The translation of movie title 电影名翻译

The translation of movie title 电影名翻译

音译

《Jane Eyre》《简. 爱》

《Casablanca》《卡萨布兰卡》

《Billy Elliot 》《比利.艾略特》

《Evelyn 》《伊芙琳》

《Garfield 》《加菲猫》

《Harry Potter 》《哈里.波特》

《Hannibal 》《汉尼拔》

《King Kong》《金刚》

直译

《The Godfather》《教父》

《Mr. and Mrs. Smith》《史密斯夫妇》《史密斯夫决战史密斯妇》

《Fahrenheit 9/11》《华氏911》

《Gosford Park》《高斯福德庄园》

《Gladiator》《角斗士》

《Hotel Rwanda》《卢旺达饭店》

《Kill Bill》《杀死比尔》

《Basic Instinct》《本能》

意译

《The Waterloo Bridge》《魂断蓝桥》《The Bridges of Madison Country》《廊桥遗梦》《Lolita》《一树梨花压海棠》《Leon the Professional》《这个杀手不太冷》《Lethal Weapon》《轰天炮》《Impossible Mission 》《碟中谍》

《E.T》《外星人》

《Bridget Jones》《BJ单身日记》《Bruce Almighty》《冒牌天神》

《The Matrix》(1999) 《黑客帝国》

《The Matrix Reloaded 》(2003) (重装上阵) 《The Matrix Revolutions 》(2003) (矩阵革命)

《Going On 30》《女孩梦三十》《Holes》《别有洞天》

《The Interpreter》《翻译风波》《Home Alone 》《小鬼当家》

混译

《Schindl er’s List》《辛德勒的名单》《Sissi》《西西公主》

《Elizabeth》《伊丽莎白女王》《Forrest Gump》《阿甘正传》

《Joe Dirt》《乔-德特历险记》《Kangaroo Jack》《抢钱袋鼠》

《Lost in Translation》《迷失东京》《Shakespeare In Love 》《莎翁情史》

中国电影的英文译名

《Farewell My Concubine》《霸王别姬》《Be There or Be Square》《不见不散》《Seventeen Years》《回家过年》《Ashes of Time》《东邪西毒》

《All Men Are Brothers: Blood of the Leopard》《水浒传》

《Chinese Odyssey 1: Pandora‘s Box》

中国的奥德赛1：潘多拉宝盒（《大话西游之月光宝盒》《Chinese Odyssey 2: Cinderella 》

灰姑娘（《大话西游之仙履奇缘》

《Funeral of the Famous Star》

《大腕》明星的葬礼

港台电影译名

《Legally Blonde》

台湾翻译：金法尤物

香港翻译：律政可人儿

《Moulin Rouge 》

台湾翻译：红磨坊

香港翻译：情陷红磨坊

《The One》宇宙追缉令

台湾翻译：救世主

香港翻译：最后一强

《Pay It Forward 》《浮世因缘》

台湾翻译：让爱传出去

香港翻译：拉阔爱的人

《Amelie》艾梅丽

台湾翻译：艾蜜莉的异想世界香港翻译：天使爱美丽《Rush Hour》

台湾翻译：尖峰时刻

香港翻译：火并时速《Chocolate》

台湾翻译：浓情巧克力

香港翻译：情迷朱古力《Tomb Raider》古墓丽影台湾翻译：古墓奇兵

香港翻译：盗墓者罗拉《Cats &Dogs 》

台湾翻译：猫狗大战

香港翻译：猫狗斗一番《Dr. Dolittle》

台湾翻译：怪医杜立德

香港翻译：D老笃日记American Sweethearts》

台湾翻译：美国甜心

香港翻译：甜心人

《Billy Elliot》芭蕾之梦

台湾翻译：舞动人生

香港翻译：跳出我天地

On Translating English Film Titles from the Cultural

Perspective Introduction

As an audiovisual art, film is one of the most influential mass media, it follows and reflects people’s life and it is a product of particular culture. Over the past decades, with the increase in cultural exchanges, the western movies have gradually entered the Chinese market and held an important position in Chinese people’s recreational life.

The film title, being short in form but rich in meaning, has its own cultural, linguistic, aesthetic features. A properly-translated English movie title should be concise, condensed and compact, which can grip the attention of the audience at their first sight and stimulate their association with the plot, reveal the theme or offer some clue. So they deserve careful investigation and consideration from the translator. However, as a branch of non-literary translation, it has not yet received due attention despite their importance.

