همایش رویکردهای میان رشته ای به آموزش زبان، ادبیات و مطالعات ترجمه

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صفحه اصلی / پنجمین همایش رویکردهای میان رشته ای به آموزش زبان، ادبیات و مطالعات ترجمه

Iranian K-Pop Music Video Fansubbers' Strategies for Translation of Taboo Words

نویسندگان :

Samin Salajegheh¹

1- دانشگاه علامه طباطبائی

کلمات کلیدی :

Fansubbing،Translation Strategy،Subtitling،Taboo Words،K-pop

چکیده :

Unofficial K-pop fan subtitlers engage in play labor, typically receiving no monetary compensation for their efforts. Instead, they derive value from recognition within their fandom, reflected in likes, followers, and social visibility. Unlike professional translators, these fansubbers operate with a high degree of autonomy, facing minimal external pressure, allowing them to translate according to their preferences. This research investigated how these subtitlers approach the translation of taboo words—terms associated with acts, objects, or relationships that society tends to avoid (Crystal, 2003). Specifically, it explored whether the absence of power dynamics influences their choices to tone down taboo language. Drawing on Slamia's (2020) classification, taboo words were categorized into several groups: sexual terms (including references to reproductive organs and sexual acts), cursing (swear words and obscenities), religious profanities, racial or ethnic slurs, and death-related taboos. The study built on Lovihandrie et al. (2018) to outline various translation strategies: omission (deleting taboo elements), substitution (replacing taboo terms with culturally appropriate expressions), euphemism (using softer language), taboo-for-taboo (directly translating a taboo term into another taboo), borrowing (retaining the original term), and using more general terms. The analysis examined 145 instances of taboo words in randomly selected K-pop music videos with Persian hard subtitles from YouTube. These subtitles were compared to official English translations, focusing on taboo language. The findings revealed the following distribution of strategies: omission (6.8%, 10 instances), substitution (24.1%, 35 instances), taboo-for-taboo (31%, 45 instances), borrowing (13.7%, 20 instances), more general terms (3.4%, 5 instances), and euphemism (20.6%, 30 instances). While 31% of subtitlers opted for a direct taboo-for-taboo translation, the majority employed strategies that toned down or modified the taboo terms, indicating that despite their autonomy, many subtitlers adhered to societal norms in their translations. Key words: Fansubbing, K-pop, Subtitling, Taboo Words, Translation Strategy