In “Fansubbing in China – with Reference to the Fansubbing Group YYeTs,” Wang Dingkun (2017) looked at fansubbing as a “social phenomenon in which fansubbing groups foster a nationwide culture of downloading” (ibid., p.166). He looks at how YYeTs strives to bring foreign audiovisual products to audiences in China and also focuses on the creativity of fansubs and how that creativity has influenced subtitling norms in mass media. His research is more extra-textual in nature with a focus on the role fansubbing plays in China and not a comparison between prosubs and fansubs. In one part of his paper, he provides examples of how fansubbers foreignize the translation and rely on captions to elucidate content that is impossible to translate effectively. One example he provides comes from the show Big Bang Theory. Several of the main characters are playing the board game Settlers of Catan, which is a strategy game including cards that represent natural resources such as “wood” and “sheep.”
Resources are accumulated and spent to build things like roads and cities. Sheldon, one of the main characters often misses double entendres. When he tells his friends that he needs wood to build a road, they all start laughing because the word “wood” is slang for “erection.”
Classical translation strategies have no hope of conveying the original meaning, and it is very important to translate it as it is the humor of the show that makes it worth watching. The fansubbers, however, provided explanatory notes: “wood” means “勃起的陰莖.”
Hsueh Melody (2009) conducted a case study on the provocative HBO show Sex and the City. In her Master’s thesis on “Chinese Subtitles in Sex and the City,” she focused on translation problems existing in the official HBO DVD, spanning across four categories:
“sexual acts, sex organs and body description, relationships and sexually-related words, and
other translation problems of sexual language” (ibid., p. 2). She not only chronicled translation problems but also offered better methods for approaching content of a sexual nature, so as to produce a more riveting experience for those who are reliant on the subtitles for understanding.
She discovered that the DVD subtitles were riddled with translation errors and a formulaic approach to dealing with certain words. For example, the word “relationship” was always translated as 「關係」. Often the result was awkward Chinese, which we call
translationese. The word “relationship” in English often implies one of a romantic nature, but
「關係」 is a bit more vague. A good example is the sentence, “Charlotte’s not having a relationship, she’s having multiple orgasms” (ibid., p. 59). The DVD translators approach was, 「夏綠蒂有的是數不清的高潮//而不是一段關係」and Melody’s approach was, 「夏 綠蒂有的是多種高潮//而不是一段戀情」(ibid., p. 59). Melody’s approach is much more specific and sounds more natural. She believed that the DVD translator’s one blanket approach to similar words is a great disservice to the ampleness of the Chinese language.
There exist a multitude of expressions regarding the act of sex, such as「水乳交融」， 「魚 水之歡」，「在嘿咻」， 「有一腿」.
Melody admits that many of the issues with the DVD subtitles wouldn’t be classified as mistranslation errors but a failure to reach the tone of the ST or a failure to express the puns that make the show interesting. Melody’s solution to translating a pun is to put it in quotation marks. For example, the sentence, “I love the stock market. A room full of screaming, sweating men all trying to get it up” (ibid., p. 56). Clearly the “get it up” in the sentence is a reference to having an erection. The DVD translators rendered the sentence as
「我熱愛股市//一群男人在那裏揮汗使之攀升」(ibid., p. 56). This translation does not make a clear reference to having an erection, but Melody’s translation hints at it. “我熱愛股
市//一群揮汗的男人拼命讓它“起來”(ibid., p. 56)。She also criticized the DVD translators as being too direct with sexual terms.
According to Melody, Chinese is a more conservative language than English and audiences will be shocked to see certain words on the screen, such as “pussy” 「陰部」. A good example sentence is, “You can lay your pussy on a table in front of one man…and still not know what he’s thinking,” which the DVD translators rendered as 「你可以把陰部給他 看//卻還是弄不懂他在想什麼」(ibid., p. 54). She offers what she considers a more tactful way of translating the sentence, 「你可以脫光給他看//卻還是搞不懂他在想什麼」(ibid., p. 54). Her method translates the idea of nakedness rather than focusing on the one body part.
