, but also to the translators themselves.After all, the purpose of the film is to satisfy the audience.Different film titles require different translation methods.People should take all factors into consideration.In all, there are many challenges for us to translate the film titles, thus we should combine the practice of using translation methods, finding the balance between literal translation and free translation is rational to the translation of film titles.If we master the trick of the translation of film titles, everything becomes easy.To sum up, the ultimate goal of translation is to promote cross-cultural exchange —a long, evolutionary process

References

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful to the teachers for their patient help and warm encouragement.I would like, first of all, to show my sincere gratitude to Mrs.Zhang, my supervisor, for her valuable guidance and generous support.Through the work, she gave me great encouragement, which gave me the confidence and strength to complete this dissertation successfully.Also, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my teachers who have taught me in the past four years.It is because of their help and guidance that I can finish my university and my paper successfully.山东建筑大学毕业论文