TRANSLATING SWEAR WORDS IN THE DANISH COMEDY FLICKERING LIGHTS

Transcription

1 TRANSLATING SWEAR WORDS IN THE DANISH COMEDY FLICKERING LIGHTS LORTPISFORPULEDESATANSHELVEDEFUCKSATANSLORTGUDFUCKINGSKIDEFUCKINGPISLORTSATANSFOR PULEDESHITFAENHELVEDEFANDMEDÆLENEDMEKRAFTEDEMELORTSHITPISSGUFUCKGUPISLORTSATANSH ELVEDEFORPULEDEFANDMEHELVEDELORTPISFORPULEDESATANSHELVEDEFUCKSATANSLORTGUDFUCKIN GSKIDEFUCKINGPISLORTSATANSFORPULEDESHITFAENHELVEDEFANDMEDÆLENEDMEKRAFTEDEMELORTS HITPISSGUFUCKGUPISLORTSATANSHELVEDEFORPULEDEFANDMEHELVEDELORT LORTPISFORPULEDESATANSHELVEDEFUCKSATANSLORTGUDFUCKINGSKIDEFUCKINGPISLORTSATANSFOR PULEDESHITFAENHELVEDEFANDMEDÆLENEDMEKRAFTEDEMELORTSHITPISSGUFUCKGUPISLORTSATANSH ELVEDEFORPULEDEFANDMEHELVEDELORT/JESUSCHRISSAKESSHITCRAPDAMNGODDAMNGODDAMMITFUC KSHITFUCKINGHELLCHRISSAKESGODDAMMITFUCKINGFUCKINDAMNJESUSCRAPSHITPJESUSFUCKINGGODD AMMITHELLJESUSCHRISSAKESSHITCRAPDAMNGODDAMNGODDAMMITFUCKSHITFUCKINGHELLCHRISSAKES Helle Bigum Nørgaard (HN93320) & Helena Grønhøj (HG94257) Bachelorafhandling Maj 2014 International Virksomhedskommunikation, engelsk-spansk School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus Universitet Institut for Erhvervskommunikation Vejleder: Anne Schjoldager Antal tegn ekskl. blanktegn i alt: Helle (HN): Helena (HG):

2 Abstract In 2013 Margit Siri Midjord wrote her master s thesis on the subtitling of swear words in the The Killing with special focus on the translation of fuck. This was a great inspiration for this thesis, as it created an interest in exploring how swear words are dealt with, when subtitling Danish speech into English. Therefore, the aim of this project is to study how the Danish swear words have been subtitled into English in the Danish comedy Flickering Lights. Several theorists have made research within audiovisual translation, but in relation to the subtitling of swear words, little research has been conducted. There are different opinions about how a subtitler should deal with the translation of bad language. Some theorists argue that it is important to stay as close to the source text as possible, but also that it should be kept in mind that language appears stronger in written than when spoken. Others argue that swearing is very important in relation to the understanding of social implicature, and that it therefore should be translated as close to the source text as possible. Bad language is a complex area that is difficult to define due to the fact that little research has been done within the field. Swearing derives from different taboo areas. In the Danish language the most frequent used types of swear words are from the areas religion, diseases and sex and bodily effluvia, whereas in English the most used types of swear words derive from the areas religion and sex and bodily effluvia. Apart from the taboo areas, swearing can also be seen in connection to level of severity, since there is a difference in how offensive swear words are understood. The film, Flickering Lights, was chosen as the empirical data for this thesis, as it contains a whole lot of swear words. The data that is to be analysed is an extract of the film of approximately one hour and three minutes. The analysis will consist of two parts. The first analysis is a study of how the translator has dealt with the translation of swear words from the source text into the target text by means of microstrategies. Furthermore, this analysis will comment on the translation of swear words in relation to the taboo areas they derive from. The second part of the analysis will focus on the translation of swear words in relation to level of severity. Three new strategies will be presented in order to be able to explore the difference between the level of severity in the source text and target text respectively. Page 1 of 72

3 Our study has shown that most of the swear words in the source text are from the taboo area religion, whereas the English swear words in the target text typically derive from the are sex and bodily effluvia. Moreover, the analysis showed that many swear words have either been translated directly or deleted completely in the subtitles. With more than half of the swear words deleted in the target text, it can be discussed, whether there is a loss of the understanding of the environment and the character s personalities in the film. However, on the basis of reviews from English speaking persons, this does not seem to have been a problem, which could indicate that the subtitler has made the right choices in the subtitling of the swear words in Flickering Lights. Page 2 of 72

4 Table of Contents 1. Introduction (HG and HN) Audiovisual Translation (HN) Historical Overview (HG) Definition (HG) Revoicing (HN) Dubbing (HG) Voice-over (HN) Subtitling (HN) Flickering Lights (HG) Summary of the Film (HN) Target Group (HG) Reviews (HG) Qualitative Evaluation of the TT (HG) Swear Words (HN) The Concept of Swear Words (HN) Taboos (HN) Why do We Swear? (HG) Types of Swear Words (HG) Religion (HG) Diseases (HG) Sex and Bodily Effluvia (HG) Level of Severity (HG) Swear Words in Subtitling (HN) Analysis (HG) Microstrategies (HN) Analysis of the Use of Microstrategies (HG) Deletion (HG) Direct Translation (HN) Oblique Translation (HG) Paraphrase (HG) Condensation (HN) Page 3 of 72

5 5.2.6 Addition (HN) Analysis of Level of Severity (HN) Neutralising Translation (HN) Equivalent Translation (HN) Enhancing Translation (HG) Results (HG) Conclusion (HN) List of References Page 4 of 72

6 List of Appendices Appendix 1: Transcription of Flickering Lights Appendix 2: Segmentation of Swear Words and Analysis Page 5 of 72

7 1. Introduction (HG and HN) Fuck, shit! and goddamn! Swear words have supposedly been a part of our language, since the first time a human being cut himself on a flint stone (Olsen, 2012). Swearing is something that we do not talk about - we just do it. Some people tend to use swear words a lot, others might think that they never swear even though they probably do. Swearing can be hard to define, and in everyday life we most likely do not even think about why we swear or for what reason. Some find it wrong to use bad language. However, it is something that comes naturally to most, as we use it to reduce pain, express our feelings etc. Nevertheless, in our childhood we learn from our parents that swearing is ugly and improper language, which we are not to use. Why is that? The reason could be that swearing arises from taboo areas in our lives, and for many years it has been considered to be ill mannered and socially low to use. Yet, swearing is now a more accepted part of our everyday language, which we also hear more and more on television, in music etc. Until recently, swear words have been considered as a tabooed area within linguistics, since it has been seen as less prestigious than other areas. Only a few have researched the phenomenon, among these, the Danish linguist Marianne Rathje from Dansk Sprognævn (The Danish Language Advisory Committee), who has been a great contributor to the literature on bad language (Olsen, 2012). Furthermore, in 2013 Margit Siri Midjord wrote her master s thesis about the use and translation of swear words in the Danish crime series The Killing (Forbrydelsen), with special focus on the alleged overuse of the word fuck and intensification of relatively mild Danish swear words. (Midjord, 2013: 3). We found Margit s study interesting and inspiring, and since there has been only little research within this area, we would like to investigate the translation of swear words in another context. In the Danish action comedy, Flickering Lights (Blinkende Lygter), swearing is a great part of the film with a swear word in almost every line. The bad language is a great contributor to the humour, and it helps forming the personalities of the four main characters. Therefore, this particular film is interesting in relation to swear words, how the translator manages to translate them, and if they are translated at all. The aim of this project is to study, how the Danish swear words have been subtitled into English in the Danish comedy Flickering Lights. Page 6 of 72

8 In order to fulfil this aim this thesis will also seek to answer the following research questions: Which role do swear words play in Flickering Lights, and how can they be defined? Are some swear words stronger than others, and is there a difference between the Danish and English swear words? How has the translator translated the swear words into English, and how important is the translation of these swear words for the English-speaking audience fully to understand the Danish humour in the film? There have been several studies within audiovisual translation, among these, Gottlieb (1997; 2008a; 2008b) and Luyken (1991). As this thesis will deal with the translation of swear words in subtitles, chapter 2 will deal with audiovisual translation. Section 2.1 contains a historical overview and section 2.2 gives a definition of audiovisual translation. The following two sections, 2.3 and 2.4, will deal with the main types of audiovisual translation: Dubbing, Voice-over and Subtitling, with special focus on subtitling. Chapter 3 is a presentation of the film and source text Flickering Lights. First, section 3.1 will give a summary of the film and section 3.2 contains a discussion of the target group. Furthermore, section 3.3 looks at three reviews selected from the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), in order to find out how the film has been received in English-speaking countries. Lastly, section 3.4 will contain a qualitative evaluation of the subtitling Chapter 4 deals with swear words. Swearing is an area in which little research has been done due to its complexity. However, some scholars have attempted to define swear words, among these, Rathje (2005, 2010, 2011), Andersson and Trudgill (1990), Ljung (2011) and Allan and Burridge (2006). Based on these scholars the concept of swear words will be defined in section 4.1 followed by an examination of motives for swearing in section 4.2. Section 4.3 gives examples of the different types of Danish and English swear words in relation to the taboo areas they relate to. In section 4.4 Danish and English swear words will be categorised in relation to their level of severity, in order to be able to analyse how the subtitler has translated the swear words into English in relation to severity. Finally, section 4.5 discusses four dominant theorists, Lindberg (1997), Gottlieb (1994), Greenall (2011) and Ivarsson and Carroll (1998), opinions in relation to how the translator should deal with the translation of swear words when subtitling. In the end of section 4.5, a final definition of what will be included as swear words in this thesis will be presented. Page 7 of 72

9 Chapter 5 will contain an analysis of Flickering Lights, which will be primarily qualitative. Section 5.1 will present a taxonomy of microstrategies based on Anne Schjoldager s taxonomy from Understanding Translation (2008), which is to be used to study, how the swear words have been subtitled in the film. The first part of the analysis will be conducted in section 5.2, where various examples, describing how the different microstrategies have been used to translate the swear words into English, will be given. The second part of the analysis will be conducted in section 5.3 in which a taxonomy of three new strategies will be presented. This taxonomy will provide the background for the study of how the translator has dealt with the translation of swear words in a more word-for-word level in relation to severity. In chapter 6 the results of the analysis will be presented, followed by a conclusion in chapter 7. Due to the size of this thesis, we have chosen only to analyse about one hour and three minutes of the film ( ). The selected part of Flickering Lights has been chosen as this part of the film contains most swear words, and therefore it was the most obvious part to look into. Furthermore, due to the extent of the thesis, we have chosen only to include the study of the translation of swear words in the analysis. Bad language is a comprehensive subject, and therefore, as previously mentioned, a definition of what will be seen as swear words in this thesis will be given in the end of chapter 4. Seeing that the concepts source text and target text are mentioned several times during this thesis, we have chosen to make two abbreviations in relation to these concepts. When mentioning source text and target text, they will be referred to as described below: Source text: ST Target text: TT Page 8 of 72

10 2. Audiovisual Translation (HN) This chapter deals with the different types of audiovisual translation. In section 2.1 a historical overview will be given followed by a definition of audiovisual translation in section 2.2. Section 2.3 gives a description of dubbing and voice-over, and section 2.4 contains a description of subtitling. 2.1 Historical Overview (HG) At the beginning of the 20th century, silent films became popular, and the need for translation arose. The cinema became a universal language, which people looked upon as something that was to abolish national barriers. In 1903, the first subtitles were seen in a silent movie, but after the introduction of speech in movies around 1927, two new methods were introduced to the media world, namely subtitling and dubbing. Now it was possible to translate speech into other languages, as well as subtitles could be added to the original-language production. Since the 1930 s the production of foreign-language film has been growing, and especially Anglophone media has become popular all over the world (Gottlieb, 2008b: ). Today, the importance of the media keeps growing. During the past years, the number of TV channels, films, television series etc. has increased internationally, nationally as well as locally. Therefore, the demand for audiovisual translation has also been increasing in English as well as in other languages (Serban, Matamala and Lavaur, 2011: 11). 2.2 Definition (HG) Audiovisual translation is used both in connection with DVD s, television, cinema and the Internet. However, it is also important in relation to, for instance, the subtitling of media for the blind and deaf. Changes within the audiovisual world are happening all the time, and especially since the invention of the DVD in the 90 s, things have been moving fast (Cintas and Anderman, 2009: 1-3). Besides the importance of using audiovisual translation in connection with the publication of films, cooking programs, reality TV etc., it has also become a central tool in the classroom. Page 9 of 72