Many of the issues that Melody had with the DVD translations coincide with my criticisms of the official HBO Game of Thrones DVD. I, also, found the formulaic way of dealing with certain words to be trying and often resulted in classic cases of translationese.
However, I disagree with Melody in how she criticizes translations that she thinks are too direct. For example, “Sweetheart, it’s the first time in the history of Manhattan that women have had as much power as men, plus the equal luxury of treating men like sex objects”
(ibid., p. 66). The DVD translators rendered the sentence as, [甜心，這是曼哈頓史上第一 次//女人的權力跟男人一樣大//她們也相當富裕//能把男人當性玩物] (ibid., p. 66)。
Melody believes that directly translating “treating men like sex objects” is too startling, and offers the following sentence, 「這是曼哈頓史上第一次//女人的權力不下於男人//同樣可 以享受特權//把男人滿足慾望」(ibid., p. 66). I don’t agree with Melody’s translation as it does not translate the feeling of the ST. It does not reach a level of fidelity.
Julia Szu-Tu (2010) conducted a comparative analysis of “the translator(s) at Warner Bro. to those used by four major fan-sub groups in season one of Gossip Girl.” Her research reflects almost precisely what I discovered during my research. Namely that certain fansub
groups on occasion outperformed professional subtitlers, but overall fansubs collectively made the most mistakes, with some fansub groups mistranslating simple sentences with hysterical inaccuracy. Fansub groups contained “the use of comments and zero-translation; a tendency toward domestication; and a higher translator visibility” (p. ii).
Just a year after Melody published her thesis on Sex and the City, fansub quality improved quite a bit. Now ten years after Julia published her thesis on Gossip Girl subtitles, fansubs have yet improved again. It is safe to say that certain groups, such as YYeTs and Visionary Sub, have managed to create quality control measures. Julia mentions three more highly respected fansub groups 「伊甸園」、「破爛熊」、and「馨零風軟」. If this trend continues, professional translators will have to be more flexible in their translation strategies and more open-minded to what translation methods appeal most to audiences.
Wu Yueh-cheng (2015) investigated the attitude of one Taiwanese audience to one particular Japanese drama in “Audience Acceptability of Professional Subtitles and Fansubs.”
The nature of the thesis was quantitative and included questionnaires designed to discover the acceptability of fan translated subtitles versus that of professionally translated subtitles to that Taiwanese audience. His research is very much in line with mine; the main difference being that I applied a qualitative analysis approach to discover the success of fansubs and prosubs in Game of Thrones.
Before conducting any research, he hypothesized that the audience of the show would tend to enjoy professionally translated subtitles as professional translators follow subtitling strategies that are proven to be more enjoyable. In the conclusion of his thesis, he
summarized the following points:
The results of the survey indicate that the audiences of Japanese drama in Taiwan actually prefer subtitles produced by amateur translators. Audiences prefer the addition strategy, foreignization strategy, and preservation of original contents of
fansubs. They also agree with the translators to add editor’s notes and borrow original lexical items to translate in order to give them more knowledge of the source contexts.
(2015, p. 72)
Clearly, the participants of the survey were approaching the translated text from a place of learning rather than pure entertainment. He then went on to elaborate on his conclusion with a concession:
However, the audiences of Japanese drama in Taiwan still prefer the simple and plain way to display the subtitles. They do not like the use of different fonts, colors, or special effects in the subtitles which could negatively affect their viewing experience.
(ibid., p. 71)
Therefore, his hypothesis regarding professional subtitling strategies as being more enjoyable was half right. “The professional subtitles could bring [the audience] a more enjoyable viewing experience while…the fansubbed version could convey the original contexts more”
(ibid., p. 73).
According to Venuti this would mean that these audience members placed more importance on the ST rather than the TT. They are willing to accept the peculiarities of a more literal translation strategy as it brings them closer to the author. They are very much like scholars rather than mere consumers. Their drive is to understand the essence of what makes the Source Text (the Japanese drama) compelling. This is to say that the content of the fansubs was more enjoyable, but the viewing experience of prosubs was actually higher than that of the fansubs.
