SUBTITLING ARABIC CULTURAL REFERENCES INTO ENGLISH: THE CASE OF BRANDO EL SHARQ

Abstract

ABSTRACT This Master's thesis investigates subtitling the cultural references (CRs) from the Lebanese Arabic dialect into English. It tackles the subtitles of a Lebanese Arabic series that encompasses ten episodes entitled "Brando El Sharq" (Amin Dora, 2023) from Arabic into English as a source text (ST) for the study. This thesis discusses the issues subtitlers confront while subtitling, mainly when dealing with cultural references. It also investigates subtitling decisions and strategies for rendering the CRs from Arabic into English. The data for this descriptive thesis is gathered, examined, and interpreted in the context of relevant academic literature. The methodology primarily relies on Pedersen's (2005) strategies— Direct Translation, Generalization, Retention, Substitution, Specification, official equivalence, and Omission—describing the subtitler's challenges and the approaches used to address them. After the final analysis of the strategies, this thesis decides the main and the most popular strategies utilized to subtitle the CRs from Arabic to English, whether Pedersen's (2005) model provided sufficient strategies for rendering the CRs of subtitling Brando El Sharq (2023) and the strategies that were used in subtitling the series but not covered in the Pedersen’s model. Moreover, this thesis reveals the mistranslations and the unsuitable strategies in the series and suggests corrections and alternative strategies to convey the CRs best. Keywords: Audiovisual Translation, Subtitling, Translation Strategies, Cultural References, Arabic Dialects.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	HBKU College of Humanities and Social Science