11 When teaching and learning new languages, subtitling can be powerful, as it enables the student to listen to the original language while simultaneously reading the dialogue. Furthermore, audiovisual translation can be vital in countries, where more than one language is being spoken, just like it gives non-english speaking nations the opportunity to learn English (Cintas and Anderman, 2009: 7). Gottlieb describes audiovisual translation as screen translation, which he defines as the translation of transient polysemiotic texts presented on screen to mass audiences (Gottlieb, 2008b: 206). By focusing on transient texts, he underlines that audiovisual translation does not include any kind of translation on screen, but that the definition refers to specific translations such as films in cinema theatres, broadcast televised material on TV screens, DVD s and video games. Hence, audiovisual translation does not include teletext pages on TV, web pages, s, messages, etc. or plays or musicals performed on stage (Gottlieb, 2008b: ). Audiovisual translation deals with three main types of translation, namely subtitling, dubbing and voice-over. Gottlieb mentions that those types do not necessarily have to be interlingual, this is to say, translation involving two or more languages. Instead he suggests that audiovisual translation moreover includes, for instance, the translation of subtitling for the deaf and hard of hearing (Gottlieb, 2008b: 206). Gottlieb also distinguishes between intersemiotic and intrasemiotic translation. According to him, intersemiotic translation refers to the ST and the TT being semiotically non-equivalent (Gottlieb, 2008a: 45). However, intrasemiotic translation refers to both interlingual and intralingual translation (Jakobsen, 1959 cited in Gottlieb, 2008a: 45). Gottlieb explains intrasemiotic translation as a system in which ST and TT are semiotic equivalent (Gottlieb, 2008a: 45). In the following an explanation of the different types of audiovisual translation will be given. In relation to subtitling, this thesis will only deal with intrasemiotic translation, including interlingual subtitling, as we are to study the subtitling of a film from one language to another. Page 10 of 72

12 2.3 Revoicing (HN) Revoicing is a type of audiovisual translation, which includes four types, namely dubbing, commentary, simultaneous TV interpreting and voice-over, with dubbing and voice-over being the two main types (Gottlieb, 2008b: 215). However, according to Georg-Michael Luyken, revoicing can be used to refer to all methods of oral Language Transfer, including lip-sync dubbing (Luyken, 1991: 31). Revoicing is when the original dialogue is replaced with dialogue in the domestic language (Gottlieb, 2008b: 215). However, the difference between dubbing and voice-over is the fact that there is synchrony between the original language and the dubbed voice in connection with dubbing, whereas with voice-over, there is no synchrony between the original dialogue and the voice-over version (Gottlieb, 2008b: 215) Dubbing (HG) Dubbing was introduced in the 1930 s as an important type of audiovisual translation. It mainly became popular in Western Europe, like Spain and Germany, as those countries were not English speaking. Dubbing is also known as lip-synchronous dubbing and postsynchronization, as the re-voicing is done by actors with the same sex and with a voice as close to the original actor s voice as possible. The original actor s voice is doubled in such way that the viewer feels like he or she is not watching a translated version, and the lines from the source material are adequately recreated in the target language (Gottlieb, 2008b: 216). This form of synchronization covers everything from total lip synchrony to voice synchrony, where the actor s personality is also an important factor when dubbing (Gottlieb, 2008b: 207). According to Luyken (1991), countries like Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland can be defined as dubbing countries, while Northern and Southern regions like Denmark, Finland and Cyprus can be defined as subtitling countries. A reason for this division can be that some countries do not have a high import of foreign drama, whereas some do (Luyken, 1991: 32). Dubbing is an expensive form of audiovisual translation, as it requires a new actor for every character in the original programme. Moreover, the production itself takes time. According to Luyken, it can take up to two or three weeks just to lipsynchronise 60 minutes of a film. (Luyken, 1991: 104). Hence, the more foreign media a Page 11 of 72

13 country imports, the higher the dubbing costs will be. Therefore, subtitling is preferred in many countries today Voice- over (HN) Voice-over, the second type of the three major audiovisual types, is the low-budget version of dubbing. Voice-over is less expensive than dubbing, as the same actor is often used to cover several voices in the domestic dialogue (Gottlieb, 2008b: 223). Furthermore, the sound of the original dialogue can occur, but sometimes it is reduced entirely (Cintas and Anderman, 2009: 132). Hence, in contrast to dubbing, this type of audiovisual translation does not synchronize with the original dialogue (Gottlieb, 2008b: 215). 2.4 Subtitling (HN) According to Luyken, subtitles are condensed written translations of original dialogue which appear as lines of text, usually positioned towards the foot to the screen (Luyken, 1991, 31). Subtitling, being the most inexpensive one of the audiovisual translation types, has always been the most preferred type in the small European speech communities, whereas larger speech communities have preferred dubbing. This tendency is still seen today, but because of the increased number of film- and TV programs, a quicker and cheaper audiovisual translation type is needed. Therefore, subtitling is slowly becoming more popular (Gottlieb, 1997: 254). Gottlieb describes two main types of subtitling, namely intralingual subtitling and interlingual subtitling, which fall under his term intrasemiotic: 1) Intralingual subtitling (in the original language): a) Subtitling of domestic programs for the deaf and hard of hearing. b) Subtitling of foreign-language programs for language learners. 2) Interlingual subtitling (from the original language): a. This type has a diagonal quality: in interlingual subtitling, the subtitler crosses over from interpreting the spoken foreign language dialog to presenting a written domestic-language translation on the screen (Gottlieb, 1997: 255) Page 12 of 72

14 As mentioned, this paper deals with the translation of subtitles from one language to another, and therefore the focus will be on interlingual subtitling only. In relation to interlingual subtitling, Gottlieb explains the term diamesic translation, which defines the cross over from speech to writing (Gottlieb, 2008b: 210). This process can be seen in figure 1 below: Figure 1: Subtitling diagonal translation (Source: Gottlieb, 2008b: 210) The figure shows how subtitling crosses over from speech to writing, and therefore it is called a diagonal translation (Gottlieb, 2008b: 210). In contrast, dubbing, for instance, would be a horizontal translation, since it is speech to speech from source-language to target language (Midjord, 2013: 11). Subtitling is a unique form of audiovisual translation, as it is important to consider the viewer s reading speed. When watching a programme the reading speed is not as fast as when listening to the original dialogue. However, it should be taken into account that today s generation are faster readers, compared to the viewer s reading speed at the time subtitling was invented (Gottlieb, 2008b: ). Moreover, the subtitler should consider whether the subtitles are to be used in a DVD, television program, film, etc. According to Ivarsson and Carroll, these considerations range from awareness of audience reading speed to synchronism of subtitles and speech to legibility and layout to translation and editing in the general sense (Ivarsson and Carroll, 1998: 63). Page 13 of 72

15 People read on different levels, especially young people in the age between read faster, because they are grown up in a society with computers, videogames, MTV etc. Yet, tests have shown that the average viewer can read a two-line subtitle in 2-4 seconds. Ivarsson and Carroll mention some general rules a subtitler should follow in relation to subtitling (Ivarsson and Carroll, 1998: 66-65): 1) A very short subtitle line: seconds 2) A full two-liner subtitle: 5-6 seconds 3) A full one-liner subtitle: 3 seconds 4) One and a half subtitle line: 4 seconds Furthermore, when subtitling for instance a movie, it is important that the subtitles do not remain on the screen too long as it is important that they do not disappear before the viewer has had a chance to read them. Therefore, a set of guidelines have been created in relation to how many words should appear on the screen. These guidelines are to ensure an appropriate reading speed and to avoid irritating subtitles. The norms are as follows (Ivarsson and Carroll, 1998: 67): 2 lines = 80 characters = 8 feet of film = 128 frames = 5 1/3 seconds. However, as mentioned these numbers are general guidelines. According to Ib Lindberg (Lindberg, 1997: 1), a Danish subtitler, and Gottlieb (Gottlieb, 2008b: ), two lines should consists of 70 characters instead of 80 with an exposure time of about 6 seconds. Moreover, apart from the technical considerations, a subtitler also needs to think about grammar and ethics, when translating from one language to another. It is important that the subtitler recodes the speech into written style (Gottlieb, 2008b: 211) in such way that the audience do not react negatively, when reading the subtitles (Gottlieb, 2008b: 211). Due to the fact that the written dialogue occurs on the screen at the same time as the original dialogue is spoken, it is easier for the viewer, especially if one has good knowledge about the language spoken, to detect any discrepancies or errors between the spoken language and the subtitles. Therefore, the subtitler must have excellent skills and knowledge of the target language in order to make a good and proper translation (Ivarsson and Carroll, 1998: 105). Finally, it can be discussed whether subtitling can be defined as translation. Gottlieb mentions two reasons for this, namely condensation and shift of language mode. Condensation, which Page 14 of 72

16 is the rule about containing a two-liner subtitle with 70 characters, results in a quantitative reduction of the original dialogue (Gottlieb, 2008b: 210). This is normally not seen in translation. Shift of language mode relates to the fact that most people combine translation with the translation of a written text into another written text. This limits the concept of subtitling as it is from speech to text (Gottlieb, 2008b: 210). However, according to Gottlieb, all types of audiovisual translation are considered to be translation (Gottlieb, 2008b: 209). 3. Flickering Lights (HG) Flickering Lights is a Danish action-comedy from 2000 written and instructed by Anders Thomas Jensen. The film became the biggest hit of the year in the Danish cinemas (Jensen, 2000), which was probably the reason why it was translated into other languages and hereby reached other countries. Flickering Lights is interesting in relation to the translation into English, since the film contains a lot of bad language. The bad language gives the audience an image of the criminal environment in the film and also an understanding of the four key figures personalities. In this chapter a summary of Flickering Lights will be given, followed by a description of the target group. Furthermore, some examples of different reviews from the English-speaking audience will be mentioned in order to evaluate whether or not the audience has understood the film. The end of the chapter will contain a qualitative evaluation of the subtitling. 3.1 Summary of the Film (HN) Flickering Lights is a Danish film about Torkild, Arne, Stefan and Peter, who together form a small criminal gang, with Torkild being the leader. After being dumped by his girlfriend on his 40th birthday, Torkild is determined to start over, leaving his semi-criminal career behind. Before doing so, Torkild wants to do one last job, which involves getting thousand cartons of Prince cigarettes for the Eskimo, a gangster from the Faroe Islands. The job goes wrong and instead Torkild and his gang are left with 34,000 cartons of Look. Torkild is now forced to do whatever the Eskimo tells him to do, involving a job, where he has to break into a diplomat s house and steel a suitcase of money for the Eskimo. The four men breaks into the house and Page 15 of 72

17 steel the suitcase, but a security guard hears them and they end up in a shooting incident, where Peter gets shot. Before their escape, Torkild opens the suitcase and discovers that it contains four million DKK. Torkild is determined to leave his criminal background behind and keep the four million instead of giving them to the Eskimo. He tries to persuade the other three to go along with the idea, presenting them with a plan to leave the country, go South and leave all worries behind. The gang decides to take the money and go to Barcelona, but before reaching the border in Jutland, their getaway car breaks down and they spend the night in a tumbledown restaurant out in the forest. Peter is not well, which leads Torkild to get in touch with the drunken doctor, Carl, who helps cure Peter for his bullet wound. Until Peter gets better, the gang has no other choice than to stay in the old restaurant. As the days go by, Torkild gets more and more excited about the place and the idea of renovating it and open a restaurant. The others prefer to go to Barcelona, but as they get along with the renovation, they seem more and more to like the idea of staying. However, one day their past catches up with them when the Eskimo pays them a visit wanting the money back. The scene ends in a shooting incident, where the Eskimo and his men get shot, and Torkild and the other are now given the chance to start over without having to worry about their past. The restaurant opens, and one day Torkild s old girlfriend pays it a visit with her new boyfriend. Torkild is determined to do the best he can and show her the new version of himself. He is no longer bitter about the break-up, but can now be happy for her and the fact that she has started a new life and is pregnant with her first child. The four men have each had a troubled background, which the film also dives into during the film. It shows four childhoods with violence, mental abuse and unstable families and it can clearly be seen, how the four men s childhoods all have had an effect on them in one way or another. Their language is filled with curses and oaths, and violence and weapons are parts of their everyday lives. Page 16 of 72