Therefore, in this thesis, I will introduce the general features and functions of English film titles, analyzing the translation techniques largely employed in film title translation. Furthermore, I will examine from the cultural perspective the different versions in Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and analyze the relevant strategies adopted and the effectiveness of these strategies. The social-cultural context of each region will be explored to find the factors resulting in this disunity in versions

作为一种视听艺术，电影是最有影响力的大众媒体，它遵循并反映人民群众的生命，它也是一种特别的文化产品。在过去的几十年，随着文化交流的增加，西方的电影已逐步进入中国市场，并在中国人民的娱乐生活中占有重要的位置。

影片标题，形式短小，但内涵丰富，包含了特有的的文化，语言和审美特征。翻译英文电影片名应简

明扼要，浓缩，紧凑，为了可以抓住观众的第一印象，促进其对情节的联想，标题还应该揭示主题或是为

观众提供一些线索。因此，翻译要建立在研究和考虑的基础上。但是，作为一个非文学的翻译部门，尚未

受到应有的重视，尽管他很重要。

在这篇论文中，我将介绍英文电影的一般的面貌和功能，分析主要从事电影标题翻译的翻译技术。此外，我将在内地、香港和台湾这些在翻译上文化观点不同的地区进行调查，并分析相关的战略和这些战略

的有效性。探究各地区社会文化背景将会找到造成这种版本不统一的因素。

Clint Eastwood always explores the darker side of human nature and the duality of man. His dark hero of Unforgiven, William Munny, tries to repent only to be thrust back into that violent world he knows so well. His regretful Frank Horrigan of In The Line Of Fire and his womanizing Steve Everett of True Crime also want redemption.

Eastwood's Frankie Dunn of Million Dollar Baby is the most conflicted, weathered, and vulnerable he's ever played. When he weeps in a darkened church it's like watching a house of cards begin to fall. This is a man whose had a regretful past and can't run away from the curve balls life has thrown at him. Frankie Dunn is like most of us where we eventually get punished for our good deeds.

The funny thing is that Million Dollar Baby is not a boxing movie despite the way it's being advertised like a female version of Rocky. Yes, Hilary Swank's Maggie trains to be a boxer under the guidance of Clint Eastwood's Frankie Dunn. Yes, Morgan Freeman is Scrap, Frankie's tough friend and ex boxer. Yes, the bulk of it takes place in a boxing gym. Yes, there are numerous boxing matches. Despite all this it's still not a boxing movie.

When you see it you'll be surprised by the utter humanity in the piece. This film runs very deep and you will care for the three main characters. Eastwood gives us something we rarely get in films today. He gives us real people.

The film is about the triumph of the human spirit, the emotional world we try to hide from that eventually sucks us all in, our compassionate hearts, and the difficult decisions we face when it comes to those we care about. It's about friendship, trust, and the bonds of the heart that are unavoidable. It is a true masterpiece.

Hilary Swank is all fire and guts as Maggie. Her intensity and commitment has guided her to another Academy Award. She knows she's poor, she accepts it, and she pushes forward despite her limitations. This is not to say she can't be hurt. We watch her eyes well up a few times and

truly feel her pain despite the fact that she is as tough as they come. Morgan Freeman, who finally won a long overdue and well deserved Oscar, plays Scrap with the perfect combination of toughness and compassion. He knows the situation from every angle and his narration of the film rings true.

See this film. It deserves it's accolades because it's about real characters and it's directed with honesty, warmth, and true pain. Clint Eastwood gets better with age and his films reflect the days of real movie making. The sets are simple, the characters are complex, and the story moves in a pace closer to real life than any other director could reach. Eastwood has been called the Hemingway of Film making. You don't get more real than that. It was great seeing this natural storyteller take home his second Oscar for Best Director and Picture.

"Million Dollar Baby" has great characters, but it doesn't glorify them. It has a wonderful story, but it never tries to impress you. The photography, score and direction is superb, but never distracting. What this movie is, if I have to call it something, is passion. Passion for film-making, passion for storytelling, passion for its characters, passion for its actors, and passion for its story and the means at which it will go to tell it. Amazing.

Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) owns a messy boxing gym which is populated, mostly, by downbeat losers who he spends some time training. He runs it with his friend and former student Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris (Morgan Freeman), who now lives contently at a room in the gym. One day a young woman named Maggie (Hilary Swank) walks in, looking for a manager and trainer. Frankie shafts her immediately ("girly, tough ain't enough"). Frankie has bigger things on his hands. He's managing a fighter who has a shot at a title bout.

