LOSS OF HUMOR IN TRANSLATING SUBTITLES: A CASE STUDY OF THE PUNJABI FILM “ANGREJ” AND ITS ENGLISH SUBTITLES

Abstract

Humor translation is a complex task as humor is a cultural and linguistic construct that incorporates shared knowledge between the sender and the audience. The present research investigates the phenomenon of humor translation in subtitling. It primarily deals with the ways Punjabi humor, an Indian Punjabi film Angrej, is translated into English subtitles. It also aims at analyzing the loss of humor and the reasons behind it in translation due to distinct linguistic and cultural aspects of languages involved in the process. To achieve the set aims, data is analyzed by applying the taxonomy of translation methods introduced by Vinay and Darbelnet (2000). The study shows that humor is lost in the subtitles of the selected film Angrej. The loss of humor occurs due to linguistic and cultural differences. The study paves the way for future researchers to work on humor specifically in the field of audiovisual translation.