Abstract

In recent years, with more and more outstanding foreign films and television works being introduced into the Chinese market, people prefer the viewing form of retaining the original sound of the film dialogue with subtitle translation, which makes film subtitle translation a medium of cultural intercourse in the world. Movie subtitle translation, different from the traditional translation, needs to convey effective information accurately in a short time and limited space to help the audience understand the plot. Nida's functional equivalence theory requires that readers of the target text should gain an analogous feeling to readers of the original text. Thus this theory has been widely adopted in the translation process of movie subtitle.

This article analyzes the necessity and deficiency of functional equivalence theory applied in the subtitle translation of the film Flipped. 

Key words: functional equivalence, subtitle translation, Flipped

CONTENTS

中文摘要

Abstract

1. Introduction . 1

2. Subtitle and Its Translation  2

2.1 Definition and function of subtitle . 2

  2.2 Classification of subtitle  2

  2.3 Features of subtitle translation  3

     2.3.1 Transiency 3

     2.3.2 Colloquialism. 3

     2.3.3 Comprehensiveness  4

     2.3.4 Time limitation . 4

     2.3.5 Space limitation  4

3. Functional Equivalence Theory . 4

3.1 A brief introduction to Nida’s functional equivalence theory . 4

3.2 The criteria of functional equivalence . 6

3.3 The necessity of applying functional equivalence in film subtitle  translation  6

4. A Case Study of Flipped  7

4.1 Synopsis of Flipped  7

4.2 Equivalence types used in Flipped . 8

   4.2.1 Lexical equivalence  8

   4.2.2 Syntactic equivalence . 9

   4.2.3 Cultural equivalence . 11

4.3 The limitation of functional equivalence in subtitle translation  12

5. Conclusion . 13

Works Cited  14