電影片名翻譯與語(yǔ)境適應(yīng)論 影視編導(dǎo)專業(yè)

電影片名翻譯與語(yǔ)境適應(yīng)論摘要：隨著文化交流的擴(kuò)大，越來(lái)越多的國(guó)外影片引進(jìn)中國(guó)，受到觀眾的喜愛，越來(lái)越多的中國(guó)電影受到外國(guó)觀眾的關(guān)注。電影標(biāo)題作為電影語(yǔ)言的一部分，是電影第一面對(duì)受眾的部分，其翻譯自然是電影推廣宣傳的關(guān)鍵一環(huán)。眾所周知，電影標(biāo)題也是社會(huì)語(yǔ)言的一部分，當(dāng)然會(huì)涉及到社會(huì)文化形式的各個(gè)方面，包括政治，經(jīng)濟(jì)，歷史，宗教等。如何逾越不同社會(huì)文化背景所造成的理解鴻溝，是電影片名翻譯首先要解決的問題。語(yǔ)境適應(yīng)論作為國(guó)內(nèi)語(yǔ)用學(xué)范疇探討的新理論，對(duì)如何逾越不同社會(huì)文化背景所造成的理解鴻溝有較強(qiáng)的指導(dǎo)性。本文首先從商業(yè)、文化、藝術(shù)的視角指出了片名的重要性，接著分析了電影片名翻譯主要影響因素——社會(huì)文化背景差異，然后詳細(xì)分析了解決這一因素的語(yǔ)境適應(yīng)論，并根據(jù)這一理論探討指導(dǎo)中外電影片名互譯的實(shí)用策略，同時(shí)指出語(yǔ)境適應(yīng)理論對(duì)片名翻譯有制約和延伸的作用。

關(guān)鍵詞：電影片名；翻譯;文化差異;語(yǔ)境適應(yīng)論;翻譯策略ABSTRACT:Withthedevelopmentofcultureexchangeintheworld,moreandmoreEnglishfilmshavebeenintroducedintoourcountry,whichhavegainedpreferenceoftheChinesepeople.Atthesametime,Chinesefilmsarefavoredbyforeignaudience.Filmtitleisanimportantpartoffilmlanguage,andthefirstparttobedirectlyconfrontedwiththeaudiences,whosetranslationplaysacriticalroleinpromotionofthefilmproductionininternationalfilmmarket.Asweallknow,filmtitleisalsoaportionofthesociallanguage,soitsurelyrelatetoaspectsofthesocialculture,suchaspolitics,economics,history,religion,etc..Therefore,howtobridgethecomprehensiongapoftheaudiencesfromdifferentculturalbackgroundiscrucialtofilmtitletranslation.ContextualAdaptationTheory,ahottopicsinpragmaticsnowadays,mainlytalksaboutthekeytobridgethegapofdifferentcontextualbackgrounds,sothispaperwillapplycontextualadaptationtothefilmtitletranslation.Firstly,theimportanceofthefilmtitletranslationisanalyzedfromtheperspectiveofcommerce,cultureandart;thenthepaperdiscussesthemainfactorsoffilmtitletranslation,thatisthedifferenceoftheculturalbackgrounds;inthefollowingchapter,ContextualAdaptationTheoryisintroducedindetails,forthepurposeofexploringtheproperstrategiesoffilmtitletranslation.

Keywords:filmtitle;translation;culturaldifference;contextualadaptation;translationstrategy1Introduction

Asweallknown,filmisanaudio-visualart.Thisglamorousactisamagnificentgeminhumanhistory,whichcreatesromanticstoriesandleadshumanintoamarvelouslandwehavenevercomebefore.Lookingbacktothedevelopmenthistoryoffilm,wecannotdenythatfilmreflectsthesocietyrealityandthetimespirit.AstheculturalexchangebetweenChinaandoverseasbecomebooming,filmplaysanimportantroleascultureenvoy.Filmwasentrustedwiththemissiontoletmorepeoplefromdifferentculturalbackgroundstoenjoytheentertainmentandshareadvancedtechnologytogether.Thisisanunavoidabletrendintheworldnow.

