A Study on the Translation of Humorous Lines in Hannah Montana - from the Perspective of Functional Equivalence Theory_英语论文

摘要

幽默是当今社会不可或缺的一部分，是一种经过艺术加工的语言形式，是艺术化的语言。然而受语言和文化差异的影响，理解和翻译幽默是一件很头痛的事情。网路上有许多英美影视剧爱好者自发组成字幕组，去翻译影视剧并上传到各大视频网站。但是，由于译员水平参差不齐，因此字幕翻译质量也良莠不齐，特别是影视喜剧的对白翻译质量。这使我们开始对幽默语言的翻译有了更多更深入的讨论和探究。本文选取美国著名青少年情景喜剧《汉娜蒙塔娜》作为研究对象，从功能对等理论的视角，尝试从句法、词汇、修辞等角度去分析《汉娜蒙塔娜》中的幽默对白；结合英汉翻译策略分析中国观众理解不了笑点的原因，并探讨译者如何做出译文语言选择再现说话人试图传达的幽默语境效果，提出相关的应对措施。在电影幽默翻译过程中，译者应从以功能对等的角度灵活使用各种翻译策略，才能保证传递幽默效果。  

关键词：幽默  功能对等理论  对白翻译

Abstract

Humor has been an indispensable part of today's society which is an artistic language. However, due to the effect of language and cultural differences, it’s difficult for us to understand and translate humorous lines. There are many English film and TV drama lovers on the internet, gathering together to translate those works and upload them to video websites. At the same time, some of the translators may not skillful enough, which causes the different quality of subtitle translation, especially the translation of lines in comedies. This reminds us of having more deeper discussions and explorations on the translation of humorous language. This thesis takes a famous American teenagers TV drama Hannah Montana as the research objective under the framework of functional equivalence theory. It aims to make an analysis of the humorous lines in the Hannah Montana from the perspective of syntax, vocabulary and rhetoric; Based on English-Chinese translation strategies, this thesis analyzes the reasons why Chinese audiences fail to understand the humorous lines in the Hannah Montana, and discusses how the translator reproduce the humorous effect that the speakers try to convey, and proposes relevant countermeasures. In the process of subtitle translation, translators should use various translation strategies from the perspective of functional equivalence flexibly in order to convey the same humorous effect.

Key words: humor  Functional Equivalence Theory  the translation of subtitles

Contents

Chapter one  Introduction 1

1.1  Research Objectives 1

1.2  Research Materials 2

1.3  Research Methodology 3

Chapter Two Literature Review 5

2.1  Introduction 5

2.2  Previous Studies on the Translation of Humorous Lines in the Hannah Montana 6

2.3  Previous Studies Related to the Functional Equivalence Theory 8

2.4  Summary 8

Chapter Three  Theoretical Framework 10

3.1  Introduction 10

3.2  The Definition of the Functional Equivalence Theory 10

3.3  The Features of the Functional Equivalence Theory 12

Chapter Four  Analyzing the Translation of Humorous Lines in Hannah  Montana 14

4.1  Introduction 14

4.1.1 The Analysis of Humorous Lines in the Hannah Montana from the Perspective of Vocabulary 15

4.1.2 The Analysis of Humorous Lines in the Hannah Montana from the Perspective of Syntax 19

4.1.3 The Analysis of Humorous Lines in the Hannah Montana from the Perspective of Rhetoric 20

4.2  The Strategies of Dealing with the Incomprehension of Translation of Humorous Lines 21

4.2.1 Domesticating Translation 21

4.2.2 The Combination of Foreignizing Translation and Domesticating Translation 23

4.3  The Translation of Humorous Lines in Hannah Montana from the Perspective of Functional Equivalence Theory 24

Chapter Five  Conclusion 27

Bibliography

Acknowledgements