The use of subtitles in foreign language teaching
Exploring some sociolinguistic, cultural and translation features
The aim of this contribution is to assert the role of didactic audiovisual translation as a helpful tool for enhancing metalinguistic skills in a foreign language classroom in Italy; more precisely, the paper will offer an analysis of how foreign language teachers can introduce their students to the idea of sociolinguistic variation, by observing how lexical and morphosyntactic changes can occur in the translation process from an Italian source text into an English target text and/or vice versa. The following sociolinguistic variables will be examined through the lens of audiovisual translation, applied to a range of text types including films and an opera libretto turned into surtitles in English: (1) diamesic variation, making students reflect on such aspects as coarse expressions and taboo words, in relation to the Australian film Ned Kelly; (2) diachronic variation, exploring the multidisciplinary possibilities offered by opera surtitling with a focus on the opera Falstaff by Giuseppe Verdi; (3) diatopic, diastratic and diaphasic variations, commenting upon some examples from the Italian films Mio cognato (My Brother-In-Law) and L’uomo che comprò la luna (The Man Who Bought the Moon).
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Subtitling and sociolinguistic variation
- 2.1Diamesic variation
- 2.2Diachronic variation
- 2.3Diatopic, diastratic and diaphasic variations
- 3.Concluding remarks
- Notes
-
References
-
Internet sites
-
Filmography
References (55)
References
Ashtiani, Farshid Tayari. 2017. “The Effect of Typographical Features of Subtitles on Nonnative English Viewers’ Retention and Recall of Lyrics in English Music Videos.” International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature 6 (7): 122–129. 

Bellalem, Fouzi, Bel Abbes Neddar, Habib Bouagada, and Dalila Benelhadj Djelloul. 2018. “The Use of Subtitled Movies for Vocabulary Acquisition in ESP Settings: Insights from an Experimental Study in Algeria.” Arab World English Journal 9 (3): 3–16. 

Berruto, Gaetano. 2012. Sociolinguistica dell’italiano contemporaneo. 2nd ed. Roma: Carocci.
Bianchi, Francesca. 2015. “Integrazione e apprendimento. I prodotti cinetelevisivi come strumento didattico linguistico e culturale per il mediatore e il migrante”. Lingue e Linguaggi 161: 237–263. 

Bianchi, Francesca, and Tiziana Ciabattoni. 2008. “Captions and Subtitles in EFL Learning: An Investigative Study in a Comprehensive Computer Environment.” In From Didactas to Ecolingua: an Ongoing Research Project on Translation and Corpus Linguistics, ed. by Anthony Baldry, Maria Pavesi, Carol Taylor-Torsello, and Christopher Taylor, 69–90. Trieste: Edizione Università di Trieste.
Bird, Sthephen A., and John N. Williams. 2002. “The Effect of Bimodal Input on Implicit and Explicit Memory: An Investigation into the Benefits of Within-Language Subtitling.” Applied Psycholinguistics 23 (4): 509–533. 

Briechle, Lucia, and Eva Duran Eppler. 2019. “Swearword Strength in Subtitled and Dubbed Films: A Reception Study.” Intercultural Pragmatics 16 (4): 389–420. 

Bruti, Silvia. 2016a. “Audiovisual Texts and Subtitling in the Teaching of Pragmatics.” trans-kom 9 (2): 186–207.
Bruti, Silvia. 2016b. “Teaching Compliments and Insults in the EFL Classroom through Film Clips.” In Pragmatic Issues in Specialized Communication, ed. by Francesca Bianchi, and Sara Gesuato, 149–170. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers. 

Canagarajah, Suresh. 2011. “Codemeshing in Academic Writing: Identifying Teachable Strategies of Translanguaging.” The Modern Language Journal 95 (3): 401–417. 

Cenoz, Jasone, and Durk Gorter. 2011. “A Holistic Approach in Multilingual Education: Introduction.” The Modern Language Journal 95 (3): 339–343. 

Corcoll López, Cristina, and Maria González-Davies. 2016. “Switching Codes in the Plurilingual Classroom.” ELT Journal 70 (1): 67–77. 

