Which advertisements embody relevance and shock? A brief discussion on relevance and convergence in film and television translation

[Abstract] Since the reform and opening up, cultural exchanges between China and the West have become increasingly frequent. As an important part of Chinese and Western film culture, it has attracted more and more attention from people, and people have also put forward higher and higher requirements for the quality of film and television translation. Film and television translators should pay attention to the two main characteristics of film and television translation when translating: relevance and convergence. Film and television translation should organically combine the two. Translators should try to show the best relevance of Western film and television languages ??and choose appropriate translations to make them converge to the original text to the greatest extent. This article mainly studies these two characteristics of film and television translation to explore the best film and television translation.

[Keywords] film and television translation; relevance; convergence

Due to the improvement of material and spiritual living standards, people have higher requirements for the quality of film and television translation. As a mass media, film and television works are aimed at a broad audience of different ages, different cultural levels, and different professions. Therefore, how to meet the requirements of all audiences poses a severe challenge to Chinese film and television translators.

1. Linguistic Characteristics of Film and Television Translation

Film and television language has its own unique rules and distinctive characteristics. It is different from the language of other literary works, such as novels and prose. The author believes that film and television language mainly has four characteristics: coherence, popularity, simplicity and accuracy.

(1) The coherence of film and television language

Looking at it alone, film and television language seems to have no coherence. The language is intermittent and has great jumps. But as long as the language and the picture are combined, we can It is not difficult to see its coherence and logic. Such as a line in the movie "The Lion King":

Zazu: Think about it! Whenever he gets dirty, you can give him a good beating.

Rafiki: Hmm hmm hmm...hehehehehe...Simba.

Simba: Dad! Dad! Come on! Dad! We have to go! Wake up!

A certain lioness: Oh!

Simba: Sorry!...Oh!

When I break down this part of the language, I feel that there is no connection. But combined with the pictures and the vivid characters, the audience can recognize the coherence and logic of these languages, thereby following the development of the plot and clearly understanding the inner activities of each character.

(2) Popularity of film and television language

Film and television works have a broad audience, and the audience comes from all walks of life and all social classes. Therefore, in order to satisfy all audiences, most film and television languages ??must use colloquial language that is easy to understand. If the film and television language is obscure, too written and formal, the audience will not be able to obtain a good visual and auditory effect when watching. For example, some lines in the movie Forrest Gump: "Stupid is as stupid does. Stupid people do stupid things." and "Miracles happen every day. Miracles happen every day." These words are easy to understand. , easy to be accepted by the audience.

(3) Simplicity of film and television language

As unique works of art, film and television language must be concise and to the point, allowing the audience to receive the most important information in the shortest time. The time and space saved must be expressed in film and television images and sound effects, allowing the audience to recall the plot and expand their imagination in a limited time. For example, Jack said a classic line to Rose in the movie "Titanic": "You jump! I jump!" translated as "You jump! I jump too!" is not only straightforward, but also powerfully expresses the hero's determination and romance. It can also make the audience remember this line deeply and spread it widely, making it a classic.

(4) Accuracy of film and television language

Film and television works serve the audience, and every line in them must withstand the test of the audience. This places high demands on the accuracy of film and television language.

For example, in the movie "Gone with the Wind", there is a line "I think it's hard winning a war with words. I think talking about war on paper is of no use." "The usage must be accurate so that the rigor of the film is recognized by the audience.

2. Relevance in Film and Television Translation

Dan Sperber and Deidre Wilson systematically proposed the Relevance Theory in the book "Relevance: Communication and Cognition". According to the principle of relevance theory, film and television translators should strive to find the best correlation from the source language of film and television works, and then convey this correlation to the film and television audience in accurate translation, so that the audience can watch the movie smoothly.

Film and television translation essentially consists of two types of communicative activities: on the one hand, the communicative activities between film and television translators and the authors of the source language of the film and television works; on the other hand, between film and television translators and film and television translators Communicative activities among audiences. The ultimate goal of communication activities should be to accurately convey the meaning of both parties, and the language used in communication activities should be concise and clear. Therefore, film and television translators should use all aspects of knowledge to deduce the best relevance of the source language based on a comprehensive understanding of the content of the film and television works, accurately understand the original work, and then use the most concise language to translate the meaning of the original work to convey it to the audience. Audience, allowing the audience to receive the most effective and accurate information in the shortest time in the cinema, and fully enjoy the fun brought by different film cultures.

For example, there is a line in the movie "Kung Fu Panda": "One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it." The translator translated it as: "If you want to avoid it, you will meet it instead." "This translation is based on an ancient saying. It is concise and concise, appropriate to the context of the speech, and is also consistent with the antique scene where Kung Fu Panda learns his skills in the entire movie. Moreover, the audience can easily accept this short translation. While understanding the lines, they can also learn a useful ancient saying, killing two birds with one stone. As for another line in the movie: "Enough talk. Let's fight!" the translator translated it as: "Enough talk. Let's fight!" This translation perfectly set off the atmosphere at the time, making the audience feel like they were there. It feels like this, and I can't wait to transform into the protagonist and fight fiercely. According to the correlational translation theory, abbreviation or omission is necessary, and this is also in line with the simplicity of film and television language, allowing the audience to enjoy the movie easily. And it turns out that the shorter the lines, the better they are remembered and circulated by the audience.

Another example is a line from the movie Sleepless in Seattle: "Your destiny can be your doom." The two words "destiny" and "doom" in this sentence are both It means "fate". If it is directly translated as "your destiny will be your destiny.", the audience will find it difficult to understand. At this time, the translator should look for the correct correlation from the source language context, correctly understand the speaker's intention, and use an appropriate translation to express: "Fate may become bad luck." This translation can accurately express what is said The author's true intention in the context at that time, so that the audience can clearly understand the content of the film.