But Frankie is old and weathered and not an appealing manager, so the fighter leaves him. Frankie is broken by this; it is another in a long line of rejections and separations. We can tell that, at this time in his life, he only gets really close with those he's training (Scrap is the only exception). We can tell that his loneliness –and a bit of persuasion from Scrap – cause him to agree to teach Maggie. Teach, that is the agreement, not manage. But, by the end of the film he will have devoted his life to her.

So the rest of the story follows these two people. There is no real 'plot' that you could describe in a trailer because it is constantly

changing…it is not the inspiring underdog story you may think of it as. No, what it's 'about' is these characters, and how they react to the circumstances around them, which change with each scene.

Narrating the story is Scrap, speaking like he's looking back to a time long ago when everything has passed. His voice seems flat, deadpan, but there is a working of subtle sorrow in it. Scrap is a sad human being, he sees himself as the result of missed opportunities in the past, and so he spends his time helping the others, offering them his wise advice, with a tone of deadpan humor and even cockiness. Scrap knows what should be done, and what will happen regardless, and he is sort of okay with everything, in a sort of passive way. But the man also knows what's right and he has a deep, inner strength which is displayed in one scene in particular where you just have to cheer. It is an intriguing character, and personally I think it's Freeman's best performance.

And Eastwood's best too. He is an elderly man; some might say too elderly to still be working. After all, most people are retired by his age. But if you had to guess when you're watching this film, you would never, ever say the man is seventy-four. You would say something closer to the sixties, because the man has such amazing energy and dedication, and above all, he has talent. It's been forty long years since "A Fist Full of Dollars" and film has come a long way, and so has this man. At seventy-four, passed all those years as an action hero, nearing what's could be the end of his career, Eastwood has made his best movie. I really, really hope he has time to make many more.

As for Swank, well, she must have found something big that she shared with her character, because this is not acting, it is existing. Swank is Maggie. That's all there is too it. This could be the movie she will be remembered for.

So, "Million Dollar Baby" is a masterpiece. I saw it last night when it opened in my city, and everyone else was seeing "White Noise", and I was shaking my head. Everyone who is even remotely interested in movies should see this one, just so they can know how movies are supposed to be made. I'm trying to think, and there is not a single thing here where Eastwood went wrong. The acting, directing, writing, score, cinematography…they all accomplish precisely what they're supposed to with sublime perfection. Many of these aspects will certainly receive Oscars and all of them should.

You may cry through this film, you may cheer. Whatever the case, you will love it

从归化和异化理论看英文电影片名的翻译

摘要: 本文通过分析以往经典电影和近年来极受欢迎的英文片名的翻译案例, 对比归化理论和异化理论在电影片名翻

译中的具体应用, 提出了在电影片名翻译中应该遵循的四个原则, 并试图找到一种符合中国人心理、文化接受能力和语言

习得的翻译策略, 同时探讨了翻译理论。

关键词: 电影片名翻译; 归化; 异化; 翻译原则; 翻译标准

随着国人生活水平和审美情趣的不断提高, 英

语电影在中国市场越来越受到消费者的青睐, 也涌

现了许多耳熟能详的电影片名, 如Casablanca( 《卡

萨布兰卡》) 、Pretty Woman (《风月俏佳人》)等。但在

过去的二三十年中, 作为翻译领域的一个重要组成

部分, 电影片名的研究工作还做得远远不够, 目前

还没有一套比较完整可行的原则指导和描述片名

翻译。面对这种跨文化传播现象, 电影片名翻译该

如何处理两种文化、语言之间存在的巨大差异, 如

何做到―信、达、雅‖呢?

在《漫谈英文电影片名的翻译》中, 作者认为,

―片名翻译时, 也应深入理解片名内容蕴涵和风格,

揣摩措辞用语, 力求准确把握原语与译语的表层意

义和联想意义, 既要考虑对等, 更要考虑译名的传

意性和可接受性。‖[1]

