METADATA
Title: Subtitling in the Context of Technology: Translating Cultural Elements in The Simpsons Series into Arabic
Vol. 13(3), 2025, pp. 113-134.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46687/BVVN7525
Author: Daiana Abdulsamad
About the author: Daiana Abdulsamad gained her M.A. in Translation Studies from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, the UK. Her research interests include translation studies, dubbing, voice over, and cultural interaction.
E-mail: daiana.samad@gmail.com
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7006-1983
Author: Dr. Raed Al-Ramahi
About the author: Dr. Raed Al-Ramahi is a lecturer of English Language at the University of Jordan. He received a Ph.D. in English Language Studies/American Literature from the Faculty of Languages and Communication at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin in Terengganu, Malaysia. His research interests include the intersection of language and technology, American literature, and critical discourse studies.
E-mail: r.ramahi@ju.edu.jo
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8600-0719
Author: Mohammad AlQudah
About the author: Mohammad AlQudah gained his M.A in Translation Studies from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, the UK. His research interests include translation studies, dubbing, and communication.
E-mail: mhmadalikudah@gmail.com
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5669-6020
Link: http://silc.fhn-shu.com/issues/2025-3/SILC_2025_Vol_13_Issue_3_113-134_22.pdf
Citation (APA): Abdulsamad, D., Al-Ramahi, R., & AlQudah, M. (2025). Subtitling in the Context of Technology: Translating Cultural Elements in The Simpsons Series into Arabic. Studies in Linguistics, Culture, and FLT, 13(3), 113-134. https://doi.org/10.46687/BVVN7525
Abstract: This article investigates how culture-bound terms in The Simpsons series, season 27, are translated from English into Arabic. The study mainly focuses on the types of culture-bound terms and the subtitling strategies used to translate these terms. Moreover, this research addresses the effectiveness of translation strategies in conveying Arab cultural values, norms, and Islamic practices to Arabic-speaking audiences. The investigation, grounded in two theories, namely, Newmark’s taxonomy for culture-bound types and Gottlieb’s taxonomy of subtitling strategies, used a descriptive approach to analyze a dataset of 150 culture-bound terms. The findings show that The Simpsons series includes a variety of religious material, social and metaphorical terms as well as terms of address. Data analysis revealed that subtitling strategies, including transfer, expansion, dislocation, deletion, and imitation, have been extensively employed in conveying culture-bound terms to Arabic-speaking audiences. These strategies were effective in conveying Arab cultural values, norms, and Islamic practices by deleting and toning-down words that might contradict Arabic Islamic values and culture. The study aims to enhance our understanding of how subtitling strategies can be leveraged to preserve elements of Arabic Islamic values and culture.
Keywords: Translation, subtitling, animated series, The Simpsons season 27, culture-bound terms
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