Asthemostpopularformofmasscommunication,filmhasaccompaniedhumanforalmostonecentury.Inthelonghistory,filmindustryexperiencessixseriouschanges.Fromtheeraoffilm’sfatherLiasterbrothertakingblackandwhitedocumentaryintopeople’slifetotheeraoftalkie,ever-bigchangeoffilmindustryhasremarkablesignificanceinhumanhistory.Countlessfamousfilmstarsshowtheircharmingglamouronthescreenandmanyexcellentfilmsarepopularwithaudienceinthewholeworld.Enteringinto21century,thefilmindustrycontinuestodeveloprapidly,whichisentrustedwiththemissiontoletmorepeoplewithdifferentculturalbackgroundunderstandforeignculture.Asthedevelopmentofsociety,thetrendoffilmimportingandexportingisunavoidableduetotheglobalism.

SincethepolicyofreformandopeningcarriedoutinChinaattheendof1970s,anincreasingamountofEnglishfilmshaveenteredChinesemarketandtheChinesefilmindustryhasdevelopedinthemeantime.Bothsidesneedtosharethemarketandspreadcultureofeachother.Therefore,itiscurialtobeacceptedbytheaudiencefromotherculturalbackground.Undoubtedly,filmtitletranslationisanimportantsegmentconcerted,whichisfarfrombeingexplored.Filmtitlemusterstheessenceofthefilmwholly,andinsomesense,asuccessfulfilmtitleshouldbetheonethatcanattractpeopletothecinema.Agoodtranslatorshouldtranslatethefilmtitleinthebaseofthecontextualadaptation,whichreflectstheculturesurroundingsofaudiencesuchassocietycurrentsituation,religionandhistory.Thoseobjectivefactorsareindirectcontactwithacceptanceandcomprehensionofaudience.Actually,itishightimethatfilmtitletranslationshouldpaymoreattentiontothecontextualadaptationfield.ThispapermakesatentativestudyofChineseandEnglishfilmtitletranslationwithanattempttoformulatesomepracticaltheoriesandmethodstoexplorefilmtitletranslation.

Thefilmtitlemusterstheessenceofthefilmwholly,andinsomesense,asuccessfulfilmtitleshouldbetheonethatcanattractpeopletothecinemaandthatshouldbecomeagreatbox-officehit.

Theintenserivalryofbigfilmcompaniesimpelsallfilminvestorstopaycarefulattentiontotheinternationalmarket.However,filmtitletranslationisaprocesstomasterthepsychologyandacceptanceofforeignaudiences.Namely,thisprocessisacruelsegmenttoenterinternationalmarket.Theaimoftranslatingfilmtitleistoinherit,thatistosay,thetranslatorshouldapplyaudience-orientedtranslationskillsonthebaseofreferringtofilmcontentinordertoenterintothemarketsuccessfully.Theaimoffilmtitletranslationlaythepositionofdisseminatingfilm.Translationisnotjusttheprocessoflanguagetransferring,butthesocietyphenomenonofcultureexchange.[1]Thegreatmissionoffilmtitletranslationistoincarnatetheculturevalueanddeveloptheunderstandingbetweendifferentcountries.

Beingaspecialandsignificantpartoftranslation,filmtitletranslationhasbeenpilotedfrommanyaspects,suchastheangleofreceptionaesthetics,theperspectiveofskopostheorieandculturalperspective.Agreatportionofscholarskeeptheireyesonreceptionaestheticswhichhasoftenbeentakenasthetheoreticalbackgroundtoanalyzefilmtitletranslation.Basedonthosetheories,typicalmodelsareestablishedaimingatprovidingthetheoreticalframeworktoguidefilmtitletranslation.Thosefruitfulresearchcontributealottothework.However,tillnownotasingletheoryortheoreticalframehasbeensetuptoguidethefilmtitletranslation,whichisfarfrombeingexploredinthepastyears.

Contextualadaptation,anewlydevelopedfieldinChina,isadoptedasthetheoreticalbackgroundofthispaperandanaudience-orientedEnglishandChinesefilmtitletranslationapproachishighlyadvocated.ThereceptionprocessisakindofContextualadaptation,andthecontextualadaptationsignificanceofaliteraryworkcannotbefullyrealizedwithoutthereader’sreception.Contextualadaptationprovidesuswithanewperspectiveoftherelationshipbetweenfilmandaudience.Exploringthesources,typesandstylesoffilmtitle,thispaperclaimsthattranslatingfilmtitleisonthebaseoffour-foundationrule:informationvalueprinciple,culturevalueprinciple,aestheticappreciationprincipleandbusinessvalueprinciple.Accordingly,thispaperputforwardthreebasictranslatingmethodswiththeguidanceofcontextualadaptation,whichareliteraltranslation,transliterateandadaptation.Thenthepaperwillraisethosetranslatingapproacheswithrichexamplestoelaboratetheimportanceandthewayofapplyingcontextualadaptation.

