Meaning Construction in Documentary Subtitle Translation: A Multimodal Discourse Analysis of Amazing China: Stories of Panda
Main Article Content
Keywords
multimodal discourse analysis, subtitle translation, nature documentary, cross-cultural communication
Abstract
Nature documentaries serve as a crucial medium for showing China’s ecological civilization, and the quality of the subtitle translation directly affects the effectiveness of cross-cultural communication. At present, multimodal discourse analysis has been widely applied to the study of audiovisual subtitle translation. However, research on the subtitle translation of nature documentaries remains scarce. Based on Zhang’s synthetic theoretical framework for multimodal discourse analysis [1], this paper analyzes the subtitle translation of the documentary Amazing China: Stories of Panda from the aspects of culture, context, content, and expression. And it explores its strategies for multimodal meaning construction. The study finds that the translator achieves cross-cultural meaning transfer through the reconstruction of cultural information, constructs meaning through the coordination of multimodal resources. And under the physical constraints of the medium, the translator adopts strategies such as omission to promote cross-cultural communication. This study enriches the multimodal perspective on the subtitle translation of nature documentaries and could serve as a reference for the subtitle translation practice of similar documentaries.
References
- [1] Zhang, D. On a synthetic theoretical framework for multimodal discourse analysis. Foreign Languages in China. 2009; 6(1):24-30.
- [2] Li, Z., Han, Z. Exploring multimodal discourse in the AI age: Opportunities and prospects. Contemporary Foreign Language Studies. 2025; (3):119-128.
- [3] Kress G., Leeuwen, T.V. Multimodal Discourse: The Modes and Media of Contemporary Communication. London: Edward Arnold; 2001.
- [4] Qian, S. Audiovisual translation: An increasingly important domain in translation studies. Chinese Translators Journal. 2000; (1):61-65.
- [5] Li, Z. Social semiotic approach to multimodal discourse. Foreign Languages Research. 2003; (5):1-8+80.
- [6] Xin, Z. New developments in discourse analysis: Multimodal discourse analysis. Social Science Journal. 2008; (5):208-211.
- [7] Barthes, R. Rhetoric of the image. In S. Heath (Trans.), Image, Music, Text. London: Fontana Press; 1977:32-51.
- [8] Halliday, M. A. K. Language as social semiotic: The social interpretation of language and meaning. London: Edward Arnold; 1978.
- [9] Kress, G., Leeuwen, T.V. Reading images: The grammar of visual design. London: Routledge; 1996.
- [10] Forceville, C. Pictorial metaphor in advertising. London: Routledge; 1996.
- [11] Martinec, R., Salway, A. A system for image-text relations in new (and old) media. Visual Communication. 2005; 4(3):337-371.
- [12] Pérez-González, L. Audiovisual translation: Theories, methods and issues. London: Routledge; 2014.
- [13] Zhu, Y. Theory and methodology of multimodal discourse analysis. Foreign Language Research. 2007; (5):82-86.
- [14] Zhang, D. A systemic-functional synthetic framework for multimodal discourse analysis. Modern Foreign Languages. 2018; 41(6):731-743.
- [15] Cheng, R., Zhang, D. Multimodal discourse analysis in China: Taking journal articles as an example. Foreign Languages in China. 2017; 14(3): 36-44.
- [16] Jewitt, C. The Routledge handbook of multimodal analysis (2nd ed.). London: Routledge; 2016.
- [17] Ouyang, Z. On subtitle translation of Hero from the perspective of multimodal discourse analysis. Overseas English. 2015; (13):142-144.
- [18] Lin, H., Rao, P. An exploration of subtitle translation in the film The Lychee Road from the perspective of multimodal discourse analysis. English Square. 2026; (10):19-22.
- [19] Xin, H., Chen, K. A study on the translation of international publicity documentaries from the perspective of multimodal discourse analysis: The case of Seasons of China. International Communications. 2020; (2):54-56.
Article Sidebar
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.