Fansubbers’ Subtitling Strategies of Swear Words from English into Arabic in the Bad Boys Movies

Theoretical Framework

Empirical Studies

Data Selection

The digital revolution played a significant role in influencing the availability of audiovisual materials. Many factors affect the choice of the AVT mode. In Arabic-speaking countries, movies tend to be subtitled more than dubbed. The widespread use of subtitled movies could create a sense of awkwardness in case a film was dubbed.

Bad Boys is a movie series consisting of three films. The first movie, Bad Boys, was released in 1995. The film had three nominations and won one award. The movie’s plot is about two cops who are protecting a witness during one of their investigations. The second movie is Bad Boys II, which was released in 2003. It won five awards and was nominated 13 times. The movie’s plot is about investigating drug flow into Florida supplied by a drug dealer from Cuba. The third movie is Bad Boys for Life, which was released in 2020. It was nominated 14 times and won three awards. The plot of the movie is about confronting drug lords who are destroying the city.

The genre of the movie sequel is action/comedy, and the main two characters are Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett. As well-known comic characters with a highly energetic approach, the movie stars, Marin Lawrence and Will Smith, talk a lot, interrupt each other, with a lot of action going on through lively and enjoyable dialogue. Bad Boys movies have affected the action genre for over a decade. Marcus Burnett was portrayed by Martin Lawrence, and Mike Lowrey was portrayed by Will Smith. The two main protagonists of the Bad Boys franchise Martin and Mike are good cops who are willing to do all what it takes to have their job done most efficiently. The two had years of success as they have proved themselves a great team on screen, especially when the Bad Boys movies went so well in all stages.

Data Collection and Corpus Compilation

For this study, a parallel corpus of Bad Boys movies was compiled from scratch and analyzed using corpus-based software SketchEngine and Wordsmith. The subtitles were extracted from a website, www.subscene.com, popular for fansubs, which was first launched in 2005. The website has multiple subtitles for every version of a movie download. This means that if the user downloads from any source, they will be able to find multiple subtitling options, including in different languages. The source script was downloaded from the same website as a transcription. The subtitles and transcription of the movie were downloaded as an SRT (or SubRip Subtitle) file, and then converted to text format to be processed by corpus linguistics (CL) software packages.

The selected fansubs are of a user who uploaded 651 subtitles of different movies, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Screenshot from the website showing the profile of the fansubber.

Figure 1 shows details on ratings for the fansubber as receiving 10,787 ratings graded at a 9 out of 10. Thus, the number of subtitles and the ratings of the fansubber were the reasons why this particular user’s fansubs were considered.

English and Arabic Sub-corpora Size

The researchers used a Wordsmith 6 software package to generate a word list of all words in the corpus and to check the size of the sub-corpora.

Table 4 shows the total number of words in the movie sequel in English and Arabic.

Table 4 shows that the size of the corpus built for this research is 57,708 words. The English word count is 34,588, corresponding to 23,120 in Arabic. This difference in the number of words used in an accurate translation is indicative of lexical differences between English and standard Arabic.

Software Packages

The researchers used two software packages, WordSmith and SketchEngine, to analyze the data.

Wordsmith is a software package used for corpus-based analysis (Scott). The software interface enables researchers to use various functions (Haider). With this software a researcher can check on the frequency list of words. The software is set to provide specific data when a word list is created. It will give statistics on the word count and the length of words in the corpus.

SketchEngine is an online software which provides access to various corpora (Kilgarriff et al.). For the parallel corpus, it is of great importance as it has the function of parallel concordance.

Quantitative Analysis

Each incident of culture-bound expressions was searched using the software to check its parallel concordance. The parallel concordance showed how an expression was rendered in all its occurrences, which enhanced the data analysis.

The frequencies of the culture-bound expressions were provided to categorize the most frequent culture-bound expressions used in the movies. Most of the culture-bound expressions were swear words, so their typology needed to be analyzed according to their functions. According to Ljung, the main functions of swearing are slot fillers, standalone, and replacive swearing.

Frequencies of the Culture-bound Expressions

The culture-bound expressions in the movie were analyzed and scrutinized one by one through the lines of the script of the movies (the source text). The following chart explains the typology of the culture-bound expressions in the movies.

Figure 2 shows the percentage of the frequency of usage of culture-bound expressions in the source script.

Figure 2

The frequencies of the culture-bound expressions.

Table 5 represents a list of the incidents and functions of swearing.

The most frequent swear word in the movie sequel was “sh*t,” with 248 incidents. The most frequent function of the swear word is the standalone function. After checking all the incidents, the translation strategies used by the fansubber to render the swear words were categorized and checked one by one. To make sure that our classification is correct and valid, we consulted three highly experienced professors of linguistics and English-Arabic-English translation, from different universities, for verification and feedback. Their suggestions and remarks, mainly about the accurate classification of translation strategies, and functions of swear words, were taken into consideration.