Danan, Martine. 2004. “Captioning and Subtitling: Undervalued Language Learning Strategies.” Meta 49 (1): 67–77. 

De Iaco, Moira. 2021. “How Gestures Facilitate Communication Among the Speakers of English as L2 and the Implications for Language Education.” Lingue e Linguaggi 441: 125–141. 

Etemadi, Aida. 2012. “Effects of Bimodal Subtitling of English Movies on Content Comprehension and Vocabulary Recognition.” International Journal of English Linguistics 2 (1): 239–248. 

Floros, Georgios. 2021. “Pedagogical Translation in School Curriculum Design.” In The Oxford Handbook of Translation and Social Practices, ed. by Meng Ji, and Sara Laviosa, 281–299. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Gambier, Yves. 2003. “Screen Transadaptation: Perception and Reception.” The Translator: Studies in Intercultural Communication 9 (2): 171–190. 

Gregory, Michael, and Susanne Carroll. 1978. Language and Situation. Language Varieties and Their Social Contexts. London: Routledge.
Harji, Madhubala Bava, Peter Charles Woods, and Zhinoos Kamal Alavi. 2010. “The Effects of Using Subtitled Videos on Vocabulary Learning.” Journal of College Teaching & Learning 7 (9): 37–42.
Hayati, Abdolmajid, and Firooz Mohmedi. 2011. “The Effect of Films with and without Subtitles on Listening Comprehension of EFL Learners.” British Journal of Educational Technology 42 (1): 181–192. 

Hjort, Minna. 2009. “Swearwords in Subtitles. A Balancing Act.” In The Translation of Dialects in Multimedia, ed. by M. Giorgio Marrano, Giovanni Nadiani, and Christopher Rundle, special issue of inTRAlinea: Online Translation Journal. [URL]
Kramsch, Claire. 2014. “Teaching Foreign Languages in an Era of Globalization: An Introduction.” The Modern Language Journal 98 (1): 296–311. 

Krashen, Stephen. 1982. Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Lankiewicz, Hadrian, Anna Szczepaniak-Kozak, and Emilia Wąsikiewicz-Firlej. 2014. “Developing Pragmatic Competence of EFL Learners: Selected Theoretical and Practical Assumptions.” In Intercultural Issues in the Era of Globalization, ed. by Piotr Romanowski, 86–99. Warsaw: IKSI University of Warsaw.
Latifi, Mehdi, Ali Mobalegh, and Elham Mohammadi. 2011. “Movie Subtitles and the Improvement of Listening Comprehension Ability: Does it Help?” The Journal of Language Teaching and Learning 1 (2): 18–29.
Laviosa, Sara. 2014. Translation and Language Education. Pedagogic Approaches Explored. London: Routledge. 

Laviosa, Sara. 2022. “Language Teaching in Higher Education within a Plurilingual Perspective.” L2 Journal 14 (2): 12–31. 

Leonardi, Vanessa. 2011a. “Pedagogical Translation as a Naturally-Occurring Cognitive and Linguistic Activity in Foreign Language Learning.” Annali Online di Lettere – Ferrara 1–21: 17–28. 

Leonardi, Vanessa. 2011b. The Role of Pedagogical Translation in Second Language Acquisition. From Theory to Practice. Bern: Peter Lang.
Liyanage, Indika, Tony Walker, Brendan Bartlett, and Xuhong Guo. 2015. “Accommodating Taboo Language in English Language Teaching: Issues of Appropriacy and Authenticity.” Language, Culture and Curriculum 28 (2): 113–125. 

Markham, Paul. 1999. “Captioned Videotapes and Second-Language Listening Word Recognition.” Foreign Language Annals 32 (3): 321–328. 

Matielo, Rafael, Roberta Pires de Oliveira, and Luciane Baretta. 2018. “Subtitling, Working Memory, and L2 Learning: A Correlational Study.” Revista Brasileira de Linguística Aplicada 18 (3): 665–696. 