Another example is that some English words have many meanings, and the literal meaning seen by the translator may not be the correct interpretation. Even some very simple words often make mistakes when translated solely based on the explanations the translator knows. For example, there is a line in the movie "Forrest Gump": "It made me look like a duck in water." If the translator simply translated it as "It made me look like a duck in water," the audience might be confused. It takes time to think about what a duck in the water looks like and what this sentence means in the original work, which creates doubts and affects the viewing of the movie.

At this time, what the film and television translator needs to do is to use the context of the source language to find the most reasonable connection and select the most correct interpretation. Through in-depth analysis of the phrase "a duck in water" and understanding of the differences between different cultures, the best translation of this sentence should be: "It makes me feel like a fish in water." In this way, the audience will understand the speaker's intention directly and enjoy the movie smoothly.

It can be seen that the translation of the source language by film and television translators is based on the principle of optimal relevance, based on communicative activities, and aims at audience acceptance, trying to use the most concise language to translate the original work The true intention is presented correctly to the audience.

3. Convergence in film and television translation

The convergence of translation can be divided into semantic convergence and pragmatic convergence. The author believes that film and television translators should try their best to achieve pragmatic convergence. The reason is that the purpose of film and television translation is to allow film and television audiences to understand the meaning of the original work and thus enjoy the film easily. Due to cultural differences, the source language and the target language cannot be exactly the same, so the translator can only make the target language converge to the original text to the greatest extent possible.

For example, the 80th Academy Award-winning film No Country for Old Men?, for the translation of the film name, if the film and television translators just want to satisfy semantic convergence and translate it as "No Country for Old Men", Not only will the audience find it incomprehensible, but it is also inconsistent with the content of the film. In this case, the translator should try to choose an appropriate translation to express the meaning of the source language based on a comprehensive understanding of the movie plot. Through understanding the content of the movie, the translator knew that it was mainly about a veteran and an old policeman. They were originally law enforcers who maintained social security, but they became helpless in the face of the cruel reality and completely lost their role. On the one hand, they are amazed by the changes in society and the decline of human nature and legal concepts. On the other hand, they lament that the world is beyond their control and miss the justice and warmth of humanity that they once had. Therefore, the best translation should be "No Country for Old Men". This translation is not only close to the content of the film, accurately expresses the bitterness and helplessness of the film's protagonist, but is also easily accepted by Chinese audiences.

Another example is another Oscar-nominated classic film "Ghost". If it is directly translated as "ghost", the audience will think it is a ghost film or a horror film. Obviously, this The translation is very different from the romantic love story the film tells. At this time, film and television translators should not only consider semantic convergence, but should carefully select appropriate translations and title the film based on understanding the content of the film (the unresolved relationship between fiancée Molly and her fiancé Sam, who was shot and died by a gangster). The connotation is accurately conveyed to the audience. Therefore, the best translation should be "The Love Between Humans and Ghosts". This translation not only reflects the romantic plot and touching tone of the movie, allowing the audience to know the genre of the movie at a glance, but is also easily recognized and widely circulated by the audience.

Another example is a line in the movie "Forrest Gump": "Jenny and I was like peas and carrots." If translated literally, the translator can translate it as "Peas and carrots." "Ding", this translation can achieve semantic convergence, but due to the differences between Chinese and Western food cultures, Chinese audiences will misunderstand that the two protagonists look very small, as small as peas and diced carrots. Obviously, this translation cannot achieve pragmatic convergence, and the meaning of the source language is completely distorted. At this time, the translator should carefully check the relevant information to find out the true meaning of "peas and carrots". Therefore, the best translation is "Jenny and I are inseparable." This translation allows the audience to accurately and quickly enter the inner world of the male protagonist Forrest Gump and resonate with it.

It can be seen that the best film and television translation must have both semantic convergence and pragmatic convergence.

Of course, due to the uniqueness of film and television language and the differences between different cultures, when film and television translators cannot take into account both semantic convergence and pragmatic convergence at the same time, they should find ways to achieve pragmatic convergence of the translation to convey the original author’s intention. , allowing film and television audiences to accurately understand what the film is trying to convey and fully enjoy the fun brought by the film.

IV. Conclusion

As an important bridge for cultural exchanges between Chinese and Western films, film and television translation has unique language characteristics that are different from the translation of other literary works. Therefore, when translating films and television, Translators should fully understand the uniqueness of film and television translation, master certain translation skills, and try to convey the best relevance of the source language in film and television works according to different contexts and different semantics, combined with relevance and convergence, and choose Appropriate and concise translations strive to match the original author's intention with the audience's expectations and understanding, allowing the audience to better appreciate film and television works and experience different folk cultures from different movies, thus promoting the exchange of Chinese and Western cultures.

[References]

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[3] He Ziran, Ran Yongping. Relevance: Communication and Cognition (Introduction) [M]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2001.

[4] Lin Kenan. Introduction to Relevant Translation Theory [J]. Chinese Translation, 1994 (04).

[5] Qian Shaochang. Film and television translation - an increasingly important field in the field of translation [J]. Chinese Translation, 2001(01).

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[About the author] Zou Li (1979- ) , male, from Leshan, Sichuan, Master of English Language and Literature, lecturer at the School of Foreign Languages, Leshan Normal University, main research direction: English language and literature; Zhou Ye (1983- ), female, from Leshan, Sichuan, Master of Comparative Literature, lecturer at the School of Foreign Languages, Leshan Normal University , main research direction: comparative literature.