Cross-Cultural Analysis of Honorific Translation and Interpersonal Meaning in the English Subtitles of Empresses in the Palace

Abstract

— With the global dissemination of Chinese palace dramas, the honorifics employed in these series reflect the hierarchical social structures of imperial China. To ensure target audiences comprehend the hierarchical relationships and plot developments embedded in these linguistic forms, the translation of honorifics has become a critical concern. The American version of Empresses in the Palace features a well-defined honorific system, making its official English subtitles particularly representative for examining interpersonal meaning transmission. This study employs a combined methodology of literature review and case study, establishing an integrated theoretical framework drawing on Halliday ’ s Systemic Functional Linguistics and Brown & Levinson ’ s Face Theory. Using the official American subtitles as corpus data, this research analyzes translation strategies for honorifics and the cross-cultural transmission of interpersonal meaning, investigating how translators reconstruct comprehensible “ face mechanisms ” for target audiences. This framework offers analytical support for honorific translation in palace dramas, while the summarized strategies provide practical guidance for similar subtitle translation projects.