Application of the concept of defamiliarization in translation studies: Case studies of the translation of film titles

Abstract

As more and more foreign films stream into China, the importance of translation of film titles is becoming obvious. A good film title can not only convey the theme of a film, but also grab the attention and inspire the aesthetic emotion of the audience. The aim of defamiliarization theory is to evoke the aesthetic emotion of people which has been widely used in the translation of film titles. Yet some translations of film titles decrease the defamiliarization effect and present audience with more familiar content. This thesis probes into the application of “defamiliarization” in translation studies, summarizes the methods of translating film titles and discusses the issues of defamilarization degree, hoping to provide new ideas of translating film titles.