《辛普森一家》动画片中美国俚语翻译策略(2)

菜单

4.3 Based on the Plots 9

4.4 Based on Cognitive Level of Children 10

Conclusion 12

Acknowledgements 14

Bibliography 15

1 Introduction

1.1 Background of the Research

American slang belongs to the kind of language that is informal and interesting. Slang basically consists of the short-time-living derivative words and rhetoric. It is intentionally used to replace the standard terms in order to achieve the vivid, humorous, and other effects. Slang is a kind of highly colloquial language, which is composed of new words whose characters are colorful and irreverent. It is regarded as an integral part of everyday life: it makes itself heard not only in the street, at the pub, but in the jail, the church and even in the House of Parliament.

Nowadays, the status of slang has risen with the changes of American society. American slang originally belongs to a particular social class, but now, it has increasingly permeated into the communication language in daily life. It is accepted by more and more people and often appears in the novels, dramas, movies and it starts to be introduced into newspapers, magazines and such kinds of written materials. Hence, slang has become an important part of American language and culture.

1.2 Purpose of the Research

However, the translation of slang is far from satisfactory of audience. It is still staying at a low level. During the process of doing slang translation, people pay little attention to the linguistic and inter-cultural differences between English and Chinese. The figures of slangs and the intended functions of the target language are usually neglected.

There are many reasons cause the misunderstanding of slang. Firstly, the lack of linguistic knowledge, grammatical and spelling mistakes still exist in the translation to make it unacceptable to the audience. Secondly, most translation adopts word-to-word translation method. The order and meaning of the source language are faithfully kept without considering the linguistic characters of English.

Moreover, the principle of translation is source-text-oriented. The translator attempts to reproduce the precise contextual meaning of slang without considering the cultural, psychological, or aesthetical features of the audience. Therefore, the study of American slang translation is deficient and the translated versions of slangs sometimes are very hard to be understood or accepted by the readers.

Thus, for us, it is particularly important to do the research of American slang translation strategy in inter-cultural communication.

1.3 Brief Introduction of The Simpsons

The American animated sitcom named The Simpsons is created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Since its debut on December 17, 1989, the show has broadcast 523 episodes. The Simpsons is the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and in 2009 it surpassed Gunsmoke as the longest-running American primetime, scripted television series. The Simpsons uses the standard setup of a situational comedy, or sitcom, as its premise. The series centers on a family and their life in a typical American town, serving as a satirical parody of a working and middle class American lifestyle. 来~自^751论+文.网www.751com.cn/

Because of its animated character, The Simpsons’ scope is larger than that of a regular situation comedy. The town of Springfield acts as a complete world in which characters can detect the issues faced by modern society. The town features a vast array of media channels—from kids’ television programming to local news, which enables the producers to make jokes about themselves and the entertainment industry.