Applying Adaptation Theory to Humor Subtitling

【摘要】幽默感普遍存在于人類各个民族、文化及人们生活的诸多方面。然而，由于幽默具有强烈的文化特殊性，往往与不同人群的审美取向、价值观、思维方式和表达方式密切相关，在跨文化交际中，幽默能否翻译和如何翻译以达到有效传递已经成了一个学术争论的焦点。影视作品中的幽默更是融合了视听多元符号的动态幽默。本文尝试在耶夫·维索尔伦1999年提出的顺应论指导下，以情景喜剧《破产姐妹》为例，研究幽默字幕的汉译问题。在顺应理论的框架内，幽默字幕翻译过程中，译者应不断顺应目标语文本的语境，选择有效的翻译策略以最大限度传达源语文本的幽默意图。因此，本文在顺应论的指导下，根据案例中的幽默字幕的翻译，归纳出几种具体的翻译策略如：幽默补偿的意译、加注、替代和明示等以作讨论。

【关键词】幽默字幕翻译 顺应论《破产姐妹》意译 加注 替代 明示

【Abstract】The sense of humor exists in many aspects of humans life in all nations and cultures. However， due to the cultural particularity of humor， which relates humor closely to diverse esthetic conceptions， different values and varied modes of thinking and expressing， it becomes an academic focus on the translatability of humor and strategies in humor translation in order to achieve effective cross-cultural communication concerning humor. Especially， humorous texts in films and television works are characterized with the dynamic combination of audio and visual semiotics. This thesis attempts to explore the issue of humor subtitling from English to Chinese by the case of the sitcom Two Broke Girls under the guidance of adaptation theory proposed by Verschueren in 1999. In the framework of adaptation theory， subtitle translators should always adapt to the target language text and chose the most effective strategies during the process of translation for the maximum conveyance of the humorous intention in the source language text. Therefore， based on the adaptation theory and the case study， this thesis concludes several specific strategies of humor subtitling for further discussion such as：paraphrasing for compensation of humor， annotation， substitution， explication and etc.

【Key words】humor subtitling； adaptation； Two Broke Girls； paraphrasing； annotation； substitution； explication

1. Humor and Humor Translation

Though humor is a mankind common emotional sense， there is no scientifically valid and all-encompassing definition in academic field yet. The definition of humor is dependent on the purpose for which is used. Thus， from the perspective of translation studies， a broad definition of humor is acknowledged that the text or utterance should be deemed as humorous when its perlocutionary effect is laughter （Kerbrat- Orecchioni， 1981）. In this case study of the sitcom， humor refers to the comic elements in the subtitles purposely created or manipulated so as to arouse pleasantly natural laughter and consequently empathy in the target viewing audience.

As for the translatability of humor， there also exist different views：the opinion of untranslatability of humor has been underpinned by three pillars：psychological， linguistic， cultural differences. As a matter of fact， the translatability lies in other three perspectives：cultural homogeneity， language overlapping and exchanges of ideas by translation over a long historical period. As a matter of fact， in terms of humor translation， while bearing mind the obstacles， translators can find scientific strategies in the cross-cultural communication.endprint

2. Adaptation Theory

In Verschuerens monograph understanding pragmatics， he points out that using language must consist of continuous making of linguistic choices consciously or unconsciously， for language-internal or language -external reasons （2000：55-56）. In other words， language users make linguistic choices constantly to achieve effective communication.

As for humor subtitling， the “point of satisfaction for communicative needs” is to achieve the relevantly equal humorous effect of the source text， in other words， to arouse the similar laughter in the target text audience with the source text audience. Therefore， the translators should adapt to the cognitive context of the target text audience on one hand， on the other hand， they should adapt to the linguistic elements of the target text. Due to the differences in the cross-cultural communication， humor subtitling as an unique communicative activity， it requires the translators to be oriented by the communicative goal， adapt to the specific communicative context and targets， consciously make linguistic choices and adopt translation strategies and make flexible and dynamic adaptions during their translation.

