An investigation of translator's strategies in translating Western taboos in dubbing English-language movies into Persian

Language is as much a means to express ideas and establish communication as it is a means to hinder the dissemination of certain ideas, thoughts and ideologies. An example of this function of language is taboos. Rooted in the worldview and beliefs of different nations toward specific categories, the rendering of taboos can pose a plethora of linguistic and cultural problems. Since cinematic products constitute a major channel for transfer of culture-bound elements, including taboos, the translation of these items in the form of subtitles and dubbing is of paramount importance. However, this research area has not been adequately addressed in literature. This study seeks to explore the strategies of translators in rendering of taboos in dubbing of English movies to Persian through a descriptive approach. For this purpose, the Persian dubbing of three contemporary English movies was selected and after comparison with the original version, the translation strategies used in translation of taboos were investigated according to Sharifi’s categorization of taboos. The results of the study suggest that direct translation of taboos and compensation were the most common strategies in translation of swear words while with regard to other types of taboos, manipulation and the use of non-taboo equivalents were the preferred strategies. The extent of application of these strategies, however, varied in IRIB and private dubbing institutions, with the latter showing a tendency toward using indirect, watered-down strategies in translation of western taboos into Persian.