Principles of English Movie Title Translation

1. Presenting Useful Information

Title translation must be honest to the theme and main content of movie with conveying the relevant information. The information and meaning contained in translated title must be equivalent to that in the original movie. For example， Ghost was translated by hinterland into幽靈or鬼魂both of which indicate that it’s a horror movie. Actually， this movie tells a deeply touching and sentimental love story. Liberal translation of the movie title is very confusing and doesn't’t point out the theme， so人鬼情未了， the translation version in Hong Kong， is a much better one with delivering the original meaning of the movie.

2. Conveying Cultural Connotations

East and West have different sociologies， historical background， cultural history， values， ethics and religions. Translation is not purely the conversion between two languages. What’s more important， it needs to precisely convey cultural information contained in source language. Seven depicts a crime story filled with philosophical implications against a gloomy background in which a lunatic regards himself as the god and kills people who he feels guilty according to the seven deadly sins of Catholicism. In this movie， seven implies the sins and punishments in one’s fate. Therefore，七宗罪is a great translation pointing out the main plot and philosophical implications of the number “seven”.

3. Conforming to Aesthetic Trend

Chinese audience expect the beauty of movie titles to be presented in two aspects， firstly in form， secondly in content. In terms of movie title’s form， westerners worship the simplicity of language， but Chinese people are particular about language’s harmony and symmetry and especially like those four-character phrases， such as， Top Gun（壯志凌云）， No Country for Old Man（老無所依）， Inception（盜夢空間）. For title’s content， Chinese audience prefer the words abundant with cultural connotations and imagination.魂斷藍橋（Waterloo Bridge） can be called a terrific translation example which describes a grief love story. The beauty of魂斷藍橋lies in “藍橋” which stands for a special place where lovers commit suicide together for their love in Chinese ancient tales.

4. Maximizing Commercial Interests

Movie is a commercial product with gaining high box office as its final goal. Translation of movie titles has a direct impact on box office， and merely when translated titles are in line with audience’s appreciation taste and psychological demands， more audience can be appealed to cinema. For example， Gone With the Wind（亂世佳人）， centering on heroine's life， depicts the tough life and strong will of southern people before and after the Civil War. My Fair Lady（窈窕淑女） tells the life experience about a girl living in the bottom of the society and arduously struggling. Their English titles can't reflect brilliant stories in these movies， but words like \"佳人\"、\"淑女\"add charm to them and bring excellent commercial effect.