3. Brief Introduction of the Sample

Two Broke Girls is selected as the sample because it is a newly casted and typical American sitcom. It was first showed in CBS in September 2011， telling a story of two girls， Max and Caroline， with totally different family and educational background but meet each other and become friends by working as waitresses in the same restaurant after the real rich lady Carolines father broke. The main site of the sitcom is their work place， a low grade restaurant in Brooklyn. Max is a sharp-tongued but kind hearted sexy girl and Caroline is pretty， fashionable and delicate because of her “once being really rich” family. Their boss Han lee is a short Korean man and Oleg is the chief who in into telling dirty jokes and Earl is the old black cashier there. Every character has his/her distinctive personality but they are all kind and humorous. The story of their work and life make the whole sitcom full of fun. The thesis chooses the first episode of the first season as its analysis data.

The humor elements of the sitcom can be categorized into three：firstly， the situation- related humor is largely dependent on the scenario and can be commonly understood by all. Secondly， the language- related humor is the humorous elements within the linguistic sphere. And lastly the culture- related humor is the humorous effect achieved by different cultural characteristics. All the three humor elements can be found throughout the sample and are respectively treated by different adaption strategies in their contexts while translating.endprint

4. Translation Strategies Used in the Sample

While the adaptation theory serving as a principle guidance of analysis of humor subtitling， there are specific strategies by which the adaptation can be made so as to achieve the communicative goal. Those strategies applied should be dynamically adapted to the new contextual environment. In the process of humor subtitling， the translator continuously make choices via adapting his subtitling to both linguistic and extra- linguistic contexts. In the case study， four typical translation strategies are found：paraphrasing， annotation， substitution and explication.

4.1 Paraphrasing

Firstly， paraphrasing is frequently applied. A paraphrase is a restatement of the meaning of a text or passage using other words， typically serving to put the sources statement into perspective or to clarify the context in which it appeared. Paraphrase may attempt to preserve the essential meaning of the material being paraphrased. It represents a “dynamic equivalent”， conveying the essential thought expressed in a source text.

In the humor subtitling， due to linguistic， cultural and other differences existing in cross-cultural communications as mentioned， the humorous elements may not take the same form in different language and culture and the humorous effect may not be exactly equal within the source text and target one. In many cases， humorous effect weakens or even loses when transmitting from one language/culture to another. In such cases， paraphrasing is a choice making strategy under the adaptation principle for the compensation of humor. Here are some examples in the data：

Example 1.

Max：Where do you even find these people？The Russian hooker， the one before that was a meth addict.

譯文：你都在哪儿找的这些歪瓜劣枣？俄罗斯妓女， 再前一位还是个吸毒妹。

Instead of being literally translated into “这些人”， “these people” is paraphrased as “歪瓜劣枣”. Its obvious in the situational context that， Max is sneering at Han for successively finding weird waitresses. The Chinese word “歪瓜劣枣” is selected as it can convey the derogatory， irony sense and the humorous effect implied in the context， which should totally lose if treated by the literal translation.

Example 2.

Oleg：You look so pretty today. You look so beautiful I forget how bad you personality is.

译文：今儿个性感动人啊， 美得我差点忘了你是个悍妇了。

Max：Thanks.

译文：承蒙夸奖。

The situation is the two friends are teasing each other. Compared by literal translation “美得我都忘了你的个性有多差” and “悍妇”， obviously the latter one is both concise and precise. Max responded with a “承蒙夸奖”， not a simple “谢谢” in Chinese， because the subtitling translator makes a choice of adaption to the context to compensate the humorous effect which may lose by “谢谢”. By paraphrasing in this case， “承蒙夸奖” preserves the essential humorous implication of the material being paraphrased and represents a “dynamic equivalent” of the source text.endprint

4.2 Annotation

When sometimes there comes unintelligible subtitles which may hinder the smooth transmission of humorous effects for the target text audience， the compensatory means of annotation can be selected. The following is an example of culture-related intelligible subtitle：

Example 3.

Max：I wear knit hats when its cold out；You wear knit hats cause of Coldplay.

译文：姐戴帽子挡酷寒， 二货戴帽学酷玩。（乐队）

The humorous effect produced by the paronomasia “cold out” and “coldplay” is adapted to two rhyming words “酷寒” and “酷玩”， with which the target text audience can enjoy the similar humor as the source text audience do. Whats more， Coldplay is a British rock band which is popular but not a household known famous one. Thus the annotation in the end provides the necessary information for the target text audience. In this example， annotation plays an assistant but necessary role in the process of adaptation.

