Skąd tytuł "Czterysta batów"? O przekładzie tytułów filmów francuskich na język polski

Abstract

The title of the film has an important function. As a "business card" of the work, it provides the information of the content of the film and the genre, it is also plays an important marketing role, for its purpose is to make the highest possible number of potential viewers interested. Translating titles into Polish turns out a difficult task requiring not only appropriate translation techniques but also familiarity with the rules of creating film titles. Inaccurate, often verbatim versions, may distort the intention of the film-makers, being a blatant lack of translation skills. Sometimes, however, the translator's divergence from the original version and conceiving a new title is justified. On the basis of the collection of 248, the authors analyze selected titles of French films and their translations into Polish, presenting the devices employed by the translators (removing proper names, generalization or completing the meaning, adjustment of the stylistics to the film genre, influence of the English version). The authors also discuss the role of the distributor in the translation of the title.