18 3.2 Target Group (HG) In Flickering Lights there are several examples of the subtitles being aimed at the American audience. This can be seen in the three examples below (appendix 1). Segment Person Danish English 35 Torkild Der er ellers sjovere på bakken. Der er ikke så mange svenskere. Six Flags is better. Not so many Canucks. Segment Person Danish English 312 Torkild Kan I ikke se, at de særlinge hernede, de tror, at vi er ved at åbne en restaurant. Those rednecks think we re opening a restaurant. Segment Person Danish English 512 Stefan Blinkede Lygter. Af Ove Ditlevsen. Flickering Lanterns By Mily Dickinson. Considering these three examples, it can be argued that the target audience of the English translation of Flickering Lights are the Americans. Furthermore, the film contains a lot of black humour, violence and bad language, and therefore it can be assumed that the film mostly appeals to a younger audience. It has not been possible to find another version of the English translation, which can indicate that the American version is the only one produced. Why this is the case is hard to conclude, but it can be assumed that because American popular culture is popular in Denmark, the most obvious choice was to aim the translation at the American audience. However, this decision may have caused some problems, as the DVD was also sold in other English-speaking countries. Page 17 of 72

19 3.3 Reviews (HG) In order to find out how the film has been received in English-speaking countries, some reviews have been chosen from the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Three reviewers from different countries have been selected, namely a Canadian, a Briton and an Australian. First, the person from Canada was very pleased with the film in general, but he also mentions that: The only complaint I have about the North American DVD version is that the subtitles are not always very good. I appreciate that the translator was likely trying to make some references so the non-danish audience could understand it, but please do not reference Six Flags, Disneyland or "too many Canucks" when neither are mentioned. (Alpalmer, 2005). Secondly, the person from Britain also enjoyed the film, but agrees with the Canadian in relation to the subtitles. This person has little knowledge to the Danish language, for which reason he was able to compare the ST and TT to some extent. He states: I love this film, but I agree that the American subtitles are dreadful. I can understand a bit of Danish and I was watching it with a Danish speaker, so that helped, but actually the timing of the subtitles ruined half the jokes entirely. And if you're not American or Danish then the cultural references in the subtitles are completely baffling. (Jo-wiltshire, 2006). Finally, the person from Australia also likes the film, but mentions: This film, though, seems more parochial in its references, and there seems more that non-danes would have trouble understanding. Still, it's well worth checking this one out. It's head and shoulders above the other rubbish out there. (Gut-6, 2006). In the light of the three reviews, there seems to be a general opinion about the subtitling and its quality in relation to the translation of cultural aspects. All three reviewers criticize the way the subtitler has dealt with the translation into English, and with this in mind, one can assume that the translation in general has not been easy. However, it appears that the Englishspeaking audience in general has understood the meaning and the humour in the film. Page 18 of 72

20 3.4 Qualitative Evaluation of the TT (HG) According to Ivarsson and Carroll, the subtitler s name should always appear, as subtitling is a creative activity that one has the right to be given credit for. Normally, the name of the subtitler appears in the credits at the end of the film, but it can also appear in the start (Ivarsson and Carroll, 1998: 59-60). However, in Flickering Lights the subtitler is not mentioned in the film, neither is he/she mentioned in relation to the DVD, when searching on the Internet. For this reason, it will not be possible to look at the subtitler s history and previous work. The quality of the subtitles in Flickering Lights can be discussed. In general, the translation is good and many important things from the original dialogue are represented in written, but there are some errors. One of these can be found in scene 6, in which the four main characters are discussing the Danish TV series Matador, translated into Rich Man, Poor Man: (Appendix 1) Scene 6: Segment Person ST TT 147 Arne: Jeg har sgu da set hele I saw all of Rich Matador Man, Poor Man Torkild: Ja det er sgu da også noget andet, den er kun i 12 afsnit 148 Arne: Nej for fanden, der er mange flere. Der er mindst tyve i den 149 Torkild: I Matador? That s only four episodes No, there were at least six In Rich Man, Poor Man? Arne: Ja. Den der med hende Misse Møghe Yeah, the one with Falconetti Page 19 of 72

21 150 Torkild: Jeg har ikke set den, men jeg ved, det kun er 12 afsnit 151 Arne Nej nej nej nej. Der er 24 afsnit i Matador. Jeg har set dem 152 Arne: Hvem har set Matador? There s only six episodes There are eight. I watched them You guys seen it? Stefan: Jeg skulle have lagt en besked 153 Peter Altså, jeg båndede den sidst, den var der, men jeg har ikke fået den set endnu 154 Arne: Var der ikke 24 afsnit? I should have left a note I taped it. I never saw it Weren t there 24? Peter: Ah.. Det kan jeg sgu ikke rigtig huske du I don t remember In the example the subtitler has adapted the translation, as the target audience of the subtitles would not know the Danish series Matador. Instead, he has chosen to translate the name of the Danish series into an American miniseries, Rich Man, Poor Man. However, in the final line the subtitler forgets to adapt the number of episodes in the series into English, instead he mentions 24, which is the Danish number of episodes. This number, according to the previous adaption, should have been eight. Considering the reviewer s critic of the subtitles in the previous chapter and the errors found in the subtitles, it can be assumed that the translation of Flickering Lights into English has been a difficult task. Moreover, the ST contains a lot of swear words and as this plays such an important role in relation to understand the main characters, it can be assumed that the subtitler has had to make some choices in relation to whether or not they should be translated and how. Page 20 of 72

22 The following chapter will deal with the concept of swear words and seek to find a definition of them. Moreover, the different types of swear words in both Danish and English and the taboo area they refer to will be explained as well as they will be categorised in relation to level of severity. The end of the chapter will include a discussion of reasons for why we swear. Chapter 4 is to be the basis for the analysis, which will be conducted in chapter Swear Words (HN) Swearing is an important part of our language as it has many functions, for example, we use it to express anger, frustration, something unexpected etc. (Allan and Burridge, 2006: 78). However, as Margit points out in her thesis from 2013, little research has been made within the field. Nevertheless, some theorists have made an attempt to clarify how swear words should be defined. Among these Rathje (2005; 2010; 2011), Andersson and Trudgill (1990), Ljung (2011) and Allan and Burridge (2006) can be mentioned. There has been almost no research within the translation of swear words, especially in relation to subtitling and the translation of swear words into English. Therefore, section 4.1 seeks to define swear words on the basis of the above-mentioned theorists and their theories. Section 4.2 will discuss reasons for why we swear, and in section 4.3 Danish and English types of swear words will be explained in relation to the taboo areas they derive from. Section 4.4 will categorise the Danish and English swear words in relation to level of severity, followed by section 4.5 which will discuss how swear words should be dealt with when subtitling. 4.1 The Concept of Swear Words (HN) Swear words are difficult to define due to the fact that it is a very complex area (Ljung, 2011). As mentioned previously, little research has been done within the field and only a few have tried to make a definition (Rathje, 2010, 133). In Bad Language by Andersson and Trudgill, they define swearing as expressions that (Andersson and Trudgill, 1990: 53): a) refers to something that is taboo and/or stigmatized in the culture; b) should not be interpreted literally; Page 21 of 72

23 c) can be used to express strong emotions and attitudes. To explain what is meant by this definition of swear words an example with the word fuck can be given. The word fuck refers to the taboo area acts of sex, but when using it in as a swear word, it does not literally mean to have sexual intercourse, but instead it is used to express an emotion. As Andersson and Trudgill mention, we can use such expressions to utter attitudes and emotions by freeing the term, so to speak, from its referential duties (Andersson and Trudgill, 1990: 53). Hence, when swearing we do not refer to the literal meaning of the word but instead we use the words as types of long-distance metaphors (Andersson and Trudgill, 1990: 59). The words are referred to as metaphors, since the original meaning to some extent does no longer exist. Another example with the words fuck can be given in relation to the above mentioned. In situations where we say fuck you! to another person, we do not literally mean that the person should have sexual intercourse with him/herself, instead the metaphorical meaning can be that we are frustrated with the person (Andersson and Trudgill, 1990: 59). To give a more detailed description of how swearing is connected to taboos, the different taboo areas will be described below Taboos (HN) As the previous section illustrates, there is a strong connection between swear words and taboos. Taboos, which exist in every culture, are words and expressions that are forbidden or tabooed. For a word to be tabooed it has to be loaded with a negative meaning, and for a word to be loaded, there must have been a certain connection between the word and the object it represents. This connection can for example arise if the object is connected with fear. That is to say, if a person has a certain fear of something, this fear can be transferred to the word (Rathje, 2010: ). According to Allan and Burridge taboo is a proscription of behaviour that affects everyday life. (Allan and Burridge, 2006: 55). As Andersson and Trudgill mentions, there are things we are not supposed to do and there are words we are not supposed to say. (Andersson and Trudgill, 1990: 55). Allan and Burridge have made a list of areas, which are seen as taboos, namely: Page 22 of 72

24 Bodies and their effluvia The organs and acts of sex Diseases, death and killing, physical and mental handicap Religion and church: naming and addressing sacred persons, beings, objects and places Food gathering, preparation and consumption (Allan and Burridge, 2006: 1) According to Rathje, these areas are mainly considered taboos in the Western world. Moreover, she has added yet another area, namely prostitution, the handling of narcotics and criminality, world (Rathje, 2010: 133). All of the above mentioned taboo areas are not considered as forbidden, but there are some conscious and unconscious rules that regulate them. An example could be given within the taboo area the acts of sex. It is not forbidden to have sex, yet, it is not something we talk openly about in public and you would certainly not do it with animals or in front of other people (Andersson and Trudgill, 1990: 55-56). Swear words have a close connection to the above mentioned areas. However, it is important to take into account that the taboo areas also refer to other words than swear words. Other types of bad language that can be mentioned in relation to the taboo areas are vulgar language, dirty words and slang. These three categories differ from swear words in the sense that they refer to something in its literal meaning. However, if dirty words or vulgar language are used in a metaphorical sense, as for example if a person uses shit! to express frustration, this is seen as a swear word (Rathje, 2010: ). Moreover, the type terms of abuse can be mentioned, which are words used to insult another person, for instance when saying you cunt! Similar to swear words, terms of abuse do not refer to the literal meaning of the word and therefore they can also be categorised as swear words (Andersson and Trudgill, 1990 cited in Rathje, 2010: 136). However, when selecting swear words from the ST in this thesis, terms of abuse, vulgar language, dirty words and slang will be excluded. Nevertheless, when vulgar language and dirty words are used in a metaphorical sense, namely as a swear word, these will be included. Page 23 of 72

25 4.2 Why do We Swear? (HG) There are different explanations to why we swear. According to Andersson and Trudgill, some of the most frequent arguments are that swear words are words that we use, when we cannot think of another word in a given situation (Andersson and Trudgill, 1990: 63). Furthermore, swearing ties to social restrictions which mirror the values of the society. (Andersson and Trudgill, 1990: 64). It is fairly normal that we connect people, who swear less than others with people who have good jobs, a clean desk and wear newly washed clothes. In general, we tend to connect the language of a person with its social status in society. This theory is interesting, as it suggests that we most likely are able to find differences in swearing both between different members within a society, as much as between societies in general (Andersson and Trudgill, 1990: 65). According to Andersson and Trudgill, swearing is seen as untidy language. Therefore, it is interesting to look at the different groups and levels in society in relation to swearing. By looking at these groups, we see typical expectations in relation to language use. For instance, people who are highly educated or cornerstones in the social structure are expected to keep a clean language. On the other hand, people who are alcoholics, unemployed or just young people, are expected to use bad language and also show less control over their social behaviour (Andersson and Trudgill, 1990: 65-66). Another example of this is the expectations of language use in relation to specific situations. For instance, if a professor is to give a lecture, the language is very much expected to be extremely proper and formal. On the contrary, if a group of friends are having a conversation after school, the language use is expected to be quite casual and informal. The use of swearing will definitely not be an option in the first situation, but more accepted in the second (Andersson and Trudgill, 1990: 66). According to Allan and Burridge, most cussing is an emotive reaction to anger, frustration, or something unexpected and usually, but not necessarily, undesirable. (Allan and Burridge, 2006: 78). This theory has also been proven in a research project by Richard Stephens at the School of Psychology, Keele University in England, in which it was found that people use swearing as a form of controlling their emotions, when they experience pain. He argues that this has probably been known for a long time, but that it has never been empirically demonstrated (Stephens, 2013: 651). Page 24 of 72

