3.5.7　Condensation

Shortening or cutting down on redundant expressions is a common strategy used in film subtitling.The mechanical constraints of film subtitling mean that translators always leave nothing untried to condense the original expression,especially when they are redundant.Gottlieb refers to this kind of strategy as “condensation”.Idioms are normally composed of four characters while archaisms contain about eight characters.These subtitles are effectively condensed in their respective expression.Since there are the difference between the word form of Chinese and that of English,the use of condensation can shorten the length difference between the translated Chinese subtitles with their corresponding original texts,this can make the translated version visually easier to read by the audience.As a consequence,the frequent use of this subtitling strategy is recommended by scholars and audiences alike.Moreover,condensation is a feasible strategy where two different language families are concerned.In the sample film,56 out of 930 subtitles were translated by direct use of this strategy.Moreover,a further 25 subtitles were translated with reference to Chinese idioms and archaisms.Idioms are normally composed of four characters while archaisms contain about eight characters.These subtitles are effectively condensed in their respective expression.The following examples highlight the application of the strategy of condensation:

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It is clear that the translated subtitles in Chinese are greater than the original English text.Furthermore,because of Chinese word formations,the translated subtitles are visually more difficult to read by the audience than English subtitles are for English audiences.As a consequence,the frequent use of this subtitling strategy is recommended by scholars and audiences alike.Moreover,condensation is a feasible strategy where two different language families are concerned.For the reading of Chinese,I am minded that condensation may help the translated Chinese subtitles to be more readable.