Dubbing is the norm in re-editing imported foreign screen programming in China. Yet the practice has been rarely critiqued. In this context, I have undertaken a stylistic analysis of a dubbed Chinese edition of Desperate Housewives, which was screened by China Central Television (CCTV) soon after its US release. This paper discusses the analysis and the ensuing findings. In order to facilitate appreciation of the analysis and findings, the paper presents a number of examples extracted from the original script, accompanied by the CCTV translation plus back translation of the program.
I will begin the presentation by providing information about the CCTV edition of Desperation Housewives, focusing on its poor reception by the viewers. I will continue with a discussion of the four prominent translation strategies used in the CCTV rendition, which I have identified on the basis of the stylistic analysis. The strategies include being maximal, being literal, being logical and being sanitary. I will then proceed to a critique of the four strategies. I will argue that the use of the strategies is intended to serve two specific objectives. Objective No 1: accomplishing the difficult task of translating the program from English into Chinese and from American culture into Chinese culture. Objective No 2: taming the desperate language acts of the characters. I will further argue, however, that the use of the strategies prevents the foreign (i.e., articulation of the desperation of suburbia American housewives) from coming through to the Chinese audience, which I believe contributes to the viewers’ disenchantment with the program.
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTA3ODA5MDg=.html Chinese caption by private translators
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XOTA0MDA1NDg=.html Chinese caption quick
Keywords
Screen translation, subtitling, dubbing, literal translation, logical translation, sanitized translation, maximalist translation vs minimalist translation, stylistic analysis, Desperate Housewives
翻译配音和字幕在我国影视剧行业属于常规，但采取系统性方法对其进行分析和研究及其学术发表，却比较罕见。在这个大背景下，本次讲座围绕《疯狂主妇》展开。讲座以央视引入《疯狂主妇》及其播放作为序幕，对其收视率失败作出评介。其次，讲者将着重讨论该译制片采取的四种翻译策略：完整化、直译、逻辑化、以及洁化。再其次，讲者将对这四种策略进行批评性评估，并将和与会者分享自己的判断，即：恰恰是这种四种策略，导致了《疯狂主妇》译制片的失败。最后，讲者将为影视配音和字幕提出自己的解决方案。
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