IntroductionSubtitling translation has undergone theoretical development. In retrospect，the constantly evolving practice both facilitates experience accumulation and presents challenges that call for effective solution. The subtitle translation studies began with the development of film industry, high technology and globalization. As the film industry is unquestionably better developed in the western world, especially in Europe and the United States, the amount of film is huge in Europe, and Europe scholars have also done a lot of researches.In contrast to domestic literary translation studies，the research on movie subtitle translation starts quite late, but there are still a few pioneer research works, however, compared with the researches in foreign countries, the related investigations in China are far from being satisfactory. Not a single work can be found thus far, only some limited articles are published in some journals. Generally speaking, these works are mainly concerned with Nida’s functional equivalence theory and Yan Fu’s principle.Owing to the fact that English has become one of the most popular international Languages, English movies are dominating over other foreign movies in quantity. However, the majority of Chinese people just know a little English so that they cannot enjoy the original Englishmovies directly. They have to watch translated movies including dubbed movies and subtitled movies. Now, with the improvement of their artistic taste, more and more Chinese prefer subtitled movies with original sound tracks to dubbed movies which will supply less audile enjoyment than the former. As a result, the subtitle translation has drawn people's greater attention in recent years, and many translators are working on the movie subtitle translation.Translation is a vital means of cross-cultural communication, and therefore it deserves to be viewed from the cultural perspectives. Films are among the most influential media in the modern world, and each film carries with it the unique features of the culture in which it originates. Those cultural features are partly reflected by the subtitled film. Its reception by certain foreign audience in the target environment and its audience's responses to the films are the process of cross-cultural communication. When translators are approaching the subtitling translation, they are obliged to facilitate the cross-cultural communication.Nowadays, people consume more audiovisual texts than texts of any other kind. Literary translation takes only a small proportion of whole translation family, and there are many other forms of translation existing. As various screen translation comes forth, like dubbing, subtitling and voice-over, subtitling is drawing more attention in our daily lives.Subtitling keeps the original flavor to the largest extent and is an effective and economical means of showing different cultures. Particularly, subtitled films are preferred by younger generation who are more interested in western culture and foreign languages. They can improve their English with the aid of subtitles while listening to the original sound.Proceeding from observation of the unique features of film subtitling translation, this paper aims at adopting a corresponding approach to the studies of film subtitling translation. This paper provides a tentative effort into film subtitling translation.Chapter 1The Features of English Film SubtitlesGottlieb characterizes subtitles from a linguistic and technical perspective:Linguistically:a. Intralingual subtitles, with the same language. Both the subtitles of local programmers, subtitled in the same language for the deaf and hard of hearing, and subtitles for people learning languages fall within this group.b. Interlingual subtitles, between two languages.Technically:a. Open subtitles, which go with the original film or the television version.b. Closed subtitles, which can be voluntarily added; both to teletext and satellite channels, which offer various subtitled versions to different frequencies.Furthermore, it is necessary to explain these concepts mentioned above in detail. The intra-lingual subtitle is also called “vertical subtitle”, which transcribes oral discourse with the same language; the interlingual subtitle, also named “diagonal subtitle”, which involves two dimensions and crosses, thus, from oral discourse in the original language to the written of the target language. Technically, we distinguish between optional or closed subtitles and non-optional or open subtitles in terms of optionality. Thus, the spectator can decide if he wants the subtitles to appear on the screen-optional or closed-or not-non-optional or open-theselatter being always present.Additionally, with the localization in which the subtitles appear we also can distinguish basically between subtitles, intertitles and surtitles, going underneath, between or above the images respectively. Generally speaking, the paper is discussing interlingual subtitles, which appear underneath images, from the linguistic perspective.To begin with, subtitles are the written version of the dialogue in the target language in a film, and usually appear in two lines at the foot of the screen simultaneously with the dialogue or narration in the source language. (Agnieszka Szarkows, 2005)The term “subtitles”originates from what we nowadays call “intertitle” or “inserttitle”, which means parts of text, drawn or printed on paper, being filmed and placed between parts of the film action. “At the time, these terms mean something totally different from what they mean today: an ‘intertitles’ or ‘insert titles’ was a replacement shot for a part of film that contained verbal information in the original language”. (Minchinton, 1993:11)Quite a few scholars have given definitions to subtitle translation. In Shuttleworth and Cowie's Dictionary of Translation Studies(1997), subtitle t ranslation is defined as“…the process of providing synchronized captions for film and television dialogue.”However, we should distinguish between caption and subtitles. Subtitles are different from