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1、On Translation of English Film TitlesThe first film in world history was released in France in the year 1895. Until now， the film industry has developed for over 100 years. Films have been an dispensable part of peoples life， which is not only one of the most popular ways to entertain the audience，
2、but also a media for cross-cultural exchanges. A successful translation of film titles not only helps the movie win the box office， but also helps the movie get an enduring fame.This thesis is based on the features of foreign film names and mainly discusses the film translation in the light of trans
3、lation principles. Principle of Humanistic Culture Because there is a big gap in culture，the way of expression and habits of thinking are also totally different between China and western nations ， which can be reflected by some film titles. The poetic and artistic titles are employed by the Chinese
4、movies， such as 花?幽昊? （In the Mood For Love） ， 夜宴 （The Banquet） ， 无极 （The Promise） ，etc. Therefore， the style of Chinese movie is adopted by some translated English film names. Principle of Social Customs When translating some films have cultural background influenced by distinctive environmental fa
5、ctors， its special background of culture of a movie should be attached much more importance. Whats more， the English film names translation is both a special activity of recreation and a way of the communication of social customs，there are many difficulties in the translation of movie titles caused
6、by diversities in living environment. Even in China， there are totally different versions of some same movie names，which is caused by distinct historical tradition and social customs.In many cases，it is difficult to realize the unification of the translation of English movie names in the mainland， H
7、ong kong and Taiwan.There are lots of differences in form and content due to different living environment and social customs. Take the famous American movie Pretty Woman as an example， which has three visions of translation. The film is translated into “漂亮女人”in mainland， “风月俏佳人”in Hong Kong and “麻雀变
8、凤凰”in Taiwan；the translations of the movie Home Alone are also very different， it is translated into “独自在家”in mainland， “宝贝智多星”in Hong Kong and“小鬼当家”in Taiwan； Another example， the movie American Beauty is translated into “美国丽人”in mainland， “美丽有罪”in Hong Kong and “美丽心玫瑰情”in Taiwan.The differences in
9、 social culture that are caused by different living environment also bring another serious problem： mistranslation. the most typical one is the very famous film One Flow over the Cuckoos Nest ， which is translated into“飞越疯人院”in mainland. Principle of Religious Belief Sometimes， a fierce conflict may
10、 happen to two distinct religion due to the lack of mutual understanding. The most of Chinese people believe in the Buddhism， they dont have a better understanding of the content of Christianity and the Bible. On the contrary，the people of western countries may feel confused about meaning “YuDi” of
11、Taoism， the symbol “YanWang” of Buddhism ， the God of rain “Long Wang” in the myth of the ancient culture of China.Therefore， it is necessary for translators to do some supplement or further explanations in the translation of some films with religious culture， in order to avoid confusing the audienc
12、e and enhancing their understanding of the film. Take the famous American movie Seven as an example， it is a horror film reflects the seven deadly sins in the Bible.Seen from the westerners religious belief，the number “seven” is mystical， they believe that it is God that creates the whole world with
13、in seven days and creates human by giving life to Eve and Adam. There is no doubt that the far-reaching meaning of “seven” is to correct peoples character and religious belief. For the audience of western nations，it is very easy to guess its connotative meaning of the number “seven” in western relig
14、ious culture. Features of English Film Titles Translation Art Feature In some degree， the film is the product of modern society， which is a living art.There is a distinct difference between the movie and other art forms，such as books ，paintings and cultural relics，the films can give prompt responses
15、 to some changes of our society.To grasp its audiences attention immediately is one of the mains goals of the translated movie names，which can be achieved by using the art feature.But， the Chinese and English title have a lot of differences in phonology and rhetoric due to the differences in languag
16、e and culture， which brings lots of inconvenience to the translation of movie names .English mainly relies on inflection and intonation ， while Chinese lays much more emphasis on tonality. The alliteration and rhyme are often used by the English movie titles to create repetition in pronunciation ：Gone with the Wind（?代佳人 ）and Sense and Sensibility（理智与情感 ） ，they have adopted the approach of alliteration；The following two movie names use the method o