26 4.3 Types of Swear Words (HG) Swear words can be divided into different categories, which each represents a taboo area. However, there are of course different types of swear words in relation to what languages are mentioned. In a study made by professor in linguistics Magnus Ljung, he worked out 5 main themes in total to cover types of swear words in general, namely religion, scatological, sex organ, the sexual activities and the mother theme (Ljung, 2011: 132). Nevertheless, in a study by Rathje she discovered that the swear words used in the Danish language only represent three main categories of taboo areas namely religion, diseases and sex and bodily effluvia (Rathje, 2010: ). Since the analysis in the following chapter is to be based on a Danish ST, Rathje s three categorisations of the types of swear words are here preferred. However, as Ljung also deals with religion and disease in relation to English, his theory is also relevant to mention. Yet, his themes scatological, sex organ and the sexual activities will all be dealt with in what Rathje calls sex and bodily effluvia, as they cover the same types of swear words (Ljung, 2011). As the selected data in this thesis do not include types of swear words from the mother theme, this theme will be left out. Furthermore, Euphemisms form a fourth category according to Rathje. Euphemisms are acceptable words that can replace swear words (Rathje, 2010: ), for instance darn instead of damn, in order to tone down bad language However, euphemisms will not be defined as swear words in this thesis, and therefore they will also be left out Religion (HG) The use of religious swear words is popular in Danish, but it is also a common form of swearing in other countries. In relation to the Danish language, this taboo group includes some of the oldest types of swear words, and at the same time it forms the biggest of the three taboo groups. Most of the types of swear words in this category come from early Danish history, and have typically been changed since then. Moreover, several of the expressions from that time are not even considered to be swearing today (Rathje and Andersen, 2005). Page 25 of 72

27 Types of swear words that can be found in this group are different variations of the word fanden (the devil), Gud (God), sgu (bloody) and helvede (hell) (Rathje and Grann, 2011). Diabolic words, as for instance fanden, have been subject to change, as they originally come from sentences, which in this example with fanden would be fanden æde mig (may the devil eat me). However, some sentences, like the above mentioned, have not only been changed, but reduced into swear words such as fandeme, fanme and fame (Rathje and Andersen, 2005). Another reduction of fanden, which can be mentioned from our data, is faen. Moreover, a religious swear word, which has not yet been mentioned, but is represented in our data, is the word dælenedme. This word is not mentioned by Rathje, neither is it possible to find a definition of the swear word in a Danish dictionary. However, since the similar swear word dæleme refers to the religious expression djævlen tage mig (may the devil take me), it can therefore be assumed that dælenedme also relates to religion (Den Danske Ordbog). The swear words satan and gu also belong under this category since they refer to religion (Den Danske Ordbog). They are additionally represented in our data. In 2011 the Danish daily newspaper Politiken could announce that Dansk Sprognævn (the Danish language advisory committee) had decided that the word sgu is no longer a swear word. According to them, sgu, which is a contraction of the original sentence så Gud (so God) or så Gud hjælpe mig (so God help me), is no longer used the same way as in former history. The word has simply developed another meaning, and is more often applied in sentences as a particle (Politiken, 2011). However, in Rathje and Grann s study on the use of swear words in relation to generations, 69% of the older generation thought of sgu as a swear word, while nearly 50% of the younger generation shared this opinion (Rathje and Grann, 2011). This indicates that for the most people sgu is still seen as a type of swear word. Furthermore, seeing that sgu was a swear word when the film was released in 2000, it will be considered a swear word in this thesis. In addition, hell, Chrissakes and Jesus, can be assumed to belong under this category, and according to Oxford Dictionary, goddamn, also relates to this taboo area (Oxford Dictionary). All four types of swear words are to be found in our data (appendix 2). Page 26 of 72

28 4.3.2 Diseases (HG) Apart from religious swear words, Danes also often relate to diseases when swearing. Nevertheless, this group of tabooed words is not as comprehensive as the above-mentioned. Disease-related swear words are for instance for pokker and kraftedeme, which relate to the diseases syphilis and cancer respectively (Rathje and Grann, 2011). These types of swear words are typically not to be found in English, even though they have been a part of earlier English language. An expression as A pox on! comes from early English history, but is no longer a common thing to say (Ljung, 2011: 25), just as gå pokker i vold is no longer a common sentence in Danish (Rathje and Andersen, 2005). Hence, some countries, such as Denmark, have kept the use of swear words that refer to the taboo area diseases, while the English language in general do not longer include this type of swearing (Ljung, 2011: 43). Apart from the swear word kraftedeme, our data moreover contains the Danish swear word edderrådme. The word itself cannot be looked up in a dictionary, but since edder relates to inflammation, according to Den Danske Ordbog (The Danish Dictionary), it can be assumed that edderrådme also derives from the taboo area diseases (Den Danske Ordbog) Sex and Bodily Effluvia (HG) This specific group, defined by Rathje, will include what Ljung refers to as the scatological theme, the sex organ theme and sexual activities (Ljung, 2011: 37-40). This taboo area and the types of swear words that are related to it, can be considered as rather new in the Danish language. Within the area of sex and bodily effluvia we find the Danish words pis and pisse (piss), fuck, fucking, lort (shit) and shit (Rathje, 2005: 2011). The last mentioned types are a result of the fact that Anglo-American culture has become such a big part of the culture in many countries. Moreover, using the English swear words appear to be less bad in some situations, which can indicate that this taboo area is still seen as one of the worst, and therefore a need to borrow from English has become present (Rathje, 2005). In addition to Rathje s examples of swear words, Flickering Lights also contains the swear words røv (arse), skid (shit), pis (piss), lort (crap),which are all related to the taboo area sex and bodily effluvia, as they refer to body parts and bodily effluvia respectively. Furthermore, Page 27 of 72

29 the swear word forpulede (fucking) is also represented in the ST. Forpulede derives from the informal word pule, which means to have sexual intercourse with somebody (Den Danske Ordbog), and therefore this swear word also refers to this taboo area. In English, words like asshole, crap, piss, shit, cunt and fuck are normal expressions to use when swearing (Ljung, 2011: 37-38). However, there is a great difference in relation to how these words are used. Fuck, for instance, is a perfect example of a swear word, which can have different meanings. Examples of various uses are stupid fuck, fuck you!, fuck up, fuck off etc. (Ljung, 2011: 40). For now the most popular types of swear words in the Danish and English languages have been established in relation to the taboo areas they derive from. Examples of swear words were collected from both Rathje s and Ljung s studies, but also examples of swear words from our own data were given (appendix 2). The only expression that has not yet been touched upon in the above mentioned types of swear words, is hold kæft (shup up). According to Rathje and Grann, this expression cannot be characterized as swearing, but instead as vulgar language (Rathje and Grann, 2011: 7). However, even though, we have chosen to exclude vulgar language in this thesis, hold kæft will be included in the analysis, since it is a highly used expression in the ST. Hold kæft (shut up) has several functions, as it can both be used to utter surprise, disgust, annoyance or something different (Midjord, 2013: 67). Furthermore it can be used as an informal way of telling a person to be quiet (Midjord, 2013: 67). 4.4 Level of Severity (HG) According to the study by Rathje and Grann (2011), swear words are not all at the same level in relation to severity. Magnus Ljung also mentions in his book Swearing: A Cross-Cultural Linguistic Study (2011) that it can be extremely difficult to distinguish between the strength of the words and what level of offensiveness they represent (Ljung, 2011: 8). In the article Unge og gamle holdninger til bandeord, Rathje and Grann argue that swear words like fuck, kraftedeme and for fanden are seen as severe expressions, followed by pis, sgu and for pokker, which are less severe. Finally, Danish swear words like for søren, Gud, vorherre bevares and du godeste are seen as mild (Rathje and Grann, 2011: 6). Page 28 of 72

30 The figure below divides the Danish types of swear words into level of severity, as this is to be used as a part of the analysis in chapter 5. The figure contains the swear words mentioned in Rathje s studies (2005, 2011), but also the swear words found in our data, which will be marked with a (*). Since Rathje s studies do not include all the swear words found in the ST, these have been categorised based on Margit Siri Midjord s categorisation of Danish swear words and their level of severity (Midjord, 2013: 63). It should be mentioned that hold kæft (shut up) will not be included in this figure, since it, unlike the other swear words, does not relate to a taboo area. Mild Less severe Severe For pokker Pis/pisse* Fuck/Fucking* For søren Sgu* Fanden//faen/fanme* Du godeste Lort* Kraftedeme* Gud Skid* (For) helvede 1 * Gu* Røv* Satan* Shit Edderrådme* Dælenedme* Forpulede* Table 1: Danish swear words and their level of severity The swear words gu, edderrådme, dælenedme and forpulede are not categorised in neither Rathje s nor Midjord s studies. Gu has been categorised under mild, since it is a shortened version of Gud (Den Danske Ordbog). With the swear words edderrådme, dælenedme and forpulede it has been necessary to assume that they belong to the category severe. Furthermore, a categorisation of English swear words and their level of severity will be presented in the table below, which is made on the basis of Midjord s study (Midjord, 2013: 24-26). Not all of the swear words found in our data are covered in Midjord s thesis, and 1 (For) helvede is added to the category severe. This swear word is not included in Rathje s categorization of severity (2011). However, according to Ljung, diabolic swear words are considered powerful in Nordic countries (Ljung, 2011: 37), for what reason we have chosen to categorise it as severe. Page 29 of 72

31 therefore these will be categorised based on assumptions. These swear words include goddamn/damn/goddammit and chrissakes. Mild Less severe Severe Jesus* Shit* Hell* God Piss Fuck/fucking* Christ Crap* Goddamn/goddammit* Chrissakes* Damn* Table 2: English swear words and their level of severity Firstly, since Chrissakes is similar to the swear word Christ, which is seen as mild swearing (Midjord, 2013: 24), it can be assumed that it should be categorised as mild swearing. Secondly, damn has been categorised as less severe, since it, according to Gyldendals Røde Ordbøger, often corresponds to the Danish word sgu (Axelsen, 2009), which is also categorised as less severe in table 1. Finally, goddamn and goddammit are categorised as severe, since goddamn, according to Gyldendals Røde Ordbøger, correspond to the Danish severe swear words fandens and satans (Axelsen, 2009). Since goddammit is similar to goddamn, this has also been categorised as severe. However, it can be discussed whether the swear words and their level of severity can be categorised based on such references, but since it has not been possible to find sources covering this area, assumptions have had to be made on the basis of dictionaries. It should also be mentioned that since the Danish hold kæft is included in the analysis, the English equivalent shup up will also be mentioned in relation to the analysis. However, shut up is not included in table 2 for the same reasons as with hold kæft. The following section will discuss how swear words should be dealt with in subtitling in order to be able to evaluate the results in our analysis. Page 30 of 72

32 4.5 Swear Words in Subtitling (HN) According to Ib Lindberg, the founder of the Danish subtitling company Dansk Video Tekst, a subtitler needs to be as precise and reliable as possible when subtitling. Moreover, a subtitler should not censor what is being said, but has to keep some things in mind when subtitling a dialogue (Lindberg, 1997: 18). However, there are different opinions on the subject. In the following the different theories will be discussed in relation to the translation of swear words in subtitling. According to Gottlieb, nothing should be left out when subtitling, including idiolect and language of tone, as it is important for the viewer to get the whole experience in the dialogue. However, Gottlieb also mentions that as the written language appears stronger when including deviations from the linguistic norm, not necessarily all language units should be translated. Furthermore, he argues that reduction in the language should be considered in relation to different genres, such as comedies, feature films and news programmes. For instance, in a feature film, the language form is important in connection to explain a character and its personality, contrary to for example a news programme, in which the contents are the most important. That is, in the first mentioned the human being is in focus, whereas in the second mentioned the event is in focus (Gottlieb, 1994: 69-70). According to Lindberg, the translation should be kept as close to the ST as possible when subtitling. This is especially the case, when subtitling an English ST and the target audience knows English well. As mentioned, Lindberg points out that a subtitler needs to consider several things when subtitling a dialogue. Among other things, he underlines that when subtitling swear words, it is important to keep in mind that they are considerably stronger in written form than when spoken. Therefore, Lindberg argues that it is important to find a balance. As a starting point bad language and swear words should be translated. However, if they are continuously repeated in the original dialogue, they should be toned down in the subtitles (Lindberg, 1997: 18). The Norwegian theorist, Annjo K. Greenall, discusses whether the non-translation of swear words effects the understanding of social implicature (Greenall, 2011: 45), as she mentions that they are often omitted when subtitling. She suggests that swearing is not only important in relation to the understanding of a person s emotions, motives, and goals, but also to give an indication of someone s class membership and individuality. However, in one of her studies Page 31 of 72

