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Based on the introduction of research hypotheses and research purposes in the previous chapters, the questionnaire is considered as supplementary to the results emanating from the corpus. According to the data analysis for the sample film in the corpus, I am able to identify the following three phenomena: 1) the length of the translated Chinese subtitles is often longer than their equivalent in the original English text: there are on average 2.69 more words in Chinese than in English;2) about 60% of subtitles are translated by using different translation strategies;3) about 17% out of the aforementioned 60% of subtitles are translated using traditional Chinese expressions, such as idioms, archaisms as well as some modern expressions, such as popular language in networks and new words. This syntagmatic patterning in texts has

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shown that “the co-selection of syntax and lexis often involves not just one word but a series of them” (Francis 1993: 143).

Therefore, the questionnaire is designed as follows:

In the first section, I offer the respondents 15 paired-choice questions about two- version translations marked as ‘A’ and ‘B’. The related content is taken from the sample film Despicable Me 1, with all the A choices taken from the film’s public release and which the researcher has downloaded from the official website of Sheshou. All the translations are regarded as a better quality of translation with regard to certain translation strategies. This relates to earlier discussion about the four translation strategies from Gottlieb’s typology that are applicable to E-C translation, known as transfer, transcription, paraphrase and condensation. Moreover, two additional strategies known as globalization and localization are also considered within the context of considering the film as a form of commercial product. In the process of making films for commercial purposes within international markets, globalization and localization are interactional with each other (O’Hagan and Ashworth 2002: 66). Therefore, I have deliberately selected two or three subtitles that deploy each strategy in order to observe whether the respondents’ preferences are the same as those of the translator of the sample film, or not. Meanwhile, all the B choices are a literal or word-for-word translation of the original text did by me. The method of translation in the B choices generally uses a similar equivalence to the corresponding original in order to achieve an optimal translation. Since the respondents are undergraduates majoring in English, they should be expected to have a higher level of competence in both the English language and E-C translation ability. Therefore, the expected result of this section is that most respondents should prefer A rather than B.

However, the respondents are also given the opportunity to state their own translation at C, if they believe that they can provide a better translation than the given two choices. Generally speaking, the purpose of the first section in the questionnaire is to check whether the use of strategies is acknowledged and actively considered as important in the production of an optimal quality of subtitling, and E-C in particular.

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The function of the second section of the questionnaire is to help me identify more specific and detailed information or evidence to further validate the findings from the first section. Respondents are offered five multiple choice questions.

For the first question, respondents are asked: “In the most recent four years of your life at university, how often have you been to the cinema to see cartoon films?” Based on the demographic make-up of animation film audiences in the last five years, the researcher has presumed that young people between the ages of 18 and 24 ought to form the majority of the audience for this kind of film. The purpose of the first question is to investigate whether this assumption is correct or not. Moreover, confirmation of what makes up the majority of the audience is intended to help me to qualify whether this group of respondents is ideally suited to the current study.

The second question is: “Do you think the length of the Chinese-translated subtitles is readable?” The wording reflects the fact that, in the corpus-based data analysis, the researcher expects to find that the translated subtitles are always longer than the original ones. That said, it should be considered that, under the mechanical constraints of film screen lines, the subtitler has to bear in mind the acceptable length of subtitles in each line.

Of course, Chinese characters are different from English because they are hieroglyphic and, therefore, normally demand more reading time from the audience than those reading alphabetic writing, such as English. Hence, for translation from English into Chinese, the subtitler needs to pay more attention to the expression of Chinese. Given the practical limits inherent in this question, this is expected to elicit a viewpoint on recently translated Chinese subtitles from the respondents. If the response is mostly positive, it shows that the released translation is good in terms of quality. If their response is mostly negative, however, this suggests the need for a greater emphasis in using translation strategies, such as condensation and substitution, in the process of translating.

The next question is concerned with the expression of translated subtitles from the perspective of linguistic peculiarities. The participants are asked: “Do you prefer translations that make use of traditional Chinese expressions such as idioms, proverbs,

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sentences from ancient poems or archaisms?” In so doing, I provide examples within the questionnaire in order to focus the respondents’ perspective on this with consideration of the professional level attained by these respondents.

If the participants believe that the use of typical Chinese expressions helps make the film more attractive to them, this position then becomes the precondition by which the researcher will develop further suggestions for subtitling in the ensuing chapter. However, if the answer to this question is generally negative or indecisive, further research ought then to be conducted in order to establish whether an emphasis on the use of particular Chinese forms of expression in subtitling is necessary or not.

In the same vein, take the following question: “Do you like translations that make use of modern Chinese expressions such as spoken vernacular language made popular on the Internet?” With regard to spoken Chinese, language scholars confirm topical linguistic expressions that are used in common parlance on an annual basis. This is a mechanism by which the masses become acquainted with the most topically authentic communication between the Chinese people, especially amongst the younger generations. Moreover, more and more middle-aged people and even senior citizens choose to pay attention to this kind of contemporary language and its expressions in order to better communicate with and understand young people.

Therefore, the use of this type of language ought to be welcomed in subtitling as well. If the selected group of respondents agree with this opinion, further discussion concerning the application of this type of expression in subtitling is necessitated and meaningful. Conversely, if there is disagreement, other solutions ought to be tested.

The last question in the second section is: “Do you think the use of traditional and modern Chinese expressions requires subtitlers’ awareness of cultural difference?” To this end, I again supply some examples with a simple explanation of their corresponding cultural points, the purpose of which is to calibrate how far the respondents realize the function of these expressions and to invite them to share their viewpoints on the importance of the contribution made by Chinese cultural elements to subtitling. As the respondents are all English language learners, they may have a certain awareness of the culture being ‘translated’ in the context of their education

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and reflexive experience. That said, it is hoped that the questionnaire facilitates a range of ‘authentic’ responses that challenge any preconceptions or assumptions particularly on the researcher’s part.

The last section of the questionnaire is an open-ended question: “In your opinion, what have been the main problems and weaknesses that have emerged in the subtitles of recently released cartoon films?” I include a list of the names of her selected films with a print-out of 60 pairs of bilingual subtitles from the sample film in order to help respondents answer this question. Apart from the questions I ask them in the first two sections of the questionnaire, it is expected that the respondents will offer their own findings within the limitations of the animation films. Their contribution should offer evidence relevant to my hypotheses as well as prompt more thinking around the research topic.