Abstract

Much research has been conducted on literal and liberal translation in translating movie titles and Horizon of Expectation has proven to have guiding significance in translating movie titles, whereas limited studies concern literal and liberal translation methods in movie titles translation from the perspective of Horizon of Expectation. This study aims to analyze literal and liberal translation methods in movie titles translation and the Horizon of Expectation embedded in the titles mainly to seek out the factors that affect the choice of translation methods. The major findings of this study are summarized as follows:

First, literal translation is the most commonly used method in translating Oscar Winners’ titles. If the title is an epitome of the movie or the characteristics of the main character, literal translation works better. If the title is a pivotal name in the movie or contains a cultural image not existing in target language, or the movie is a reproduction of another movie, liberal translation can work better.

Second, the Horizon of Expectation in the translations of the movie titles in this study basically conforms to the ones in the original titles; however, some translations, such as 《老无所依》 and 《鸟人》 still cannot meet the Horizon of Expectation in the original title, as they create erroneous expectations for the audience. 

Finally, there are four factors that influence the audience’s Horizon of Expectation which the translator should take into consideration while choosing translation methods. The principle of faithfulness directly effects on information transmitting and the audience's expectation will hence be influenced. Cultural differences may mislead the audience to create erroneous expectations which may cause the audience to lose interest in the movie. Movie's commercial feature will also affect the choice of translation strategies. Only when a title attracts audience can its commercial value be realized. In addition, mode of thinking also affects the audience’s expectations directly. 

In the light of the above findings, this author draws some conclusions and gives some suggestions that may be helpful for movie titles translation and draws the translators’ attention to Horizon of Expectation in movie titles translation.

Key words: literal and liberal translation, movie titles translation, Horizon of Expectation

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 -Research Background and Research Needs-1

1.2 Research Purpose-1

1.3 Research Questions-2

1.4 Layout of the Thesis-2

Chapter Two Literature Review-3

2.1 An Overview of Movie Titles Translation-3

2.1.1 Methods for Movie Titles Translation-3

2.1.2 The Factors in Choice of Method for Movie Titles Translation-4

2.2 An Overview of Horizon of Expectation-4

2.2.1 The Relevance of Horizon of Expectation to Movie Titles Translation-5

2.2.2 Previous Studies on Horizon of Expectation in Movie Titles Translation-5

Chapter Three Analysis of Strategies for Movie Titles Translation-6

3.1 Literal Translation-6

3.2 Liberal Translation-7

3.3 Summary-8

Chapter Four Horizon of Expectation and Choice of Translation Strategy-10

4.1 Horizon of Expectation in the Original Titles and the Translations-10

4.2 The Effect of Horizon of Expectation on Choice of Translation Methods-12

Chapter Five Conclusion-15

5.1 Major Findings-15

5.2 Study Implications-16

5.3 Limitations of the Study and Room for Improvement-16

References-17

Appendix: Oscar Winners’ Titles from 2007 to 2016-20

文献综述报告-21