Subtitling the f-word into Arabic in Hollywood films: a corpus-based study

This corpus-based study investigates the subtitling strategies employed by Arab translators when rendering the English f-word in Hollywood films (2000-2018). The study analyzes 90 films, examining whether translation choices are source-language or target-language oriented. Findings reveal that the f-word's function significantly influences subtitling strategies, with omission being the most prevalent, particularly for emphatic intensifiers and idiomatic phrases. The use of Modern Standard Arabic restricts linguistic options, and audiovisual context (gestures, visuals, etc.) also impacts translator choices. Religious expressions are frequently used as substitutions, highlighting cultural and linguistic constraints.

Yousef Sahari