Cross-linguistic transference of politeness phenomena
In this thesis, I have examined the screen translation of Japanese politeness into Cantonese dubbing as well as Chinese subtitling at three difference levels: (a) face threatening acts; (b) frequently used politeness markers and (c) discernment aspect of politeness. It is not difficult to find equivalents in the target languages for the politeness strategies exploited in dealing with face threatening acts. However, the indirectness expressed through certain commonly adopted politeness markers (such as negative interrogative) in Japanese cannot be conveyed into our target languages easily. Translators also encounter some difficulties when they deal with the discernment aspect of Japanese politeness (i.e. the distinction between plain, formal and honorific form). Both target languages are able to distinguish politeness of two levels instead of three as observed in the Japanese original. Finally, the screen translation, especially the dubbed version, of the two films that I examined demonstrates the dual role of a translated text as not only a reproduction of the original text but also a text which has its function in the target culture.
Shih, Pei Chun
PI Oriental languages and literatures ; P Philology. Linguistics
Cross-linguistic transference of politeness phenomena. In this thesis, I have examined the screen translation of Japanese politeness into Cantonese dubbing as well as Chinese subtitling at three difference levels: (a) face threatening acts; (b) frequently used politeness markers and (c) discernment aspect of politeness. It is not difficult to find equivalents in the target languages for the politeness strategies exploited in dealing with face threatening acts. However, the indirectness expressed through certain commonly adopted politeness markers (such as negative interrogative) in Japanese cannot be conveyed into our target languages easily. Translators also encounter some difficulties when they deal with the discernment aspect of Japanese politeness (i.e. the distinction between plain, formal and honorific form). Both target languages are able to distinguish politeness of two levels instead of three as observed in the Japanese original. Finally, the screen translation, especially the dubbed version, of the two films that I examined demonstrates the dual role of a translated text as not only a reproduction of the original text but also a text which has its function in the target culture.
cross_linguistic transference politeness phenomenon examine screen translation japanese politeness cantonese dub well chinese subtitle difference_level face threaten act frequently_use politeness marker discernment aspect politeness difficult equivalent target_language politeness_strategy exploit deal face threaten act however express certain commonly adopt politeness marker negative interrogative japanese convey target_language easily translators also encounter difficulty_deal discernment aspect japanese politeness distinction plain formal honorific form target languages able distinguish politeness two_level instead observe japanese original finally screen translation especially dub version film examine demonstrates dual role translate_text reproduction original_text also text function target_culture