Translation of Colloquialisms in the Arabic-into-English Subtitled Film, The Dupes

Aladdin Al-Kharabsheh,Omar Yassin

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijclts.v.5n.3p.18

Aladdin Al-Kharabsheh, Omar Yassin

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijclts.v.5n.3p.18

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Abstract

This study attempts to investigate the difficulties and problems that subtitlers may encounter in subtitling colloquial expressions from Arabic into English. To achieve the main objectives of the study, some authentic examples have been obtained from the subtitled film The Dupes and analyzed linguistically and translationally in order to identify the subtitling inaccuracies, to highlight the subtitling strategies used by the film's subtitler, and to draw other workable subtitling solutions for dealing with colloquialisms or slang language. Analysis isolates three major problems relevant to subtitling Arabic colloquial expressions into English: (1) some colloquialisms, especially those reflecting religious overtones, have been missubtitled, (2) some colloquialisms have been totally dropped out from subtitling (i.e. zero-subtitling), (3) and in subtitling certain colloquialisms, a considerable subtitling loss has occurred. Finally, to resolve such recalcitrant problems and difficulties, the study, in its concluding part, suggests some other practical subtitling mechanisms, other than the ones that have been adopted by the film's subtitler.

Highlights

Screen translation, audiovisual translation, or multimedia translation is an expanding and vibrant sub-discipline within Translation Studies, as since its birth in the twentieth century, it has been gravitating unprecedented interest, and experiencing a remarkable degree of activity at all levels (Chiaro, Heiss, & Bucaria, 2008; Díaz-Cintas 2003; Jorge Díaz-Cintas & Anderman, 2008; Jorge Díaz-Cintas & Remael, 2014; Orero, 2004)
Screen translation should be seen as the technicalities and modalities used to enable the linguistic transfer of an audiovisual or multimedial text from one language to another to take place(for a similar account, see Chaume 2004, p. 31, cited in Cabrera & Bartolomé, 2005).screen translation takes different forms such as subtitling, dubbing, voice-over, narration, interpreting, surtitling; yet, their main skopos remains invariant: to enable audiovisual and multimedia programmes to be transferred across linguistic borders
Analysis isolates three major problems relevant to subtitling Arabic colloquial expressions into English: (1) some colloquialisms, reflecting religious overtones, have been missubtitled, (2) some colloquialisms have been totally dropped out from subtitling, (3) and in subtitling certain examples, a considerable loss of the cultural aspect of meaning has occurred. To resolve such recalcitrant problems and difficulties, the study, in its concluding part, suggests some other practical subtitling mechanisms, other than the ones that have been adopted by the movie's subtitler

Summary

Introduction

Audiovisual translation, or multimedia translation is an expanding and vibrant sub-discipline within Translation Studies, as since its birth in the twentieth century, it has been gravitating unprecedented interest, and experiencing a remarkable degree of activity at all levels (Chiaro, Heiss, & Bucaria, 2008; Díaz-Cintas 2003; Jorge Díaz-Cintas & Anderman, 2008; Jorge Díaz-Cintas & Remael, 2014; Orero, 2004) To this effect, Jorge Díaz-Cintas stresses that "audiovisual translation is a field that has been growing in significance and visibility in recent decades, and many young, enterprising scholars are directing their interests and efforts to the analysis of audiovisual programmes" Screen translation should be seen as the technicalities and modalities used to enable the linguistic transfer of an audiovisual or multimedial text from one language to another to take place(for a similar account, see Chaume 2004, p. 31, cited in Cabrera & Bartolomé, 2005).screen translation takes different forms such as subtitling, dubbing, voice-over, narration, interpreting, surtitling; yet, their main skopos remains invariant: to enable audiovisual and multimedia programmes to be transferred across linguistic borders (cf. Chang, 2012; Gottlieb, 2008)

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