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e immediately understood in American culture. In this scene, Monica, Phoebe and
Rachel are speculating on the response of a man to the news that he will become a father.
Rachel and Ross have a baby, but Rachel has not yet told Ross. They then asked Joey
for opinions. Joey initial response to the question is that some woman who slept with
him is pregnant.
Rachel: “ Joey, what would you do if someone you slept with told you she was
pregnant? ”
Joey: “Who called here? Did she sound blond? Any accent? I gotta make a call. Should
have never walked into that Sunglass Hut! ”
The Chinese subtitle reads: “早知就不走进太阳镜屋了.” Repetition is used as the
strategy, because Sunglass Hut has been translated directly by its literal meaning. The
Chinese equivalent of Sunglass is “太阳镜” and that of Hut is “屋”. In my view, this
translation is confusing, since Sunglass Hut is not a famous brand in China. The
audience might tend to think that 太阳镜屋 is a place filled with sunglasses or sun
mirrors. Therefore, the Chinese audience will not understand what relationship Sunglass
Hut has with the woman who slept with Joey.
My own suggested HPTE would be:
“早知我就不和太阳镜店的女孩搭讪了。” This can be back translated as: “Should
have never flirted with the girl in the Sunglass Hut.” In my view, deletion is the best
strategy. It is not necessary to emphasise that Sunglass Hut is a retail chain since this
will still not help the Chinese audience understand what part Sunglass Hut plays in
Joey‟s personal life. Therefore, the subtitle would be more effective if it assists the
audience in understanding that Joey flirted with a shop attendant in the Sunglass Hut
and slept with her.
6.2.2 References to American movie or television series
References to American public characters often involved references to well-known
movies or television series as well as references to the actors that starred in these. The
first one of these discussed here concerns a reference to Lassie, the dog from the
well-known television series that aired in the USA many decades ago.
In Season 3, Episode 21, Scene 5 , Monica is trying to talk to Phoebe at Central Perk,
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