Wu Yueh-cheng also discussed the subtitling culture that exists between the amateur subtitlers and the professional subtitlers. He draws heavily on Lawrence Venuti’s (1995) The Translator’s Invisibility, in which Venuti discusses domestication and foreignization
translation practices. He said that the norm of translation is to make the translator invisible
and the more transparent the translator becomes the more successful the translation. He asserts, “translation is required to efface its second-order status with transparent discourse, producing the illusion of authorial presence whereby the translated text can be taken as the original” (ibid., p. 7). The translation enjoys its own viable independent status from the source text, and it is “judged by the same criterion—fluency” (ibid., p. 15). Venuti says that critics would consider a translation as successful “when there are no awkward phrasings, unidiomatic constructions or confused meanings” (ibid., p. 287). This sense of awkwardness is exactly what is referred to as translationese and will be investigated at length in the fourth chapter of this study. It is important to note that Venuti coined the term of the “invisible translator,” but did not condone it. He argued that the translated text should be foreignized—
a self-conscious text that is a window into the source culture. He believed that this was the more ethical approach to translation, as it is too often the case that hegemonic powers will distort the meaning of the original.
Hu Qizhen (2009) traced internet fansubbing to its source in his paper “Chinese Subtitle Groups and the Neoliberal Work Ethic” and also provided a methodology for
researching fansub groups. He gives a history of the rise of fansubbing groups and comments on how the neoliberal work ethic and pro bono altruistic labor of fansubbing has created a new kind of labor value.
Ultimately, the consensus among fansub and prosub research is that fansubs tend to apply a foreignization strategy while prosubs apply a domesticating one. Prosubs are also more likely to replace vulgar language with euphemisms while fansubs will faithfully translate the uncouth language.
Chapter Three Game of Thrones in Taiwan and China 3.1 Author, Novel and Drama
George. R.R. Martin was born on September 20, 1948 in Bayonne, New Jersey. He has written both novels and short stories, including genres such as fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He worked as a writer/producer in Hollywood for ten years but left the industry in the mid-90s to pursue writing prose as a career. A Game of Thrones, his first book in the series A Song of Ice and Fire, was published in 1996, and his most recent novel, A Dance with Dragons, came out in 2011. To many fans’ dismay, the author has been slow coming in finishing his novels. Currently, five books have been published in the following order: A Game of Throne 1996; A Clash of Kings 1998; A Storm of Swords 2000; A Feast for Crows 2005; and A Dance with Dragons 2011. He is currently in the process of finishing the last two novels in the series, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, but the author has yet to reveal a release date for the next volume. The HBO series Game of Thrones was inspired by Martin’s series and adapted and produced by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
According to Wikipedia, “HBO Productions purchased the television rights for A Song of Ice and Fire in 2007 and began airing…on April 17, 2011” (“George R.R. Martin,” n.d.). “The series premiered on HBO in the United States on April 17, 2011 and concluded on May 19, 2019, with 73 episodes broadcast over eight seasons” (“Game of Thrones,” n.d.). Though the TV show is based on the novels, it does not entirely follow the same plotline.
The script used to compare subtitles in this thesis was retrieved from genius.com.
English script links to season 8 episodes 1-6.5
5 (1) thrones-winterfell-annotated; (2) https://genius.com/Game-of-thrones-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-annotated; (3) https://genius.com/Game-of-thrones-the-long-night-annotated; (4) https://genius.com/Game-of-thrones-the-last-of-the-starks-https://genius.com/Game-of-thrones-the-long-night-annotated; (5)
https://genius.com/Game-of-thrones-the-bells-annotated; (6) https://genius.com/Game-of-thrones-the-iron-throne-annotated.
