电影2012译制版与网络字幕版对比

A Comparison between the official translation and unofficial translation of 2012Translation, the bridge crossing different cultures, is a vehicle of great significance that makes cultural cross-fertilization possible. The act of translation, dating back thousands years ago, has, through the long history of it‟s evolution, generated various translation theories, among witch Eugene A.Nida …s theory of dynamic equivalence has been widely acclaimed worldwide, and Yan Fu‟s theory of “ fidelity, accuracy and elegance ”is deemed as golden principles governing translation in China. Although as a sub-category of translation it should also follow the general translation principles,the translation of film script, as it is, possesses some distinct characteristics that entails special approaches.It is held by a lot of people that film translation, being an entertainment, is not necessarily subject to strict rules like literal translation, and that anyone who has some knowledge of English can be a film translator, as film languages are simple. As a result, a great number of film fans have teamed up as amateur translation groups, such as Renren, Youyou Niao, and Eden, to name a few. And since the import of foreign films takes a relative long time and is limited in number, films with unofficial translated subtitles, being free and readily available on line, are gaining popularity. As it stands, a growing number of people are choosing unofficially translated films online over theater-displayed official versions.Contrary to the popular myth that film translation requires no special training, random translation without systematic methods may not do justice to the film, or even worse do violence to its original meaning. In the following text I will illustrate several special principles governing film translations that is often where the differences between official and amateur lie.I FaithfulThe basic rule for translation of all categories is the fidelity, that is to convey the messages from the source language into the target language to the fullest degree, without misinterpretation or any messages missed. Unofficial translations, however, due to the limited levels of the translators‟ English, often fail to meet even this basic rule. One example is as follows:Charlie: Let me tell you, there‟s been government people flying in and out all morning.And trust me, they do not look happy.Lily: It's weird.Jackson: Can you believe he said that? What are the odds?This is the scene where the hero Jackson is driving on the highway with his children, at which time the man on the radio ,Charlie, says,”Let me tell you, there‟s been government people flying in and out all the morning. And trust me, they do not look happy.”And just as he is saying this, sure enough Jackson and his children hear thundering planes flying overhead to the direction of Yellowstone. Such a coincidence gave them such a surprise that Lily, Jackson‟s daughter who is sitting beside him,says,”It's weird.”, to which Jacksonreplies,“Can you believe he said that? What are the odds?” The unofficial translation of this dialogue is,“你相信他刚刚说的吗？我们的机会如何？”This is a clumsy and unsuccessful attempt of translation witch is very confusing ,because the translator failed to grasp the original meaning. “Can you believe he said that” is an elliptic version of the sentence”Canyou believe he said that just when so many planes are flying by.”And “What are the odds?” is also an elliptic sentence whose complete version should be “ What are the odds such a thing happens?”. It is an expressi on often used to express surprise when a coincidence occurs. Therefore, it is obvious that the unofficial translation has missed the point. In contrast, the official translation is “还真让他蒙对了。

真巧啊。

” It is accurate, colloquial, thus easy to understand, evidently far better the unofficial one.Another case in point is a scene when the American president said to his daughter ,”You look just like your mother when you get upset.” The official translation is“你生气的样子和你妈妈一模一样”, accurate and faithful. In contrast, the unofficial translation is“你的脾气和你妈妈一模一样”,a typical example of unnecessary over-translation.II.ColloquialConversation features predominantly in films, which makes it important for translators to convey the original messages in everyday language. More so, film subtitles, unlike books, are dynamic rather than static, with every line staying on the screen for only one or two seconds. And for subtitles to be understood by the audience within such a short time, it should be as less esoteric as possible. To this end, just being faithful is not enough. The problem of unofficial translation is that it is often word-for-word translation, causing difficulties for people to understand in two aspects: first, structurally it is not in compliance with Chinese people‟s habi tual way of speaking, making the audience feeling strange and awkward; second, literal translations are often inadequate in translating culture-loaded expressions due to cultural differences. Official translation, for its part, uses two strategies to prevent such problems.(1)The liberal translation of undertone. Westerners, though pride themselves on being candid, can sometimes be as indirect as Chinese people. In such cases, word-for word translation can leave the audience at a loss. Therefore, when overtone has come in the way of inter-cultural exchanges, it is incumbent on the translator to smooth over this obstacle through liberal translation. Here is an example:Mr Anheuser: Who do you report to?Adrian: Lico Vasos.Mr Anheuser: Not anymore.This is the scene where Adrian, a geographer, has just reported to Mr Anheuser, a government official, that an apocalyptic disaster is looming on the horizon. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Mr Anheuser asks him who he reports to, when told it‟s Lico Vasos, he tells him, “Not anymore.” By this he means from now on he wants Adrian to report directly to him. The official translation of this sentence is,“现在是我了”，which, although doesn‟t conform to the original form, is accurate and complete in meaning. Amateur tran slation groups, however, translated it into”不再是了”, which is ambiguous and may make the audience mistake it for a dismissal.Another case in point is the scene when Jackson is leaving for his ex-wife‟s place to pick up their children and his wife keeps tell ing him to hurry up. Jackson replies,”Would you relax? I'll be there any second.You know it's a vacation and not a doctor‟s appointment, right? It's supposed to be fun. You remember fun, don't you Kate? Do you remember where you were when it stopped being fun for you?” The last sentence is another example of foreigners being indirect witch can be very tricky to translate. Here Jackson is trying to persuade his wife tostop being so uptight and try to relax and enjoy life, because it was just the lack of fun that killed their marriage. In the unofficially translated subtitle this sentence is rendered into:“还记得以前因为你不开心发生了什么吗？”,which is not clear enough and pales in comparison to the official translation，“还记得我们就是因为不开心才分开的吗？”。