The vulgarization hypothesis and the translation of swearwords by male and female translators in AVT in Spain

Abstract

This article aims to test the vulgarization hypothesis in audiovisual translation (AVT) with regards to possible differences between male and female translators’ practices. It starts with an overview of the most recent publications on swearing and AVT, and of studies that have analyzed the use of swearwords by male and female speakers. Two seasons of these police dramas were used for the study. Both were produced by the same team at approximately the same time. After some methodological and theoretical considerations, the article presents and analyzes the translational choices made by the female translators (F) of Chicago PD and the male translator (M) of FBI. The results confirm the vulgarization hypothesis in AVT in both series, although the tendency in (F) Chicago PD is to use a greater number of swearwords than in (M) FBI.