3.2 Game of Thrones Synopsis
Set in the fictional realm of Westeros, nine families vie for the Iron Throne, an
asymmetrical seat of power, forged from the swords of Aegon’s beaten foes. Clearly wielding supremacy over the land, leaves the monarch as uncomfortable as sitting on those very slabs of metal. Prior to the first episode, Robert Baratheon usurped the throne by defeating the Mad King’s son, Rhaegar Targaryen, at the Battle of the Trident, and subsequently staged a coup with the aid of the Lannister family. Jamie Lannister, then in command of the King’s Guard, slew Aegon Targaryen, running his sword through the king’s back, just as the king was demanding that everybody in the city be burned alive. Jamie’s actions saved a city but also blackened his name in perpetuity. He then opened the city gates of King’s Landing, letting the Lannister army enter to take control of the city. Jamie’s notorious deed earns him the epithet—Kingslayer. Robert then makes a political alliance by marrying Cersei Lannister and appointing Ned Stark as his Hand, which is the highest advisor to the current monarch. Ned assumes custody of The North, a cold region bordering The Wall, the most essential piece of defense against the ultimate enemy—Death. The dead, akin to zombies, are driven south by the White Walkers, a group of deadly, magical entities. These monsters of winter were abandoned in the cold as infants and then taken away to be twisted into necromancers through a black magic ritual.
The beginning: At the invitation of Robert Baratheon, Ned stark visits the capital, King’s Landing, with his family in tow. Ned soon becomes aware of the King’s intentions to hunt down and execute the scion of Aegon Targaryen—Daenerys and Viserys Targaryen.
Ned’s code of honor will not condone the King’s actions, causing a rift between himself and the king. Meanwhile, Cersei Lannister, who has no love for her husband, drugs the king’s wine before he goes off on a hunt. His senses dulled by the effects of the drugs, he meets his
that he is Cersei and Jamie Lannister’s love child—a product of incest—and therefore, not a legitimate heir to the throne. On Robert’s death bed, he signs a new will naming Ned as regent until Joffrey comes of age. Out of good conscience, Ned warns Cersei that she must leave the city with her children as he doesn’t want their deaths on his hands, but she ignores his warning and, with the help of Littlefinger, has Ned arrested for treason. His daughters Arya and Sansa are put in a very dangerous situation, but Arya manages to escape and survive on her own in the streets of King’s Landing. Sansa is less fortunate and remains with the Lannister’s as a hostage. The Lannisters promise mercy for Ned if Sansa denounces her father’s actions, and being a good daughter, she agrees, but Joffrey, being an abhorrent sadist, reneges on his promise and proceeds with the execution. Both daughters watch as their father is beheaded in the square. With Ned gone, his eldest Robb is hailed as King in the North. A war enfolds between the Lannisters and the Starks. At the outset, the Starks secure a few victories and seem to be gaining momentum but are ultimately defeated by betrayal. During King Robb’s wedding ceremony, later dubbed the “Red Wedding,” the Starks are lulled into a false sense of security as they break bread with the Freys, a gesture that they are guests and would never come to any harm; however, Tywin Lannister promises Walder Frey rewards and clemency if he kills the Starks. Roose Bolton, a Stark bannerman assists Walter Frey in assassinating Robb Stark, his wife Talisa, his mother Catelyn Stark, and the main bulk of his men.
Meanwhile, Daenerys Targaryen, the daughter of the Mad King, has been married to Drogo, the leader of the Dothraki by her brother Viserys. He aims to use the Dothraki to take back the throne. Drogo is unwilling to be Viserys puppet and kills Viserys by pouring molten gold over his head, a gesture that he has given Viserys a crown. Later, Daenerys comes to love Drogo, and even bears his child, but her fate was never to play second fiddle. The Dothraki are a chauvinistic warrior people and acknowledge might as right. Drogo is leader
of his people because he is a mighty warrior. One day he is challenged by another Dothraki.
Drogo, in his arrogance, allows his opponent to slash his chest during the swordfight as a display of his manliness. He easily dispatches his adversary, but his wound begins to fester.
Daenerys, desperate to save her husband, begs the slave witch Miri Maz Durr to save him, but the witch warns her that a blood price must be paid in exchange for his life. Daenerys agrees to the terms but doesn’t know what she is offering. The witch takes the life of her unborn child in exchange. The Drogo that comes back is essentially an empty shell, a
Daenerys, desperate to save her husband, begs the slave witch Miri Maz Durr to save him, but the witch warns her that a blood price must be paid in exchange for his life. Daenerys agrees to the terms but doesn’t know what she is offering. The witch takes the life of her unborn child in exchange. The Drogo that comes back is essentially an empty shell, a