Subtitling of Humour in Black Books from English to Chinese in the Perspective of Skopos Theory

Abstract

Sitcoms originated in the early twentieth century in America and are popular for their hilarious dialogues and plots. As sitcoms are closely linked to the native culture, it is hard to translate them into another language without losing the grip of punchlines. This article analyses the British Sitcom Black Books from the perspective of Skopos Theory, exploring the strategies of subtitling humor from English to Chinese in order to introduce high-quality audiovisual programmes to Chinese audiences and promote the development of subtitle translation. Based on the three-stage methodological phases of Skopos Theory- purposefulness, coherence, and fidelity, this research systematically examines translation challenges regarding puns, cultural-loaded terms, irony, and the final delivery to the audience, aiming to propose targeted solutions. Skopos-theory-informed strategies balance semantic accuracy with preserving humor, offering theoretical instruction and practical insights for cross-cultural comedy translation.