电影片名翻译与语境适应论 影视编导专业

电影片名翻译与语境适应论摘要：随着文化交流的扩大，越来越多的国外影片引进中国，受到观众的喜爱，越来越多的中国电影受到外国观众的关注。电影标题作为电影语言的一部分，是电影第一面对受众的部分，其翻译自然是电影推广宣传的关键一环。众所周知，电影标题也是社会语言的一部分，当然会涉及到社会文化形式的各个方面，包括政治，经济，历史，宗教等。如何逾越不同社会文化背景所造成的理解鸿沟，是电影片名翻译首先要解决的问题。语境适应论作为国内语用学范畴探讨的新理论，对如何逾越不同社会文化背景所造成的理解鸿沟有较强的指导性。本文首先从商业、文化、艺术的视角指出了片名的重要性，接着分析了电影片名翻译主要影响因素——社会文化背景差异，然后详细分析了解决这一因素的语境适应论，并根据这一理论探讨指导中外电影片名互译的实用策略，同时指出语境适应理论对片名翻译有制约和延伸的作用。

关键词：电影片名；翻译;文化差异;语境适应论;翻译策略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卢浮魅影,生死时速,完美风暴,一往无前,永不妥协,天使之城,择日而亡,霹雳娇娃,狼犬丹尼,冰河世纪,etc.

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

2.2IdeologyAndTheTranslationOfFilmTitle

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

Asgrowingandlivinginthedifferentsocialsystem,theideologyofChinesepeopleandwesternersarequitedifferentevendifferentbetweenHongKong,Taiwanandchinamainland.thetitleofChinesefilm红色恋人audienceknowclearlyitisabouttheloveoftheCommunistinhardyears.Butinwesterners’mind,ononehand,theymaynotunderstandredloverindicateacoupleofCommunistlover,ontheotherhand,eveniftheyknowthetindicativemeaningoftheredinchina,theydonotidentifywithCommunistatall.SoitisagoodchoicetoadoptcreativetranslationwiththefilmEnglishtitleatimetoremember.

2.3ThemeAndStyleOfTheFilm

Usuallythethemeandstyleofthefilmisrelatedtothefilmtitlescheekbyjowl.Naturallyitiscloselyrelatedtothetranslationofthefilmtitlesaswell.Agoodtranslatedtitleshouldreflectthemainideaofthefilmproper,wellandtruly,whichembodythethemeandgiveprominencetothestyleofthefilm.

Toclassifythe63filmsaccordingtoitsthemeasfollows:typeFilmTranslatedtitleEthicalFilms

Americanbeauty美国美人Rainman雨人Monster女魔头ForrestGump阿甘正传活着ToliveCampusLifeFilmCoachCarter铁血教练Mr.Holland'sOpus春风化雨AmericanPie美国派10ThingsIHateAboutYou对面恶女看过来WarFilmsApocalypseNow现代启示录EnemyattheGates兵临城下AllQuietontheWesternFront

西线无战事HotelRwanda卢旺达饭店SavingPrivateRyan拯救大兵瑞恩Legend-BasedFilmsCleopatra埃及艳后Alexander亚历山大大帝Troy特洛伊KingArthur亚瑟王TheAviator飞行者WesternfilmDanceswithWolves与狼共舞Unforgiven不可饶恕ToKillaMockingbird杀死一只知更鸟OnceuponatimeinAmerican义薄云天

RomanceNottingHill诺丁山开往春天的地铁SpringsubwayAreWeThereYet?小鬼上路TheBreakUp同床异梦JustMyLuck倒霉爱神情迷大话王Everydayisvalentines大城小事LeavingMe,LovingYouPoliticalFilms

Schindler'sList辛德勒的名单JFK刺杀肯尼迪Goodnight,goodluck晚安,好运生死抉择Fataldecision

CartoonfilmsMonsters,Inc.怪物公司

Robots机器人总动员

Chickenrun小鸡快跑

PeterPan小飞侠

Sci-FiFilmsJurassicPark侏罗纪公园

Artificialintelligent人工智能

theIsland逃出克隆岛

serenity冲出宁静号

Stealth绝密飞行

ThrillerfilmTheOthers小岛惊魂

SilentHill寂静岭

Halloween月光光心慌慌

FinalDestination死神来了

TheSilenceoftheLambs沉默的羔羊

MusicalfilmTheRedShoes红菱艳

Chicago芝加哥

MoulinRouge梦断花都

如果·爱Perhapslove

MarilynHotchkiss'BallroomDancingandCharmSchool舞动心方向

ActionfilmRushhour尖峰时刻

Cliffhanger绝岭雄风

霍元甲fearless

DusttoGlory车舞狂沙

喋血双雄TheKiller

纵横四海OnceaThief

DocumentaryfilmRize瑞兹

TheYearoftheYao挑战者姚明

Fahrenheit9/11华氏911

DeepSea3D深海大进击/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《霸王别姬》forexample,whichwaspremieredattheCannesfestival.ThefilmtellsthevagrantlifeofartistofBeijingoperaunderthebackgroundofCulturalRevolution.Beijingopera《霸王别姬》isthecorepointofwholefilmwhichisfullofcontradictionssecrets,loveandChinesesentimentthatattractforeignaudiencesdeeply.Moreover,thelifeoftwoheroesarecombinedwithBeijingopera《霸王别姬》.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《美国美人》inChinamainland.Handledinthisway,audiencewouldbeatlosstowhatisgoingoninthisfilmandconsideritasafemalefilm.《美国美人》willmisleadtheChineseaudienceanddistorttheoriginalbecauseChineselackthelivingbackgroundintheU.S.Infact,AmericanBeautyisthenameofacommonredroseintheStates.Thecolorofthatflowerisscarletwhichsymbolizeshumandesireinthebottomofheart.Forthis,Americanaudiencecanunderstandquickly.Incontrast,Chineseaudiencescannotcatchtheideaofidioms,popularwordsandslangwhentheycomeintocontactwiththosewordsinfilmtitle.Therefore,《美国美人》can’treflectanyinformationaboutleadingcharacterfromthevisualangleofChineseaudience.Frommypointofview,anotherversion《美国心玫瑰情》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《我的父亲母亲》forexample,afteranalyzingtheculturalbackgroundofforeignaudience,translatorapplyadaptationtorenderthetitleintoTheRoadHomeinsteadofMyFatherandMother.IfitwasliterallytranslatedintoMyFatherandMotherwiththeguidanceoffunctionalequivalence,theversionwouldbetoomildandrealistic.Traditionally,theimpressionofChinesevillageisplainandinsipidtoChineseaudiences,andtheymayinsistthatthelovebetweenyoungteacherandpettygirlinvillageshouldbepureandsimple.However,theChinesevillageismysteriousandcomfortableinforeignaudiences’mind.TheconceptsaboutChinesevillagearetotaldifferent