Table 6 lists the translation strategies used to render swear words.

The most frequent strategy used by the fansubber is omission. Since the rendition of swearing is not preferable, the fansubber chose the omission strategy although they do not have any constraints when compared to professional subtitlers. Transposition was the second-most frequent strategy used to render swearing; explicitation came in third with 141 incidents.

Qualitative Analysis

Each incident of culture-bound expressions was checked in all the occurrences. The strategies applied by the fansubber were highlighted and examined. The analysis of culture-bound expressions included the effectiveness of the strategies used by the fansubber. In addition, the functions of swearing were placed into three main categories and examined thoroughly.

Back translation of the Arabic subtitles was provided for each cited example since it is a very effective method to use while paying special attention to critical translation difficulties across cultures. It also helps in keeping a close eye on the conceptual and cultural correspondence of the source and target texts.

It is important to know how subtitlers deal with culture-bound expressions, especially in fansubs, as they mostly do not have any form of censorship. As indicated earlier, the culture-bound expressions – analyzed according to Diaz-Cintas and Remael – were categorized as foreignization and domestication strategies. The most commonly used strategy was determined according to the frequency of occurrence.

Strategies Used for the Movie Series

According to the classification of Diaz-Cintas and Remael, the strategies used by fansubbers are omission, transposition, explicitation, calque, lexical creation, loan, and compensation. The results of the analysis in the present study reflected similar outcomes, with no signs of using the strategies of substitution and addition in the data. Examples of the five strategies listed in Table 6, namely loanwords, calques, explicitation, transposition, and omission used in rendering swear words in the investigated fansubs in the current study are given below.

Omission

This domestication strategy was used overwhelmingly in the fansubs. The reasons behind the heavy use of this strategy varied. Hosseinnia showed that there is a tendency to omit segments. Simanjuntak and Basari pointed out that omission was also the dominant strategy in their study. Likewise, ElShiekh reported that even in the professional subtitles omission was dominant.

Table 7 gives some examples of the omission strategy used as well as demonstrating some back translation.

The examples in Table 7 are taken from 250 incidents of the omission strategy in the movies and as we can see from the back translation of the first example, the whole sentence was changed and the meaning was distorted due to the deletion of the lexical item “sh*t.” The fansubber took the liberty to rewrite the script as he saw fit. This, of course, is not acceptable as the translation is not faithful to the source text. Translation needs to be as faithful to the original as possible. In principle, the best translation is one that reads so natural, non-literal, renders the linguistic and cultural equivalence, without loss of essential information.

In the second example, the utterance was not affected by the omission of the religious remark “damn.” Nevertheless, the loss of the speaker’s tone is quite clear. The source text shows emphasis, while the Arabic translation does not.

The third example is using the slang expression “jalopy,” which means an old car that is not working very well. It is nearly impossible for the fansubber to render all that into Arabic due to the technical constraints of time.

Transposition (cultural adaptation)

There were 222 incidents of this domestication strategy. This strategy is close to euphemism and neutralization.

Table 8 gives some examples on the use of the transposition strategy in the movie series, along with back translations.

Table 8 shows examples of incidents of the transposition strategy. In example 4, the intended meaning of swearing was to indicate that what has been said is nonsense. As the back translations stand, the function of the swearing word, emphatic denial, was wrongly rendered.

Transposition was used in the fifth example on the use of the slang expression “goon squad,” which means a group of criminals hired and used to do ruthless acts. The fansubber opted for this strategy to avoid translating the slang expression as it carries particularities that cannot be rendered due to the limitation of space.

Proper nouns can form a difficulty in translation, especially when they refer to the actions of the referent. The proper noun in example 6, “Wesley Snipes,” is an actor of action movies in which he is normally the hero. The fansubber used the strategy of transposition to indicate the heroism of the actor instead of just mentioning his name, thus disambiguating the utterance.

Idiomatic expressions tend to be an obstacle in translation. In subtitling, we have to add to that other technical constraints. The idiom used in the seventh example, “to drive Miss Daisy,” is referring to a movie in the late 1980s. The plot of the movie is about an elderly lady who wants the driver to drive very slowly. There is no possible way for the fansubber to explain the metaphorical meaning of the utterance due to space and time limitations. Thus, he used the transposition strategy.

Explicitation

The incidents of this domestication strategy in the movies are 187. It was used in all types of culture-bound expressions.

Table 9 provides some examples on the explicitation strategy used in the movie sequel with back translation.

Mastering the explicitation strategy is of great importance. It focuses on the underlying meaning and it is appropriate for subtitling culture-bound expressions.

In example 8, and as previously clarified, swearing functions are vital for the rendering process. The meaning denoted by the swearing is what the fansubber rendered.

The offensiveness of the religious remark “goddamn,” in example 9, was neutralized by the use of this strategy. The fansubber opted for the intended meaning according to the context.

