Article published In:
BabelVol. 68:4 (2022) ► pp.586–609
A three-layered typology for the subtitling of taboo
A corpus-based proposal of methods, strategies, and techniques
The translation of taboo words has attracted scholars’ interest in studying it in the audiovisual context over the
last decades. The surge of research on this predominant form of translation in everyday life has brought to light the
communicative, pragmatic, and semiotic aspects as well as the technical constraints for subtitling taboo words. Previous research
has primarily taken a quantitative method, discussed issues that justify their results, and suggested possible outcomes from a
potential receiver’s point of view. While contributing to existing related literature, this paper argues that there is a need for
a thorough, detailed examination of translation options in subtitling taboo words. The paper presents a three-layered typology of
methods, strategies, and techniques, which provides a comprehensive description of audiovisual translators’ options. Following a
bottom-up/top-down approach, the proposed typography is then put to the test in a corpus-based case study comprising six movies
and their professional subtitles broadcast on Portuguese televisions.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Literature review
- 3.Theoretical background
- 3.1Strategies: Terminological and methodological issues
- 3.2The concept of strategy
- 3.3Types of strategies for the subtitling of taboo words
- a.Method
- b.Strategy
- c.Technique
- 3.4A three-layered typology of methods, strategies, and techniques for the subtitling of taboo words
- Addition
- Maintenance
- Dysphemism
- Euphemism
- Standardization
- Omission
- 4.A corpus-based case study
- 4.1Methodology
- 4.1.1Data collection
- 4.1.2The movies
- 4.1.3Methods
- 4.1.4Software
- 4.2Results
- 5.Concluding remarks
- 5.1On a three-layered typology for the subtitling of taboo
- 5.2Limitations and directions for future research
- Notes
-
References
References
Allan, Keith, and Kate Burridge
2006 Forbidden Words: Taboo and the Censoring of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Allan, Keith, and Kate Burridge
2009 “
Swearing.” In
Comparative Studies in Australian and New Zealand English: Grammar and beyond, edited by
Pam Peters,
Peter Collins, and
Adam Smith, 359–384. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Al-Yasin, Noor, and Ghaleb Rabab’ah
Ameri, Saeed, and Khalil Ghazizadeh
2014 “
A Norm-Based Analysis of Swearing Rendition in Professional Dubbing and Non-Professional Subtitling from English into Persian.”
Research in English Language Pedagogy 2 (2): 78–96.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ávila Cabrera, José Javier
2014 “
The Subtitling of Offensive and Taboo Language: A Descriptive Study.” Ph.D. diss., UNED-Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia.
Beseghi, Micòl
2016 “
WTF! Taboo Language in TV Series: An Analysis of Professional and Amateur Translation.”
Altre Modernità, Special Issue Ideological Manipulation in Audiovisual Translation.
[URL]
Chen, Chapman
2004 “
On the Hong Kong Chinese Subtitling of English Swearwords.”
Meta 49 (1): 135–147.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Chesterman, Andrew
[2005] 2017 “
Problems with Strategies.” In
Reflections on Translation Theory: Selected Papers 1993–2014, edited by
Andrew Chesterman, 201–212. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Coleman, Julie
2012 The Life of Slang. Oxford, UK and New York: Oxford University Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Delisle, Jean
1993 La traduction raisonnée. Ottawa: Presses de l’Université d’Ottawa.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Denham, Kristin, and Anne Lobeck
(2010) 2013 Linguistics for Everyone: An Introduction. Boston: Wadsworth.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Díaz Cintas, Jorge
2001 “
Sex, (Sub)Titles and Videotapes.” In
Traducción subordinada II: el subtitulado (inglés-español/galego), edited by
Lourdes Lorenzo García and
Ana M. Pereira Rodríguez, 47–67. Vigo: Universidade de Vigo.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Enell-Nilsson, Mona
2014 “
Lost in Translation?: Swearing in the Swedish Millennium Films and Their German and Finnish Translations.” In
Swearing in the Nordic Countries, edited by
Marianne Rathje, 99–124. Copenhagen: Dansk Sprognævn.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ferklová, Sofie
2014 “
Subtitles vs Dubbing: Approaches to Translation of Swearwords and Slang in Film.” MA diss., Masaryk University.
Forutan, Moein Khakshour, and Ghasem Modarresi
2018 “
Translation of Cultural Taboos in Hollywood Movies in Professional Dubbing and Non-professional Subtitling.”
Journal of Intercultural Communication Research 47 (6): 454–473.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Freud, Sigmund
[1913] 1973 Totem and Taboo and Other Works. London: Hogarth Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
García Manchón, Paula
2013 “
A Corpus-based Analysis of Swearword Translation in DVD Subtitles and Internet Fansubs.” MA diss., Universidad Complutense.
