以《鬼佬》为案例研究纪录片的字幕翻译

【摘要】对于一个制作纪录片的人来讲，当该片涉及到不同的语言文化，为达到呈现事实的目的，字幕是至关重要的。本文通过对字幕翻译的目的、观众的接受度以及字幕翻译方法的探讨，结合纪录片《鬼佬》做案例，研究了跨文化纪录片字幕翻译中的技巧和文化因素对其造成的影响。

【关键词】字幕翻译 纪录片 跨文化

【Abstract】For any documentary maker that seeks to produce a film involving a different culture and language， in order to represent reality， subtitles are of upmost importance. This essay researches the objective and the general methods of subtitling， as well as the acceptance of the audience. By taking Ghosts as an example， it studies the techniques of subtitling and the trans-cultural influence on the progress of writing subtitles.

【Key words】subtitles； documentary； trans-cultural studies

The thesis deposited in this essay is that in order to represent reality， when a documentary involves a different culture and language， such as Ghosts， subtitles cannot be neglected.

1. Theories about Subtitles

1.1 Objective， Reception and Requirements

According to Linde and Kay， for interlingual subtitling， “the objective is to achieve something approaching translation equivalence” （1999： 2）. However， the essential differences between spoken and written language can not be ignored. Generally speaking， “All subtitled programmes are made up of three main components： the spoken word， the image and subtitles” （Cintas & Remeal， 2010： 9）. “When spoken discourse is replaced by written discourse the structure of the medium is altered， changing the balance between oral and visual channels. Screen images and linguistic discourse can no longer be processed simultaneously， and this affects the way a film is received” （Linde & Kay， 34）. They explained further that “Interlingual subtitles transfer the meaning of utterances while relying on the remainder of the soundtrack， including phonetic cues， to carry the full meaning of a film sequence” （1）. Therefore， for a subtitled film to be accepted by the audience more easily， some requirements of subtitles were given by Gambier， which are the features of the key word “accessibility” in screen translation： acceptability， legibility， readability， synchronicity， relevance， and domestication strategies （179）. Additionally， Linde and Kay put forward the notion of “dynamic integrated environment”， whereby the subtitlers are expected to consider fully that “each subtitle is realized within a particular audio-visual context， styled according to the conventions of speech and writing， and edited with an eye on the structure of a film and the reading characteristics of target viewers” （1）. To conclude， subtitlers should notice “[…] that the transfer of dialogue into written captions is not a straight-forward matter of transcribing a lexical sequence” （6）.

1.2 Methods

As a matter of fact， in the process of subtitling， rewriting is so typical： “the dialogue has to be condensed， which in turn means selecting particular features of the source text to be omitted， by straight deletion or reductive paraphrasing” （Linde & Kay， 4）. As to the reasons for this reduction， Cintas and Remael explained it both from the respect of viewers and restrictions of subtitles. Firstly， “Viewers/listeners can absorb speech more quickly than they can read， so subtitles must give them enough time to register and understand what is written at the bottom of the screen”（146）. Meanwhile， they “must also watch the action on screen and listen to the soundtrack， so they must be given sufficient time to combine reading with watching and listening” （146）. Secondly， “Subtitles are limited to a maximum of two lines. How much text they contain depends on the time available， the subtitling reading speed applied， and the speed at which the ST is actually pronounced” （146）.

In the process of reduction， there are two general practices： elimination and reformulation. However， “Whether rephrasing or omission， or a combination of the two， is the best solution， must be ascertained in each instance” （149）.

There are specific methods of condensation and reformulation. At word level， simplifying verbal periphrases； generalizing enumerations； using shorter expressions； using simple rather than compound tenses； and changing word classes are common practices （151）. At the clause/sentence level， subtitlers have adopted the following approaches： changing negations or questions into affirmative sentences or assertions； simplifying indicators of modality； turning direct speech into indirect speech； changing the subject of a sentence or phrase； turning compound sentences into simple sentences， active sentences into passive or vice versa； using pronouns， and so on （154）.

As for omissions， this method usually goes hand in hand with reformulation. The prerequisite of omitting is that it will not affect the understanding of the audience towards the messages the film would like to convey.

Furthermore， to do a better subtitling work， the subtitlers are required to have a good knowledge of both the source and target languages and cultures.

