Culture‐bound problems in subtitling

Abstract

Language and culture are closely interrelated. In subtitling, as in all forms of interlingual transfer, this may cause problems in rendering culture‐specific or language‐specific elements. The author discusses strategies available to the subtitlers confronted with such phenomena in films. The strategies range from verbatim transfer, via culturally neutral explicitation and paraphrase, to target language adaptation. Four French feature films are analysed with reference to the way extra‐lingual culture‐specific elements are rendered in Danish subtitles. The author discusses which factors to consider when deciding on an appropriate strategy. The analysis shows a tendency, possibly norm‐governed, toward retaining the local flavor of the film, yet remaining faithful to the source language expression whenever possible.