A Study on Subtitle Translation of the Film The Secret Life of Pets from the Perspective of Newmark’s Communicative Translation and Semantic Translation Theories

Abstract

This paper examines the subtitle translation of the animated film The Secret Life of Pets from the perspective of Peter Newmark’s theories of communicative translation and semantic translation. The study reveals that the subtitle translation of this film embodies a combination of both principles. Most translations employ liberal translation through the conversion of cultural concepts, the use of Chinese idioms or idiomatic expressions, and contextual adaptation, reflecting the reader-centered equivalence principle of communicative translation. Some translations retain the original text structure, surface meaning, or cultural imagery through literal translation, demonstrating the text fidelity and author-centered principle of semantic translation. This research vividly illustrates the coexistence and complementarity of these two translation theories in practice.