This paper is an attempt to address the situation where the study of English-Chinese subtitle translation has been done from the perspective of Skopos theory。 This study which mainly focuses on the principles and strategies of film subtitle translation is both theoretically and practically helpful。 It is expected that more researchers and translators will devote their efforts to this area for deeper insights。

2。 Literature Review

2。1 Previous study on subtitle translation

On subtitle translation, various scholars have different definitions。 Luykenetal considers subtitle translation as ‘a condensed text translation of the original dialogue, which usually appears in line with the text below the screen'。 (Luyken 256)The subtitle translation is not the same as other traditional translations。 There are five characteristics of subtitle translation。The first is immediacy, which means that the subtitle appears on the screen and disappears quickly so that the audience do not have much time to think about it。The second is popularity。 In order to satisfy audience with different educational backgrounds and classes, translators are expected to employ simple and clear translation to convey the original meaning to them。 The more simple and popular the translation is, the more able the audience will be to understand the subject of the show。The subtitle translation is with no notes。 The translator can not add comments or notes because of restriction of space and time。 Meanwhile, adding a note or comment will distract audiences’ attention。 Subtitle translation is restricted by space and time。 The images and sounds appear and disappear quickly so that the translators are expected to use simple and common words to make the audiences understand。

In 1995, European film translation association, a non-profit Subtitle translation originated from the West in the late 1950s。 Because of the advanced technology in western country, relevant theoretical research is rapidly developed。 The first academic paper which analyzes audiovisual translation was published in Babel titled Cinema and et Traduction。 Dolly accomplished a further study of the errors in Dutch-English film subtitle translation and published it in 1974, which aroused far-reaching attention。 文献综述

In 1982, the article The Subtitle Translation: The Restricted translation written by Christophoer Titford which introduced the restriction in subtitle translation had a profound effect on the later subtitle translation research。