Film Translation: Difficulties Encountered in Subtitling

Abstract

Cinema being an expression of culture which may contain diverse cultural remarks, sometimes makes it difficult for the spectator belonging to a different culture to understand what it communicates. Thus linguistic interjection has become helpful in making it possible for the spectators of foreign films to simply understand the content or the message of a film belonging to a distinct culture. With this paper the researcher attempts to present a series of issues in film translation that she feels are particularly problematic in Subtitling. In conducting the research the original versions of multiple films belonging to different languages and cultures, the original film scripts as well as the subtitled versions of the said films were studied and a comparative analysis was done under the qualitative research approach. Consequently, the study identifies several issues a film translator might encounter in Subtitling; the translation of dialects, slang, accents, and the use of multiple languages within a single film and its influence .Through the study, the researcher further examines the reasons which contribute the said challenges and tries to figure out as to which extent the mentioned challenges affect the effectivity of the translation. To conclude, there the viewpoints of 50 film enthusiasts were gathered through a questionnaire in order to observe their attitudes towards Film Translation, particularly Subtitling and the majority shared the view point that it is difficult for Subtitling to become as effective as the original film since the text present on screen always reminds the spectator that they are reading a translation. Yet the majority accepted that subtitles make it convenient for the spectator of the target culture in understanding a source language and a culture which is completely alien to him.