Gambier, Yves
2010 “
Translation Strategies and Tactics.” In
Handbook of Translation Studies, edited by
Yves Gambier, and
Luc van Doorslaer, 412–418. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Han, Chong, and Kenny Wang
2014 “
Subtitling Swearwords in Reality TV Series from English into Chinese: A Corpus-based Study of the Family.”
Translation and Interpreting 6 (2): 1–17.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Izwaini, Sattar
2018 “
Censorship and Manipulation of Subtitling in the Arab World.” In
Fastforwarding in Audiovisual Translation, edited by
Jorge Díaz Cintas and
Kristijan Nikoli, 47–58. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Jääskeläinen, Riitta
1993 “
Investigating Translation Strategies.” In
Recent Trends in Empirical Translation Research, edited by
Sonja Tirkkonen-Condit and
John Laffling 99–120. Joensuu: University of Joensuu.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Jääskeläinen, Riitta
1999 Tapping the Process: An Explorative Study of the Cognitive and Affective Factors Involved in Translating. Joensuu: Joensuun Yliopisto.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kearns, John
2009 “
Strategies.” In
Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, 2nd ed., edited by
Mona Baker and
Gabriela Saldanha, 282–286. London: Routledge.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Khoshsaligheh, Masood, Saeed Ameri, and Milad Mehdizadkhani
2018 “
A Sociocultural Study of Taboo Rendition in Persian Fansubbing: An Issue of Resistance.”
Language and Intercultural Communication 18 (6): 663–680.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lie, Sondre
2013 “
Translate This, Motherfucker! A Contrastive Study on The Subtitling of Taboo Words.” MA diss., Universitetet I Oslo.
Lörscher, Wolgang
1991 Translation Performance, Translation Process and Translation Strategies: A Psycholinguistics Investigation. Tübingen: Gunter Narr.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Mattsson, Jenny
2006 “
Linguistic Variation in Subtitling: The Subtitling of Swearwords and Discourse Markers on Public Television, Commercial Television and DVD.” In
MuTra: Audiovisual Translation Scenarios, edited by
Mary Carroll,
Heidrun Arbogast, and
Sandra Nauert, 47–56. University of Copenhagen.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Miquel Cortés, Consuelo
2004 “
Traducción y (Auto-)censura: el caso de Kill Bill en España y Latinoamerica.”
Jornades de foment de la Investigació 10.
[URL]
Molina, Lucía, and Amparo Hurtado Albir
2002 “
Translation Techniques Revisited: A Dynamic and Functional Approach.”
Meta 47 (4): 498–512.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Newmark, Peter
[1988] 1995 A Textbook of Translation. London: Prentice Hall.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Płońska, Dagmara
2014 “
Strategies of Translation.”
Psychology of Language and Communication 18 (1): 67–74.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pym, Anthony
2018 “
A Typology of Translation Solutions for Spanish-English.”
Jostrans: Journal of Specialised Translation 301: 41–65.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Roberto, Maria Teresa, and Maria José Veiga
2003 “
Translating Taboo.” In
Estudos de Tradução. Actas de Congresso Internacional [
Translation studies: Congress proceedings], edited by
Maria Abreu and
Marcelino de Castro, 255–278. Cascais: Principia.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Sanz-Moreno, Raquel
2018 “
Audio Description of Taboo: A Descriptive and Comparative Approach.”
SKASE. Journal of Translation and Interpretation 11 (1): 92–105.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Soler Prado, Betlem
2011 “
Swearing and Translation: A Study of the Insults in the Films of Quentin Tarantino.” Ph.D. diss., Universitat de Valencia.
Trupej, Janko
2019 “
Avoiding Offensive Language in Audiovisual Translation: A Case Study of Subtitling From English to Slovenian.”
Across languages and cultures 20 (1): 57–77.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Vinay, Jean-Paul, and Jean Dalbernet
[1958] 2000 “
A Methodology for Translation.” In
The Translation Studies Reader, edited by
Lawrence Venuti, 84–93. London and New York: Routledge.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Xavier, Catarina
2009 “
Esbatendo o tabu: estratégias de tradução para legendagem em Portugal.” MA diss. University of Lisbon.
Xavier, Catarina
2019 “
Tabu e Tradução Audiovisual: um estudo descritivo de normas de tradução para legendagem de linguagem tabu em contexto televisivo” [Taboo and audiovisual translation: A descriptive study of norms within the subtitling of taboo on TV]. Ph.D. diss., University of Lisbon.
Yuan, Long
2016 “
The Subtitling of Sexual Taboo from English to Chinese.” Ph.D. diss., Imperial College London.
Cited by
Cited by 3 other publications
Jiang, Qihang & Stephen Doherty
2024.
A corpus-based study on the English-Chinese swearwords produced by amateur (fansubbing) and professional (prosubbing) subtitling.
Perspectives ► pp. 1 ff.
![DOI logo](//benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
Valdeón, Roberto A.
2024.
The translation of swearwords: A pragmatics perspective.
Journal of Pragmatics 224
► pp. 74 ff.
![DOI logo](//benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 18 may 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.