7.3.2 Suggestions Concerning Three Main Issues
According to the investigation of the collected data,the researcher concludes that there are three main types of issues in the use of popular expressions in the translated subtitles:
1) The first type of issue is the unnecessary use of popular expressions.For example:
① 00:02:28,540 to 00:02:29,580
Sleep? Are you kidding me? (Original subtitle)
睡觉？有没有搞错？（Released translation）
Sleep? Come on,that’s insane? (Back translation)
(Turbo,2013)
Suggestions： In the translation of the subtitle，although “有没有搞错” is a popular expression to show the negative mood of a speaker who does not agree with somebody else’s comments，orders or advice.However，another two kinds of translation can be brief and simple to express the original meaning of the subtitle： 1） “你逗我呢？” or 2） “开玩笑？” （Are you kidding me？） The advantages are： both of these two recommended translations are shorter in length than the released one，while translation 1 is a popular expression used in the same oral situation or context as the released translation，which refers to the speakers’ disagreement； translation 2 is a direct translation of the original subtitle，“Are you kidding me？” Therefore，either of the two recommended translations is better than the released one.
② 00:05:03,596 to 00:05:06,064
All right! Hang on,boys! (Original subtitle)
好嘞！抓紧了，同志们！（Released translation）
All right! Hang on,comrades! (Back translation)
(Alpha and Omega,2011)
Suggestions： “同志们”，in Chinese，is not a new word，but it becomes a common word meaning “colleagues” or “good friends” in current Chinese language.It sometimes means “gays” in Chinese.The original meaning of this word is “comrades”，used by members of Chinese Communist Party to refer to each other “同志”，because the literal meaning of these two characters is “to have same will”，and this “will” here refers to “to build up communism”.In this specific subtitle，since the original word is “boys”，the equivalent term in Chinese should be “兄弟们”，“伙计们” （mates）.And I think，according to the context of the dialogue，the translation into “兄弟们”，“伙计们” matches the situation better.
③ 01:14:05,500 to 01:14:07,700
He is gonna kick your butt.(Original subtitle)
他会揍死你的。（Released translation）
He is gonna beat you to die.(Back translation)
(Despicable Me 1,2010)
Suggestions： From the back translation，it is clear to see the big difference in the speaker’s tone of voice between “to kick your butt” and “to beat you to death”； therefore，the researcher thinks the direct translation is more suitable to the original tone of voice，namely，“他会踢你屁股的” or “他会打你的”； however，there is also a popular expression relevant to this recommended translation，which can make the speaker’s tone of voice lively and more like a young kid’s： “他会踢你屁屁的”.The last two characters are duplicating the word in Chinese，usually used by young children or someone who wants to imitate a child’s tone of voice.
2) The second type of problem is the use of inappropriate popular expressions.For example:
① 00:06:01,018 to 00:06:05,114
La la la la la la! This is so wrong! (Original subtitle)
啦啦啦啦啦！这有点不靠谱！（Released translation）
La la la la la la! This is not reliable! (Back translation)
(The Smurfs 1,2011)
Suggestions: This example is discussed in the previous section of this chapter (see the analysis on this example at p.279); I assume that the subtitler is excessively attracted to the use of popular expression for the purpose of making his translation more attractive and humorous.However,the essential translation criterion should be honest to the original meaning rather than to make the translation more funny or attractive by translating wrongly.(https://www.daowen.com)
② 01:21:46,902 to 01:21:49,654
You guys,take care of the rest of the minions.(Original subtitle)
你们去料理下其他的仆从。（Released translation）
You guys,deal with the rest of the minions.(Back translation)
(Despicable Me 2,2014)
Suggestions： The underlined word “料理”，in Chinese，can be a verb as well as a noun.With different natures，the meaning of the word is different.As a noun，it is a new word originally from Japanese and Korean culture，meaning “meal”； as a verb，in Chinese，it means “to deal with or to order”.In this subtitle，the subtitler used this word to explain the original text of “to look after”.I think there exists a difference between “to look after” and “to deal with”，because the former is about a kind help or support； however，the latter sounds like an attempt to solve some problems or to improve something，possibly with a menacing connotation.Then，according to the original context of the film，the speaker was recommending to someone to go to see his rest of his workers； there is no concrete business to do with these workers，so the more appropriate translation could be： “去看一下” （to go to see） or “去关照一下” （to look after）.These two expressions are also popular expressions as vernacular words in modern Chinese.
③ 00:24:28,830 to 00:24:31,410
— Hey,little help.— He’s awake! He’s awake! (Original subtitle)
—嘿，帮帮忙。 —他醒了！他醒了！（Released translation）
— Hey,give some help.— He’s awake! He’s awake! (Back translation)
(Madagascar 1,2005)
Suggestions： Although “帮帮忙” in the translated subtitle is a typical oral expression in Chinese，it is not completely comparable to the original text.The suggested translation is “帮个小忙”： “个” is a colloquial informal form of expression in Chinese，which refers to one unit of something，while “小忙” means a small amount of help.Therefore，the whole pattern is an oral expression as well，which represents a more precise translation of “小忙”.
3) The third type of imperfection in the released translation is unnecessary expansion because of the use of popular expression.
① 00:07:12,550 to 00:07:15,180
Yes,you must all worship me.(Original subtitle)
是的，你们都要拜倒在我的脚下。（Released translation）
Yes,you must all kneel down and bow to the ground before me.(Back translation)
(The Smurfs 2,2013)
Suggestions： In this example，“worship” has equivalence in Chinese as “膜拜”.This direct translation can completely deliver the original meaning without any modification.Moreover，the direct translation is even better than the given one in the released translation because of its obvious shorter length.Therefore，there is an unnecessary expansion in the released translation of using a popular expression in this subtitle.
② 00:10:21,270 to 00:10:25,860
The wild? Are you nuts? That is the worst idea I’ve ever heard.(Original subtitle)
野外？你没搞错吧？这是我听过的最糟的主意。（Released translation）
The wild? That’s insane! That is the worst idea I’ve ever heard.(Back translation)
(Madagascar 1,2005)
Suggestions： “你没搞错吧” is a similar term to the other one mentioned in the previous type of issue，“有没有搞错”.However，unlike that case，the use of “你没搞错吧” in this subtitle translation is not wrong in explaining the original meaning； however，it is considered as an unnecessary use of this expression which expands the length of the translated subtitle.The suggested translation is more like direct translation，but I choose a colloquial expression to make the translation more idiomatic： “你傻啊？” （Are you nuts？）.
Generally speaking,the above types of problems that appeared in the current data actually have the same underlying motivation.That is,the subtitlers overused popular expression in order to make the translation more interesting and more relevant to its majority group of audience,namely,young people.In addition,the subtitlers may benefit more from employing such audience-preferred expressions from the translated film product companies.However,according to Yan’s well-respected translation theory of “fidelity,expressiveness and elegance” (1984),and in the context of the translator’s professional role,to be faithful to the original text should be the first important criterion rather than adding extra humour or supplementary dialogue.The subtitlers should bear in mind the right order of these translation criteria,in order to avoid arbitrary and potentially unprofessional modes of working in their subtitle translation.