《目的论在电影名翻译中的运用》一文指出,

―电影蕴涵的娱乐功能和商业价值, 就决定了在翻

译过程中应适当摒弃传统的?等效‘、?接受美学‘等

理论原则, 对电影名的翻译首先应该遵循目的论原

则, 为实现电影的商业价值服务。

刘庆云在《等效原则下的片名翻译》中指出,

―为了得到观众对电影的最佳反应, 文学翻译中的

?忠实‘原则就不再适应??有时还必须从整体着

眼, 作较大的变动, 甚至是改写。这种灵活性在港台

的影片翻译中尤为突出。

以上论述表明了这样一种观点: 电影片名不同

于一般的书名翻译, 它是一种因实际需要而故意加

进原本没有的意义的一种传达方法, 有别于文学翻

译那种严格依照作者本意、力求神似的方法。这是

从英文电影片名信息接受者的角度考虑翻译策略

的优劣, 和归化理论的要求比较一致。

由于语言是文化的载体, 是文化的传播途径,

因此在语言翻译中必须考虑如何处理源文化与目

的语文化的差异。一般来说, 可分为两种对立的意

见, 即所谓―异化‖( alienation) 与―归化‖

( adaptation) 。温努提(Venuti) 说―译者可以选择归化

或异化的方法, 前者是以民族主义为中心, 把国外

的价值观归化到目的语文化之中, 把原文的作者请

回家来; 后者则离经叛道地把外国文本中的语言和

文化差异表现出来, 把读者送到外国去。‖[4]因此在

翻译英文电影片名时, 翻译工作者选择指导理论时

应考虑诸多因素。电影片名往往以突显影片内容、传达主题信息、确立全片感情基调、提供审美愉悦、吸引观众、

增加票房为其终极目标。片名佳译既可吸引观众,

又能体现出译者深厚的文化内涵以及对两种语言

驾驭自如的翻译功底。因此翻译者要特别注意电影

目标受众群的反应, 考虑到观众的期待视野、审美

情趣和接受水平, 从而达到理想的传播效果。如:

Home Alone 译成( 《小鬼当家》) 就比直译为( 《独自

在家》) 好。因为在汉语中―小鬼‖是昵称,往往指的是

聪明而又顽皮的小孩,而片中的小男孩正是如此。另

如, Die Hard ( 《虎胆龙威》) 、Epicenter ( 《浩劫惊

魂》) 、Twins( 《龙兄鼠弟》) 、Bean( 《憨豆先生》) 、Love Actually ( 《真爱至上》) 、Legend of Fall ( 《燃情岁

月》) 、Lolita ( 《一树梨花压海棠》) 、Good Will

Hunting( 《骄阳似我》) 等都可称得上是译名佳作。

上述这些以归化理论为原则翻译出的影片片

名非常讲究文字的趣味性, 中文译名和英文片名都

会有所偏离, 这种偏离依据的是影片内容, 其目的

是要观众立刻注意到影片的精彩之处。

经典女性主义电影Thelma and Louise 译为―末

路狂花‖或者―塞尔玛和路易斯‖。影片讲述了两个

女子塞尔玛和路易斯相约出游, 在塞尔玛杀了一名

试图侵犯路易斯的男子之后, 两人走上了一条不归

路。后一种译法忠实于原文, 交待了两名主人公的

姓名。但不熟悉此片的人单纯从女子的名字根本无

从了解影片将给他们带来的震撼。而前一种译法抛

开原文的束缚, 以―花‖代表女子, 看起来不合理的

修饰词―狂‖让我们对故事情节有了足够的心理准

备, 同时―末路‖在中文里则是悲剧的代名词。这部

―公路电影‖之所以在中国广为流传, 其中文译名起

到了一定作用。在片名翻译中根据源语、目标语的特点, 最大

限度地保留原片名的内容和形式, 这就是直译。当

源语与目的语在功能上达到重合时, 这是最简单而

行之有效的翻译方法, 也是我国传统译界认可的最

佳译法。如: Romeo and Juliet(《罗密欧与朱丽叶》)、

Titanic( 《泰坦尼克号》) 、Schindler‘s List( 《辛德勒的

名单》) 、Perfect Storm ( 《完美风暴》) 、Brokeback Mountain( 《断背山》) 、Princess Diary( 《公主日记》) 、

