Abstract

American slang is the essence of American language, culture and history. To study slang is an important way to learn English and American culture. Nowadays, American TV series gain increasing popularity in China. For almost all the Chinese audience, subtitles translation plays an important role in conveying original meaning and disseminating the correct information of culture. In subtitle translation, slang translation is one of the most difficult and also most important parts. Based on examples taken from translated subtitles in Modern Family, slang translation is probed into from the perspective of Functional Equivalence Theory. 

The thesis falls into four chapters. The first chapter sketches the background research and the significance of the subject matter. The second chapter introduces American slang and Nida’s Functional Equivalence Theory, and also reviews the current research on subtitles translation and slang translation. The third chapter, which is the pillar of the present thesis, addresses the subject matter of slang translation by analyzing subtitles translations in Modern Family from a functional perspective to justify a number of translation methods in relation to equivalence of meaning, TV plot, emotion and culture before it arrives at the conclusion of Chapter Four. 

Keywords: functional equivalence theory; American slang translation; subtitle translation; Modern Family

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1. Introduction-1

    1.1 Background-1

    1.2 The Significance of Topic-1

2. Literature Review-3

    2.1 A General Introduction of American Slang-3

        2.1.1 The Definition of Slang-3

        2.1.2 The Characteristics of Slang-3

    2.2 Subtitle Translation &American Slang Translation-3

    2.3 A General Introduction of Functional Equivalence Theory-4

3. Slang Translation in Modern Family-5

    3.1 A Brief Introduction of Modern Family-5

    3.2 Principles of Translation-5

        3.2.1 Faithfulness of the Original-5

        3.2.2 Reservation of the Language Characteristics-5

        3.2.3 Easiness of reading and understanding-5

    3.3 Translation of Slang in Modern Family-5

        3.3.1 Equivalence of Meaning-6

        3.3.2 Equivalence of Emotion-7

        3.3.3 Equivalence of TV Plot-8

        3.3.4 Equivalence of Culture-9

4. Conclusion-11

References-12