Abstract

Movie industry has been developing over 100 years since it was born. As a new kind of culture, movie was accepted and recognized by the public and has become the most popular and universal way of entertainment. During the past several decades, introduction of foreign movies has greatly enriched our life and broadened our horizon to the world. What attracts audiences most is not only the story itself or the movie stars, but also the title of movie. The title is like a brand of movie, which works as a guidance to audiences. A good title can indicate the general idea of the movie and stimulate audiences’ interests. To foreign movies, especially English movies, translation of movie titles is very important. In addition to conveying the information that the original titles intend to express, the translation should also serve as an advertisement to promote the movie. Based on the characteristics of English and Chinese movie titles, this thesis compares the similarities and differences between them, and discusses the function of English movie title translation. Furthermore, it analyzes the application of domestication and foreignization in the translation of English movie titles.  

Keywords: English movies title translation; domestication; foreignization 

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-1

2. Literature Review-1

2.1 Characteristic of English movie title translation-1

2.2 Previous studies on English movie title translation-2

3.The Characteristics of English and Chinese Movie Titles-3

3.1 Similarities-3

3.2 Differences-5

4. The Function of English Movie Title Translation-6

4.1 Informative function-6

4.2 Cultural function-7

4.3 Aesthetic function-7

4.4 Emotional function-8

5. Application of Domestication and Foreignization in Translation of English Movie Titles-9

5.1 Definition of domestication and foreignization-9

5.2 Application of domestication-10

5.3 Application of foreignization-11

6. Conclusion-12

Works Cited-13

Appendix-14