Contextualadaptationservesasthetheoreticalbaseofthispaperduetoitsapparentapplicabilityofthisnewlydevelopedfield,whichistestifiedasguidingprinciples.Convincingexamplesandpropermethodshavebeengiven.ChapterOnegivestheimportanceintroductionoffilmtitletranslation,fromtheangleofsocialdevelopmentandtheangleoftheaimoftitletranslation.ChapterTwosatesthedefinition,contentandimportanceofcontextualadaptation.ChapterThreestudiestheapplicationofthecontextualadaptationinfilmtitletranslation,whichincludesfour-foundationruleandthreebasictranslatingmethodswithtypicalexamplesoffilmtitletranslation.

2MainFactorsInTheTranslationOfFilmTitle

Thetranslatorshouldbearinmindthattherearesomemainfactorsinthetranslationoffilmtitle.AestheticPrinciple,Ideology,ThemeandStyleoffilmarethemainpointsthatneedcarefulconsiderationintheprocessoffilmtitletranslation.Then,inthischapter,thekeyfactorsoffilmtitletranslationwillbeanalyzedaccordingtorichexamples.

2.1AestheticPrincipleAndTheTranslationOfFilmTitle

Chineseaestheticsemphasizesthebalanceverymuch,particularlyinusingtheorganizationalstructureofthelanguagelikeaparallelsymmetry.Therefore,Four-characterphraseologyiscommonlyusedinChinesefilmtitlesandthetranslatedtitlesofforeign,suchtranslatedtitlesas盧浮魅影,生死時(shí)速,完美風(fēng)暴,一往無(wú)前,永不妥協(xié),天使之城,擇日而亡,霹靂嬌娃,狼犬丹尼,冰河世紀(jì),etc.

Westerners'aestheticconceptsisputtingmoreemphasisonanalysisandpayingmoreattentiontolocalandindividualandadvocatingconcisenesswhichisreflectonthefilmtitlesdirectly.Substantialfactorsaffectingthedevelopmentofthefilmplot(suchaspeople,objects,things,location,etc.)orasingletermareusedasafilmtitleuniversally,likethenet,Saw,thepiano,Congo,ghost,thecar,coldmountain,KingKong,etc.SonowmanyChinesefilms,accordingtotheappreciatingcustomandpsychology,adoptthetranslatedtitlesasbriefaswesternfilms’,suchas決戰(zhàn)紫禁之顛intotheDual;Jetlee’slatestfilm霍元甲withthenameFearless;ChenKaige’sblockbuster無(wú)極withitstranslatedtitlethePromise;看上去很美withtheLittleRedFlower,etc.

2.2IdeologyAndTheTranslationOfFilmTitle

TheconceptofideologyhasbeenbroadeninganditsintroductiontoTranslationStudieshasenabledresearcherstoprobeintosometranslationalphenomena,whichmighthavebeenneglectedotherwise.Theideologicalmanipulationintranslationcouldreferto"anyinterferencewiththetextisitcultural,religious,politicalorotherwise,imposingmodificationsthatarenottextualconstraints,forthepurposeofindoctrination".[2]

Asgrowingandlivinginthedifferentsocialsystem,theideologyofChinesepeopleandwesternersarequitedifferentevendifferentbetweenHongKong,Taiwanandchinamainland.thetitleofChinesefilm紅色戀人audienceknowclearlyitisabouttheloveoftheCommunistinhardyears.Butinwesterners’mind,ononehand,theymaynotunderstandredloverindicateacoupleofCommunistlover,ontheotherhand,eveniftheyknowthetindicativemeaningoftheredinchina,theydonotidentifywithCommunistatall.SoitisagoodchoicetoadoptcreativetranslationwiththefilmEnglishtitleatimetoremember.

2.3ThemeAndStyleOfTheFilm

Usuallythethemeandstyleofthefilmisrelatedtothefilmtitlescheekbyjowl.Naturallyitiscloselyrelatedtothetranslationofthefilmtitlesaswell.Agoodtranslatedtitleshouldreflectthemainideaofthefilmproper,wellandtruly,whichembodythethemeandgiveprominencetothestyleofthefilm.