Rain Man ( 《雨人》) 、Four Weddings and a Funeral

( 《四个婚礼和一个葬礼》) 等, 这些或历史或科幻或

言情或宗教或悬疑的英文电影, 它们的中文片名基

本上采取鲁迅先生提倡的―硬译‖翻译法, 保持了原

文的风貌, 有的甚至是―字对字‖翻译成中文。语言的首要功能就是传递信息。这里的信息不单指形式的消息, 它更包括原文的语气与风格, 因

此一个贴切的译名不但要在意思上准确, 还要在风

格和语气上忠实原题。

美国电影One Flew over the Cuckoo‘s Nest 在

台湾被译为《飞越杜鹃窝》, 让人觉得很茫然。其实

整部电影与杜鹃窝没什么关系, 讲的是一名男子在

精神病院里的故事。―Cuckoo‖的确是―杜鹃‖的意

思, 但这里的―cuckoo‘s nest‖却指的是一种特殊的

医院———精神病院。译为《飞越疯人院》就能更好地

概括电影的内容, 并在中西方观众中产生相似的心

理反应。

但是片名翻译难以在语言层面上实现忠实性,

并非一切片名都可以通过直译做到既能表达原片

名语言功能特征, 又能与电影信息相符。比如美国

电影American Beauty 在大陆多被直译为―美国丽

人‖, 这样的译名很容易让观众误以为是普通的爱

情片。事实是, 影片通过美国中产阶级的家庭危机

和中年危机探讨物质上的满足和精神上的愉悦这

一无法平衡的矛盾。因而, 片名应该根据电影主题

进行意译, 译成―美丽有罪‖比较贴切主题(―美丽‖喻

指一切物质上的满足)。

1995 年的一部心理惊悚片Seven 以强烈的视

觉冲击和晦暗的背景叙述了一个极富哲学意味的

犯罪故事: 一个疯狂的凶手自诩为上帝, 围绕天主

教七大死罪的惩戒逐条杀人。Seven 这个在宗教上

非常神秘的数字在这部电影里可谓无处不在, 七

罪、七罚、七次下雨、故事发生在七天, 甚至结局也

由罪犯定在第七天的下午七时, 无处不在的―7‖暗

示宿命的罪与罚。但是, 可以想象, 如果汉译为简单

的一个―七‖字, 中国观众绝不会产生同样的文化联

想和认同, 所以影片公映时译为《七宗罪》, 点明故

事主线和Seven 最为主要的宗教寓意, 可谓文化价

值体现的经典范例。中国观众对电影片名的审美期待体现在形式和内容两个方面。从形式上来说, 西方人崇尚语言的

简洁美, 而中国人讲究语言的对称和谐, 尤其喜欢

那些表现力强、匀称悦耳的四字词组。大量西方电

影的四字格中文译名受到了中国观众的喜爱, 如: ‖

Dance with Wolves( 《与狼共舞》) 、Forest Gump ( 《阿

甘正传》) 、Entrapment ( 《偷天陷阱》) 、The Fugitive

郁文: 从归化和异化理论看英文电影片名的翻译·7·

山东水利职业学院院刊2008 年9 月

第3 期

( 《亡命天涯》) 等。

经典音乐喜剧片Bathing Beauty 在中国有一个

家喻户晓的名字———《出水芙蓉》, 这是个非常迎合

中国人的思维习惯和审美心理的译名。―芙蓉‖在中

国民间常用来形容举止文雅的女子, 而―出水‖体现

了―bathing‖在片中的真正含义。气势磅礴的音乐响

起, 数十个女孩在水中翩翩起舞。突然音乐转为柔

和, 人群散了开来, 一颗新星从水中冉冉升起, 身上

滴滴水珠晶莹剔透。霎那间, ―出水芙蓉‖的全部含

义展现出来。这个片名的翻译就遵循了艺术性原

则。根据同名畅销小说改编而成的电影The English

Patient, 讲述的是以二战为时代背景下男女主角一

段超越道德界限、浪漫凄美的爱情故事。小说荣获

英国布克文学奖, 在国际上享有盛誉。而香港当地

观众对小说知之甚少, 若直译为―英国病人‖, 反而

显得索然无味, 译者因此将之另译为―别问我是谁‖, 抒情意味浓厚, 又扣住了全片追寻英国病人身世的情节。而台湾译名―英伦情人‖, 也抓住了影片

凄婉的爱情主题。

商业娱乐性原则的另一体现是片名强调新颖

醒目, 善于制造悬念, 渲染气氛。比如将It Happens One Night 译为―一夜风流‖, Sister Act 译为―修女也疯狂‖,The Net 译为―网络惊魂‖, 就十分新颖别致,