Mattsson, Jenny. 2006. “Linguistic Variation in Subtitling. The Subtitling of Swearwords and Discourse Markers on Public Television, Commercial Television and DVD.” In EU-High-Level Scientific Conference Series. MuTra 2006. Audiovisual Translation Scenarios: Conference Proceedings, ed. by Mary Carroll, Heidrun Gerzymisch-Arbogast, and Sandra Nauert. [URL]
May, Stephen, ed. 2014. The Multilingual Turn: Implications for SLA, TESOL, and Bilingual Education. London: Routledge.
McLaughlin, Mairi, ed. 2022. The Future of Translation in Higher Education, Special issue of L2 Journal 14 (2). [URL]. 
Pavesi, Maria. 2005. La traduzione filmica. Aspetti del parlato doppiato dall’inglese all’italiano. Roma: Carocci.
Pavesi, Maria, and Pablo Zamora. 2022. “The Reception of Swearing in Film Dubbing: A Cross-Cultural Case Study.” Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice 30 (3): 382–398. 

Petillo, Mariacristina. 2010. “Translating Australian Cinema for an Italian Audience: The Bloody Case of Ned Kelly and Picnic at Hanging Rock
.” inTRAlinea: Online Translation Journal 121. [URL]
Petillo, Mariacristina. 2012. La traduzione audiovisiva nel terzo millennio. Milano: FrancoAngeli.
Petillo, Mariacristina. 2020. “The Moon and Sardinia: Linguistic and Cultural Issues in the English Subtitles of L’uomo che comprò la luna
.” In Luna / Moon. Riflessi dallo spazio letterario e linguistico, ed. by Maristella Gatto, 139–154. Lecce: Pensa MultiMedia.
Petillo, Mariacristina. 2021. “Reflecting on Style and Surtitles: The Case of Falstaff by Giuseppe Verdi.” In Recent Trends in Translation Studies: An Anglo-Italian Perspective, ed. by Sara Laviosa, Giovanni Iamartino, and Eileen Mulligan, 224–241. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Talaván, Noa. 2006. “Using Subtitles to Enhance Foreign Language Learning.” Porta Linguarum 61: 41–52. 

Talaván, Noa. 2007a. “Learning Vocabulary through Authentic Video and Subtitles.” TESOL-SPAIN Newsletter 311: 5–8.
Talaván, Noa. 2007b. “Using Subtitles in a Multimedia Environment to Enhance Listening Comprehension for Foreign Language Students of English.” In Proceedings VI International AELFE Conference, 452–458. Lisboa: ISCAL.
Talaván, Noa. 2010. “Subtitling as a Task and Subtitles as Support: Pedagogical Applications.” In New Insights into Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility, ed. by Jorge Díaz-Cintas, Anna Matamala, and Josélia Neves, 285–299. Amsterdam: Rodopi. 

Talaván, Noa. 2020. “The Didactic Value of AVT in Foreign Language Education.” In The Palgrave Handbook of Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility, ed. by Łukasz Bogucki, and Mikołaj Deckert, 567–591. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 

Internet sites
European Audiovisual Observatory for the European Commission. Accessed March 4, 2022. [URL]
Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, UTET. Accessed January 10, 2023. [URL]
Italian Association for Media Education. Accessed March 7, 2022. [URL]
Leonard Orban’s speech during the European Language Day Seminar held in Brussels, 26 September 2007. Accessed March 19, 2022. [URL]
RICCARDO MUTI MUSIC (RMMusic Srl) RECORDS. Accessed March 30, 2022. [URL]
Filmography
Jordan, Gregor. Ned Kelly. Australia and United Kingdom. 2003.
Piva, Alessandro. Mio cognato (My Brother-In-Law). Italy. 2003.
Zucca, Paolo. L’uomo che comprò la luna (The Man Who Bought the Moon). Italy, Albania and Argentina. 2018.
Cited by (3)
Cited by three other publications
Papakonstantinou, Vasiliki
Anosova, Natalia E., Anna Rubtsova & Komila Makhkamova
2023.
Video Games in Teaching Audiovisual Translation to University Students. In
The World of Games: Technologies for Experimenting, Thinking, Learning [
Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, 829],
► pp. 57 ff.

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 11 december 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.