Marked and unmarked: queerness in film translation in China

ABSTRACT

Queer speakers and their images on the screen are analysed to examine how queer subjects are reconstituted through translation in China. This means identifying whether marked sexuality is rendered into marked sexuality and how these marked signs are transformed into Chinese. The sample comprises three English films distributed in China’s commercial cinemas and unauthorised cyberspace. The results suggest that manipulation of queer contents can be identified in official dubbings. Although traces of queerness have been maintained in fansubs, nuances of queer discourse are lost in translation. Special cases occur when the translator’s agency takes effect. Meanwhile, different perceptions on queer culture and sexual minorities in mainstream media and cyberspace make the translated films look and sound the way they do.

KEYWORDS:

• Queer discourse
• marked sexuality
• film translation
• distribution networks

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Juerong Qiu

Juerong Qiu is a doctoral student in the School of Languages and Linguistics at the University of Melbourne. She received her master’s degree at the University of Melbourne in 2019. She works on audiovisual translation, gender studies, sociolinguistic and intercultural communication. Her doctoral thesis focuses on the audience’s reception of audiovisual translation.