A comparison of euphemistic strategies applied by MBC4 and Netflix to two Arabic subtitled versions of the US sitcom How I Met Your Mother

Abstract

This paper explores the different sets of strategies applied by two different media outlets in subtitling taboo terms from English into Arabic. The study sets out to examine if different subtitling policy is adopted in each media outlet to deal with taboo words based on the social and religious limitations expected to be found in the Arab society. The assumption the study makes is that Arabic satellite TV channels, unlike video streaming services, receive interference from religious, political, and social authorities to maintain a “clean” content and censored language of the shows they air. To achieve this goal, the study compares two different Arabic subtitles of the taboo terms used in the American sitcom How I Met Your Mother. The first translation was produced by the Arabic TV channel MBC4 and the second by the subscription-based video streaming service Netflix. The study draws on the euphemistic strategies suggested by Williams (1975) and Warren (1992) and further developed by Al-Adwan (2015) to analyze the Arabic subtitles produced by each media outlet. The findings of the study indicate that the Arabic subtitles produced by the satellite Arabic TV channel reflect a higher level of politeness where euphemism, as a politeness strategy, was clearly applied by the subtitler to avoid rude and embarrassing terms.