A Three-dimensional Framework of Acculturation in translation of Musicals
Jin Li · Proceedings of the 2018 4th International Conference on Social Science and Higher Education (ICSSHE 2018) · 2018
In recent years, more and more classic western musicals have been staged in China with the dialogue and lyrics translated into Chinese, forming a new way of intercultural communication between Chinese and western theatrical arts.For the purpose of guiding the translation practice, this paper focuses on the remarkable phenomenon of acculturation in translation practice of musicals, and proposes a three-dimensional framework to explore its determining factors, specific requirements and typical strategies.The paper arrives at three conclusions.First, acculturation is necessary and inevitable in translation of musicals owning to three factors, namely cultural differences, audience reception, and the audiovisual constraints of music and performance.Second, the target text of a musical should be comprehensible, acceptable, and enjoyable (i.e.being both singable and interactive) for the target audience.Third, in order to meet these requirements, a translator has to acculturate the target text by applying such strategies as adapting cultureloaded expressions, filtering information of cultural conflicts, following the target-culture genre conventions of song lyrics, and making recreationalized adjustments.