The slang expression in example 10 relates to going against the rules. The best strategy to render this expression is explicitation.

Proper nouns can indicate an implicit meaning which cannot be recognized by the TL audience. The proper noun in example 11 is referring to the movie Charlie’s Angels in which three young women fight crime and do risky tasks for a guy called Charlie. The indication in the sentence is that the conversation is made between a cop and a lady who is putting herself in a risky situation.

The idiomatic expression in example 12 is an alteration of the idiom “go off one’s rocker,” which means to become mentally unsound or foolish.

The fansubber utilized this strategy remarkably. He had overcome the obstacle of swearing inappropriateness by using explicitation. The context is very important while translating. Alwan marked the context as one of the factors determining the translation strategy. This led to a good translation of the utterance. Example 10 sheds light on the strength of the fansubber in translating slang expressions. He rendered the meaning of the expression accurately. In the case of proper nouns, it is important to differentiate between a normal noun and an implicit noun. Abdelaal (6) pointed out that explicitation “occurs for the purpose of rendering some implicit meaning explicit.” In the case of idioms, the best strategy to opt for is explicitation. In light of the above, this strategy was used accurately by the fansubber.

Loanwords

This foreignization strategy is used only twice. In subtitling, this strategy is opted for due to technical or cultural constraints. The two incidents of the use of loanwords in which the fansubber used this strategy are listed in Table 10.

Calques

This foreignization strategy was used in 61 incidents. In the case of culture-bound expressions, using claques brings the TL audience closer to the source culture.

Table 11 shows some examples of calques in the movies.

As far as the translation strategies used in this piece of research, we found them consistent with the research findings obtained in previous studies. Antonini concluded that the dialogue is reduced in subtitles. This feature is due to the time needed for the viewers to read and focus on the screen. Thus, the loss of some parts of dialogue is inevitable. This is due to the omission strategy which has been investigated and confirmed in the current research findings.

On the use and importance of the exploitation strategy in subtitling, our findings lend support to those of Alsharhan (20) who pointed out that one of the roles of explicitation “entails replacing a slang or made-up words in the ST with the intended meaning in the TT.”

In their study of the subtitling strategies of swear words and taboo expressions in the movie Training Day, Abdelaal and Al Sarhani (1) argued that “Two of the most common strategies were found to be translating the swear and taboo words euphemistically, and by omission.”

In the same vein, Almijrab (25) stated that to elicit the translation of taboo words from English taboo words into Arabic “the translator may use four strategies: (i) censorship, (ii) substitution, (iii) rendering taboo for taboo, and (iv) applying euphemism.” Incidentally, the term censorship here is used as the equivalent of omission, where the translator tends to omit the SL taboo.

Functions of Swear Words

As indicated above, swearing has three main functions, namely slot filler, standalone, and replacive.

Slot Filler

As clarified by Ljung, this type of swearing functions as noun support, emphasis, anaphoric use of epithets, modal adverbial, adjectives of dislike, and adverbial/adjectival intensifiers. With reference to Table 5, on swear word frequencies and functions, only four swear words in the movies are slot fillers.

Table 12 shows some examples of the four swear words of this function.

In Table 12, the swearing functions are emphasis, adjectives of dislike, anaphoric use of epithets, and noun support. The frequency of these swear words is 164 incidents, which equals more than 25% of all swearing expressions.

Almost 88% of the slot fillers are omitted because, due to the function of slot fillers, the connotative function in the SL is not maintained in the TL.

Standalone

According to Ljung, this typology of swearing includes the following functions: oaths, expletive interjections, curses, emphatic denial, name-calling, ritual insults, and unfriendly suggestions. In these movies, 15 swear words were categorized as having a standalone function.

Table 13 shows examples of the 15 swear words of this function.

The frequency of these swear words is 303 incidents, which equals more than 47% of all swear words in the series. The fansubber used the strategy of transposition to render 55% of the standalone functions of swearing. This is because the standalone functions, expletive interjection, curse, emphatic denial, name-calling, ritual insult, and unfriendly suggestions are used alone. Thus, the movie viewer listened to the dialogue and that part of the dialogue needed to be rendered.

Replacive

This category of swearing functions as a replacement for a lexical item. In the movies, six swear words used this function. According to Ljung (1), “understanding the illocutionary force of a swear word depends on linguistic and situational factors as well as the context of the utterance.” This suggests that the intended force of an utterance is not clear enough as it depends on the intention of the speaker. Table 14 shows examples of the six swear words of this function whose illocutionary function is not well defined, as it conveys a multiple/context-based function.

The number of incidents of these swearing words is 169. The percentage of this function is more than 26%. It is quite obvious that in the movie the most frequently used strategy to render replacive swearing was omission with 64%. In our opinion, the excessive use of the strategy of omission may not be the best or ideal technique in translation. Instead, we recommend using the actual entity or referent for rendering TL meaning.