Toclassifythe63filmsaccordingtoitsthemeasfollows:typeFilmTranslatedtitleEthicalFilms

Americanbeauty美國(guó)美人Rainman雨人Monster女魔頭ForrestGump阿甘正傳活著ToliveCampusLifeFilmCoachCarter鐵血教練Mr.Holland'sOpus春風(fēng)化雨AmericanPie美國(guó)派10ThingsIHateAboutYou對(duì)面惡女看過來(lái)WarFilmsApocalypseNow現(xiàn)代啟示錄EnemyattheGates兵臨城下AllQuietontheWesternFront

西線無(wú)戰(zhàn)事HotelRwanda盧旺達(dá)飯店SavingPrivateRyan拯救大兵瑞恩Legend-BasedFilmsCleopatra埃及艷后Alexander亞歷山大大帝Troy特洛伊KingArthur亞瑟王TheAviator飛行者WesternfilmDanceswithWolves與狼共舞Unforgiven不可饒恕ToKillaMockingbird殺死一只知更鳥OnceuponatimeinAmerican義薄云天

RomanceNottingHill諾丁山開往春天的地鐵SpringsubwayAreWeThereYet?小鬼上路TheBreakUp同床異夢(mèng)JustMyLuck倒霉愛神情迷大話王Everydayisvalentines大城小事LeavingMe,LovingYouPoliticalFilms

Schindler'sList辛德勒的名單JFK刺殺肯尼迪Goodnight,goodluck晚安,好運(yùn)生死抉擇Fataldecision

CartoonfilmsMonsters,Inc.怪物公司

Robots機(jī)器人總動(dòng)員

Chickenrun小雞快跑

PeterPan小飛俠

Sci-FiFilmsJurassicPark侏羅紀(jì)公園

Artificialintelligent人工智能

theIsland逃出克隆島

serenity沖出寧?kù)o號(hào)

Stealth絕密飛行

ThrillerfilmTheOthers小島驚魂

SilentHill寂靜嶺

Halloween月光光心慌慌

FinalDestination死神來(lái)了

TheSilenceoftheLambs沉默的羔羊

MusicalfilmTheRedShoes紅菱艷

Chicago芝加哥

MoulinRouge夢(mèng)斷花都

如果·愛Perhapslove

MarilynHotchkiss'BallroomDancingandCharmSchool舞動(dòng)心方向

ActionfilmRushhour尖峰時(shí)刻

Cliffhanger絕嶺雄風(fēng)

霍元甲fearless

DusttoGlory車舞狂沙

喋血雙雄TheKiller

縱橫四海OnceaThief

DocumentaryfilmRize瑞茲

TheYearoftheYao挑戰(zhàn)者姚明

Fahrenheit9/11華氏911

DeepSea3D深海大進(jìn)擊/深深的海Wecanseethefilmtitlesofdifferenttypesabovewithdifferentcharacteristics,Documentaryfilmisthetrackrecordoftruelifeandaffairsintheworld,soitstranslatedtitleneedbriefanddirectwithoutanyexaggerationormorespecialtranslatingtechniques.Ethicalfilmsusuallyhaveprofoundsocialmeaningsandethicalthinking,whichhaveseriousandelevatedtopicsintrulysense.Sothetranslatedtitlesofethicalfilmdonotneedtobeaddedsomeelementsintranslating,astheprimaryfilmnamehasbeenthebestsummaryofthefilm.Astothelegend-basedfilms,warfilmsandpoliticalfilm,theyarealladaptedfromthetruehistoryinalargelyscale,thereforeweadvocatedtheliteraltranslationandweneedthetrueandimpersonalfilmtitlenomatteraftertranslationornot.

Finally,titletranslationoftheotherkindsoffilmhasavastroomtobringtechniquesandimaginationsintoplay.Thriller’titlesaretocreatethrilleratmospheresothatabundantChinesecharacterandthrillerculturalelementcouldbeusedintranslation.Romance’stranslatedtitlesshouldbewarm,cozy,romanticandespeciallycharmingtofemaleaudiencesandamatoryaudiences.Sci-Fifilmstitlesshouldhavefantasticandillusorycolorwithsomepressure,givingtheimaginativeroomforaudience.Cartoonfilm’titlesshouldbecute,dramatic,simple-wordandnew-mindedsoastoattractbothchildrenandgrown-up.

