Drastic changes in the translation of gender-related expressions in Friends in China : A critical discourse analysis.

As a globally popular TV sitcom, Friends has been translated for diverse audiences, including viewers in China. When comparing translations from two different platforms, released with a time gap of ten years, significant differences can be observed in the translation of gender-related expressions. The translation of Friends on Sohu.com, released in 2012, and on Bilibili, produced in 2022, show notable changes in how gender-related expressions are conveyed. This study analyzes these differences using Fairclough’s three-stage model of critical discourse analysis to demonstrate how the variations reflect the political and societal contexts of their respective time periods. Fairclough’s framework, though commonly applied to news, speeches, and other social texts, is rarely used to analyze entertainment media, such as television shows. By applying this model to Friends, this study contributes to the understanding of how translations of entertainment content are shaped by their socio-political environment.