以《老友记》为例浅析影视字幕翻译技巧

以《老友记》为例浅析影视字幕翻译技巧
1.introduction
the aim of the thesis is to focus on the highly professional area of subtitle translation for friends. the functional equivalence theory is adopted into the research. what’s more，relevant strategies and methods will be discussed in subtitle translation of the sitcom friends.
2.functional equivalence and subtitle translation equivalence means a word or phrase that exactly equivalent to the same content in the original.
first， languages differ greatly from one to another. however， different languages have a lot of common features which make functional equivalence translation possible in subtitle translation.
second， the most difficult problem in translation is not linguistic difference but cultural difference.
therefore， in order to achieve functional equivalence，it is necessary to understand both cultures and find the most effective expression.
3.translation skills implemented in subtitles of the sitcom friends
in this chapter， we will discuss translation skills of
friends by the principle of functional equivalence.
the tv series friends is a sitcom about six friends living together. the dialogues are sarcastic， ironical and mostly humorous.
3.1 time and space constraints to subtitle translation skills
we have to admit that all translation is necessarily constrained， but audiovisual translation is constrained in a more intricate and complex way.
in this chapter， three main methods will be discussed. they are condensation， and reduction.
3.1.1 condensation
condensation refers to keep both meaning and most stylistic feature of subtitles（李运兴，2001）. in order to enhance coherence， translators must leave out some redundancies. monica： wow， isn’t it ironic that david would show up on the same day that you and mike exchange keys？
phoebe： yeah...you know. and given my life long search for irony， you can imagine how happy i am.
（season 9*06）
莫尼卡：大卫出现在你跟麦克交换钥匙的同一天…这真是很讽刺啊！
菲比：是啊，我天生就爱讽刺，这下舒服了。

david is phoebe’s ex-boyfriend， but he went to russia for his research. now she’s dating mike and really likes him. they have exchanged apartment keys. however， david’s sudden appearance stirs phoebe and she lies that she has no boyfriend. the audience can get phoebe’s feeling from the condensed translation.
3.1.2 reductive paraphrasing
li yunxing believed that reductive paraphrasing refers to paraphrasing original script with ranslator’s own words（李运兴，2001）. this strategy is characterized by using brief expressions and a reduction in content.
rachel： i was just going to say that i left my keys. ross： oh， holy moly， are we in a pickle now.
（season 9*05）
瑞秋：我正要说我把钥匙放在房里了。

罗斯：老天啊，这下可惨了。

here ross shows his fear and regret. the translation is shorter and easier to understand than“我们现在在腌菜坛里了”.the target audience can easily get the point and feel both sorry and funny.
3.2 cultural constraints to subtitle translation skills
in friends， the audience is often immersed in the foreign culture. we are going to discuss the translation of them.
3.2.1 translation of culture-specific words
translators should try their best to find a most natural and closest counterpart of the original script to realize the functional equivalence.
ross： unbelievable， my classmates are gonna think i’m dead， my professor， my…..my parents are goons get phone calls. you’re messing with people’s feeling here. chandler： you wanna talk about people’s feeling？ you should hvve heard how hurt professor stern was yesterday when i told him i wouldn’t be able to go with him to key west！a：钱德勒：还跟我谈感受？你该去听听昨天斯特恩教授有多伤心，只因为我拒绝陪他去“西礁”（同性恋天堂）。

b：钱德勒：你要谈大家的情感是吗？你要知道当我告诉斯特恩教授不能跟他去度假时，他有多受伤！
version a translates the place“西礁”with some additional paraphrase in the bracket， which is literal translation and conveys the original cultural color. it shows the gay culture in america. in version b the translator omits the name of the vacation place. the cultural information is somewhat lost and the audience doesn’t know the exact meaning of key west. so
version a is clearer to demonstrate the core of the dialogue.
3.2.2 translation of wordplay
it is always with great difficulty for translators to deal with wordplay or pun.
mike： you ready to go？
phoebe： yeah， you bet roomy！
monica： don’t you mean groomy？
（season 9* 16）
麦克：准备走了吗？
菲比：当然了，室友！
莫尼卡：你是说…新郎官吧？
in the original script， the wordplay lies in the rhyme of words “roomy” and “groomy”. monica says groomy to indicate phoebe and mike’s moving together may lead them to the red carpet. as for the native audience， they feel funny about the use of wordplay in english. the target audience can hear the similar sound， but is impossible to understand its real meaning.
4.conclusion
the thesis adopts the theory of functional equivalence as the theoretical basis in subtitle translation.
i hope more attention would be paid to this field， and
better subtitles would satisfy our audiences.。