33 she examined to what extent swearing was subtitled, in order to conclude whether this lead to a loss of social implicature. In relation to her studies, she argues that swearing belongs to the domain of spoken language (Greenall, 2011: 56), and that hearing the swear words in the original dialogue, at the same time as they are subtitled, can disturb the reading experience for the viewer (Greenall, 2011: 56). Nevertheless, Annjo K. Greenall concludes that the question, of whether the non-translation of swear words effects the understanding of social implicature, remains open, since it depends on the individual viewer and its understanding of the spoken language (Greenall, 2011: 60). Finally, Ivarsson and Carroll also state that a subtitler should be careful with the literal translation of swear words, as they have a stronger effect in the written language than in the spoken. Moreover, it is important to bear in mind that a direct translation of swear words could lead to difficulties, as the scale of rudeness of swearing differs from one language to another. Instead, a way of dealing with such challenge is to consider cultural aspects in the target language and hereby find an equivalent translation. Additionally, Ivarsson and Carroll underline that these forms of expressions should be toned down. However, it is important to mention that it is not the subtitler s task to act as a censor (unless it is explicitly required by the client) (Ivarsson and Carroll, 1998: ). The subtitler should never raise the level of infinity, if a certain level is already set by a producer or director (Ivarsson and Carroll, 1998: 127). Based on the mentioned theorists in this chapter, it can be concluded that it is difficult to give a specific answer to how a subtitler should deal with swear words when subtitling. However, some basic viewpoints recur throughout the chapter. Firstly, one should bear in mind that the written language is stronger than the spoken. Secondly, it is a common opinion that the translation of the TT should be as close to the ST as possible. Finally, it should be taken into consideration though that swear words should be toned down in order to find a balance. Nevertheless, there are different views and opinions on the subject and to which extent swearing should be translated in order to avoid the loss of important factors in the ST. Therefore, it is difficult to present a specific guideline one can follow when subtitling. Now that the concept of swear words have been dealt with, it can be concluded that the following will be the definition of swear words in this thesis: Page 32 of 72

34 - Swear words (as described in section 4.3) Vulgar language and dirty words in their metaphorical sense Sgu Hold kæft Hence, due to the size of the project, vulgar language and dirty words (in their literal sense), terms of abuse and slang will be excluded. Furthermore, as euphemisms only make up a small part of our data, these will also be excluded. The following chapter will contain an analysis of how the swear words have been translated into English in the Danish film Flickering Lights. 5. Analysis (HG) In chapter two audiovisual translation was dealt with in order to distinguish subtitling from other types of audiovisual translation. Moreover, Flickering Lights was presented in chapter three to point out why this particular film is relevant in relation to subtitling of swear words. In the previous chapter the concept of swearing was described, including which taboo areas different types of bad language derive from, what distinguishes swear words from other bad language, what types of swear words are the most common in the Danish language, and which types of swear words are to be found in the English language. Moreover, the difference between Danish and English swear words have been discussed in relation to their level of severity in order to be able to compare them. In addition, not only reasons for swearing have been discussed, but also how they should be dealt with in subtitling. In order to study how the Danish swear words have been subtitled into English in Flickering Lights, approximately one hour and three minutes of the whole film have been selected for the analysis, which can be found in appendix 1. This chapter will first present a taxonomy of microstrategies in section 5.1, which the analysis will be based on in section 5.2. In section 5.3 yet another taxonomy will be presented in order to study how the swear words have been translated in relation to level of severity. It should be mentioned that all segments that contain swear words in appendix 1 have been pointed out in appendix 2, which also includes the full analysis. Page 33 of 72

35 5.1 Microstrategies (HN) Within the theory of translation, translators work with macro and micro levels. The macro level is to decide whether or not a translation should be based on the ST or the TT. In relation to the subtitling of Flickering Lights, the target audience most likely does not know the Danish language, but the subtitler s job is to give them the same experience as the Danish audience. Nevertheless, this can be a difficult task, as the translator has to think about condensation etc. Hence, seeing that subtitling as a rule is TT oriented, the macrostrategy level is more or less irrelevant in this thesis, and will therefore not be mentioned further. When a translator is to translate a text, it can sometimes be difficult to find a solution to how a sentence, word or phrase should be translated. The purpose of microstrategies is to help the translator make the right decisions, and it can also be used to find out how other translators have translated a text (Schjoldager, 2008). Some theorists that can be mentioned in relation to microstrategies are Schjoldager (2008), Gottlieb (1994) and Ivarsson and Carroll (1998). However, as Schjoldager presents the most suitable taxonomy of microstrategies, in relation to examine the translation of swear words in Flickering Lights, our taxonomy will be inspired by the one in Schjoldager s Understanding Translation (2008), which can be seen below. Page 34 of 72

36 Figure 2: A taxonomy of microstrategies (Source: Anne Schjoldager, 2008: 92) Seeing that we are to study how the translation of swear words is dealt with in Flickering Lights, the focus will mainly be on the swear words. Therefore, not all of Schjoldager s microstrategies can be applied on our data. In the following, a taxonomy adjusted to the data found in the film will be presented followed by a description of each strategy Deletion Direct translation Oblique translation Paraphrase Condensation Addition According to Schjoldager, deletion is when a unit is left out in the TT. Deletion is for instance often used, when information in the ST is not relevant or necessary in relation to the understanding of the TT (Schjoldager, 2008: ). Page 35 of 72

37 Direct translation, on the other hand, is when an item is translated as directly as possible from the ST into the TT. When translators make use of this microstrategy, they normally use the first word that comes into their minds in the TT language. Moreover, when using it, there is great focus on the result being idiomatically correct (Schjoldager, 2008: 95-96). Unlike direct translation, in which the focus is on a word-for-word translation, oblique translation deals with a sense-for-sense translation with focus on covering the meaning from the ST (Schjoldager, 2008: 97-98). Paraphrase is a strategy in which the translator makes a more or less free translation. Even though the meaning of the ST is rendered, it can sometimes be difficult to define exactly what has been rendered from the ST into the TT (Schjoldager, 2008: ). The translator uses condensation, when there is a need of translating the contextual meaning from the ST into the TT but in a shorter version. This microstrategy is a highly used strategy within subtitling as there is a limited amount of space available on the screen (Schjoldager, 2008: 102), as also mentioned in section 2.4. Addition is a microstrategy, which adds a unit of meaning to the TT. This means that the added unit is only present in the TT and cannot be recognized in the ST (Schjoldager, 2008: ). 5.2 Analysis of the Use of Microstrategies (HG) The first part of this section will provide an overview of how many swear words from the ST have been translated into swearing in the TT. A division of the swear words, in Danish and English respectively, in relation to their taboo areas will also be presented. Moreover, on the basis of the taxonomy described in section 5.1, an analysis will be conducted. Examples from the analysis in appendix 2 will be explained with the different microstrategies in order to study, how the translator has dealt with the translation of swear words in Flickering Lights. Page 36 of 72

38 Type of swear word Not translated into swearing Sgu: Skid: Kraftedeme: Satan: Fanden/fandeme/faen: Helvede: Røv: Pis: Fuck: Gu: Hold kæft: Edderrådme: Lort: Dælenedme: Forpulede: Total: Table 3: Swear words in ST translated or not into swearing in TT Translated into swearing Table 3 shows how many of each of the Danish swear word are presented in the ST. Furthermore, the table indicates how many of these swear words are translated into swearing in the TT and how many have been omitted. According to the table, the ST contains 177 Danish swear words in total, where only 63 of these have been translated into swearing in the TT. This is noticeable as less than half of all Danish swear words in the film have been translated. Table 4 and 5 below give an overview of how many of the different types of swear words the ST and the TT respectively contains. The swear words are listed in relation to the taboo area they derive from. Page 37 of 72

39 Types of swear words in ST Religion - Sgu 35 - Satan 8 - Fanden/fandeme/faen 40 - Helvede 13 - Gu 2 - Dælenedme 1 Diseases - Kraftedeme 15 - Edderrådme 1 Sex and bodily effluvia - Skid 7 - Røv 13 - Pis 9 - Fuck 8 - Lort 10 - Forpulede 2 Hold kæft 13 Total 177 Number Table 4: Number of Danish types of swear words in ST divided into taboo areas Page 38 of 72

40 Types of Swear words in TT Religion - Hell 10 - Goddamn/goddammit/damn 3 - Chrissakes 3 - Jesus 2 Diseases - Sex and bodily effluvia - Fuck/fucking 29 - Shit 12 - Crap 1 Shut up 11 Total: 71 2 Number Table 5: Number of English types of swear words in TT divided into taboo areas The two tables above illustrate the difference in the use of types of swear words in the ST and TT respectively. It can clearly be seen that the most popular types of swearing in the ST are religious swear words, such as sgu and fanden/fandeme/faen, whereas the English TT contains more swear words from the taboo area sex and bodily effluvia, such as fuck and shit. Moreover, it is striking that the severe swear word fuck occurs only 8 times in the ST in contrast to the TT, in which fuck appears as much as 29 times. Hence, it is obvious that the translator has made some adjustments regarding the subtitling of the ST. In section 5.1 a taxonomy of microstrategies was presented in order to comment on how the translator has dealt the translation of swear words in Flickering Lights. To give an overview of the use of each microstrategy, an illustration has been made, which can be seen below. 2 It should be mentioned that the total number of translated into swearing in table 3 is different from the total number of swear words in table 5, since the swearing in table 3 can contain more than one swear word per segment, whereas table 5 counts each individual type of swear word. Page 39 of 72

41 Figure 3: Number of used microstrategies The figure clearly indicates that the most applied type of microstrategy is deletion. There are 113 cases of the use of deletion throughout the selected data in total. Furthermore, direct translation is the second most used strategy with 45 cases, which makes these two ways of dealing with the translation of swear words in this film the most frequent. Before the analysis was carried out, this result was expected, as it can be assumed that these two microstrategies are the most obvious choices, when dealing with subtitling. Moreover, there are nine examples of condensation, which is also a common strategy to use in subtitling (Schjoldager, 2008: 102). Oblique translation, paraphrase and addition are the three types of strategies that are least represented. However, they will still be commented on in the following analysis, which is to study how these microstrategies have been used to deal with the translation of swear words in Flickering Lights Deletion (HG) As described in section 5.1, deletion is a microstrategy, which is used whenever, for instance, a sentence in the ST is not important to transfer to the TT in relation to understand the message (Schjoldager, 2008: 109). As this thesis is dealing with the subtitling of swear words Page 40 of 72

42 from Danish into English, it can be argued that deletion would be a relatively obvious choice, in order to make the subtitles fit the screen. Furthermore, as Lindberg argues, swear words are stronger, when presented on the screen (Lindberg, 1997: 18), which can also lead to the choice of deleting swear words in the TT. Some examples of the use of deletion in Flickering Lights are mentioned in the following: Example 1 Scene 1: Segment Person ST TT 2 Torkild Det er da skideligegyldigt! Man kommer da til tiden! So what, he should be here now In this example the Danish vulgar word skide (shit) is added to ligegyldigt in the ST. Since it is used in this way, it gets a metaphorical meaning, and therefore it can be defined as a swear word (Rathje, 2010: ). However, the TT is different from the ST because it does not include the swearing. The translator has made the choice to delete skide completely, instead det er da skideligegyldigt is translated into so what (det er da ligegyldigt). As the translator has chosen to delete skide, it can be argued that the microstrategy used here is deletion. Example 2 Scene 1: Segment Person ST TT 11 Torkild For helvede da! - As this example does not present a translation in the TT, it can also be analysed as deletion. Even though the key figure Torkild exclaims for helvede da!, including the Danish swear word for helvede, nothing is rendered into the TT. The translator has probably found it Page 41 of 72

43 unnecessary or needless to translate what is said in the film into written, in order to understand the message. Example 3 Scene 2: Segment Person ST TT 29 Torkild Jeg kan gøre, hvad fanden jeg vil I could do anything Here is another example of the use of deletion. In this example the Danish swear word hvad fanden has also been left out in the TT. Hence, instead of adding the swearing from the ST to the sentence in the TT, the translator has just translated jeg kan gøre, hvad fanden jeg vil into I could do anything (jeg kunne gøre alt), which is not as hard as the version in the ST. Example 4 Scene 13: Segment Person ST TT 332 Peter Arne for helvede Peter Vi må sgu da Peter for faen snart få noget andet end de der frysepizzaer - This example is taken from segment 332. Just as in example 2, this one is noteworthy, since the translator has chosen not to translate what is said in the ST at all. This includes the three Danish swear words for helvede, sgu and for faen being left out too. On the basis of this, the translation can be analysed as deletion. It can be argued that the decision to omit these segments in the TT is most likely made because of limited space, but also to avoid having too many swear words in the subtitling. Page 42 of 72

