Applications of Language Studies
A semiannual International Research Journal

Manipulation in subtitling and dubbing and its impact on conveyance of humor: The Case of the “The Big Bang Theory” in Iran

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Gholamreza Medadian 1
Samin Salajegheh 2
Kosar Boudaghi 2

1 Assistant Professor of Translation Studies, English Language Department, Hazrat-e Masoumeh University, Qom, Iran

2 Department of English Translation Studies, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/jals.2025.2051272.1065
Abstract
Translation inherently diverges from the original to varying degrees, making it a manipulative task that is never neutral. Manipulation types and the reasons behind their use were investigated in the Persian-subtitled and Persian-dubbed versions of the “The Big Bang Theory” Utilizing Zauberga’s (2004) and Reinelt's (2007) classifications, respectively. The findings showed that Persian subtitlers mainly manipulated the sensitive and incompatible source content via adding some content to soften their perceived impact and adapt it to the socio-cultural norms of the target linguaculture. In contrast, the translators of the dubbed version mostly chose to substitute and replace such content with the alternatives acceptable in the target linguaculture. The reasons for the manipulations were found to be multifaceted, with subtitlers often relying on their personal judgment rather than the existing target linguaculture constraints. In contrast, dubbing translators operated under much stricter and wider sociocultural considerations. In addition, the impact of the observed manipulations was examined on the humor conveyed in the series. It was found that the subtitled version preserved nearly all the comedic content while the dubbed version suffered a notable loss of humor, which points to the superiority of subtitling over dubbing in preserving the comedic essence of content.

Keywords

manipulation
audiovisual translation
subtitling
dubbing

Subjects

Applications of Language Studies

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 27 May 2025

  • Receive Date 22 April 2025
  • Revise Date 27 May 2025
  • Accept Date 27 May 2025

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