2. Case Study

2.1 Deficiencies

Taking the subtitles in Ghosts as an example， admittedly，the communication is effective between the film and its western viewers. However， there are deficiencies that some subtitled sentences make nonsense and can result in misunderstanding in the audience， which are mainly due to language and cultural factors.

In the beginning， there is the conversation between Ai Qin and her parents in Fujian dialect， which is even hardly understandable for any Chinese living outside Fujian province. Although I do not understand the original Chinese version， I can detect there is at least one sentence subtitled inappropriately. When Ai Qin told her parents that she wanted to go abroad to make money， her mother’s response was subtitled as “I’ll cry if you go”. The English translation sounds weird. However， in Chinese， there exists such an expression， which is usually used to convey negative feelings like disappointment， desperation， and so on. The question is when subtitling this sentence the subtitler adopted a literal translation that the subtitled version does not appear to be a common expression in English. For “it is highly unlikely that any target language should have an identical equivalent， and this is a problem most dialects pose. The connotations of different target culture dialects will never be the same as those of the source culture dialects they replace” （191）. In this particular circumstance， the subtitler should have translated the connotations overtly instead of confusing the English viewers. Therefore， a rewritten version “I’ll be heart-broken if you go” turns out to be preferable.

There is another problem which concerns omissions. Taking the audience’s reception into account， they “may feel uncomfortable if no subtitles appear while characters are still talking on the screen” （Gambier， 2003： 178）. Regarding the conversations in Fujian dialect， I assume the role of a foreign viewer and as such depend on the subtitles to understand the contents， but I feel uncomfortable because it seems the characters spoke rapidly and a lot， but the subtitles turn out to be short and simple， and there are blanks. This problem also appears in other parts of the film， where the dialogues are in Mandarin. In these circumstances， I can compare the original ones with the subtitles and detect the deficiencies. For example， when the film has progressed for about an hour， Mr. Lin asks Ai Qin to go to his room and talks to her， “我有很多朋友在伦敦，开了按摩院。他们那儿生意特别特别大。有好多女孩都在那儿做。怎么样？我给你介绍到那儿去。那儿挣钱多，你还债会很快的” . If translating sentence by sentence， the subtitles should be like “I have friends in London. They run a massage place. The business is big and successful. Lots of girls work there. How about working there？ I can introduce you to them. You could make much money and pay your debt quickly”. However， the subtitles were reduced to “I have friends in London. They run a massage place. Lots of girls work there. You could pay your debt quickly”. There is no problem with the first three sentences， but the last one seems less logical for it appears to have little relationship with the previous contents. As Linde and Kay indicated “even slight omissions can cause a significant change in meaning” （28）， the subtitlers should be discreet when dealing with omissions that they are expected to take text cohesion into consideration. The cohesive devices that generally adopted are concluded into four principal types， which are referential cohesion， substitution and ellipsis， conjunction， and lexical cohesion （28）. In the above example， as Mr. Lin speaks at a low rate of speed， it is thus allowed by spatial and temporal restrictions to translate all the sentences. Additionally， by inserting some cohesive elements and reformulation， the subtitles could be more acceptable. A suggesting version is “I have friends in London. They run a message place， which is big and successful. Lots of girls work there. How about I introduce you to them？ You can make much money and thus pay your debt quickly”.

2.2 Satisfying Subtitles

Besides these imperfections， it cannot be denied that there are some excellent subtitles in this film， for instance， the translation of idiolects and songs.

Take the subtitles of Mr. Lin’s words as an example. Mr. Lin speaks with obvious individual stylistic features， which can be attributed to his Northern Chinese speaking habit， that it is peppered with taboo words and swearwords. For “The translation of taboo words and swearwords is crucial when they contribute to characterization or when they fulfill a thematic function in a film” （Cintas & Remael， 197）， “Subtitlers must therefore first identify and evaluate the impact and emotional value of a given word or expression in the source culture， and then translate it into a target culture equivalent that is deemed appropriate in the context” （196）. Therefore， such subtitled words and expressions as “fucking” “fuck off” appears frequently to match their Chinese equivalent “他妈的”， “滚蛋”， and so on.

