Movie Subtitle Translation: Relevance Theory Perspective with <i>Reference to the Movie The Shawshank Redemption</i> as the Case Study

Abstract

This paper aims at exploring the efficient strategies of movie-subtitle translation by analyzing the problems in the translating process in terms of linguistic and cultural obstructions. By evaluating the English-Chinese translated version of the film The Shawshank Redemption, a 1994 American drama released by the Time Warner Company, the author tries to show how relevance theory works in dealing with the problems in translation, namely cultural differences, word games, style and omission in translation. Relevance theory is powerful and efficient in overcoming linguistic, cultural and stylistic obstacles in translation process. It allows translators more freedom to recreate their own translation versions rather than being trapped in the “meaning and form” dilemma as (translation) is supposed to “render the meaning of a text into another language in the way that the author intended the text” (Newmark, 2001: 5). This is especially true in the movie subtitle translation due to its unique features as a text and the expectation from the audiences.