引人入胜。而惊险片The Rock 的大陆译名―勇闯夺命岛‖, 港译―石破天惊‖, 台译―绝地任务‖也都雅俗

共赏, 自然贴切, 悬念十足, 成功地体现了艺术性和商业性的结合。

4 结论

翻译实质是一种跨文化的交际活动, 因为两种

语言都必然会显露两种文化意象和价值倾向。电影片名的翻译也是不同文化之间的语际交流, 是一个

艰难的再创作过程。正如著名学者许渊冲指出的:

―??‘再创作‘是既见木又见林, 而非画蛇添足, 却

能使人像读原作一样得到美感享受的译法。‖[10]

因此, 一味地纠缠于归化还是异化绝非良策,

或者我们可以从诗歌翻译标准中得到一些启发。许渊冲主张意美音美形美, 辜正坤提出多元互补论, 即―根据翻译标准多元互补原理, 多种标准, 多种选择, 各得其所, 各有所用, 相辅相成, 根据不同的时空条件与不同作者、译者、读者、出版者等各方面的具体要求而应机解难, 灵活处理‖。[11]

由此可见, 优秀的影片译名标准是既要符合目

标受众群的文化心理, 又要在深层语义上与原片名

实现功能上的对等。因此, 很难找到一种固定的模

式翻译所有的片名。翻译工作者唯有积累经验, 随

机应变, 遵循正确的翻译原则, 灵活运用各种翻译

方法, 才能翻译出贴切传神的译名。（Hubei Vocational College of Ecological Engineering, Wuhan 430200, China）Abstract:Film, one of the most important mass media, is an audio-visual art. It creates images, narrates stories, exp

ZHANG Lai-te

（Hubei Vocational College of Ecological Engineering, Wuhan 430200, China）Abstract:Film, one of the most important mass media, is an audio-visual art. It creates images, narrates stories, expresses

feelings. Film is more direct and sensitive than any other form of art to keep pace with times. Ever since the adoption of the

policy of reform and opening up to the outside world at the end of the 1970s, c ultural exchanges have become increasingly

prevalent and the receptors of dubbed films have greatly expanded. However, bei ng a special and significant part of films,

film titles are far from being explored and there is a relative paucity of writ ings on film title translation. Film title translation

is important and creative work. An excellent version may contribute a lot to th e charm of the film and plays an important

part in the introduction of a new film. Film title translation should not only be faithful to the original, but also cater to their

aesthetic taste of the target language spectators and satisfy their psychologic al needs. This paper mainly proves into the most

appropriate translation method in the process of the film title translation. Keywords:film titles, translation, culture, aesthetic taste

CLC number:H315.9 Document Code:A Article ID:0000-2157/SG（2010）02-0060-04 1 Introduction

Film is one of the most influential mass media. As an

audiovisual art, it follows and reflects people's life. It is a

product of a particular culture. Although film was born in

the west, it is gaining ever-growing popularity and has

now become a global art. Over the past decades of reform

and opening up to the outside world, with China's more

frequent cultural, economic and political exchange, foreign

movies have entered the China's market and have

held a very important position in Chinese people's entertainment

life. Therefore, the topic of translating English

film titles is especially meaningful, worth exploration and

with no doubt, challenging.

Film title translation is an important and creative

work. An excellent version may contribute a lot to the

charm of a film and play an important part in the introduction

of a new film. Film title translation should not only be

faithful to the original, but also cater to their aesthetic taste

of the target language spectators and satisfy their psychological

needs.

Some researches on film title translation were conducted.

Fan Shouyi once gave the statistics that "among

the 785 translation studies related works already published

in China, he finds no single book concerns film translation"

, let along film titles translation. Professor Qian

Shaochang wrote articles on film and TV serried translation,

including film titles translation. Bao Huinan, in

相关文章

Introduction

In modern time, the world tends to become global and intercultural communication becomes more and more essential. Film, a popular entertainment way, now becomes one of the most important areas to introduce one culture to another. Just having a look in our China, it is easy for us to find that these years, many famous directors and stars start to make films in English or other foreign languages in order to catch up with the world, and also more and more foreign films come into our life. So the translation of the English films into Chinese and Chinese films into English becomes a vital part for the popularizing of these films as most people can‘t understand foreign languages well. As the title is the first thing through which the audience get to know about the film, so the translation of the title plays a fatal role in

popularizing the film.

