Interaction between English subtitle translation and visual images of food-related culture-specific items in A Bite of China 1

Unlike traditional translation of printed texts, which typically prioritizes linguistic transfer, documentary translation involves multimodal communication that integrates visual, acoustic, and kinetic modes to convey meaning. In this context, the visual mode plays a particularly crucial role in the meaning-making process due to its vividness and directness. Besides, belonging to subtitle translation, documentary translation is subject to time and space constraints. However, there is a lack of research on the interaction between visual and verbal modes in documentaries and how their interplay influences the selection of translation strategies. A Bite of China 1, a milestone in the history of Chinese documentaries, showcases not only various Chinese cuisines but also profound Chinese culinary culture through numerous food- related culture-specific items (CSIs). Nevertheless, due to the absence of equivalent concepts or cultural differences of the same item between Chinese and non-Chinese cultures, translating these CSIs into English presents a significant challenge. In view of this, food-related CSIs were selected as the focus of this study to investigate how they are translated through the interaction between subtitle translation and visual images. Based on Baker’s (2018) classification of linguistic units, Aixelá’s (1996) model of translation strategies for CSIs, as well as Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) visual grammar as theoretical frameworks, this study used a purposive sampling method to collect a total of 1034 samples from A Bite of China 1, including 444 food-related words, 445 phrases, and 145 sentences, alongside their corresponding visual images. Methodologically, qualitative content analysis was adopted to identify food items at different linguistic levels and to examine strategies employed for translating them, whereas visual analysis was applied to explore how food-related images transmit meanings independently and collectively with verbal subtitles. The findings first revealed that food-related CSIs are diverse, extending beyond simple words and phrases to encompass more abstract Chinese dietary customs and culinary philosophies expressed through sentences. Additionally, the study found that conservation strategies (63.1%) were used more frequently than substitution strategies (27.4%), indicating the documentary’s intention to preserve and convey the uniqueness of Chinese culinary culture to foreign audiences. Furthermore, it was observed that food-related images can independently convey information via representational, interactive, and compositional meanings, and interdependently by interacting with subtitle translation to enhance information transmission. A critical finding is that visual images significantly impact the deletion strategy, allowing for certain information to be omitted without loss of meaning and compensating for limitations caused by certain translation strategies. Lastly, this study concluded that food-related images in the documentary serve not only informative, evocative, and aesthetic roles but also a cohesive function, helping maintain the narrative flow by guiding the audience through transitions. Overall, this research contributes to the field of translation studies by bridging the gap between translation theory and visual communication theory, thus offering a novel research method from an interdisciplinary perspective. More importantly, this study provides practical implications for subtitlers to develop visual literacy and recognize the role of visual elements in complementing subtitles.

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