3ContextualAdaptation

Asdiscussedabove,whetherthefilmtitlecanbeappreciatedbytargetaudienceinvolvesmanyaspectsofhumanlife,suchas,politics,economy,history,allofwhichareincludedinmacroscopiccontext.Sotoattractthetargetaudienceistoadapttheircontext.Inthischapter,theauthorintroducesthedefinitionandcontentofcontextualadaptationandmakesastudyoffilmtitletranslationonthisbaseduetoitsapparentapplicabilityofthisnewlydevelopeddiscipline.Accordingtothecontextualadaptation,anewvisualangletoanalyzetargettitlecanberaised.

3.1TheDefinition&ContentOfContextualAdaptation

Thecontextualadaptationisintherangeofcontext,whichnotionisessentialtothepragmaticstudyoflanguage.[3]Thecontextisdividedintotwoportions,whicharemacroscopiccontextandmicrocosmiccontext.

Themacroscopiccontextmeanssocialculturalappearance,whichinvolveseveryaspectofhumanlife.[4]Incontrast,therangeofmicrocosmiccontextisnarrow.Weconsideritastheconcreteenvironmentsharedbythespeakerandhearer.Accurately,thecontextualadaptationisintherangeofmacroscopiccontext.Thereisalonghistorytoexplorecontextualadaptationabroad,whichiscomposedofmicrocosmiccontextualadaptationandmacroscopiccontextualadaptation.Themacroscopiccontextualadaptationmeanstheprocessoflanguageadaptationtospecificsurrounding,whichisanalyzedintheaspectofthesocietyandculture.[4]Socialsurroundingsrestrictsusinglanguage,whicharethefoundationoflanguagedevelopmentandthemostcomplicatedfactorsincontext.Thesocialsurroundingsincludepolitics,economy,religion,history,etc.Differentnationshavetheirowncultureduetothespecificsocialsurroundings,whichdifferfromthatofothernations.Becauseoftheculturerelativeindependence,thereisanunderstandinggapbetweennativeandforeignculture.Tobuildabridgeoverthegapisanarduousmissionfortranslator.Themicrocosmiccontextualadaptationreferstotheuseofsentenceaswhatpeopleactuallyutterinthecourseofcommunication.Actually,themacroscopiccontextualadaptationisadoptedasthetheoreticalbackgroundofthispaper.

3.2ImportanceOfContextualAdaptationOnTranslation

Traditionally,peopleconsidertranslationas“faithfulness”.Translatorshavelaidgreatemphasisonbothsourcetextandtargettext,onfaithfullyreproducingtheoriginalfirstintermsofmeaningandsecondintermsofstyle.[5]Nevertheless,ProfessorWuJunexploredthestudyofmediumandconsideredthetranslationas“theessenceoftranslationisthetransmitofinformation,thatiscommunication”[6]Itcallsourattentiontothetransferenceoftheeffortsfromthetexttothereceptionofthepotentialreader.Asanewvoiceoutofcontext,contextualadaptationushersinfreshairtolocaltranslationstudies.Translatorcanbecomethebridgebetweendifferentlanguagesundertheprerequisiteofcontextualadaptation.Namely,contextualadaptationisthefoundationofcultureexchangeandunderstanding.

3.3ImportanceOfContextualAdaptationOnFilmTitleTranslation

Asapopularart,filmistingedwithafilmofcommercialization.Whenthefilmentersintotargetmarket,thefirstimpressionforaudienceisfilmtitle.Understandingfilmcontentisveryimportant,butweshouldtakecontextualadaptationonthetopofthelist.Contextualadaptationprovidesuswithanewperspectiveoftherelationshipbetweenfilmandaudience.Differentnationshavedifferenttraditionalculturesandvaluepreferences,lettingalongthedistinctionofwesternandeasternculture.Throughcomprehendingcontextualadaptationtofindtheappropriateapproach,thedeviationofunderstandingwillbeavoided.Thereareplentyofwonderfultargetnamesinfilmdomain.Thosesuccessfulcasesstatetheimportanceofcombinationoffilmcontentandcontextualadaptationduringtranslation.

4TheApplicationOfContextualAdaptationInFilmTitleTranslation

Asstatedpreviously,togainatoeholdintheinternationalmarket,theoverseasanddomesticfilmcompaniesarebumpingupeffortstoputforwardtheirfilmtotargetaudiences.Obviously,contextualadaptationiscurialinthefilmtitletranslation.Itisthecontextualadaptationthatendowsthetitlewithuniquenessthatpleasesthesensesandprovidedaudienceenjoyment.Inthischapter,thestrategiesoffilmtitletranslationwillbeanalyzedaccordingtothefundamentalsofcontextualadaptation.

