Offensive and taboo words are becoming more common in audiovisual texts. Consequently, a translator or subtitler is faced with the complexities of transferring this type of language into the target...Show moreOffensive and taboo words are becoming more common in audiovisual texts. Consequently, a translator or subtitler is faced with the complexities of transferring this type of language into the target text. This study is a qualitative and quantitative analysis of offensive and taboo words, their function, and the transfer of these components to the Dutch subtitles of Inglourious Basterds (2009) and Django Unchained (2012). An adapted version of Avila-Cabrera’s (2015a) taxonomy, who differentiates between offensive and taboo words, is used in this study. Pinker (2007) and Dynel’s (2012) typologies of function is used for the classification of function. The results show a frequent use of offensive and taboo words in both movies. There were significant differences in the offensive and taboo words found in the source texts and the target texts. For example, Inglourious Basterds contained offensive words comprised of references to diseases, whereas this was not the case in the source text. However, there were no significant differences in the subtitling of offensive and taboo words between the both movies. Overall, the results suggest that other reasons besides the harshness of the written offensive/taboo words, played a significant role in the translation choices made. Taboo words had more plot-pertinent functions than offensive words, and were therefore retained more often. Also, temporal and spatial constraints and the availability of certain offensive and taboo words in the target language affected the subtitling. In conclusion, the subtitling of offensive and taboo words might not always meet the viewers’ expectations and those of traditional translation, however, there are certain linguistic and cultural justifications associated with the subtitling’s choices.Show less
The present study addresses the translation of metaphors in dubbed song translation and presents a comparative analysis of eight songs from eight Disney movies along with the Dutch translations of...Show moreThe present study addresses the translation of metaphors in dubbed song translation and presents a comparative analysis of eight songs from eight Disney movies along with the Dutch translations of the dubbed version of these movies. The metaphoric units in the lyrics were analyzed using Steen et al.’s (2010) Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije Universiteit, or MIPVU, a refined and extended version of the Pragglejaz Group’s (2007) Metaphor Identification Procedure, or MIP. After analyzing the songs, it was found that the metaphoric units in the translated songs were mostly deleted or explicitized, and that only a small number of metaphors were transferred from the ST to the TT. The study revealed that the visuals of the movies and the constraints of song translation often limited the translators in their translation of the metaphoric units that occurred in the English songs.Show less
