Abstract

With the spreading through the Internet and cultural exchange between the east and the west, more and more television programs are introduced into Chinese audience. American late-night talk show is one the varied popular programs. It usually consists of monologues in which the host makes fun of the daily news, comedy sketches, celebrity interviews and occasionally, musical performances. At home, it receives warm welcome because of the humor the host of the show delivers. Unlike general American dramas or reality shows, late-night talk shows are strongly involved in cultural, religious, political, geographical or historical background. Therefore, in order to let humor in these programs resonate in China, translation plays an essential role in transcending the quintessence of humor. 

The reason why American late-night talk shows are increasingly popular in China during recent years is because domestication strategy makes translation words more Chinese, native, funny and understandable to Chinese audience. Besides, domestication would not only help reshape the American value in a localized way to buffer the threat of American cultural invasion, but also a good way to publicize Chinese popular culture at home and abroad.

Contemporary researches on domestication mainly center around literary translation, but seldom on television or film translation, and none on late-night talk show translation. Even though there are some researches on television or film translation, many focus on subtitle translation or general translation strategies rather on domestication strategy. Based on the intellectual group of the target audience, according to the high frequency of tools used for jokes in late-night talk shows and tools available for the translation, the thesis mainly analyzes four kinds of situations: wordplay, trendy words, vividness, cultural humor.

Keywords: late-night talk show; domestication; translation

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 Research Background-1

1.2 Purpose and Significance-1

1.3 Outline of the Thesis-2

2. Literature Review-3

2.1 Domestication and Foreignization abroad-3

2.2 Domestication and Foreignization at home-4

2.3 Conclusion-4

3. American Late-Night Talk Show-6

3.1 Definition of American Late-Night Talk Show-6

3.2 Representatives and Features of American Late-Night Talk Show-6

3.2.1 Saturday Night Live-6

3.2.2 The Daily Show-6

3.3.3 The Colbert Report-7

3.3.4 Real Time-7

4. Analysis of Domestication Strategy in American Late-Night Talk Show-8

4.1 Wordplay-8

4.2 Trendy Words-10

4.3 Vividness-11

4.4 Cultural Humor-12

5. Conclusion-16

References-17