Movie Title Translation Based on Functional Equivalence

【Abstract】Movies have a special position in international cultural communication because of their unique charm and huge commercial value. As the heart， even soul of movie， the movie title is the most important part of movie. This paper aims at find out an effective way to translate movie titles by basing itself on Nidas functional equivalence theory. When translating movie titles， translators can be flexible in choosing among the translating techniques such as literal translation， free translation under the guidance of functional equivalence theory.

【Key words】movie title； functional equivalence theory； translation technique

1. Introduction

Film is an international mass art form， which spreads most widely. When people want to know a film， the most convenient way is to read its film title. Film title is the elaborate production of writers， and it is a highly condensed summary of videos content. A good movie title can attract foreign audience to go to cinema and enjoy the movie in different culture background， even make them try to understand the deep meaning and cultural connotation of the movie.

2. Nidas Functional Equivalence Theory

In Nidas opinion， how to measure the work， the first question we have to consider is the reaction from reader who read the translation work， then we will compare it with original reader. He defines functional equivalence that target language reader can understand in the same way with source language reader. And in the second definition， he focuses on and emphasizes that the feeling about target language reader and source language reader should be similar.

3. Application of Functional Equivalence Theory into Movie Titles Translation

Eugene Nida says that in the whole world there are not two languages exactly the same， so between the two languages there exist no absolute equivalence. The film title translation is not only a process of conversion between two languages， but also a process of two kinds of cultural exchanges. And then they should adopt corresponding translation strategies according to the translation principle of faithfulness or treason， to promote exchanges and communication between the east and west culture.

Translating Techniques in Translation of Western Movie Titles into Chinese

3.1 Literal Translation

In the process of film title translation， the literal translation method is based on the characteristics of the source language and the target language， and keep the original titles content and form in maximum limitation. English film the boy In the Striped Pajamas is translated into “穿著条纹睡衣的男孩”， Hunger Games is translated into “饥饿游戏”， and Happy Feet is translated into“快乐的大脚”and so on.

3.2 Transliteration

When literal translation method is difficult to reproduce the cultural connotation of the film， and even make the film obscure in translation， the translators can choose the transliteration method to translate. Transliteration means translators translate titles according to the rules on pronunciation， and directly translate it the into the same or similar words with the target language. For example， film Madagascar is translated into“马达加斯加”， Harry Potter is translated into“哈利波特”and so on， these titles are classic of transliteration.

3.3 Free Translation

English film titles often contain rich cultural connotation， but due to the difference between the east and west culture， the literal translation method sometimes is difficult to present the unique cultural connotation； in this case， the translator can adopt the free translation method.

As for the film Sense Perfect， if we translate it into“末日情缘”， it will make a misunderstanding to audience that the movie is a romantic comedy of love， but actually it is a prophetic science fiction film. The film is about when human gradually lose the sensory function organs， and the world falls apart， a desperate love story is domed. The title “末日情缘”that used free translation not only conveys the theme and tone， but also gives enough psychological construction to audiences.

Conclusion

Movie is a kind of integrating art and commercial art form， we should use appropriate translation techniques to reproduce the original piece of cultural and artistic connotation. Nidas functional equivalence theory has helped us to solve these problems to some extent. What we need to do is to try our best to use this theory in practice. Understanding theory content carefully， learning more knowledge about western culture， and comprehending the movie meaning， are the keys to translate a good film title.

References：

[1]Jin Di，and Eugene.Nida，On translation，Beijing：China Translation and Publishing Corporation，1984.

[2]Nida，E.A.Language，Culture And Translation，Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign language Education Press，2001.

[3]蔡東东.当代英美电影鉴赏[M].北京：外文出版社，2000.

[4]邓建琼.英文电影片名的翻译[J].龙岩学院学报，2005（8）：111-113.

作者简介：于翔（1994-），女，汉族，河南洛阳孟津县人，本科毕业于西安理工大学，获得学士学位，现为西安理工大学人文与外国语学院翻译方向研一在读。