Translation strategies of subtitling taboo words in Malay: the case of the American animated sitcom ‘Family Guy’

• Main Authors: Mohd Meera, Rehana, Mohd Basari, Shahrul Nizam
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kulliyyah of Sustainable Tourism and Contemporary Languages 2023
• Subjects: PE English
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/114038/3/114038_Translation%20strategies%20of%20subtitling.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/114038/; https://kulliyyah.iium.edu.my/kstcl/journals/
• Institution: Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia

International audiences are now able to watch foreign films without having to worry about figuring out the plot themselves. This is owing to the entertainment industry that deems subtitles as an integral element of every production. However, subtitles are influenced by culture, and subtitling taboo words can be challenging. This research is conducted to analyse the taboo words found in an American animated sitcom ‘Family Guy’. The aims of this study are to categorise the taboo expressions uttered and to analyse the translation strategies used by the translators to subtitle the taboo expressions from English to Malay language in the sitcom. This study analysed 10 episodes of the animated sitcom ‘Family Guy’ and the sample includes the English and the Malay subtitles of the animated sitcom. Content analysis was employed as it focuses on analysing data that are obtained through speech utterances and situations in the form of a video. This research employed the theory proposed by Jay (1992) for the categorization of taboo words and Baker (1992) theory to analyse the translation strategy. The findings of this study suggest that the taboo types found include blasphemy, scatology, vulgarity, obscenity, slang, cursing, epithets and insults, and slurs. For the translation strategies, there were five strategies identified which are translated by a more general word, neutral or less expressive word, cultural substitution, paraphrasing using related words and omission. Based on the findings, insults and slurs are the most used taboo and as for the translation strategy, the most preferred was translation by paraphrasing using related words. In conclusion, subtitlists should be knowledgeable of the target culture to avoid exposing the target audience to unacceptable content and are encouraged to accustom themselves to numerous strategies for translating taboo words.