Cultural Translation in Green Book

Abstract

Cultural translation is a very hot topic among academic circle in China. Research on cultural translation has dramatically increased after 2006, and reached a peak in the recent five years. However, most studies are still confined to the linguistic level, starting from translation studies and focusing on the translation of culture embedded words. Thus, integrating cultural studies with translation in order to improve intercultural communication needs serious attention. After a brief summary of current cultural translation research in China, this article attempts to analyze the movie Green Book through five dimensions developed by Sara Maitland: interpretation, distanciation, incorporation, transformation, and emancipation. Through the translation of cultural phenomenon in the movie, this research shows that misunderstanding and conflicts are bound to happen among people from different races and classes. However, only when individuals attempt to understand each other culturally, better understanding can come up and better intercultural communication can be obtained.