Abstract With the rapid development of globalization, foreign movies stream into domestic film market and Chinese movies are also introduced into foreign markets。 Films have become an important form for cultural exchange between the East and West。 The film title translation is a purposeful, communicative and intercultural activity which is crucial to the success of film promotion。 The thesis, based on the Skopostheorie, intends to explore the translating rules and methods of film title translation through a lot of specific examples。 It also presents a detailed analysis of translating features and methods of film title translation in Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan。 The thesis proposes that the film title translation should remain the cultural differences and focus on the demand of the audiences, thus achieving its business purpose。77031

Keywords: film title translation; Skopostheorie; translation methods

摘要随着全球化的快速发展，外国电影进入国内市场，中国电影也走出国门，成为了中西文化交流的重要形式。电影片名翻译是一项有目的的，交际的，跨文化的翻译活动，它对电影的推广起着关键作用。本论文以目的论为理论基础，通过大量实例研究电影片名的翻译原则和翻译方法。同时还分析了大陆，香港和台湾片名翻译的特色和方法，提出电影片名翻译应关注观众需求，保留文化差异性，从而最终实现其商业目的。

毕业论文关键词：电影片名翻译；目的论；翻译方法

Contents

1。 Introduction 1

2。 Literature Review 2

2。1 Previous studies on the Skopostheorie 2

2。2 Previous studies on the film title translation 6

3。 Features and Purposes of Film Titles 7

3。1 Features of film titles 7

3。2 Purposes of film titles 8

4。 The Application of Skopostheorie in the Translation of Film Titles 9

4。1 Rules of the film title translation from the Skopostheorie 9

4。2 Methods of the film title translation from the Skopostheorie 11

4。3 Comparison of the film title translation in Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan from the Skopostheorie 12

5。 Conclusion 15

Works Cited 16

1。 Introduction

Film, as a popular artistic form, can transmit information, reflect the colorful cultures and bring the enjoyment for people。 With the formation of the global village, communication between China and English countries has become more and more frequent, which introduces different kinds of English films into Chinese film market。 Meanwhile, our country attends the international film festivals and tries to propagate for our elaborated movies。 The film title is an important part of the movie。 It is the first impression of audiences, which is just like the eyes of the film’s content and the soul of the film’s thought。 So it is a necessary and meaningful activity to translate the film titles。 This activity is not only the transformation between the two languages but also the purposeful action to transfer various cultures and pursue the commercial value。 

However, the current situation of film title translation is not optimistic。 Random translation and mistranslation are commonly seen in film title translation。 It discourages the audience’s curiosity and imagination towards the film and misses the chance to win box office。 After a series of analysis, we can find three reasons as follows。 First, the translator is lacking in the understanding of the story plots。 For example, the translator translates the film The Cable Guy into 王牌特派员, translating the 十面埋伏 into Flying Daggers。 Obviously, he is not good enough to learn about the content and deep meaning of the film。 Second, the translator misunderstands the cultural information。 For example, the translator translates the film Pumpkin Eater into 食南瓜的人, translating the满城尽带黄金甲 into Curse of the Golden Flower 。 We can know that he doesn’t search for the cultural background of the film and the social condition of target country before translation。 Third, the translator applies the fixed translation model mechanically。 Many film titles always use the word总动员, such as玩具总动员 and海底总动员。 Finally, the translator is easily influenced by the commercial profit。 For example, the translator translates the film Things Are Tough All Over into 糊涂宝贝上错床 ,translating the film The Sun Also Rises into 妾是朝阳又照君。 (Chen 87-88) It is very absurd and exaggerating and just attracts people’s eyeballs。 Besides, some of Chinese movies win the compliment of domestic film market but have bleak outlook in foreign film markets。 There are few systemic books or papers studying this area。 Therefore, this thesis attempts to study the film title translation from the perspective of Skopostheorie。