Abstract

The Skopos Theory, put forward in 1970s by Hans J. Vermeer (German), is widely used in the translation process. Skopos, derived from Greek, here usually refers to the purpose of translation. In addition to the Skopos, Vermeer also used some other related words like "target", "goal ", "intention" and "function" and et cetera to explain the purpose of translation. In the framework of Vermeer's Skopos Theory, one of the most important factors which determine the purpose is audiences who have their own cultural backgrounds, the expectation of the translation and communication needs. Each translation points to a certain audience, so the Skopos Theory tries to liberate translation from the confinement of the source text. The aim of the Skopos Theory is to explain the translation activity in terms of the target language. 2 Broke Girls，is an English sitcom produced by Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) which is very popular for its all-inclusive, abundant contents and humorous language. It tells the story of two girls living and working together but with completely different backgrounds. As an original English sitcom, it is obviously not easy for the Chinese audience to fully comprehend. What's more, the audience's English level is uneven, which can’t guarantee full understanding of the content of the sitcom. But the advert of this information carrier—the subtitle for American TV programs, provides much convenience for the TV fans. With subtitles, the audience can learn the theme, plot, dialogue, even the whole story in an easier way. This thesis attempts to explore the translation methods in the subtitles of 2 Broke Girls from the perspective of the Skopos Theory, in hopes of helping translators to present authentic, original and unique American sitcoms.

Keywords: 2 Broke Girls；Skopos Theory；translation method

摘要

德国汉斯·费米尔在1970年代提出目的论，此后目的论被广泛使用在翻译过程中。Skopos这一术语通常用来指译文的目的，Skopos一词来源于希腊语目的“Skopos”。除了Skopos，弗米尔还使用了相关的“目标”、“目的”、“意图”和“功能”等词。在弗米尔的目的论框架中，决定翻译目的的最重要因素之一是受众—译文所意指的接受者，他们有自己的文化背景知识、对译文的期待以及交际需求。每一种翻译都指向一定的受众，因此目的论试图把翻译从源文本的约束中解放出来，然后从目标语言的角度来解释翻译。《破产姐妹》作为一部由美国哥伦比亚广播公司播出的广受大众喜爱的都市情景剧，内容包罗万象，语言诙谐幽默，讲述了两个身份背景完全不同的都市女孩在一起居住打工的故事。作为原汁原味的美剧，显然，要想让观众充分看懂其中的内容并非易事，更何况观众的英语水平也参差不齐，不能保证完全的理解消化美剧中的内容。然而字幕的这个信息载体的诞生为美剧爱好者们提供了极大的便利。在字幕的帮助下，观众们就可以简单了解到电视剧的主题，情节，对话甚至整个故事，一部原味的美剧也就能转化为地道的中国影视剧。本文将从目的论的角度来探讨其中的字幕翻译技巧，以帮助字幕翻译工作者译出原汁原味却不乏特色的美剧。

关键词：《破产姐妹》；目的论；翻译方法