Subtitle translation of American sitcom The Big Bang Theory from the perspective of eco-translatology

Eco-translatology is a theory of translation put forward by Professor Hu Genshen, which regards translation as a process of “selective adaptation” and “adaptive selection”. The popularity of American TV dramas has aroused a huge demand for subtitle translation, resulting in the rapid growth of subti...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Cao, Jing, Mansor, Nor Shahila, Ang, Lay Hoon, Abu Ujum, Diana
Format: Article
Published: Academy Publisher 2022
_version_ 1825938835929825280
author Cao, Jing
Mansor, Nor Shahila
Ang, Lay Hoon
Abu Ujum, Diana
author_facet Cao, Jing
Mansor, Nor Shahila
Ang, Lay Hoon
Abu Ujum, Diana
author_sort Cao, Jing
collection UPM
description Eco-translatology is a theory of translation put forward by Professor Hu Genshen, which regards translation as a process of “selective adaptation” and “adaptive selection”. The popularity of American TV dramas has aroused a huge demand for subtitle translation, resulting in the rapid growth of subtitle translation by fansub groups and increasing enthusiasm for subtitle translation studies in China. While there is no accordant idea about the understanding of subtitle translation of TV dramas on the internet translated by fansub groups. Based on the theoretical framework of Eco-translatology theory, this study examines the subtitle translation of The Big Bang Theory to analyze translators’ “selection” and “adaptation” on linguistic, cultural, and communicative dimensions. It also pays attention to the inappropriate selection of translation techniques made by the fansub groups. The analysis shows that in the translation process of The Big Bang Theory’s subtitles, the translators adopted various translation techniques which include the applications of buzzwords, Chinese idioms, annotations, and free translation to implement adaptive selection in linguistic, cultural, and communicative dimensions. And the fansub groups make some inappropriate selections as abusing the Chinese dialect in translation. These findings attempt to provide a reference for subtitle translation of American TV dramas available on the internet, as well as evidence of the explanatory power of Eco-translatology theory in subtitle translation studies, in order to supplement a new perspective on subtitle translation and more attention on this developing translation theory.
first_indexed 2024-03-06T11:18:14Z
format Article
id upm.eprints-103350
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
last_indexed 2024-03-06T11:18:14Z
publishDate 2022
publisher Academy Publisher
record_format dspace
spelling upm.eprints-1033502023-06-16T07:50:55Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/103350/ Subtitle translation of American sitcom The Big Bang Theory from the perspective of eco-translatology Cao, Jing Mansor, Nor Shahila Ang, Lay Hoon Abu Ujum, Diana Eco-translatology is a theory of translation put forward by Professor Hu Genshen, which regards translation as a process of “selective adaptation” and “adaptive selection”. The popularity of American TV dramas has aroused a huge demand for subtitle translation, resulting in the rapid growth of subtitle translation by fansub groups and increasing enthusiasm for subtitle translation studies in China. While there is no accordant idea about the understanding of subtitle translation of TV dramas on the internet translated by fansub groups. Based on the theoretical framework of Eco-translatology theory, this study examines the subtitle translation of The Big Bang Theory to analyze translators’ “selection” and “adaptation” on linguistic, cultural, and communicative dimensions. It also pays attention to the inappropriate selection of translation techniques made by the fansub groups. The analysis shows that in the translation process of The Big Bang Theory’s subtitles, the translators adopted various translation techniques which include the applications of buzzwords, Chinese idioms, annotations, and free translation to implement adaptive selection in linguistic, cultural, and communicative dimensions. And the fansub groups make some inappropriate selections as abusing the Chinese dialect in translation. These findings attempt to provide a reference for subtitle translation of American TV dramas available on the internet, as well as evidence of the explanatory power of Eco-translatology theory in subtitle translation studies, in order to supplement a new perspective on subtitle translation and more attention on this developing translation theory. Academy Publisher 2022 Article PeerReviewed Cao, Jing and Mansor, Nor Shahila and Ang, Lay Hoon and Abu Ujum, Diana (2022) Subtitle translation of American sitcom The Big Bang Theory from the perspective of eco-translatology. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 13 (2). 377 - 385. ISSN 1798-4769 https://jltr.academypublication.com/index.php/jltr/article/view/2386 10.17507/jltr.1302.19
spellingShingle Cao, Jing
Mansor, Nor Shahila
Ang, Lay Hoon
Abu Ujum, Diana
Subtitle translation of American sitcom The Big Bang Theory from the perspective of eco-translatology
title Subtitle translation of American sitcom The Big Bang Theory from the perspective of eco-translatology
title_full Subtitle translation of American sitcom The Big Bang Theory from the perspective of eco-translatology
title_fullStr Subtitle translation of American sitcom The Big Bang Theory from the perspective of eco-translatology
title_full_unstemmed Subtitle translation of American sitcom The Big Bang Theory from the perspective of eco-translatology
title_short Subtitle translation of American sitcom The Big Bang Theory from the perspective of eco-translatology
title_sort subtitle translation of american sitcom the big bang theory from the perspective of eco translatology
work_keys_str_mv AT caojing subtitletranslationofamericansitcomthebigbangtheoryfromtheperspectiveofecotranslatology
AT mansornorshahila subtitletranslationofamericansitcomthebigbangtheoryfromtheperspectiveofecotranslatology
AT anglayhoon subtitletranslationofamericansitcomthebigbangtheoryfromtheperspectiveofecotranslatology
AT abuujumdiana subtitletranslationofamericansitcomthebigbangtheoryfromtheperspectiveofecotranslatology