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1、Translation of English Film TitleIntroductionWith Chinas policy of reform and opening-up to the outside world and its entry into WTO and the strengthening process of globalization, communication among nations is becoming more and more frequent, of which cultural exchange is an important part. As an
2、important means of cultural communication, films play a very important part. They are also one of the most important elements in the worlds cultural communication, which can be regarded as an effective way of promoting mutual understanding between different counties. Since film titles have always be
3、en put in an eye-catching place, the translation of English film titles becomes more significant. This thesis mainly deals with film title translation from English into Chinese.The translation of film titles is not an easy job, but a very complicate and difficult one. Whats more, many take translati
4、on equivalence as the translation criterion, but many problems cannot be solved by just following the traditional equivalence principle. It is the starting point at which this thesis tries to offer some constructive suggestions for English film translation. This thesis takes German functionalist tra
5、nslation approach, mainly Skopostheorie, as the theoretical basis. Skopostheorie takes the target text as the prime principle guiding the translation action, which sees translation as a purposeful activity. As an intentional intercultural communication, Skopostheorie can be used as a guideline for t
6、he translation of English film titles. “The end justifies the means” 1 is its most distinctive features, which offers much freedom for translators to use a satisfactory method. This thesis is composed of four parts. Part I is a general analysis of English film titles, discussing the features and fun
7、ctions of film titles. Part II is the analysis of factors influencing the naming of English film titles. Besides, these two parts serve as the foundation for the analysis of the following translation strategies. Part III is the literature review of German Functionalist Theory focusing on Skopostheor
8、ie. Part IV offers a detailed analysis of translation strategies under the guidance of Skopostheories. The conclusion summarizes the whole thesis as well as puts forward some suggestions.Part I Analysis of English Film Titles1.1 Features of English film titles Film titles are basically characterized
9、 by conciseness and vividness. Good film tiles may add appeal to the films and contribute a lot to the box-office value. Although films have something in common with other literary forms, they have their unique linguistic, aesthetic, and cultural features, to which translators should pay much attent
10、ion in order to provide a better understanding of the study subject.The first is linguistic features. Generally speaking, as far as their structure is concerned, English film titles are usually very short, concise in language so that they will be easy to read and to remember for the audience. In the
11、 view of the form, they employ one or two words which may be the name of hero or heroine, the place or the key year the story takes place, for instance, Ali拳王阿里, Parrton巴顿将军and so on. However, in most cases, they adopt various kinds of phrases as titles, namely, noun phrases, verb phrases, adjective
12、 phrases, adverb phrases and prepositional phrases. Examples are On Golden Pond 金色池塘, Out of Africa走出非洲, Dance with Wolves与狼共舞, Face off变脸are all titles of this kind.The second is aesthetic features. Generally speaking, the aesthetic characteristics of English film titles are closely related to the
13、application of rhetorical devices, such as simile, metaphor, irony, personification, alliteration, and so on. The application of rhetoric devices to film title has been proved effective and powerful. Each figure has its own characteristic and its own way of achieving certain effect, either to enligh
14、ten the understanding, to arouse the imagination or to move the passion. For example:Dance with Wolves (personification)Pride and Prejudice (alliteration)Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! (repetition)The Age of Innocence (irony)War and Peace (contradiction)True Lies (oxymoron)The third is cultural features. Lang
15、uage does not exist independently and is closely related to culture. “Language has a cultural, not a biologically inherited function, changes in culture often give rise to new types of discourse” 2. All good films are social products of cultural factors and ideological trends of certain eras. Mostly
16、, the cultural features of English film titles are closely related to the quotation of allusions which convey rich cultural meanings. For example, Adams Rid, Seven, Silence of the Lamb, Original Sin, and so on.1.2 Function of English film titles According to Vermeer, “function refers to what a text means or is intended to from the receivers point of view” 3 .In his A Textbook of Translation, Peter Newmark proposes six func