4.3 Substitution

Sitcom as a cross-cultural communication contains cultural-bound terms as well as linguistic-bound differences while arousing laughter from its audience. Substitution， using one term to take the place and perform the function of the other， is another effective technique at disposal of the translator in humor subtitling.

Example 4.

Han：I have new American name to go with changing neighborhood.

譯文：我起了新的英文名字， 来适应新时代“得”社会。

Max：To go with “the” changing neighborhood.

译文：适应新时代“的”社会。

In English language， there is the grammar issue of using determiner and the Korean boss makes a grammar mistake here. In this situation， how the humorous effect can be transmitted to Chinese receptors？The subtitling translator applies the substitution. In Chinese language， “得” and “的” is also a confusing couple of structural particles. By the strategy， Chinese audience can easily understand the linguistic mistake made by Han lee and the humorous element is kept as much and as authentic as possible.

Example 5.

Max：Your name is Bryce Lee？

译文：你改名叫李小笼啊？

From the plot and scenario， it can be deduced that Han Lee intended to change his name into Bruce Lee （李小龙） the famous kongfu star but made a spelling mistake into Bryce Lee. Substitution occurs in the translation via replacing the spelling mistake into similar Chinese character with totally different meanings in order to achieve humorous effect.

Example 6.

Max：Go merry the ketch-ups.endprint

译文：把番茄酱连一起。

Caroline：Merry the ketch-ups.

译文：把番茄酱联姻起。

Within this word-play humor， the scenario tells the audience that Caroline misunderstands the word “merry”. In this case， is humor translatable？The substitution helps. “连一起” and “联姻起” play as paronomasia， substituting the original antalaclasis. By the choice making， the target text receptors gain equal or even more humor than the source text receptors.

4.4 Explication

Vinay and Darbelnet （1958） defines explication as “ the process of introducing information into the target language which is present only implicitly in the source language， but which can be derived from the context or situation”. It occurs when key semantic elements that are carried implicitly in the source language require explicit identification in the target language. An example in the ample illustrates the point：

Example 7.

Max：Whatever that is， it doesnt belong to this diner， it belongs in a show on Bravo.

譯文：这娇娇女明显就是来错地方打错工了， 她应该去演电视。

Bravo is an American basic cable and satellite television network and flagship channel. The channel originally focused on programming related to fine arts and film；it currently broadcasts several reality television series targeted at females ages 25 through 54， acquired dramas， and mainstream theatrically-released feature films. “show on Bravo” being explicated as “演电视”， Maxs irony is vividly revealed to the audience. Hence the successful humor subtitling brings the similar laughter to the audience in different language and culture.

5. Summary

Humor elements in the subtitles in sitcoms are purposely created or manipulated so as to arouse pleasantly natural laughter and consequently empathy in the target viewing audience. Adaptation theory with dynamic context adaptation standing at the core exhibits its theoretical advantages in humor subtitling. It gives the definite answer of the translatability of humor and provides the effective solution in the realization of the goal to arouse the similar laughter in the target text audience. In the practice of adaptation， choice making with strategies like paraphrasing， annotation， substitution， explications and many others help the translator in conveying the humorous effects in the cross-cultural communication.

References：

[1]Two Broke Girls[EB/OL]http：//tv.sohu.com/s2012/brokegirls1/.

[2]Eugene A.Nida，Context in Translation[M].Shanghai：Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.

[3]Kerbrat- Orecchioni，C.Les usages comiques de lanalogie[J].Folia Linguistica 15，1981，1（2）：163-183.

[4]Verschueren，Jef.Understanding Pragmatics[M].London：Edward Arnold Publisher Ltd，2000.

[5]欧阳利锋.如何翻译幽默[J].广州外语外贸大学学报，2002， （3）：49-54.

[6]宋志平.翻译：选择与顺应，语用顺应论视角下的翻译研究[J].中国翻译，2004，（2）.

作者简介：曾蓉（1985.12-），女，土家族，湖北宜昌人，硕士，助教，研究方向：翻译。endprint