44 Example 5 Scene 22: :00:51 Segment Person ST TT 590 Arne Så er der kraftedeme pause, mand! I m taking my break now! Like example 1, the swear word from the ST has not been translated into the TT here, which makes the example possible to analyse as deletion. In the ST Arne is frustrated because he does not know how to make a good sauce, and therefore he demands to have a break. However, instead of translating the ST swear word kraftedeme, which adds a relatively strong effect to the ST, the translator has made the choice to delete it in the subtitles. Hence, så er der kraftedeme pause, mand! (There should be a fucking break now!) is translated into the less offensive i m taking my break now! It can be argued that the TT unit still expresses a certain frustration, but it is not quite as strong as in the ST because of the deletion of the swear word. Example 6 Scene 24: Segment Person ST TT 652 Torkild Hold nu op for satan Stop it! In the final example the Danish unit of meaning for satan has been left out in the TT, which makes this another example of deletion. In this example Torkild is angry with Arne, because he will not stop beating the thief that is trying to rob their restaurant. To express his anger, Torkild uses the Danish swear word for satan, but this is not included in the subtitles. That is to say, the ST hold nu op for satan (stop it, goddammit!), is translated into the less offensive version stop it! Page 43 of 72

45 5.2.2 Direct Translation (HN) The microstrategy direct translation is, as mentioned previously, when an item from the ST is translated as directly as possible into the TT. A translator normally uses the first word that comes to mind in the TT language, when using this strategy (Schjoldager, 2008: 95-96). In the film, Flickering Lights, several examples of direct translation being used can be found. Example 1 Scene 3: Segment Person ST TT 65 Stefan Hvorfor fanden har vi ikke inviteret Færingen? Why the hell didn t we invite the Eskimo? In this example from segment 65, the Danish sentence has more or less been copied into the TT language. The translator has stayed very close to the ST and has used almost the same words in the ST as in the TT, why this example can be analysed as direct translation. Idiomatically the meaning is the same in the ST as in the subtitled version. Moreover, the translator has chosen to translate the Danish swear word unit hvorfor fanden with the English equivalent why the hell, both from the taboo area religion. Example 2 Scene 4: Segment Person ST TT 99 Torkild Hold kæft Holy shit This is an example of the Danish non-swear word hold kæft being translated into the English swear word holy shit. This is a direct translation since the ST unit has been translated as closely as possible into the TT. However, it can also be argued that the translation is an Page 44 of 72

46 oblique translation, as there is also a focus on transferring the meaning from the ST into the TT. In this situation Torkild has just discovered that the suitcase, he is to steal for the Eskimo, contains four million DKK. In its original sense hold kæft is used to ask a person to keep one s mouth shut, which means that the equivalent English expression would be shut up. However, since hold kæft in this situation expresses surprise, and seeing that holy shit also can be used to express surprise (Urban Dictionary), it can be argued that the translator has used oblique translation in order to transfer the meaning. Example 3 Scene 6: Segment Person ST TT 164 Peter Lorte spasserbus Fucking spasmobile The next example is taken from scene 6, segment 164, where the translator has also chosen to make a TT that is very close to the ST. The Danish version has almost been copied into the TT, and therefore this example can be analysed as direct translation. In the ST the Danish lorte has been used, and this has been translated into the English fucking, both words being from the same taboo area, namely sex and bodily effluvia. Example 4 Scene 11: Segment Person ST TT 301 Arne Fuck H.C. Andersen, mand! Fuck Hans Christian Andersen! This example, from segment 301, can be analysed as direct translation, as the words in the ST have been more or less directly translated into the TT. Furthermore, the meaning is the exact same one. In a swear word-to-swear word level this is an example of the English swear word fuck, from the taboo area sex and bodily effluvia, being used in the Danish ST. As described in Page 45 of 72

47 chapter 4.3, using English expressions has become more and more common in the Danish language, and it can be assumed that this is the reason for the direct translation that has been made here with fuck. Example 5 Scene 24: Segment Person ST TT 651 Torkild Arne, for helvede! Jesus, Arne! Here the unit in the ST is practically the same as in the TT. The Danish swear word for helvede, which is from the taboo area religion, is translated into the English swear word Jesus which also falls under the same taboo area. The only difference between the ST and the TT in this example is the placement of Arne Oblique Translation (HG) Schjoldager defines oblique translation as a meaning-for-meaning translation in contrast to direct translation, which translates word-for-word or as closely as possible (Schjoldager, 2008: 97-98). It can be hard to differ between the two microstrategies in relation to explore how a translator has dealt with a translation. However, the main difference in the examples represented below, compared with the examples from direct translation, is that that they show a slight change in the TT compared with the ST on the word level, but the TT still cover the contextual meaning of the ST. Page 46 of 72

48 Example 1 Scene 1: Segment Person ST TT 11 Torkild Der er sgu da ingen, der ryger mentolsmøger Nobody smokes that menthol shit In the example above, the sentence in the ST is translated into the TT in an almost direct manner. Nevertheless, there are some small changes. Seeing that the translator probably found it difficult to translate der er sgu da ingen directly into English, it can be assumed that he chose to focus on translating in a meaning-to-meaning manner instead. Hence, the word order is almost the same, but in relation to the swear word, it is an interesting choice the translator has made. Instead of trying to translate the Danish swear word sgu (from the religious taboo area) into English directly, the function of sgu has instead been translated into the English vulgar word shit (from the taboo area sex and bodily effluvia), and has been added to the word menthol, in such way that menthol shit refers to menthol cigarettes. Since shit gets a metaphorical meaning here, it is considered a swear word. Therefore, this example can be analysed as oblique translation. Example 2 Scene 6: Segment Person ST TT 161 Torkild Det er kraftedeme løgn, mand! I don t fucking believe this! Another example of oblique translation is to be found in segment 161. Since the translator most likely has found the ST unit hard to translate directly into English, an oblique translation has been applied. The meaning in the TT is the same as in the ST, but det er løgn has been translated into the more suitable I don t believe this in the subtitles, as it makes more sense in the target language. The Danish swear word in the ST kraftedeme has been translated into the English fucking. It is noteworthy that the taboo areas, from which these to swear words Page 47 of 72

49 derive, are different, just as in the former example. The Danish swear word kraftedeme derives from the types of swearing that belongs to diseases, whereas the English swear word translation fucking derives from sex and bodily effluvia. Example 3 Scene 24: Segment Person ST TT 654 Torkild Slip det glas for satan, Arne! Let go of that fucking glass! In this final example of the use of oblique translation, it is obvious that we are dealing with an almost direct translation, but nevertheless there is a considerable difference between the ST and the TT. The difference lies within the translation of the ST swear word for satan. This has not been translated directly into the TT sentence-wise, instead the translator has made a choice to add the function of the Danish swear word into the TT by placing the English swear word fucking in connection to the word glass. Hence, the meaning of what is being said in the ST is definitely rendered into the TT, but there is a slight change because of the way the swear word in the TT is represented in the sentence. The two swear words differ in relation to the taboo area they derive from, as for satan belongs to the religious taboo area and fucking belongs to the area sex and bodily effluvia Paraphrase (HG) As described in section 5.1, paraphrasing is characterised by being a relatively free translation of the ST, and it can at times be difficult to define in what way the meaning in the ST has been rendered into the TT (Schjoldager, 2008: ). This section will provide two examples from the film, which can be analysed as paraphrase. Page 48 of 72

50 Example 1 Scene 12: :35:36 Segment Person ST TT 322 Færingen (The Eskimo) Forpulede Torkild Fuck me This segment does not contain much text, but nevertheless it is interesting to look at in relation to how the swear word in the ST has been translated. The Eskimo is frustrated because Torkild and the other three key figures have escaped with the money, and he cannot find them. He expresses this frustration by saying forpulede Torkild (fucking Torkild) in the ST. In the TT, this is translated into fuck me, which differs from the ST. Hence, the microstrategy paraphrase can be recognised in the translation since the meaning in the ST is rendered to the TT, but at the same time it is difficult to say exactly why the translator chose to translate it into fuck me. It can be argued that fuck me is an expression in English that can be used to express frustration, which is the case here. Moreover, it can be mentioned that both forpulede and fuck derive from the same taboo area, namely sex and bodily effluvia. Example 2 Scene 22: :00:51 Segment Person ST TT 611 Stefan For fanden da. Jo You fucking bet The second and final example of a translation that can be characterised as paraphrase is presented above. Here, Stefan has just received the message that he is to be a father. His girlfriend asks him if he is not happy to hear the news, and he expresses his rather surprised delight by saying for fanden da. Jo. This sentence is translated into you fucking bet in the TT, which is slightly different from the unit in the ST. Just like the previous example, it is difficult to say exactly what the relationship between for fanden da. Jo and you fucking bet is, but the ST meaning is still, in some way, rendered into the TT. The translator probably found you fucking bet more suitable as it would probably make more sense to the target audience. It Page 49 of 72

51 should be noticed that the two types of swearing do not belong to the same taboo area. For fanden, which is a religious swear word, is translated into the swear word fucking, which is from the area sex and bodily effluvia. This is yet another example of a translation where the TT swear word does not agree with the ST swear word in relation to the taboo area they derive from Condensation (HN) Condensation is, as previously mentioned, used when the translator translate the contextual meaning in the ST into a shorter version in the TT. As mentioned in chapter 2.4, there is a limited amount of space on the screen for the subtitler to work with, and therefore this microstrategy is very common in subtitling. When using this strategy, explicit information in the ST may become implicit in the TT. However, this is not necessarily the case (Schjoldager, 2008: 102). The translator has used condensation when translating Flickering Lights from Danish into English, and in the following some examples of this will be given. Example 1 Scene 1: Segment Person ST TT 1 Torkild Det er sgu da utroligt! Tænk, at en flok voksne mænd ikke kan blive enige om, hvornår de skal mødes! Grown people, and they are fucking late? In this example the contextual meaning of the ST is transferred to the TT. Torkild is frustrated, because the people they are going to meet are late, and this is clearly rendered to the TT with the expression grown people, and they are fucking late? As the example shows, Page 50 of 72

52 the ST has been transferred to the TT in a shorter way, and therefore this is an example of condensation. Looking at the first sentence in the ST det er sgu da utroligt!, it can also be discussed that a deletion has been made, since this sentence does not appear in the TT. However, it can be argued that the translator has made the choice to transfer the function of the word sgu in the ST into the swear word fucking in the TT, and therefore this example is analysed as condensation. In a swear word-to-swear word level the translator has made the choice to translate the Danish sgu from the taboo area religion into the English fucking from the taboo area sex and bodily effluvia. Example 2 Scene 18: Segment Person ST TT 459 Torkild Er du sindssyg mand, hvor er det koldt, mand! It s fucking cold! This example from scene 18, segment 459, can also be analysed as condensation, as the meaning in the ST is transferred to the TT, but in a shorter way. Torkild has just entered the water and is complaining about how cold it is, which the English version it s fucking cold! clearly indicates. However, since a swear word has been added to the TT, namely fucking, from the taboo area sex and bodily effluvia, this example can also be analysed as addition. Example 3 Scene 20: Segment Person ST TT 520 Arne Hvad fanden er det for en bæ ord og bruge, mand? What kind of crap is that? Page 51 of 72

53 Another example is to be found in scene 20, segment 520, where the contextual meaning in the ST has also been transferred to the TT, but in a shorter way. Arne is criticising the others for talking about metaphors, and this is clearly rendered to the TT with the expression what kind of crap is that? As the example shows, the ST has been rendered in a shorter way into the TT, and therefore this example can be analysed as condensation. However, as the translator has made the choice to exclude the Danish swearing hvad fanden (sex and bodily effluvia) in the TT, this example can also be analysed as deletion. That is to say, even though the TT contains a swear word (crap), it can be argued that hvad fanden is deleted, since crap must be the translation of the euphemism bæ ord. Example 4 Scene 24: Segment Person ST TT 661 Torkild Det er 50 kr. i bødekassen for det fuck, Arne That fuck will cost you 50 The last example of condensation that will be given in this section can be seen in scene 24, segment 661. This is an example of condensation, as the contextual meaning is rendered from the ST to the TT. Torkild is mad at Arne for swearing and wants him to pay 50 DKK as a kind of punishment, and this is clearly transferred to the TT with the sentence that fuck will cost you 50. The TT version is rendered in a shorter way than the ST, and therefore this is analysed as the microstrategy condensation. In a swear word-to-swear word level, the English-borrowed fuck in the ST, from the taboo area sex and bodily effluvia, is translated directly into fuck in the TT. Page 52 of 72

