2.2.2.4 Adequacy being the standard of translation 5

3. Analysis of Chinese Martial Arts Movie Title Translation based on the Skopos Theory 6

3.1 The Skopos of Chinese Martial Arts Movie Title Translation 6

3.2 Analysis on Translation of Chinese Martial Arts Movie Titles according to naming approaches based on Functionalism 7

3.2.1 Analysis on Translation of Chinese Martial Arts Movie Titles named after the protagonist 7

3.2.2 Analysis on Translation of Chinese Martial Arts Movie Titles named after the identification of the protagonist 7

3.2.3 Analysis on Translation of Chinese Martial Arts Movie Titles named after a certain phrase 8

3.2.4 Analysis on Translation of Chinese Martial Arts Movie Titles named after a certain place where the story happens 8

3.2.5 Analysis on Translation of Chinese Martial Arts Movie Titles named after a certain subject 9

3.2.6 Analysis on Translation of Chinese Martial Arts Movie Titles named after a plot 10

3.3 Summary 10

4. Conclusion 12

References 13

1. Introduction

1.1 Research Background

Film, also called movie, as an aesthetic form created by specific cultures, which reflects those cultures and in turn, affects them, is deeply beloved by the public. 

Since the machine by then people called the cinematographe was invented in 1895, the over-a-century-long history of films started and film has become more and more popular as a way of entertainment in daily life. To some degree, film is also an important media for language and cultural transmission. For example, epic films show us grand historical and cultural background so that people are able to understand and acquire the historical knowledge about various types from various days and different countries. As a result, films are regarded as an acting and talking encyclopedia of culture. 

During the last three decades, China’s opening up has offered great chances for cultural communication and integration with other countries, especially the western countries. Movie, as an indispensable part of art and culture, has gained great vitality and popularity all around the world. As Hollywood movies continue to sweep the world and take an increasingly larger share in China’s movie industry, Chinese movies also win applause from many people in the globe. There is an upward trend in the total output of Chinese movies. For this reason, how to make people all around the world love Chinese movies as well as understand Chinese culture has become an urgent problem. Movie title leaves the first impression of the movie on its audience and somehow determines the popularity and acceptance of the movie; the translation of movie titles is considered one of the most crucial and fundamental tasks. 

Generally speaking, movie titles have three principal functions: the referential function, the expressive function, and the appellative function. The referential function means that the translation of the title makes it possible for the audience to understand the basic information via limited wording, say, the background of the film and plots of the film. It tells the audience as much of the information of the film as it can by using several words and help them has a basic understanding of the film. The expressive function means that the translation of the title brings the basic feeling-tone to the audiences when the film title comes into the potential audience’s attention. The result of this kind of function comes from the different film genre. The appellative function means that the audiences have a desire to watch the film by the film title translation. This kind of function can create the special effect to attract and stimulate the audience to watch the film, which includes the immediately comprehensible information to the audiences.