View - Scholarly Commons Home

in show business.”
c) The Subtitle:
Ross: “为什么他有这么一个洋娃娃?”
Susan Bunch: “他是有洋娃娃,那又如何?除非你担心他长大后在演艺圈里。”
Back translation: he has a doll, so what? Unless you are worried that he will be in the
entertainment industry.
d) Strategies of Subtitle Production Used:
The translator has used a semantic strategy in order to produce this subtitle. A semantic
strategy is a strategy that translates the source text according to its literal meaning and
grammatical structure.
e) Evaluation of the Strategy:
Brevity
The subtitle has met this criterion. It has not added any additional words that the
original line did not have.
Synchronisation
The subtitle is synchronised with the original line while it is being uttered by the
character.
Reliability
The subtitle does not distort the original meaning of the line, but neither does it fully
display the original meaning. A doll has a cultural meaning. Only girls will have dolls
and dolls are designed for girls. The show business means the business of strippers.
Exposure to girls‟ toys might create confusion in relation to self-identity (in terms of
gender). This line was meant to disparage Ross, who harboured the notion that a boy
who plays with girls‟ toys will become an effeminate man.
Efficacy
The line is supposed to amuse the audience. However, Chinese viewers would not laugh,
firstly because they are not familiar with the intended cultural meaning of the doll
(which is culture-specific-item). Barbie dolls are not popular in China, however it may
be said that Chinese people are not as strongly aware of the fact that Barbie dolls are
only intended for girls as Americans are. Playing with Barbie dolls is not a strong
predictor of one‟s sex identity. Fathers in China would not be as anxious when they see
38