54 5.2.6 Addition (HN) The last examples that will be given fall under the strategy addition. This microstrategy adds a unit of meaning in the TT, as also mentioned previously. The unit of meaning added is only to be found in the TT and cannot be recognized in the ST (Schjoldager, 2008: ). These examples are interesting in relation to the study of the translation of swear words, as they show incidents in which the translator has chosen to add a swear word in the TT, even though the ST does not contain one. Example 1 Scene 8: Segment Person ST TT 207 Torkild s mother Hvad er det, du forestiller dig, du går rundt og laver? Hva, hva? What the hell are you trying to do? This example can be found in the eighth scene, segment 207, where a unit has been added to the TT. In this example the TT contains the swear word what the hell, from the taboo area religion, and since the swear word cannot be recognised in the ST, this example can be analysed as addition. The translator has chosen to add a swear word to the TT, which is not present in the ST (this is seen four times during the film, namely segment 207, 222, 459, 650), and what is interesting to consider is why this choice has been made. In the example above Torkild s mother is very angry with Torkild and the translator has most likely tried to make an attempt to illustrate this anger in the TT by adding a swear word. Had the translator chosen not to add the swear word in the TT, the angry tone would probably not have been expressed in a clear enough way. However, it can also be argued that the microstrategy condensation has been used in this example, as the same meaning is rendered from the ST to the TT in a shorter way with the expression what the hell are you trying to do?. Page 53 of 72

55 Example 2 Scene 9: Segment Person ST TT 222 Torkild Skaf så noget vand Shut up and get some water In this scene, Torkild is frustrated because Peter is injured and Arne keeps talking away about how they should get going to Barcelona. Torkild wants Arne to stop talking and get some water for Peter instead. In the TT the translator has added shut up in the start of the sentence, which cannot be seen in the ST element, and therefore it can be analysed as addition. This chapter has dealt with the translation of swear words in a sentence-to-sentence level with focus on the translation of swear words. Now that we have found out how many swear words have been deleted and how many have been translated, the following section will deal with the ones translated in a more word-for-word level. A new taxonomy will be presented as to comment on how the swear words have been translated in relation to level of severity. 5.3 Analysis of Level of Severity (HN) As mentioned above, a taxonomy will be presented in this section in order to analyse how the translated swear words have been dealt with. It is interesting to explore whether or not the translator has made some considerations in relation to tone down the bad language in the TT, or if he has chosen to keep the level of severity from the ST. The swearing could have been toned down in order to make it more social acceptable. On the other hand, the translator could also have made the decision to keep the level of severity in the ST in order to retain the personalities of the Danish characters and transfer the criminal environment into the TT. Seeing that no theorist has ever made such taxonomy before, we have had to create what we call a taxonomy of levels of severity. The taxonomy is based on table 1 and table 2 in section 4.4, and is presented below. Page 54 of 72

56 Neutralising translation Equivalent translation Enhancing translation Severe Less severe Mild Mild Mild Less severe Severe Mild Less severe Less severe Mild Severe Less severe Mild Severe Severe Less severe Severe Table 6: A taxonomy of levels of severity The taxonomy consists of three main categories, which we have chosen to call neutralising translation, equivalent translation and enhancing translation. Firstly, neutralising translation will be used to comment on a translation in which swear words in the ST are more severe than the ones in the TT. That is to say, if for example the Danish severe swear word for helvede is translated into the mild English swear word Jesus in the TT. Secondly, equivalent translation will be used to comment on translations, where the swear words in the ST are of the same level of severity as the swear words in the TT. This could for example be the case, if the Danish swear word lort is translated into the English swear word shit. Finally, enhancing translation will be used to comment on translations in which the swear words in the ST are less severe than in the TT, as for instance if the Danish less severe swear word sgu is translated into the severe English swear word fucking. As this part of the analysis is to deal with the swear words that are already translated, it will only cover examples in which a swear word is included in both the ST and the TT. Furthermore, it should be mentioned that hold kæft and shut up, in any case, will not be included in this section, due to the fact that they have not been categorised in relation to level of severity, as they are not swear words (see section 4.3). However, if shut up is put together with a swear word, for instance, if it appears as shut the fuck up, this will be included in the analysis and will be categorised in relation to the swear word it stands with, which in this case would be fuck. To give an overview, all the examples from the different categories have been counted. The result is presented in the figure below. Page 55 of 72

57 Neutralising translation Equivalent translation Enhancing translation Figure 4: Number of used levels of severity Figure 4 shows that equivalent translation is the most frequent used strategy with 36 cases in total throughout the approximate one hour and three minutes that has been selected from the film. Furthermore, it illustrates that neutralising translation and enhancing translation have both been used an equal number of times with nine cases each throughout the selected part of the film. Examples from the analysis in appendix 2 of neutralising, equivalent and enhancing translation will be given below Neutralising Translation (HN) As described in the previous section, neutralising translation is used to comment on cases, where swear words in the ST are more severe than the ones in the TT. In the selected data there are, as mentioned previously, nine cases of neutralising translations being used. In the following, examples of this strategy will be given and commented on. Page 56 of 72

58 Example 1 Scene 13: Segment Person ST TT 335 Arne Der er kraftedeme grøntsager og alt muligt lækkert på her There s all kind of vegetable shit in this The first example can be found in scene 13, segment 335, where Peter is unsatisfied with the food Arne has made for them. Arne does not think that the food is bad, and he defends himself with the expression der er kraftedeme grøntsager og alt muligt lækkert på her. In the sentence kraftedeme is intensifying the fact that Arne does not think that the food he is serving is bad. In this example the translator has chosen to translate the Danish swear word kraftedeme into the English swear word shit in the TT. Kraftedeme is categorised as severe, whereas shit is categorised as a less severe swear word, and the translator has therefore made a neutralising translation and has hereby chosen to make the subtitled version milder than the one in the ST. Example 2 Scene 14: Segment Person ST TT 365 Peter Hvad satan? Damn! The next example of neutralising translation is to be found in scene 14, segment 365, where Peter calls Coke Henry in order to get him to Fredericia with some coke, and the call suddenly gets cut off. Peter expresses his frustration and wonder with the Danish swearing hvad satan. Here the subtitler has also translated a severe swear word in the ST into a less severe swear word in the TT language. In the example the Danish severe swear word hvad satan in the ST has been replaced with the English less severe swear word damn in the TT. Page 57 of 72

59 Example 3 Scene 18: Segment Person ST TT 457 Torkild Ej, for helvede den idiot Shit, what an idiot! A third example can be found in scene 18, segment 457. In this example Peter has just sat down in the water, which Torkild thinks is a foolish thing to do because of the fact that the water is cold and he will just get sick because of it. This he expresses with the sentence ej, for helvede den idiot, where the Danish swear word for helvede points out the fact that he thinks it is stupid of Peter to do so. The Danish swear word for helvede in the ST is translated into the English swear word shit in the TT, and therefore this is an example of neutralising translation, as for helvede is categorised as severe and shit is categorised as a less severe swear word. Example 4 Scene 24: Segment Person ST TT 655 Torkild Tag ham med og kom afsted, for helvede! Take him and get out, for chrissakes! The last example of neutralising translation is to be found in scene 24, segment 655, where the restaurant is being robbed. Arne is beating up one of the thieves and Torkild tells him to stop it immediately. Torkild tells the other thief to pick up the one, whom Arne has beaten up and get out of the restaurant as fast as they can, before Arne does them more harm. Torkild expresses this with the sentence tag ham med og kom afsted, for helvede!. He uses the Danish swear word for helvede to underline that he wants them to get out of the restaurant at once. The Danish swear word for helvede is translated into the English swear word for chrissakes, Page 58 of 72

60 which makes this an example of neutralising translation, as for helvede is categorised as severe and for chrissakes is categorised as a less severe swear word Equivalent Translation (HN) As mentioned previously, equivalent translation is a strategy that is used to comment on translations where the swear words in the ST are of the same level of severity as in the swear words in the subtitled version. In the following examples that belong to the strategy Equivalent translation will be given. Example 1 Scene 1: Segment Person ST TT 10 Torkild Hvad faen skal vi med kartoner Grøn Look? What the hell do we do with 34,000 cartons of Look? The first example is to be found in the first scene, segment 10, where Torkild has just found out that they have had delivered 34,000 cartons of cigarettes of the wrong brand. He is upset and do not know what they are to do with the 34,000 cartons, as they are of the wrong brand. He expresses this frustration with the question hvad faen skal vi med kartoner Grøn Look?. He uses the Danish swear word hvad faen in the question to express his anger. The Danish swear word hvad faen in the ST is translated into the English what the hell in the TT. Hvad faen is categorised as severe and the same goes for the English what the hell. Therefore, this is an example of the strategy equivalent translation being used. Page 59 of 72

61 Example 2 Scene 6: Segment Person ST TT 158 Arne Slap af mand, der er kraftedeme mange træer her There s a hell of a lot of trees The next example can be found in scene 6, segment 158. The four main characters are driving in the getaway car in the middle of the woods trying to find their way to Barcelona, where Arne suddenly says slap af mand, der er kraftedeme mange træer her. He uses the Danish swear word kraftedeme to underline the fact that there is a lot of trees, which he finds annoying. The Danish swear word kraftedeme is translated into the English swear word a hell of a lot, which makes this an example of equivalent translation, as both the Danish kraftedeme and the English a hell of a lot are categorised as severe. Example 3 Scene 6: Segment Person ST TT 168 Torkild Tag jeres lort, og lad os komme afsted Get you re shit, and let s get out of here In segment 168, scene 6, the getaway car has just broken down, and Torkild makes ready to leave the place and keep on going on foot. In the ST the swear word lort has been used in the sentence tag jeres lort (take you re shit) instead of saying tag jeres ting (take you re things), probably to emphasize that Torkild is in a bad mood. In the TT lort has been translated into the equivalent shit. Both the Danish lort and the English shit are considered less severe swear words, which makes this an equivalent translation. Page 60 of 72

62 Example 4 Scene 24: Segment Person ST TT 660 Arne Jeg gider ikke det her fucking pis mere mand! Enough of this fucking shit! In the final example from segment 660, Arne is frustrated because he has had enough of the life the four characters have been living in the middle of the forest, where they have been told not to shoot, swear or act bad in general. The restaurant has just been robbed and Arne has had a fit of rage aimed at the two burglars. The ST includes the English-borrowed swear word fucking, which in this case is supplemented with the Danish vulgar word pis, used in its metaphorical sense. In the TT the swearing has been translated directly in relation to severity, in the form of fucking shit! However, what is interesting here is the fact that the swearing in the ST and the TT respectively contain two swear words with different levels of severity. In the ST, fucking is categorised as a severe swear word, whereas pis is a less severe swear word. In the TT, fucking is equally severe in English, while shit is also a less severe swear word. Nevertheless, the example can still be analysed as equivalent translation, as ST and TT in their entirety form same level of severity Enhancing Translation (HG) It can be argued that the category that we have chosen to call enhancing translation contains some of the most interesting translations in the subtitling of Flickering Lights. This category is noteworthy, since it shows that the translator has not only made choices to make some of the swear words in the ST less severe in the TT (see section 5.3.1), but that he also made the choice to translate some of the mild or less severe swear words in the ST into severe swearing in the TT. The examples in the following will demonstrate the use of this strategy in the film. Page 61 of 72

63 Example 1 Scene 6: Segment Person ST TT 164 Peter Lorte spasserbus Fucking spasmobile In the first example the ST contains the Danish swear word shit, which is categorised as less severe swearing according to table 1 in section 4.4. In this particular scene the getaway car has broken down, and Torkild is mad at Arne, as it was his job to get a well-working van so that they could run away to Barcelona. Torkild does not know what words to use in order to express his frustration, and Peter ends up suggesting lorte spasserbus (piece of shit spas mobile). For this reason, shit is here used in its metaphorical sense to intensify the word spasserbus. However, in the TT the translator has chosen to translate lorte into fucking, which is categorised as a severe swear word. Hence, since the ST contains a less severe swear word lorte and the subtitles consist of the severe swear word fucking, this can be analysed as enhancing translation. Example 2 Scene 11: Segment Person ST TT 307 Arne Nu lukker du røven, du gør Shut the fuck up! In the second example from segment 307 Arne is annoyed, as it has appeared to be more or less impossible for them to continue the escape to Barcelona, since Peter is feeling sick from a bullet wound. Arne feels the need to tell Torkild to stop talking, expressed by a version of the Danish swearing luk røven (shut up) in the ST. In the TT the translator has made the decision not only to translate luk røven into shut up, but there has also been added a fuck. Seeing that fuck is categorised as a severe swear word in English, and that the Danish røv is categorised as less severe, this can be analysed as enhancing translation. Page 62 of 72

