2。 Brief Introduction of Subtitles Translation 4

   2。1 Definition of Subtitles 4

2。2 Classification of Subtitles 4

     2。2。1 Same-Language Subtitling 4

2。2。2 Pre-prepared Subtitles 4

2。2。3 Real Time Subtitles 5

2。2。4 Hybrid Subtitles 5

2。3 Features of Subtitles 6

3。 Functional Equivalence Theory and Subtitles Translation 7

3。1 Studies of Nida’s Functional Equivalence Theory 7

3。1。1 The Development of Functional Equivalence 7

3。1。2 The principles of the functional equivalence 8

3。2 Applicability of Functional Equivalence Theory to Subtitles Translation 8

4。 Subtitles Translation of Friends from the perspective of Functional Equivalence Theory 9

4。1 A General Introduction of Friends 9

4。2 Classifications of Humor 9

4。3 Translation of Humor in Friends from the perspective of Functional Equivalence 10

4。3。1Universal Humor 10

4。3。2 Cultural Humor 12

4。3。3 Wordplay 14

Conclusion 17

References 18

1。 Introduction

    With the gaining popularity of foreign multimedia products in China, subtitles translation has been booming over the` years。 However, subtitles translation has not drawn enough attention equal to its importance。 And this paper will study the subtitles translation of humor of the first two seasons of Friends, while Nida’s functional equivalence is applied during the whole process。 Through the analysis on humor translation of Friends, the author aims to prove that functional equivalence is applicable to subtitles translation and also call for more attention to the field of subtitles translation。

1。1 Present Study of Subtitles Translation at Home

    Recent years have witnessed the mushrooming of various kinds of subtitle translation groups online。 As it is mentioned that the attention paid to subtitles translation by scholars is far from enough compared with that of the west。 And there are no mature theories formed on the issue of subtitles translation in China except some scattered papers with some fragmented ideas of dubbing translation。 Some famous translators like Qian Shaochang, Zhang Chunbai and Ma Zhengqi have published a few articles in the film subtitles translation field。 Here follows several examples quoted to highlight the importance of it。 

    Among those well-known translators, Ma Zhengqi is the first to publish the essay “On the Basic Principles of Film Translation” (麻争旗，1997:05) and he advocates that the film translation should be colloquial and popular language, accord with characters’ personality, emotional needs and lip-synchronization。

    Back in 1998, Professor Zhang Chunbai gives us a brief introduction of the film translation including its features, principles in his paper “A General Introduction of Film Translation” (张春柏，1998:2)。 In Professor Zhang’s view, the multimedia products have the features of immediacy and popularity which determines that subtitles translators should put the target audience as the first priority。 That is to say, translator should adopt the strategy of free translation more often to make the translated text easier to understand especially when it comes to culture items。 What’s more, Professor Zhang points out that subtitles translation follows strict rules。 For example, the length of the translated line should be roughly the same as the original ones。 Also, the translations should embody the different personalities of the characters。