Nowadays many translators talk about this, some of their ideas are worth of learning. To sum up, they are mainly discussing about the theory and the methods of film title translation. The most heated discussion at present is that if the translation of film title should adopt domestication or foreignization. Some translators think we should put the target language audience at the first place, as a result of which we should choose domestication. Others view that film is aiming to transmit culture, so the translation should try to keep its original style and manner, thus foreignization is much better than domestication. To mention the translation methods, there are various methods according to each translator‘s own understanding. Generally speaking, the methods mainly fall into two categories: showing respect to the original title and

discarding the original one.

In this thesis, I am going to talk about my own understanding about film title translation listed with examples familiar to most people and try to give more information about today‘s film title translation.

PART ⅠBrief Introduction of Film Title

Film title, the representation of the film, is the first thing the audience-to-be get to know about the whole film. Today, the translation of film titles between Chinese and English is more and more frequently occurred. The translation of the film title is different from text translation because film title has its own features and functions，which are different from the common text.

1.1Present Situation of Film Title Translation

Now film tends to be translated into other languages to transmit culture and increase box office. So film title translation is becoming hotter gradually, more and more translators note the importance and necessity of translating the film title properly. However, the present translation condition is very chaotic

without specification.

English film title‘s translation into Chinese mainly falls into three versions: the Mainland version,

Taiwan version and Hong Kong version as there are some difference in people‘s customs and cultural environment in these three areas of China. In these three versions, the Mainland version is usually more faithful to the film while the Taiwan and Hong Kong versions are always too exaggerated. For example, The Sound of Music, the Mainland translated it as 《音乐之声》，―while th e Hong Kong version is 《仙乐飘飘处处闻》，the Taiwan version is 《真善美》‖[1]（熊启煦，王春艳，２００３）. Comparing these three translations, the Mainland version is more faithful while the Hong Kong version is too confusing. Taiwan version is free translation, but fails to indica te the significance of music in the film. However, ―in the translation of another film American Beauty, the Mainland version 《美国丽人》is too literally translated and the Hong Kong version 《美国有罪》is too far reaching and confusing, while the Taiwan translation 《美国心玫瑰情》‖[2]（毛发生，２００２）is better as American beauty actually refers to a kind of flower in America. Here let‘s see some more translations below:

Original title Hong Kong version Taiwan version Mainland version

JFK 惊天大刺杀谁杀了甘乃迪？肯尼迪

Rebecca 蝴蝶梦蝴蝶春梦蝴蝶梦

Mission：Impossible 职业特工队不可能的任务碟中谍

The Terminator 未来战士魔鬼终结者终结者

Shakespeare in Love 写我深情莎翁情史恋爱中的莎士比亚

Pretty Woman 风月俏佳人麻雀变凤凰漂亮女人From above comparison, we can see that there are always too much inflammatory words like 魔鬼，情，大and 惊in Chinese translation titles, especially the Hong Kong and Taiwan versions, such as films starred by Shwarzenegger are always translated as 魔鬼… just as The Terminator listed above and Commando (《魔鬼司令》), ―Kindergarten Cop (《魔鬼孩子王》)，Total Recall（《魔鬼总动员》）‖ [3]（李群，２００２）and so on. What‘s more, judging from the exaggerated words the Hong Kong and Taiwan versions used, we can see that they are always pay much more attention to the commercial effect

than the Mainland version does.

As Chinese film titles pay great attention to the artistic conception, so the titles are always difficult to be translated into English literally, even it can, the translated title will be difficult for English speakers to understan d, so most Chinese film titles are freely translated into English. For instance, ―the famous film 《大腕》directed by Feng Xiaogang is translated as Funeral of a Famous Star, which is faithful to the story, but gives a paler effect than the original name from the slang‖ [4]（方永彬，王晓彤，２００５）and 《情人结》telling the story of the two Romeo and Juliet like lovers‘ st ory, are translated into A Time to Love.

1.2 Characteristics of Film Title

Film title aims to provide information about the story for the audience by summarizing the main plot, revealing the theme or offering some clues of the story. What‘s more, film titl e always has such characteristics as: brief and concise, cultural feature, sense of art & aestheticism, taking protagonist‘s name,

plot or setting as title, commerciality and popularity.

We seldom meet lengthy film titles. Film title functions to advertise the film and raise people‘s appetite, so the title should be brief and concise as that will be easier for the audience-to–be to memorize. Most English film titles are phrases or fragments; some even just have one word. While most Chinese film titles have four characters. For example, in English films, Ghost（《人鬼情未了》）and Garfield（《加菲猫》）just have one word; War of the World（《世界大战》）is a phrase and Runs out of Amazon（《冲出亚马逊》）is fragment; and in Chinese films, 《手机》（Cell Phone）is a phrase consisting of two characters; 《倩女幽魂》（Chinese Ghost Story）and 《情癫大圣》（A Chinese Tale Story）both are four-character titles, which are the most common kind of Chinese film titles.

