Subtitle Translation of the Live Action Film Mulan: From a Cross Cultural Perspective

Abstract

As an important tool in intercultural communication, the function of intercultural film subtitle translation is vital. Disney’s Mulan live-action film is an IP conversion with Eastern and Western culture as well as back translation elements. The research value of its subtitle translation is enormous. However, most of the current research focus on the comparison between English version and Chinese version, few studies systematically analyze the differences between Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan subtitle versions. Therefore, taking Mulan subtitles as the object, this study aims to explore how the narrative intent of different versions is conveyed in this paper. Combining Nida’s Functional Equivalence Theory, Bassnett’s Cultural Translation Theory and Skopos Theory, the research method adopted in this paper is multiversion comparative analysis in semantic and culture field. By studying these three different Chinese subtitle versions, this study explores how different translation strategies influence the conveyed meaning and cultural context in the process of intercultural communication. It is hoped that this study can help enhance intercultural communication by producing more accurate and intercultural sensitive subtitle translation.