captions. Captions are pieces of textual information usually inserted by the program maker to identify names, places or dates relevant to the story line.On the technical aspect, subtitles can be either open or closed. Opensubtitles are something that are inserted onto the film images and cannot be removed from the screen. The target text constitutes a physical part of the translated film and is transmitted together with the film sound and picture. They are mainly used in inter-lingual translation. Closed subtitles are usually cantonal, which means the target text is commonly transmitted as teletext. Closed subtitles are usually used for intra-lingual translation and intended for the hard-hearings. In this paper, film subtitle translation refers to interlingual (from English to Chinese) and open subtitle translation.1.1The Features of SubtitlesIn view of the unique nature of movies and subtitling, subtitles are sure to have some distinctive features in contrast to literary translation. These features are listed as follows:1.1.1 Audience-centeredAs mentioned in the introduction of this paper, movies are one of popular mass media. What movies try to express mostly originate from the real life of the common people. This nature makes it clear that movies are in it produced to entertain the common people. For this reason, the information of subtitles should be legible to the audience as much as possible in order that the audience can easily understand it, acquire the meanings of these subtitles and appreciate the movies. Because of this feature, when subtitling, the subtitler has to adopt audience-centered strategies which are discussed in later chapters in detail.1.1.2 Oral Register.As has been discussed in the former section, subtitling involves the change from mainly oral verbal language to written language-theintersemiotic transfer creates the problem of hesitation between situational varieties that range from the oral register of the source text to the written register of the target text. Therefore, subtitles should, in the manner of written language, portray phonetic, morphological, syntactical and lexical features of oral register of the source language. For instance, Several examples of alteration of spelling portray not only a different accent (mainly different vowel quality) but also ellipsis or contractions characteristic of speech. According to Rossa, the choice of vocabulary is used to portray lexical features of the source language and there is also an effort to maintain the force of expressive illocutionary acts--characteristic of speech. Only in this way, the audience can recognize the characteristics of the source speech which would be a great help for them to understand the plots and characters of the movies.1.1.3 ComprehensibilityLiterary translation works are only concerned with texts, contrastively, the movie is a comprehensive medium including not only verbal utterances but also non-verbal signs such as sounds, music, pictures, graphics etc. From this point of view, what the subtitler encounters is not only a change from verbal signs to visual signs but also a change from non-verbal signs to written language. That is, the subtitler ought to translate not only dialogues of characters of the original movies into subtitles but also any non-verbal signs such as sounds, music, pictures, graphics, colors etc. As part of the culture of the source-language country, is familiar to the people of the source language but totally unfamiliar to the audience of the target-language and that are the key elements to the understanding of the characteristics of thedramatis personae and also the plot of the movie. Consequently, the subtitler is sure to confront great challenges due to the multimodal nature of movies.1.1.4 Reflection of Unique Charaeteristies of Dramatis PersonaeIn the movie, the dialogues of dramatis personae are the main means to portray their characteristics and the audience also distinguishes them according to their unique dialogues including the tone they use when talking, the way they talk and the languages they speak such as formal, informal language, slang, taboo etc. And even the vocabulary they select in their speeches. Under this circumstance, subtitles are expected to reflect these unique characteristics of dramatis personae as much as possible. The oral register mentioned in the second term is a necessary means to portray distinctive characteristics of dialogues, including the choice of vocabulary, alteration of spelling, punctuation, ellipsis, repetition, etc. Hence, subtitlers should bear in mind that their subtitles ought to reflect the characteristics of dramatis personae and accord with what the original movie wants to depict.1.1.5 InstantaneityThe last feature of subtitles is specific to the art of the movie. Unlike the translation of written texts such as novels and short stories, the subtitles in movies are irreversible, that is, people cannot go back to review either dialogues or captions which pass once in most cases (unless the movie intends to express something by repetitions of certain dialogues or captions). When we are reading written texts, however, we can return and reread the text that we find difficult to understand.In view of these unique features of subtitles, subtitlers have to face afew constraints when they work through the whole movie.1.2 Constraints of Film SubtitlingThere are two important constraints of subtitling: temporal and spatial. Under this circumstance, the subtitler has to confront these challenges when he or she tries to work out a good quality subtitled movie. Hence, these two constraints should be taken into account during subtitling.1.2.1 Temporal ConstraintUnfortunately, there is no fixed timing set for subtitling, as there are a number of factors that can impact on duration of one subtitle, such as the level of literacy of target viewers, degree of familiarity with the program language, the average viewer's reading speed, the genre of the subtitled program, the pace of the visuals, the quantity and complexity of the text, the speed of the