Translation of Chinese Culture-specific Items to English in “Romance on the Farm”
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70036/cltls.v2i2.66Keywords:
culture-specific items, translation strategies , audiovisual translation, Chinese, EnglishAbstract
Background: In recent years, the globalization of media content has increased the demand for high-quality audiovisual translation, particularly in culturally rich genres such as historical television dramas. One persistent challenge in this domain is the effective translation of culture-specific items (CSIs), which often carry unique semantic, historical, and socio-cultural meanings that are difficult to transfer across languages. Knowledge Gaps: Despite growing interest in translation strategies for CSIs, few studies have focused on how these elements are handled in Chinese historical dramas. Aims: This study explored how Chinese culture-specific items (CSIs) are translated into the TV drama Romance on the Farm. The aim of the study was divided into three specific objectives: categorizing culture-specific items (CSIs), analyzing the strategies used in translating CSIs, and exploring the condition that leads to the chosen strategies. The study used Pedersen’s taxonomy of CSI translation strategies as well as his classification of CSIs. Results: The findings reveal that the choice of translation strategies was affected by the different types of CSIs, and the most frequently used strategy is substitution. Implications: These results suggest that translators need to be adaptable and aware of the cultural significance of each CSI, and they should change their methods based on the type of CSI. This is useful for making subtitles more culturally accurate and easier for viewers to understand, especially in dramas that are full of historical and cultural references. This study tries to contribute to improving translation practices in audiovisual translation by providing insights and strategies for better handling culture-specific items.
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