Translation of Titles of Chinese Costume Dramas from the Perspective of Cultural Differences

摘要

Chinese costume dramas are rich in Chinese cultural elements, but there is an inescapable challenge in the English translation of the titles: cultural differences. Titles of Chinese costume dramas have two main characteristics: implicitness and simplicity, while those of British and American costume dramas are clear and concise. Therefore, this paper proposes that the primary principle for the English translation of titles of Chinese costume dramas is to simplify and crystallize. Titles of Chinese costume dramas are divided into two categories, and specific translation strategies are proposed in this paper. The strategies of free translation, creative translation and borrowing are preferred for implicit titles; transliteration and literal translation, and subtractive translation are adopted for explicit ones.