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c) Possible clues for cultural differences.
Intergroup harmony is very important to Chinese people. It is mean to describe a
friend‟s statement as “mean” in the Chinese culture, unless the speaker does not
want to continue the friendship with the recipient of the statement.
It also indicates that Americans tend to be outspoken even if their words might be
blunt. However, Chinese people prefer to conceal their feelings, in the belief that direct
expression of their feelings can hurt other members of the intergroup and pose a threat
on the intergroup harmony. It does not mean the American people use offensive
language and do not know courtesy. Instead, they would not take it as seriously as
Chinese people do if their friends say something such as “shut up”.
5.4 Summary of chapter
Humour is one of the most challenging task for subtitle writers. What appears to be
funny from the perspective of one cultural group might not be understood as something
amusing in another cultural group. Chinese viewers are not likely to realize that Friends
is not intended to be taken seriously, so they are guided to believe that how characters
behave in Friends is a representation of American people‟s behaviours in everyday life.
The consequence of this is that Chinese viewers may feel alienated from what they see.
To address this problem, subtitle producers might have to eliminate some statements
which highlight cultural differences, for example those which touch on sensitive issues.
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