Norms of subtitling taboo language and the role of censorship in Jordan : a case study of the Arabic subtitling of 'Friends'

Krishan, TMA

Abstract

This study, which draws on norm theory (Toury, 1995; 1999), investigates the
translation norms in subtitling taboo language (moral, religious and political) in
Jordanian Television and Institution B's Arabic subtitles of the American sitcom
Friends. This study aims to compare the textual-linguistic and preliminary norms in
Jordanian Television and Institution B, on one hand, and to identify the changes in
these norms across time in Jordanian Television and Institution B when rendering
taboo language in Friends, on the other one. In order to obtain the required data three
data collection methods were used in this study. Semi-structured interviews were
conducted with directors, subtitlers and censors in both institutions, in addition to the
content analysis of the documents related to the code of practice and censorial reports
of Jordanian Television (JTV) and a linguistic analysis of twelve episodes of Friends
taken from seasons one, two, three and four broadcast during the period from 1996 to
2000.
The results of the empirical study show differences in textual-linguistic norms used in
JTV's Institution B's Arabic subtitled version when rendering taboo language in
Friends. In addition, the results show changes in textual-linguistic norms in rendering
moral and religious taboo across time in JTV and Institution B. The study concludes
that differences in textual-linguistic norms between these institutions and within the
institution itself are conditioned primarily by preliminary norms.

Citation

Krishan, T. Norms of subtitling taboo language and the role of censorship in Jordan : a case study of the Arabic subtitling of 'Friends'. (Thesis). University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Aug 13, 2021
• Award Date: Aug 1, 2012