dialogue, and the necessary intervals between subtitles.However, in terms of the length of time one subtitle remains on the screen guidelines have been proposed, suggesting that somewhere between one and seven seconds would be appropriate, but this still depends on the factors mentioned and on the length of subtitle, whether it is one or two lines, a short or a long utterance. In relation to this, Ivarsson and Carroll have suggested, as a general rule, the minimum time for even a very short subtitle on a television screen is at least one and a half seconds and the maximum time for a two-line subtitle should not exceed five to six seconds. A full one-line should be kept on the screen for about seconds, one and a half lines for about four seconds.Furthermore, they comment that if a subtitle is left on the screen fortoo long, the viewer is then to read it more than once, thereby destroying the sense of a flowing dialogue and distracting attention from images. On the other hand, if the subtitle is a short one, like a simple “yes” or “no”, that could theoretically be taken off the screen after a mere half-second, the risk of omission is high that the eye will not register it at all. Because of that, even the briefest subtitle should remain on the screen for about one and a half second.No matter how long, one basic principle subtitlers stick to is subtitle-speech synchronization. Additionally, unlike the printed page, the changing screen disappears in a few seconds and does not allow the viewer to re-read a line. Target viewers have to divide the viewing time among different activities-reading the subtitles, watching the moving picture and constantly interrelating them. Therefore, in order to better realize the function of delivering information and release target viewers’burden, subtitler tries to maintain continuity of subtitles on each frame and employ familiar and simple words, concise sentences instead of long and complex components and subordinate clauses.1.2.2 Spatial ConstraintThe general consensus is that maximum line appearing on the screen at the same time is two. This is considered as the maximum limit not the preferred option. It is suggested, therefore, that if it is possible to write the text of any one subtitle in a single line, it is usually better to do so. Generally, one line of subtitle contains 35-40characters.Chapter 2Translation Theory2.1 Nida’s Equivalence Theory.Film subtitle translation has caught translators’ attention. Based on its special features and constraints, translators should study it on theoretical basis.It is generally held that an equivalent is a word or phrase that in a specific context exactly corresponds to the smallest unit in the original. But this definition is vague and ambiguous, because the notion of equivalence should not be understood in its mathematical meaning of identity, but in terms of proximity. Full equivalence can never be established between two languages.Equivalence is a central concept in translation theory. It holds an important position not only in some present definitions of translation, but also in some prevalent criteria for good translation as well. But its definition, applicability within the field of translation also caused heated controversy.Many scholars have made their own shining points on the definition of equivalence and helped develop translation theory. Their studies of equivalence are in relation to the translation process, with different approaches, and have provided fruitful ideas for further study on this topic.2.2 Communicative TranslationCommunicative translation to informative texts and vocative texts are discussed in detail in this section.2.2.1 The Definition of Communicative TranslationCommunicative translation attempts to produce on its readers an effect as close as possible to that obtained on the readers of the original. ( Peter Newmark,2001)2.2.2 The Features of Communicative TranslationCommunicative translation has its own distinctive features as follows:First, the intention of communicative translation is to try to reproduce the same effect intended by the original text in the target language with the purpose of acting on the readers of the target language. In other words, communicative translation attaches more importance to the force of the original text than the content. Communicative translation mainly concerns the function of the original texts in the source language and the reproduction of this function as much as possible, regardless of the idiocrasies, and the uniqueness of mind of the author.Second, communicative translation addresses itself solely to the readers of the target language, who does not anticipate difficulties or obscurities, and would expect a generous transfer of foreign elements into his own culture as well as his language where necessary.Third, for the sake of readers of the target language, communicative translation tends to under translate the original texts, i.e. taking words for instance, usually to use more generic, hold-all terms to translate specific terms especially those that reflect nuances of meanings in the original texts or the idiocrasies of the author. Generally, a communicative translation is likely to be smoother, simpler, clearer, more direct, more conventional, conforming to a particular register of the target language.But however reader-oriented communicative translation is to respect and work on the original texts as the only material basis. Any immoderate addition or reduction of the original information for readers’ sake is not desired in communicative translation. Put it simply, communicative translation is to ensure the original texts to communicate with the readers of the target language through translation as effectively as possible to reproduce the function of the original texts (including informative and vocative texts).2.3 The Comparison Between Communicative Translation Theory and Functional EquivalenceGenerally speaking, communicative translation theory and functional equivalence have something in common. First of all, both of them are reader-oriented. According to