Analyzing Different Editions On English—Chinese Movie Title

楊歡

【Abstract】Nowadays， with the continuous rapid strengthening of Sino-foreign cultural exchange， foreign movies， as one of the most effective ways of cultural transmission， were widely import into China. Movie translation plays a more and more important role in translation field. As is well known， movie title is the key factor for audiences to understand the movies content. In this paper， by comparing and analyzing the three regions （including the regions of the mainland， Hong Kong and Taiwan） different translated editions on the same English movie title， it reveals the different characteristic in the three regions， and the cause of this situation.

【Key words】movie； title； translation； edition； different

Introduction

With the success of Chinas policy of reformation and opening， economic development and cultural exchange between China and western developed countries， more and more English movies are import into China and onto the big screen. A good translated edition on English movie title can draw the eyes of people at the first time. Whats more， it also has promoted function to the movie itself. So translation of the movie title is a creative work. It requires translators not only to be loyal to the original text， but also to convey the theme of the movie.

In China， there are three major translated editions：the mainlands， Hong Kongs and Taiwans. Because of the different social background， language habits and ideology， it can appear different translated editions itself. Whats more， as the economic and cultural exchange are closed increasingly， the different editions are influenced mutually.

Chapter Ⅰ

Comparing the Characteristic of Different Editions on English-Chinese Movie Title

1.1 The Mainlands Characteristic

In the mainland， the translation of English movie title is not only as a way of cultural exchange， but also as an important way of educational communication which influences the national values. Therefore， the mainland edition is relatively formal. Yan Fu once put forward that the standards of translation should be “the standard of faithfulness， the standard of expressiveness and the standard of elegance”. The standard of faithfulness requires the translators translate the original text loyally. Most of China mainland translators respect this standard. This is the most important characteristic in the mainland translation. For examples， the Oscar winning movie The Kings Speech. The mainland translators translate it into 《國王的演講》. Hong Kong edition is 《皇上無話兒》， and the Taiwans is 《王者之聲：宣戰時刻》. China mainland edition is more faithful.endprint

1.2 Hong Kongs Characteristic

As is well known， Hong Kong experienced a hundred years of colonial rule. In Hong Kong， the western and eastern culture conflict with each other and blend with each other. As Guo Moruo said “ Translation is a kind of innovative work， and good translation is equal to innovation， sometimes it can excess the innovation”. Hong Kongs local movie industry is a highly commercial. So Hong Kongs characteristic of translation trends to be more vivid and absorbing. The main characteristic is free translation in order to drawing public eyes and catering to public taste. For example the movie Toy Story， Hong Kong translators translate it into 《反斗奇兵》 （ the mainland edition is 《玩具總動員》）. Hong Kong edition often use the words “love， fire， blood and death”， it also appears the words “violence”， “wildness” and “ghost”. Such as the movie Hereafter， Hong Kong translators translate it into 《通靈感應》（ the mainland edition is 《從今以后》）.

1.3 Taiwans Characteristic

Some Taiwan translations are influenced by Chinas traditional culture and Hong Kong editions. The translation is not copying the original forms and contents. It often pays more attention on elegant style of language. The characteristic of Taiwans is more free and flexible. Some Taiwans editions are filled with strong romanticism and artistic literature， and filled with the words which can draw the eyes of audiences. But a lot of Taiwan editions keep the traditional language style of China mainland. It usually uses four-word idioms and proverbs. We can see this characteristic from the following examples：The Fast and the Furious， translate into《玩命關頭》. And Oceans Eleven， translate into《瞞天過海》.

Chapter Ⅱ

Analyzing the Different Reasons and their Influence of Different Editions on English-Chinese Movie title

2.1 The Reason of Social Background and its Influence

After 1949， China mainland changed enormously in all aspects of social life. The mainland implements the socialist public ownership system. In the aspect of ideology， the mainland is putting Marxism-Leninism and communism as the guidance. Influenced by the social background and the traditional culture， many translators like using literal translation， and the mainland translators are more cautious and careful. Such as the movie Despicable Me， China mainland translators translate it into 《卑鄙的我》（Hong Kong edition is 《壞蛋獎門人》， and Taiwans is 《神偷奶爸》）.

Hong Kong was dominated by Britain more than one hundred years from 1842. Now she has become an international commercial city. Under that background， Hong Kongs culture has become a consumptive one， and Hong Kong edition more focus on the movies commercial value， and the translation of movie title trends to be cater to the taste of public. So many Hong Kong editions use sensational words. Such as the movie Up， Hong Kong translators translate it into 《沖天救兵》.endprint