Features of translating war film titles from English to Russian
https://doi.org/10.20310/1810-0201-2023-28-2-377-385
Abstract
Importance. The features of the translation of war film titles from English into Russian are considered. Today there is a problem of adequate translation of film titles from English into Russian. Due to the different characteristics of the source language and the target language, as well as the cultural characteristics of all ethnic groups, the translation of a military-themed film from one language to another is not just a translation, but a recreation of the military reality of foreign armed forces. To do this, the translator must have the necessary background knowledge that will allow him to correctly recreate this reality. Special attention should be paid to the translation of titles that not only reflect the content of the film in a succinct form, but are also one of the first factors that potential viewers pay attention to.
The purpose of the study is to identify the features of the translation of the names of war films and to determine how the translator can most adequately convey the meaning of the original title.
Materials and methods. The war film titles in English and their translations into Russian are analyzed. A selection of the most interesting and problematic of war film titles was taken. Based on this sample, a classification of the types of translation of war films was compiled, as well as an analysis regarding this classification was carried out. The most frequent errors in the translation of war films were also identified.
Results and Discussion. It is revealed that the translator, in addition to understanding the context of the film, must have the necessary background knowledge to adequately translate the title taking into account military realities. It was also revealed that some titles of military films cannot be translated literally, and require a creative approach of the translator.
Conclusion. A number of recommendations are proposed for translators that can help more accurately convey the meaning of the original title. The described features of translating the war film titles in English into Russian can be useful not only for translators, but also for a wide range of readers and viewers. The recommendations formulated on the basis of the research results can help translators and localizers to more accurately convey the meaning of the war film titles into Russian.
Keywords
About the Authors
M. A. ShevchenkoRussian Federation
Mikhail A. Shevchenko - PhD (Education), Associate Professor of Translation and Language Communications Department, Head of the Academic Department, Deputy of Scouting and Special Training Department of Military Training Centre.
36 Lenin Ave., Tomsk, 634050
L. A. Tavgiridze
Russian Federation
Levan A. Tavdgiridze - Assistant of Translation and Language Communications Department.
36 Lenin Ave., Tomsk, 634050
References
1. Engberg M. (1977). Dansk stumfilm. Kobenhavn, Rhodos Publ., 725 p.
2. Counts J. (1999). Just the beginning: The art of film titles. New York, 110 p.
3. Kovtun I.A. (2018). Specific of translation of movie titles from English to Russian. Aktual’nye voprosy sovremennoi filologii i zhurnalistiki [Current Issues of Modern Philology and Journalism], no. 1 (28), pp. 8590. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/yaaamh
4. Ivanova N.B. (2016). The peculiarities of translation of the titles of feature films into Russian. Sbornik statei laureatov 18 mezhregional’noi konferentsii-festivalya nauchnogo tvorchestva uchashcheisya molodezhi «Yunost’ Bol’shoi Volgi» [Proceedings of Articles by Laureates of the 18th Interregional ConferenceFestival of Scientific Creativity of Students “The Youth of the Big Volga”]. Cheboksary, pp. 204-208. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/wyaagr
5. Balzhinimaeva E.Zh. (2009). Strategiya perevoda nazvanii fil’mov [Strategy for Translating Movie Titles]. Moscow, (In Russ.) Available at: https://refdb.ru/look/3099824.html (accessed 25.11.2022)
6. Mitchell P.J., Marugina N.I. (2015). The problem of translating Russian and English academic terms (the experience of the center for translation, faculty of foreign languages, TSU). Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta = Tomsk State University Journal, no. 394, pp. 53-58. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.17223/15617793/394/9, https://elibrary.ru/tywiix
7. Superanskaya A.V. (1973). Obshchaya teoriya imeni sobstvennogo [General Theory of the Proper Name]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 365 p. (In Russ.) Available at: https://search.rsl.ru/ru/record/01007463966
8. Flentea E. (2007). Difficulties in Translating Movie Titles. Chisinau, 32 p. Available at: https://www.bibliofond.ru/view.aspx?id=134230 (accessed 25.11.2022).
9. Mitchell P.J., Sysuev V.A. (2014). Sposoby dostizheniya perevodcheskoi ekvivalentnosti pri perevode voennykh dokumentov (na primere kitaiskogo yazyka) [Ways to achieve translation equivalence in the translation of military documents (using the example of the Chinese language)]. Industriya perevoda [Translation Industry], vol. 1, pp. 55-59. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/tixisn
10. Rogozhkin S.E., Mitchell P.J. (2016). Specifics of academic text translation strategy. Language and Culture, no. 2 (8), pp. 75-82. https://doi.org/10.17223/24109266/8/8, https://elibrary.ru/xreoxd
Review
For citations:
Shevchenko M.A., Tavgiridze L.A. Features of translating war film titles from English to Russian. Tambov University Review. Series: Humanities. 2023;28(2):377-385. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.20310/1810-0201-2023-28-2-377-385