earticle

영어

This paper investigates readability strategies used in subtitle translations and, in particular, focuses on analyzing condensing and information structure alteration. Subtitling is governed by various constraints. In the audio-visual medium translation, especially movie, character’s dialogue or utterance is the main part in addressing story and plot development. And synchronizing between subtitle’s appearance on screen and the onset of speech is needed timely. Therefore, readability is the most essential factor in subtitling translation with time and space constraint. Under the temporal and spatial restrictions of subtitling, these restrictions cause target text to reduce the length of utterances. In addition, readability of subtitling could be achieved through the condensing with colloquial style, liberal translation. Alteration of information structure has three processes: the focus of new information, simplicity of meaning, the reduction of politeness. These information alteration is a kind of high readability strategy and choice of subtitling translators, including the balance between movie genre, audience level, foreignization and domestication and so on. This study concludes that readability strategy combined with condensing and information structure alteration is considered as an effective method in subtitling translation.