霍尔高低语境理论下《甄嬛传》经典台词英译得失探析

Gains and Losses in English Translation of Classic Lines in Empresses in the Palace: Hall’s High-Context and Low-Context Theory

摘要: 本文以霍尔高低语境理论为框架，选取美版《甄嬛传》中的典型台词为研究对象，采用对比分析的方法，考察高语境中文台词在英译过程中的语义传递与文化转换策略。研究发现，英译本普遍采取直白显化和归化处理，虽保证了低语境观众的文本可读性，但损失了原文中隐含的权力博弈、情感张力与文化隐喻；翻译中过度去语境化导致人物性格模糊与剧情张力削弱。本研究认为，影视作品的外译应在可读性与文化性之间寻求平衡，在保证信与达的同时，适度保留高语境特征中的文化内核。

Abstract: Drawing on Edward T. Hall’s high-context and low-context theory, this study selects representative lines from the U.S. version of Empresses in the Palace (The Legend of Zhen Huan) as its research object and adopts a comparative analysis to examine the semantic transmission and cultural adaptation strategies involved in translating high-context Chinese dialogue into English. The findings reveal that the English translation generally employs explicitation and domestication. While these strategies ensure readability for low-context audiences, they sacrifice the implicit power struggles, emotional intensity, and cultural metaphors embedded in the source text. Excessive removal of context in the translation leads to blurred characterization and weakened dramatic tension. The study argues that the translation of film and television works for international audiences should strike a balance between readability and cultural fidelity: while maintaining faithfulness and expressiveness, translators should preserve, to a reasonable degree, the cultural core embedded in high-context features.