4.1RealizationOfFourBasicPrinciples

Intheprocessoffilmtitletranslation,translatorshouldpersistinfourbasicPrinciplesfortheproposetomaketheeffectofcultureexchange.Thefourbasicpointsaretheinformativevalue,theculturalvalue,theaestheticvalueandthecommercialvalue.Thosepointsaretheconcretecenterpiecesinexploringcontextualadaptationfromtheorytopractice.Accordingtothestandardofcontextualadaptation,therearethreeaudience-orientedtitletranslationskills：literaltranslation,transliterateandadaptation.

4.2TheFeasibilityOfContextualAdaptationInFilmTitleTranslation

Asthenewlydevelopedfiled,contextualadaptationcanbetheguidanceoftheaudience-orientedtranslationskillsinfilmtitletranslation.Translatorcanregardthecontextualadaptationasthecriteriontojudgethetargettitlewhetheritissuccessfulornot.Therestrictionandextensionoffilmtitletranslationinperspectiveofcontextualadaptationwillberaisedwithtypicalexamplesasfollows.

4.2.1RestrictionOfFilmTitleTranslationInPerspectiveOfContextualAdaptationFilmtitletranslationisrestrictedseriouslybycontextualadaptationduetothedistinctiveculturalbackground.Thoseobjectivefactorstakethesurroundingsofaudiencesintotranslator’sconsiderationinordertoinheritessenceoftheoriginaltitle.

Asamatteroffact,manyEnglishfilmsandChinesefilmsarefulloflegendarycontentsthat’llthrillaudiencesworldwide,buttheirtargettitlesareterrible.TakethefamousChinesefilm《霸王別姬》forexample,whichwaspremieredattheCannesfestival.ThefilmtellsthevagrantlifeofartistofBeijingoperaunderthebackgroundofCulturalRevolution.Beijingopera《霸王別姬》isthecorepointofwholefilmwhichisfullofcontradictionssecrets,loveandChinesesentimentthatattractforeignaudiencesdeeply.Moreover,thelifeoftwoheroesarecombinedwithBeijingopera《霸王別姬》.Unfortunately,thetitleofthisexcellentfilmistranslatedintoFarewellMyConcubine.Obviously,thetranslatorappliesadaptationsand

hopestousesuccinctwordstooutlinethecomplicatedstory,becauseforeignaudiencecannotfullyunderstandthemeaningoftheoperaname.However,hedoesnotdevelophisdynamicinitiativetothefullnormakessomeadaptationsonthebasisofthecontentofthefilm.TheEnglishtitleFarewellMyConcubinehasnothingtodowiththecontentofthefilm.Whereas,agoodtranslationoffilmtitleentailsathoroughunderstandingofthestory.Thetranslatednamecannotbearthedignifiedculturecontentofthefilm,inforeignaudience’sviewitisonlyacommonfilmaboutentanglementamongfamilymembers.

IntheE-Cfilmtitletranslation,anotherlivelyexampleisAmericanblackcomedyAmericanBeauty,whichownedOscarin1999.AmericanpeopleconsiderAmericanBeautyasoneofthebestfilmsof1999.Itsfreshnessandinnovationofusingthecinema'smostpowerfultool,namelytheusageofvisualimages,makeitauniqueandtrulywonderfulfilmgoingexperience.AmericanBeautyisameticulouslywrittentapestryofthelivesoftwofamilieslivingsidebysideinasuburbanneighborhoodinanywhere,USA.Thestoryreferstotheserioussocietyphenomenon-middleagecrisisintheStates.Buttranslatorappliesliteraltranslationtorenderthetitleinto《美國(guó)美人》inChinamainland.Handledinthisway,audiencewouldbeatlosstowhatisgoingoninthisfilmandconsideritasafemalefilm.《美國(guó)美人》willmisleadtheChineseaudienceanddistorttheoriginalbecauseChineselackthelivingbackgroundintheU.S.Infact,AmericanBeautyisthenameofacommonredroseintheStates.Thecolorofthatflowerisscarletwhichsymbolizeshumandesireinthebottomofheart.Forthis,Americanaudiencecanunderstandquickly.Incontrast,Chineseaudiencescannotcatchtheideaofidioms,popularwordsandslangwhentheycomeintocontactwiththosewordsinfilmtitle.Therefore,《美國(guó)美人》can’treflectanyinformationaboutleadingcharacterfromthevisualangleofChineseaudience.Frommypointofview,anotherversion《美國(guó)心玫瑰情》inTaiwanprovinceismuchbetter.Actuallythesecondversioncarriesmoreprofoundthematicmeaningthanthefirstone.

