Translation in Movies NamesEssay Preview: Translation in Movies NamesReport this essayTranslation In Movies NamesIntroductionAs we all known, film is an audio-visual art. This glamorous act is a magnificent gem in human history, which creates romantic stories and leads human into a marvelous land we have never come before. Looking back to the development history of film, we cannot deny that film reflects the society reality and the time spirit. As the cultural exchange between China and overseas become booming, film plays an important role as culture envoy. Film was entrusted with the mission to let more people from different cultural backgrounds to enjoy the entertainment and share advanced technology together. This is an unavoidable trend in the world now.
The film is an art, unlike other type of work, producing an effect on the human senses through a variety of information media. So the translation of film titles is also different from other kinds of translation. From its type, title translation belongs to special translation studies. English Translation of Movie Titles, Even though only a small number of domestic scholars did this research, title translation is beginning to attract peoples attention.
As we know, China has been more open for its movie market and its domestic movie industry is booming, an increasing number of overseas films come into Chinese big screens. Meanwhile, a great number of local movies have found their way to the international market. Films are not only a way of spreading exotic culture to the local audience, but also a significant approach to disseminate national culture for overseas people. Thus, translation in movies names is of great importance when both introducing foreign movies and selling domestic ones. Suitable translation can attract the public to enter into cinemas. Local films can also benefit a lot from good translation as well when being publicized overseas.
In recent years, it is indeed an amazing feat to study translation by analyzing the structure of communication, especially suitable for the translation of movie titles because the film itself is a mass media. Communication is the activity of conveying information. In the process of title translation, information conveying is more complicated as translation is a cross-cultural information dissemination. As a necessary part of culture, the movie name is inevitably reflected the characteristics of their respective cultures. Although Chinese and Western cultures are different, we can still find many similarities between the two. Undoubtedly, movie title translation contributes a lot to cultural exchanges. If the title translation concern more about film name itself and cultural implication, it will receive an unexpected effect.
II. The Importance of Movies NamesTranslation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. It is a process of creation which is based on certain culture implication and scientific knowledge. Therefore, the translation is re-creation. Most movie titles have only a few words, however, it is the crowning touch to the film. This important role put forward higher requirements for the translation of film titles. Film is an audio-visual art. Instead of being displayed in the shelves as books and newspapers, it firstly appeals to the audience by its name. Thus, movies names are the key to affect the box-office receipts. In another words, to a movie, its name is being its slogan and advertisement. Therefore, each word and phrase in the movies names should be carefully weighed against the original language to ensure the fullest accuracy and clarity. According to some reports, some producers in developed countries spare no effort to give perfect names to their movies. A movie may have several provisional names which could be revised more than once before it comes out in theaters. What is more, a movie may get no certain name even its whole photography process has been finished. For some Chinese well-known movie companies, they have established panels which are composed of many professional translators to make their movies names sound more international and let the foreign people know better about the movie before entering into the cinema.
III. Methods of TranslationAs title translation is of great significance, translators should try their best to make the movie names sound more popular and colloquial to increase persuasion and appeal. To deal with the cultural differences in intercultural translation, various skills can be adopted, including literal translation, free translation, adding translation, and explanation translation. The movie title is the unity of language and national culture, so the title translation should adopt a flexible method, and strive to impress the audience to achieve the same function with the original title.
1. Literal Translation1. 1.CharacteristicsLiteral translation, or directed translation, is the rendering of text from one language to another “word-for-word” rather than conveying the sense of the original. Literal translation seeks to carry over every possible nuance of meaning in the original words of movies names into our own language and as far as possible to capture the precise wording of the original text and style. As such, its emphasis is on “word-for-word” correspondence, at the same time taking into account differences of grammar, syntax, and idiom between current literary English and Chinese. Thus it seeks to be transparent to the original text, letting the public see as directly as possible the structure and meaning of the original. Based on the language universals, literal translation can convey the origin content using the similar forms.
1. 2.ExamplesSome movies named by leading characters can employ literal translation to retain the intention and context. Britain film Jane Eype (《简爱》), American film Spartacus (《斯巴达克斯》), Sister Carrie (《嘉丽妹妹》) and Dr. Edward (《爱德华大夫》) are good examples of using this method. These names sound natural and are easy to remember. There are also some films named by the nickname of the characters adopting literal translation. Taking the Rain Man（《雨人》） as an example, rain man is another saying of people with autism. Its Chinese name, an essentially literal translation, illustrated the subject of the film that the leading character Rain is having some emotional frustration. What is more, the Miner s Daughter, biographical film based on the life story of the famous American country music singer, Houluolita Lynn , was literally translated as 《矿工的女儿》; An American in. of Paris, the 24th
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Example:
I was reading a book. After about one week I opened the books and realized that they had a short story about a group of friends who had been diagnosed with neuropsychiatric disorders.
The movie
I did a quick search online to find about the movie. I was unable to find either the official title page or the picture of the “Huey” character who portrayed a neurotic teen as a child when she and her friends go off on a journey through a city, but they did return to their hotel room with a large bag filled with all sorts of items that are not a typical Western. I had a pretty good idea what things were (e.g., jewelry), so I figured that it might be nice to find even more info or something to look at. I searched the “Huey” character’s Wikipedia page (the first time I saw this on Wikipedia—for a little inspiration, check that for a reference too if you have questions):
I have a hard time understanding a picture. I mean, if you don’t have a movie that says “this is about Huey E. (Huey), an adult actor who works in the hotel and who’s adopted by a mysterious girl (a.k.a. Huey), one thing you would think he’s supposed to do is ask people what he is, and everyone would say that his character is Huey (his real name) or “Huey.” But, again, it doesn’t really matter, because Huey probably isn’t Huey because Huey’s one of the characters that’s been doing this book about him, and he seems to have a sort of a weird way of coming to understand things.
So, what does that mean and how did it work for Huey? Well, you may have seen Huey in the original movie, and there have been some other versions, like his own “Shots & Bullets” version, even though there was a Japanese version. So, what you want is a story where this guy is Huey, who is basically like this little guy from the cartoon (for more context, see A Beautiful Little Town!) and he says lots of things. Well, those are typical names of movies which use literal translation.
This movie was in English, so its Japanese name probably means “He’s Your Boyfriend (春昔》), but I just like to think of Huey as this guy who’s all the stuff that gives him such an impression.