Research on Film Subtitle Translation from the Perspective of Skopos Theory: A Case Study of Mulan

Abstract

This paper conducts a case study on the subtitle translation of the American film Mulan within the framework of Skopos Theory, exploring its characteristics, principles, and strategies in the translation process. The study finds that the subtitle translation of Mulan exhibits features such as instantaneity, colloquial speech, and use of cultural transplantability, which align with the communication needs of audiovisual translation. Furthermore, the analysis highlights how the three core principles of Skopos Theory—the skopos rule, the coherence rule, and the fidelity rule—are specifically applied in the translation practice. It demonstrates that through the flexible adoption of strategies such as domestication, foreignization, amplification, and free translation, the translator ensures the accurate conveyance of information while taking into account the cultural backgrounds and aesthetic preferences of the target audience, thereby effectively promoting cross-cultural understanding and emotional resonance. These findings verify the applicability of Skopos Theory in audiovisual translation, and further offer theoretical references and practical examples for related translation practices.