Asmentionedabove,thecontextualadaptationisnecessaryintheprocessoftranslatingfilmtitle.Thetranslators,asreceptionsubjects,theycanapplythetheorytoavoidtheerrorintranslation.Filmtitlefunctionsasthedirectchanneltocallupontheaudiencetoseethefilm.Ifthesignificanceofanartformcannotbefullyrealizedwiththepresenceofitsreceptors,thetranslatednameisunsuccessful.[7]Howarethetranslationskillsandcontextualadaptationcombined?Firstofall,translatorshouldfullyunderstandthefilmcontent,becausethetitleirrelevanttothestoryoffilmispointless.Tobefaithful,thefilmitselfiscurtailtotranslatefilmtitle.Furthermore,translatorshouldrefertotheoriginalnameandanalyzethepossibilityofit,strivingfortheunitybetweentitleandcontent.Thelastbutnotleast,translatorneedstoanalyzetheculturalbackgroundoftargetaudienceastoapplyappropriatetranslationskills.Undoubtedly,therealizationofculturevalueliesinfullunderstandingandtransmittingtheculturalinformationandemotioncarriedbytheoriginaltitles,avoidingmisunderstandingsandmisinterpretations.Aftergettingthesethreepointsoftranslation,translatorcanhandlethecomprehensionproblemeasierthanbefore.

4.2.2ExtensionOfFilmTitleTranslationInPerspectiveOfContextualAdaptation

Ifthefilmtitlegripstheattentionoftheaudiencesattheirfirstsight,itwillcontributetothesuccessofafilmandhasasayinboxoffice.Wecanseemanyexcellenttargetnamesinthefilmmarket.Forinstance,AmericanfilmSeven,whichispopularwithChineseaudiences.Thefilmbeginswiththeoverusedpremiseofayoungcopbeingteamedforamurderinvestigationwithaveteranonthevergeofretirement.Theirinvestigationofabizarremurder,inwhichaserialkillerwhousesthesevendeadlysins---gluttony,greed,sloth,pride,lust,envyandwrath---ashiscallingcardandturnsintoahuntfordifferentpeople.Alloccurrencesofdecisiveaffairshavethedirectconnectwithseven,whichisthekeywordofthisfilm.Asweallknow,TheUnitedStatesisareligiousnation,greatlypartofAmericanaudiencesallacquaintwiththeoriginalsinconcept.However,iftranslatordon’tconsiderthe

culturalbackgroundofChineseandapplyliteraltranslationtotranslatethetitleinto《七》,Chineseaudiencesmayfeelconfused.ThenumbersevencannotleadChinesehavecorrectassociationaboutthefilm.Moreover,Chineseaudienceslackthereligionbackground.ThereisnotheimpliedmeaningoforiginalsinintheChineseBuddhism.Itisobviousthatthecontextualadaptationrestrictstheunderstandingofthisfilmtitle.Therefore,translatorappliesadaptationtoflexiblyrenderitinto《七宗罪》，whichnotonlyshedslightonthemessageofthefilm,butalsosetsthereligionbackground.Thesecondversioniscombinedtightlywiththestory,butnotbeagainstChineseculturalbackground.Thosefactorsareusefulforthefilmtransmittinginthetargetmarket.

Equally,theChinesefilmcanalsomakeuseofthecontextualadaptationtheoryandtakeareasonablemethodtotranslatefilmtitleinordertobeatintoaninternationalmarket.Take《我的父親母親》forexample,afteranalyzingtheculturalbackgroundofforeignaudience,translatorapplyadaptationtorenderthetitleintoTheRoadHomeinsteadofMyFatherandMother.IfitwasliterallytranslatedintoMyFatherandMotherwiththeguidanceoffunctionalequivalence,theversionwouldbetoomildandrealistic.Traditionally,theimpressionofChinesevillageisplainandinsipidtoChineseaudiences,andtheymayinsistthatthelovebetweenyoungteacherandpettygirlinvillageshouldbepureandsimple.However,theChinesevillageismysteriousandcomfortableinforeignaudiences’mind.TheconceptsaboutChinesevillagearetotaldifferent