All languages have their own cultural features, and Chinese and English are no exception. As film is based on culture, while film title is based on the film, so film title has strong cultural characteristic, which makes it difficult for foreigners to understand. For example, there are many film titles having implied meanings in their own languages, such as 《长恨歌》(Everlasting Regret) and 《霸王别姬》（Farewell to My Concubine）. The name 《长恨歌》, as famous Tang poet Bai Juyi‘s long poem telling the love story between Tang Ming Huang and Lady Yang and 《霸王别姬》telling the love story between Xiang Y u and his concubine, are all quite familiar stories to our Chinese. So when we Chinese see these titles we can easily get a hunch about the film. However, to foreign audience it is not easy to understand, that‘s just the cultural feature of film titles. ―In English films, there are also a lot of film titles using allusion, e.g. Hob son’s Choice (《霍布逊的选择》/《唯一选择》). In English, Hobson‘s choice is a proverb which means an apparently free choice that offers no real alternative.‖[5](https://www.360docs.net/doc/2917706172.html,/9/719.htm) Another example, ―Pumpkin Eater, in English, there is a nursery rhyme: ―Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater, had a wife and couldn‘t keep her.‖ So according to the song the title should be translated as 《太太苦闷》, which is better than the literal translation 《食南瓜的人》.‖[6]（https://www.360docs.net/doc/2917706172.html,/9/719.htm）We Chinese even those who can understand English may also have problem in understanding such film titles.

Film, the art with sound and pictures, has already become very popular entertainment fitted to almost everyone regardless of people‘s age and educational background. ―The theory of aestheticism tells us everything that is beautiful has the dialectic correspondence between the beauty of appearance and content.‖ [7]（朱娥，２００４）Film title, as the main medium the film goes to occupy the market, also has its own aesthetic features. Here let‘s see the aestheticism of film title by examples. In English films, the aestheticism of film title is often shown by rhyming the title, such as ―Singing in the Rain (rhymed) (《雨中曲》)‖ [8]（朱娥，２００４）, ―Sand and Blood (rhymed)（《碧血黄沙》）‖[9]（朱娥，２００４）and King Kong (alliteration)（《金刚》）, as well as Titanic（《泰坦尼克号》）though not rhymed but rhythmical enough to give the audience a sense of beauty. In Chinese films, the aesthetic feature is always indicated in the title‘s artistic conception, e.g. 《花好月圆》（Elixir of Love），《千里走单骑》（Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles）and 《十面埋伏》（House of Flydraggers）. What‘s more, all the good film titles have the aestheticism of novelty to help the film to draw au dience‘s attention and hit the screen.

It is very common to see a film adopts the protagonist‘s name, the plot or the significant setting‘s name as its title. In Chinese films, usually only the heroes or VIPs are privileged to have their names adopted as the title, e.g. 《周恩来》（Zhou Enlai）and 《林则徐》（Lin Zexu）. However, in English movies, it is quite different. Even the ordinary people‘s name can be used as the title, e.g. Sabrina (《情归巴黎》) and Cinderella （《灰姑娘的故事》）.Both Chinese and English films have the examples using the plot of the film as title, e.g. Meet Joe Black (《第六感情缘》) telling the love story between a beautiful girl and Joe Black, the incarnation of the death; 《刮痧》（The Guasha Treatment）which tells a story caused by Chinese traditional treatment Gusha in modern American. Other examples such as Kill Bill（《杀死比尔》）and《短信1月追》（Love Message）. English films are usually using the setting significant to the story as the title, e.g. Madagascar (《马达加斯加》) telling the adventure of a group of animals on the island of Madagascar,

other examples: Pearl Harbor（《珍珠港》）and Brokeback Mountain (《断臂山》).

Film is produced for profit‘s sake, so film is a kind of product. Since film title serves to advertise the film, consequently, film title has the feature of commerciality. A good film title is able to draw more attention from the audience, so that the film producers can make more profit, and then they may try to produce more films, or they will have no motivation to continue producing more films. For instance, Con Air（《空中监狱》）and 《无间道》（Internal Affairs）, especially the latter one is a very good example.

May be《无间道》which has been filmed two sequels becomes a great success not only because its