Nida, there are two definitions of functional equivalence. The minimal definition is stated “as the readers of a translated text should be able to comprehend it to the point that they can conceive of how the original readers of the text must have understood and appreciated it.” (Nida, 2004) and the maximal ideal definition is stated as “the readers of a translated text should be able to understand and appreciate it in essentially the same manner as the original readers did.” (Nida, 2004) From these two definitions, we can see that functional equivalence emphasizes the response of the readers of the target language, while communicative translation theory focuses on the effect produced by the original text upon the readers of the target language. Though “effect upon the readers” is a little different from “the readers’ response”, both translation theories attach great importance to the readers. That is why both of them tend to under-translate the original text for the sake of thereaders’ understanding. Besides, both aim to facilitate the communication between the original text and the readers of the target language. Nida thinks, translating is communicating. Thus his functional equivalence theory is put forward to realize the aim of communicating with the readers of the target language. Likewise, communicative translation theory is designated for translating vocative texts and informative texts which are also aiming to communicate with the readers. From this point of view, both translation theories emphasize communication with the readers of the target language.However, these two translation theories still have some differences.First of all, communicative translation theory is more operational than functional equivalence theory. Nida’s functional equivalence theory seems more applicable to translating religious works for the purpose of missionizing people than other kinds of translation. Since at the beginning, functional equivalence theory derives from his experience of translating the Bible into other languages, and the aim of his work is to missionize the people in other countries. For this reason, functional equivalence theory advocates that the translation should produce in receptors the capacity for a response very close to what the original readers experienced. Therefore, functional equivalence theory is not applicable to all kinds of translation in any circumstance, though Nida has modified his theory many times in order to fit all translation activities. For instance, a commercial advertisement may deliberately reflect racial discrimination just in order to cater for the readership of a particular culture in a particular period. When with the same aim of promoting products, it is translated into another foreign culture which emphasizeshuman equality, according to functional equivalence, the translator should rewrite the original advertisement to eliminate the value of racial discrimination and use another way which is recognized by the people in this culture to cater for them. However, if this advertisement is translated for experts to study the characteristics of commercial advertisements in particular period in the original culture, it is hard to find any application of functional equivalence theory under this circumstance. In contrast, Newmark clearly points out, communicative translation is only suitable to translate vocative texts and informative texts. Thus, communicative translation theory is such a specific translation theory which clearly defines its application that it is surely more operational than functional equivalence theory.Moreover, functional equivalence theory emphasizes the readers’ response so much as to over-domesticate the original text, which results in some deviations from the original textual meaning. In other words, functional equivalence theory emphasizes closest and natural translation to ensure the readers’ response while overlooking the content of message of the original text. For instance, Nida advocates that “It is such an important thing as playing cricket” be translated into “这件事如同吃饭一样重要” in Chinese. Although this translation is not considered to be totally inappropriate and less effective under any circumstance, it is not desired to do so when the content of the original text is as important for the readers as the communicative effect for instance, in subtitle translation. On the contrary, communicative translation theory is based on the original text. Newmark says, communicative translation should respect and work on the form of the source language text as the onlymaterial basis. From this point of view, communicative translation theory still attaches importance to the content of the message of the original text in addition to the force of the message.Therefore, communicative translation theory is more applicable to subtitle translation than functional equivalence theory.Chapter 3Application of Communicative Translation TheoryFirst of all, due to spatial-temporal and technical constraints on movie subtitling, the subtitler has to reduce his or her translation as much as possible to fit the position of the screen and to synchronize with the related frame (or the scene where the original subtitle appears). At the same time, his concise translation should be instantly intelligible to the audience. Additionally, since movies aim to entertain the audience, the subtitler also emphasizes the effect upon the audience, namely, to entertain them, to make them feel, act and think to the extent as close as possible to that the original subtitles do. Thus subtitlers tend to domesticate the original subtitles when subtitling. However, they are tempted to over domesticate at times, i.e. insisting on using existing expressions or phrases of the target language to smooth original subtitles regardless of the style of original subtitles. For instance,Dear Scott,I was very sad to hear about your lady woman Fiona dumping you. Since you no longer have a girlfriend, maybe I could come to America and we could get to know each other better. Perhaps we could arrange a meeting.斯科特君，悲悉恶妇弃君如敝展。