An audience reception study of subtitling Chinese cultural references: The Nation's Greatest Treasures as an example

• Main Author: Zhang, Quan
• Other Authors: Arista Kuo
• Format: Thesis-Master by Coursework
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2023
• Subjects: Humanities::Linguistics
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/167501
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The aim of this study is to understand the reception and preferences of audiences in subtitling Chinese cultural references. It undertakes a triangulation research method combining case study and empirical research, in which laypeople and professional translator’s perceptions of subtitling Chinese cultural references are studied in an online interview conducted in two English-speaking countries. A total of thirty-six participants answered questions assessing cultural references in The Nation’s Greatest Treasures. The results show that the background of audiences and types of media are the key influencers, but subtitles can act as a helper if they fulfill the requirements raised in the CIA quality assessment model. It was also found that the editing and watching habits in different countries matter. It should be taken into consideration during assessing audience reception in such study as a supplement to the CIA model. Keywords: Chinese cultural references, audience reception, subtitles, audiovisual translation, quality assessment model, interlingual subtitling