3.1 Overview of Skopos Theory 8

3.2 Basic Concept of Subtitle Translation 8

3.3 Three Rules of Subtitle Translation 9

3.3.1 Skopos Rule 9

3.3.2 Coherence Rule 10

3.3.3 Fidelity Rule 10

4 Subtitle Translation Strategies of Friends 10

4.1 Reduction 10

4.2 Amplification 12

4.3 Domestication 14

5 Conclusion 16

References 17

A Study of the Subtitle Translation Strategies from the Perspective of Skopos Theory

---- A Case Study of Friends

1 Introduction

1.1 Research Background

Chinese language and culture are fundamentally different from those others’, hence it is essential for the audience to watch foreign movies and TV series with subtitle translation. Nowadays, more and more attention has been paid on subtitle translation between western countries and China. Up to now, western scholars still occupy a leading position in this field, especially the European scholars who have contributed a lot in putting forward the development of subtitle translation.

In addition, to make a comprehensive assessment between Chinese and American TV plays in China, it's quite clear that US TV series and Hollywood blockbusters are more fashionable among those young Chinese audiences. As a general view, Chinese teleplays, which may not be so appealing to young people, are often very popular among Chinese females whose ages are about 40. In other words, American TV series have spread at the bottom of young people's hearts and meet the current market need. What's more, according to the WTO (World Trade Organization) agreements, it is permitted to import 20 foreign movies in China each year. Because the language barrier still exists in people's understanding about the foreign movies and TVs, it's impossible for the average person to master all the languages and appreciate all the American TV plays and movies as good as a native speaker. Thus subtitle and dubbing are born at the right moment. Due to the lower cost and higher efficiency, it seems that subtitle is much preferred to dubbing, and with the increase of American TV plays each year, people are paying more and more concerns to subtitle translation.

1.2 Significance of the Research

With the expansion of the market of movies and TV series, especially the popularity of the Internet, more and more foreign movies and TV series have been introduced into China. It has become an important way to know more about foreign countries' society, economics, politics culture and customs. However, the status of unbalanced development between the introduction of many foreign language movies and the sluggish subtitle translation should be improved. With the fast development of the information era, in particular the coming of the Internet age, and the rapid pace of modern life, movies and TV works with subtitle translation not only make the viewer get the most information in a short span of time, but also give them an opportunity to appreciate the original English movies and television works. Consequently, as a significant portion of the translation, the subtitle translation of movies is particularly important. What's more, high-quality subtitle can both attract more movie fans and bring culture to people in a right way.