On the Domestication of the English–Chinese Subtitle Translation with the Big Bang Theory as a Case

Abstract

In the context of cultural globalization, many American dramas have been introduced to China and have attracted widespread attention from the Chinese people due to their unique cultural background. The American sitcom The Big Bang Theory is a big hit in China, and its subtitle translation plays an important role as a medium between the audience and the content of the sitcom. At present, domestic scholars’ researches on the subtitle translation of The Big Bang Theory mainly focus on domestication and foreignization, skopos theory and adaptation theory, and have achieved certain results. Using literature research method and inductive analysis, it can be concluded that domestication strategy can not only make the translation smooth and natural, but also help with cultural exchanges. The subtitling team has employed a lot of strategies of domestication in order to give Chinese viewers the same aesthetic experience and feel the American humour.