Review article published in:
Pragmatics & Cognition
Vol. 22:3 (2014) ► pp. 402–420

The cognitive pragmatics of subtitling

| Fujian Normal University
| Fujian Medical University
| Fujian Normal University
This paper features a critical review of the book Politeness and Audience Response in Chinese-English Subtitling. A brief introduction of the book’s content is given first, followed by a critical appraisal on merits and loopholes in the book. Furthermore, some interdisciplinary amendments — based on House’s (1998) comprehensive politeness theory and Lakoff’s (1987) embodiment concept — are put forward to remedy the loopholes in question. It is argued that covert translation works better in subtitling for it is compatible with different social norms at the micro level and universally explanative politeness maxims at the macro level. Another issue discussed in this paper is the pretextual influence on audience interpretation. Pretextual influence — or embodiment system which we render more pertinent in cognitive interpretation practice — can barely be mitigated in the audience’s interpretation. Given the audience’s potential misunderstanding derived from access to various pretextual experiences, the translator may as well transfer the right implications underneath paralinguistic behaviors to the subtitling in domesticalized terms.
Keywords: subtitling, covert translation, embodiment, pretextual influence, audience response
Published online: 29 September 2016
https://doi.org/10.1075/pc.22.3.07xie
References

References

Brown, P., & Levinson, S.
(1987) Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
De Marco, M.
(2012) Audiovisual Translation through a Gender Lens. Amsterdam: Rodopi.Google Scholar
Díaz Cintas, J.
(Ed.) (2008) The Didactics of Audiovisual Translation. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(Ed.) (2009) New Trends in Audiovisual Translation. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Ellender, C.
(2015) Dealing with Difference in Audiovisual Translation: Subtitling Linguistic Variation in Films. Bern: Peter Lang. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Fraser, B.
1990 “Perspectives on politeness”. Journal of Pragmatics 14: 219–236. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Gottlieb, H.
(2000) Texts, translation and subtitling. In H. Gottlieb (Ed.), Screen Translation (PP. 1–40). Copenhagen: Center for Translation Studies.Google Scholar
Gu, Y.
(1992) Limao yuyong yu wenhua (Politeness, pragmatics and culture). Waiyu Jiaoxue yu Yanjiu [Foreign Language Teaching and Research], 4, 10–17.Google Scholar
Hatim, B., & Mason, I.
(1990) Discourse and the Translator. Harlow: Longman.Google Scholar
(1997) Politeness in screen translating. In L. Venuti (Ed.), The Translation Studies Reader (pp. 430–445). London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Hill, B., Ide, S., Ikuta, S., Kawasaki, A., & Ogino, T.
(1986) Universals of Linguistic Politeness: Quantitative Evidence from Japanese and American English. Journal of Pragmatics, 10(3), 347–371. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
House, J.
(1997) Translation Quality Assessment: A Model Revisited. Tübingen: Narr.Google Scholar
(1998) Politeness and translation. In L. Hickey (Ed.), The Pragmatics of Translation (pp. 54–71). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Ide, S.
(1989) Formal forms and discernment: Two neglected aspects of universals of linguistic politeness. Multilingua, 8(2/3), 223–248. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Jankowska, A., & Szarkowsk, A.
(Eds.) (2015) New Points of View on Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility. Bern: Peter Lang. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lakoff, R.T.
(1973) The logic of politeness; or minding your p’s and q’s. In C. Corum, T. Smith-Stark, & A. Weiser (Eds.), Papers from the Ninth Regional Meeting of the Chicago Linguistic Society (pp. 292–305). Chicago: Chicago Linguistic Society.Google Scholar
Lakoff, G.
1987 Women, fire and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal about the Mind. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Leech, G.N.
1983 Principles of Pragmatics. London: Longman.Google Scholar
2014 The Pragmatics of Politeness. Oxford: Oxford University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Orero, P.
(Ed) 2004 Topics in Audiovisual Translationy. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Pérez-González, L.
2009 “Audiovisual translation”. In M. Baker and G. Saldanha (Eds), Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies (2nd edition). London and New York: Routledge, 13–20.Google Scholar
2014 Audiovisual Translation: Theories, Methods and Issues. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Smith, S.
1998 “The language of subtitling”. In: Y. Gambier (Ed.), Translating for the Media. Papers from the International Conference Languages and the Media. Turku: University of Turku, 139–149.Google Scholar
Venuti, L.
2008 The Translator’s Invisibility: A History of Translation. Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Xie, C.
2008 “(Im)politeness: Towards an evaluative and embodied approach”. Pragmatics and Cognition 16 (1): 151–175.Google Scholar
Xu, J.
2012 “Fanyi yanjiu zhiyong jiqi keneng de chulu” (Translation Studies in China: its functions and a possible direction for its further development). Zhongguo Fanyi [Chinese Translators Journal] 1: 5–12.Google Scholar
Zhang, W.
2015 “Woguo fanyi yanjiu xianzhuang kaocha – jiyu guojia sheke jijin xiangmu (2000-2013) de tongji yu fenxi” (Overview of translation studies in China: A statistical analysis of research projects funded by the National Social Science Foundation (2000–2013). Waiyu Jiaoxue yu Yanjiu [Foreign Language Teaching and Research] 47 (1): 106–117.Google Scholar