1.4 Theoretical Framework and Methodologies of Thi...
In reviewing the development AVT studies both in European countries and in China,I found that every theoretical framework should have its own model and paradigm.The function of the paradigm is usually to certify,deduce or demonstrate whether the system is reasonable as a whole,as well as whether it is consistent with each component.At the same time,this paradigm can help users to elucidate,deepen and develop these theoretical frameworks in order to identify the most efficient and objective translation method in human communication.There ought to be no exceptions where E-C translation is concerned.As such,I seek to pursue an effective theoretical framework,coupled with efficacious translation strategies,in E-C film subtitling from the perspective of cultural difference.
My reason for highlighting Even-Zohar’s (1978) polysystem theory is that I consider the subtitle translation of English animation films as a “polysystem”,in which the features of the translated Chinese subtitles (besides its natural features,the receptor’s language preference and literacy level should also be considered) are present.Further,the comparison between the target language and original language,as well as effective strategies,is a factor within the polysystem.Moreover,in reference to Gottlieb’s (1992) typology,I selected and analysed four effective strategies in E-C subtitle translation,as well as discussed two newer and feasible strategies,with a view to improving the quality of Chinese subtitle translations for English animation films.
The methods used in this research may reflect a broadly qualitative approach to the research.The primary method is a self-built parallel corpus.I have chosen the corpus method because it is considered to be “an influential empirical research model” in translation studies and “a resource for evaluating translation” (Ma and Miao 2009: 336).In the early stage of this current research,I contacted Huang,one of the most highly regarded scholars in the field of corpus-based studies based in China,by email in order to ask for advice.On his advice,I attended a summer course in Beijing in 2015 given by Liang and Xu (these three scholars’ suggestions will be explained later in the book; the interview transcripts and related information about them can be found in Appendix V).Inspired by these professionals’ advice and the content of the summer course,I established my preliminary ideas for establishing a corpus for my particular research,namely,to build up a corpus,which serves to investigate E-C film subtitling from the perspective of “translation universals” within the corpus translation,consists of 15 popular English language feature-length animations translated for the mainstream Chinese market.Its construction allows the original text to be compared alongside the translated subtitles.By using the software of UltraEdit,Paraconc,Excel and its automatically generated charts,I have obtained clear and reliable data,which assist me in the completion of this research and its findings.The self-built parallel corpus (the complete corpus is in Appendix VI) contains 19,081 pairs of bilingual subtitles from the 15 selected animation films; the corpus is also designed to be expandable in the context of future studies,which might seek to develop a bigger corpus and uncover more findings in this field of study.However,in the current corpus,I dealt with the following: 1) to align each pair of subtitles; 2) to calculate the length of each subtitle; 3) to calculate the frequency of the use of traditional expressions; 4) to calculate the frequency of the use of popular expressions.Then,I obtained the following results from the corpus:1) the length difference between each subtitle pair (the original English pair and the corresponding translated Chinese pair); 2) the frequency of the use of traditional expressions; 3) the frequency of the use of popular expressions.In turn,these research results confirmed my three hypotheses: 1) the length of the translated Chinese subtitles is generally greater than the corresponding original English ones; 2) the frequency of the use of traditional expressions,the degree of the film popularity and the performance of the film ticket sales are in direct proportion to each other; 3) the frequency of the use of popular expressions,the degree of the film popularity and the performance of the film ticket sales are in direct proportion to each other.In other words,the results for 2 and 3 confirm that the use of these two tested expressions is effective at improving the quality of the released subtitle translation.Then,in the further step,I analysed the subtitle pairs that involve the use of common and popular expressions,identified several types of issues in the given data and made suggestions for improving imperfectly translated subtitles.(https://www.daowen.com)
I have also chosen to incorporate a questionnaire exercise into the project (The complete questionnaire form is in Appendix I),which I use as a supplementary method.According to Mackey and Gass (2005: 92),a questionnaire can help researchers obtain first-hand data from appropriately selected groups.For this project,the functions of the questionnaire are further identified: 1) the “imperfections”/issues in the translation of the 15 selected animations’ subtitles; 2) possible explanations for these “imperfections”/issues; and 3) whether I proposed “translation strategies” might enhance the quality of AVT,and E-C in particular,in the future.The use of the questionnaire helped me to identify pertinent issues more clearly,as well as determine effective strategies for improving translation quality.
In addition,in order to support the above methods and to confirm the validity of the research hypotheses,several interviews (the complete record of interviews is in Appendix III) with several scholars and practitioners may become another kind of qualitative evidence.These interviews helped me to collect detailed answers relevant to the specific research hypotheses.