Another feature of this documentary is the Chinese songs it contains. It can be detected that these songs are added to the film for specific purposes. Although not all the songs appearing in the film need to be subtitled， those that “actually constitute the essence of a film”（208） and others that “contribute to the story in a more indirect sense， by suggesting a mood or creating an atmosphere” （209） should be given special attention and are expected to be subtitled in most circumstances. As to how to translate songs， Cintas and Remael gave instructions that “three issues must basically be weighed up against each other： content， rhythm， and rhyme” （211）. The two songs hummed by Mr. Lin when he picked up Ai Qin were Don't Pick the Wildflowers on the Roadside and The Moon Represents My Heart. The subtitled sentences are “There are some wild flowers on the road. You mustn’t take them. You mustn’t take them” and “Another kiss and my heart trembles. You ask me how much I love you” respectively. The subtitles are interesting and expressive. They reflect the personality of Mr. Lin， who always does not take things too seriously and remains optimistic. The two songs sound a bit flirting. But Mr. Lin who sang them to Ai Qin might just want to make a joke and ease Ai Qin’s nervousness and scary feelings.

2.3 The Missing Subtitles

It is noticeable that the song The Moon Represents My Heart appeared twice more in the following sequences but without subtitles. It is acceptable for it has already been subtitled at the first instance and the audience can recognize it to be a romantic love song. But another song called Sweet Smile， which should have had subtitles to indicate the mood， was not subtitled. This song appeared when they worked on the apple farm， which might be the happiest scene in the film， in contrast to the following horrible accident. It is not necessary to translate accurately， but a free translation should be done to render the atmospheric quality of the lyrics （211）. Also another song named I Love Snowfall beyond the Great Wall is not given any subtitles. In this case， they were on their way north to go cockling， but still did not lose confidence in life. This song is inserted here to indicate the up north direction that they go and to express the appreciation for the beautiful scenery found in the north. But the English viewers are highly unlikely to know this Chinese song that they would be confused as to why this new song has been placed here as the background music. Maybe it would have been more proper for there being subtitles to indicate the content of the song. Besides， in the beginning of the film， Ai Qin sang a song called Mum is the Best in the World when bringing her son to the kindergarten， which emphasized her deep maternal love towards her son. However， there are no subtitles. Although nearly every Chinese knows this song and can sing it， the English viewers may not be aware of it. Like Sweet Smile， an accurate translation might not be required in this case， but since feelings of love， and tenderness should be expressed， there should have been some free translation to convey the atmosphere.

3. Conclusion

In summary， when a documentary involves a different language and culture， in order to represent reality， subtitles are of great importance. The features and basic requirements of subtitles should be taken into account. Moreover， the subtitlers are expected to have a good command of not only the source language and culture， but also the target ones. Bearing the language and cultural factors in mind， it can be found that the subtitles of the Fujian dialect in Ghosts appear to be problematic. In the practice of subtitling， two general approaches， i.e. reduction and reformulation， and omissions， are frequently adopted. But there are inherent risks by doing this， which is analyzed by examining examples in Ghosts. Furthermore， considering the characteristics of the subtitles of this documentary， another two points concerning subtitling have been discussed， namely， translation of taboo words and swearwords， and translation of songs. In the end， the three main factors that can influence the transformation of dialogues into subtitles should be taken into consideration all the time： “captions must integrate with the existing material and semiotic structure of a film； speech has to be presented in an altered written mode and subtitles must be designed so as to take account of viewers’ reading capacities” （Linde & Kay， 26）.

However， the discussions in this essay are just preliminary in scope. Screen translation is a field yet to be explored that many questions remain unanswered in this field and are worth investigating in future research projects. With the progress of investigations in this field， it is believed that better methods can be developed and thus bring the audience better subtitles.

References：

[1]Cintas，Jorge Díaz，and Aline Remael.Audiovisual Translation：Subtitling.Ed.Dorothy Kelly[M].Manchester：St.Jerome Publishing，2010.

[2]Ghosts.Dir.Nick Broomfield.Perf.Ai Qin Lin，Zhan Yu，and Zhe Wei.Tartan Video，2007.

[3]Gambier，Yves.“Introduction：Screen Translation：Perception and Reception.” Screen Translation.Ed.Mona Baker[M].Manchester：St.Jerome Publishing，2003：171-189.

[4]Linde，Zoé de，and Neil Kay.The Semiotics of Subtitling[M].Manchester：St.Jerome Publishing，1999.

作者简介：刘健，女，江苏南京人，助教，硕士研究生，主要研究方向为翻译与跨文化。毕业于英国University of Warwick。现在江苏海院任教。