Qi Rao

Compared with the traditional translation, subtitle translation has its own unique characteristics, including time and space constraints, namely, the translator has to ensure that the subtitle translations can be contained in the limited space under the screen and audience can grasp the intended information conveyed by videos or movies in the limited time. These constraints can bring about specific requirements for subtitle translation, such as being concise and readily comprehensible. That’s where the translation strategy of reduction came into being. Besides, Ernst August Gutt, a renowned German linguist, has proposed relevance-theoretic accounts on translation, which can provide forceful evidence for the adoption of reduction in subtitle translation. There being no systematic methods for the reduction strategy in subtitle translation, the present thesis aims to explore the specific possible techniques included in the reduction strategy which falls into two categories---condensation and deletion, and takes the American TV series Criminal Minds (episode 12 season 8) as a case study. Hopefully, the thesis can be helpful in providing enlightment on the further study about reduction strategy in subtitle translation and promoting its better application.

subtitle translation, reduction strategy, relevance-theoretic accounts on translation

[1] 钱绍昌.影视翻译-翻译园地中愈来愈重要的领域[J].中国翻译,2001,(01). [2] Ernst August Gutt. Translation and Relevance: Cognition and Context[M].Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2004: 107. [3] Li Yunxing. Strategies for Translating Subtitles[J].Chinese Translators Journal, 2001 (04).

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