64 Example 3 Secene 17: Segment Person ST TT 426 William De har taget pis på dig They re fucking with you The third example is taken from a scene, in which the Eskimo has just arrived to the other side of the country with his two followers, as they are searching for the four key figures and the money they have stolen from the Eskimo. It appears to the Eskimo that they are going to be hard to find, and one of the followers, William, says de har taget pis på dig (they ve taken the piss out of you) in the ST. Tage pis på is a Danish expression, which can be seen as swearing in this situation, since pis here is used in its metaphorical sense. Nevertheless, the translator has once again chosen to use a swear word in the TT that is more severe than in the ST. As mentioned previously, fuck is classified as a severe swear word, whereas pis is classified as less severe. Hence, this is another example of the translator making use of enhancing translation. Example 4 Scene 19: Segment Person ST TT 492 Torkild Ja det vil jeg da skide på! I don t give a fuck! In the final example, Torkild is angry with Arne and Stefan, as they have just shot a squirrel. Seeing that they have to fit into the area, Torkild does not find it smart to fire weapons and shooting animals. Arne and Stefan find it acceptable to shoot a squirrel, but Torkild does not agree with their argument. The ST swearing in this example is similar to the one in example 3, as it contains a Danish expression, namely det vil jeg da skide på (I don t give a shit). The swear word skide in the ST is categorised as a less severe swear word. In the TT det vil jeg da skide på is translated into I don t give a fuck!, which is more offensive than what is said in the Page 63 of 72

65 ST. Hence, seeing that the English swear word fuck in the TT is categorised as severe, and the ST swearing is less severe, example 4 can also be analysed as enhancing translation. The selected data from Flickering Lights have now been analysed, both in relation to find out whether or not the swear words have been translated into the subtitles or in what other ways they have been dealt with. This analysis was conducted in section 5.2 on the basis of selected microstrategies from Schjoldager s taxonomy (Schjoldager, 2008) presented in section 5.1. Furthermore, it was relevant to look at a swear word-to-swear word level in relation to severity in order to study whether or not the translator had chosen to maintain the same level of severity in those examples, where a swear word is present both in the ST and the TT. This analysis was conducted on the basis of three entirely new strategies, which were created on the basis of chapter 4. In the following chapter the results of the analysis will be presented in order to be able to answer the main question of this thesis. 6. Results (HG) This chapter will sum up the results from the analysis in chapter 5 in order to give an answer to the problem statement presented in the introduction. Section 5.2 and section 5.3 consisted of two analyses, which were to clarify how the Danish swear words have been subtitled into English in the Danish comedy Flickering Lights, if they have been translated at all. First, section 5.2 provided an overview of how many swear words from the ST have been translated into swear words in the TT. According to the counting, the selected part of the film contains 177 Danish swear words in total, and only 63 of these have been translated into swearing in the subtitles. Moreover, it is noticeable that the most frequent used swear words in the ST, namely sgu, fanden/fandeme/faen and kraftedeme, in most cases are not translated into swearing in the TT. Sgu occurs 35 times in total in the ST, whereas only 3 of these have been translated into swearing. The words fanden/fandeme/faen appear 40 times in the ST, but this group has only been translated 12 times in the TT. Finally, kraftedeme occurs 15 times in the ST, whereas 11 of these have not been translated into swearing in the TT. Secondly, section 5.2 gave an overview of the use of the different types of swear words in the film both for the ST and the TT swearing. The two tables that were created clearly indicate Page 64 of 72

66 that the Danish ST mainly contains swear words from the taboo area religion, such as sgu, satan, fanden/fandeme/faen and helvede, whereas the translated swear words in the TT are predominantly from the area sex and bodily effluvia, such as fuck/fucking and shit. In relation to fuck/fucking it is also striking that fuck/fucking is present 29 times in written, but only occurs 8 times in speech. Finally, an analysis of which microstrategies were used to translate the swear words from the ST into the TT was conducted in the final part of section 5.2. The analysis showed that deletion, which means that the swearing in the TT is omitted, is the most frequent used strategy with 113 cases throughout the selected data. Moreover, direct translation, a wordfor-word translation of the ST, appears 45 times, being the second most used type of the microstrategies. Furthermore, oblique translation counts eight cases, condensation counts nine and addition counts three cases. Condensation, which is a highly used strategy within subtitling, showed some interesting cases in the analysis. Three examples in relation to condensation were found, in which it could also be argued that the strategy deletion has been used. Furthermore, an interesting result is that during the selected part of the film there are four cases in which the translator has made the decision to add a swear word in the TT, which is not present in the ST. As mentioned earlier, section 5.3 consisted of the second part of the analysis, in which the level of severity of the translated swear words was studied. This analysis was made in order to study whether or not the translator had chosen to maintain the same level of severity whenever a swear word was translated from the ST into the TT. First, it was necessary to present a new taxonomy of strategies in order to be able to comment on the translation of swear words in relation to severity. Due to the fact that no such taxonomy has been presented before, this was created on the basis of section 4.4. The taxonomy consisted of three categories, namely neutralising translation, equivalent translation and enhancing translation. All the swear words translated in the selected part of Flickering Lights were counted in relation to the three categories in order to give an overview. The result showed that equivalent translation is far the most used strategy with 36 cases throughout the selected data. Neutralising translation and enhancing translation both count 9 cases each. In the light of the above mentioned analysis, it is noticeable that the translator has chosen to make such great use of equivalent translation instead of trying to neutralise the swearing. Furthermore, it is striking that out of 54 cases, the translator has chosen to make use of Page 65 of 72

67 enhancing translation 9 times, making the swear words in the TT more severe than the ones in the ST. Hence, the results have shown that many of the swear words in the ST have been deleted or translated directly into the TT. However, in a few cases the translator has made some interesting choices with the use of oblique translation, condensation, paraphrase and addition. In addition, it is noticeable that the ST swear words and the TT swear words differ in relation to taboo areas. The ST mainly contains swear words from the taboo area religion, whereas the most used types of swear words in the TT derive from the area sex and bodily effluvia. Moreover, the results from the analysis in section 5.3 showed that many of the swear words in the ST were translated into a swear word with the same level of severity in the TT. Nevertheless, there were also cases of swear words from the ST being translated into less severe or mild swearing in the TT, but also cases where swearing in the spoken language was translated into more severe swear words in the subtitles. 7. Conclusion (HN) In 2013 Margit Siri Midjord wrote her master s thesis about the translation of the Danish swear words in the subtitling of the TV series The Killing, in which she focussed on the translation of fuck. Midjord s thesis was a great inspiration for this thesis, as it generated an interest in exploring how swear words in general are dealt with when subtitling Danish speech into English. Moreover, swearing is an interesting area within linguistics, due to the fact that little research has been conducted within the field. The Danish film, Flickering Lights, was chosen for this study, as it is one of the Danish films that has been subtitled into English, and since it contains a lot of swearing. Another reason for choosing this particular film was that the swearing seems to be important not only in order to sense the criminal environment, but also in order to understand the personalities of the four key figures. Subtitling is one of the most inexpensive types of audiovisual translation, and is mostly popular in small European countries. It is the oldest type of audiovisual translation, but nevertheless it is still highly used, and becoming more and more popular, since there is an increase in the production of films and TV programs. Within subtitling two main types can be Page 66 of 72

68 mentioned, namely intralingual and interlingual subtitling. This thesis has been focusing on interlingual subtitling, as this is a definition of the domestic language being translated into written on the screen. This process is also called diagonal translation, as it crosses over from speech to writing, in contrast to, for instance dubbing that goes from speech to speech, and therefore is a horizontal translation. When subtitling there are some guidelines that should be kept in mind, as for instance how many words the subtitles should contain and for how long they should appear on the screen, which is based on people s reading speed. Moreover, it is important that a subtitler transfers the meaning from the spoken language as closely as possible into written. With reference to swear words, there seems to be different opinions about whether or not they should be translated, or to what extent. Nevertheless, there are some common opinions on the subject, for instance, different theorists mean that a subtitler should bear in mind that written language is stronger than spoken, that the TT should be as close to the ST as possible and that swear words should be toned down in order to find a balance. Swear words can be difficult to define, as it is a complicated area that only a few theorists have made research in. Swear words derive from different taboo areas and in Danish the most common types of swear words derive from the areas, religion, diseases and sex and bodily effluvia, which are the areas dealt with in this thesis. Based on our results, some of the most frequently used types of swear words in English are from the areas religion and sex and bodily effluvia. Swear words have a metaphorical meaning and are often used to express emotions such as anger, frustration or surprise. There are different motives for why we swear, but the main reason given is that people swear when they cannot find another word to use in a given situation. Moreover, people tend to connect the way we speak with social status in society. If people swear a lot, they can be seen as persons with a low social status. However, people s language also depends on specific situations, for instance if a professor is giving a lecture, he would not be expected to use bad language. Swear words can also be explained in relation to level of severity. In this thesis a categorisation of Danish swear words was made on the basis of Rathje (2005, 2011) and Midjord s (2013) studies, and also the swear words found from the selected part of Flickering Lights. The same was made for the English swear words, which was based on Midjord s (2013) study and also our own data. The Danish and English swear words were divided into three levels of severity, namely mild, less severe and severe. These two categorisations were to be the basis for a part of the analysis. Page 67 of 72

69 In the light of the results of the analyses presented in chapter 6, it can clearly be seen that the translator has made the choice to delete more than half of the swear words in the subtitles. The reason for this decision could be, as Ib Lindberg, among others, says, that swear words tend to be stronger in written form than when spoken. Moreover, the translator has to consider the guidelines for subtitling, which, as previously mentioned, exist in how many words should be subtitled and for how long they should appear on the screen. Apart from deletion, the subtitler has made great use of direct translation. This can be explained on the grounds that some theorists, including Lindberg, find it important to keep as close as possible to the ST when subtitling. As the results also showed, addition has been used to add some swear words in the subtitles that are not present in the ST. This is an interesting choice, which can be difficult to explain in relation to the guidelines within subtitling. It can be argued that addition has been used in order to compensate for the deletions of swear words in the TT to maintain the understanding of personalities and the criminal environment in the film. What is also interesting to notice is the number of equivalent, neutralising and enhancing translation being used. Throughout the selected part of the film, many equivalent translations have been made. This is an interesting choice considering that most swear words are stronger in written than in speech and therefore should be toned down. In addition, it is also noteworthy that several segments contain more severe swear words in the TT than in the ST. The swear word fuck, which is categorised as severe in both Danish and English, appears as much as 29 times in the TT, but only eight times in the ST. In the light of Midjord s study, this is interesting, as her thesis dealt with the fact that BBC reacted strongly on the appearance of fuck in the subtitles in The Killing. In this case with Flickering Lights, where fuck appears more than three times as much in the TT than in the ST, it can therefore be discussed whether or not this would be an acceptable way of translating the swear words. Considering the fact that the subtitler in general has toned down the swearing in the subtitles in Flickering Lights, among other things by means of deletion, it can be discussed whether the target audience gets the same understanding of the film and hereby the personalities of the four main characters as the Danish. In many respects, it can be discussed whether it is correct to delete that many swear words from the ST, since the omission of swearing could lead to a loss of social implicature. In addition to this, a general opinion is also, as mentioned earlier, that a subtitler should keep as close to the ST as possible, especially in connection with films, where the focus lies on the characters. However, it is also important that a subtitler considers Page 68 of 72

70 the fact that bad language appears stronger in written language than in the spoken, and that cultures differ, especially in relation to swearing. Thus, it can also be argued that the subtitler has made some correct choices. Nevertheless, in the light of the reviews mentioned in section 3.3, the English-speaking audience seems to understand the message of the film, the characters personalities and the humour. This could indicate that even though the translator has deleted many swear words in the subtitles, he also compensates for this by adding swear words to the TT or translating swearing directly in level of severity. It can therefore be concluded that the translator has made many correct choices when subtitling the Danish swear words into English. When it became clear that many swear words from the film were not present in the subtitles, we expected that this would have a great influence on the understanding of the film. However, during the study it became clear that there are several opinions on whether or not swear words should be subtitled, and that it seems that the English audience understand the point of the film, even though the subtitles do not contain as much swearing as in speech. In relation to chapter 4, in which swear words were categorised in connection to level of severity, it might have led to a different result, if the categorisation of some of the swear words was not made on assumptions, but instead on the basis of a survey on regular people s opinions. Finally, it would have been interesting to look into the translation of other areas, such as metaphors, humour, cultural concepts etc. Page 69 of 72

71 8. List of References Allan, K. and Burridge, K. (2006) Taboo and the Censoring of Language. New York: Cambridge University Press. Alpalmer. (2005) Reviews & Ratings for Blinkende Lygter. [online], 9 August. Available at: [27 March 2014]. Andersson, L. and Trudgill, P. (1990) Bad Language. Oxford: Penguin Books Ltd. Axelsen, J. (2009) Engelsk-Dansk Gyldendals Røde Ordbøger. [Electronic] Cintas, J. D. and Anderman, G. (2009) Audiovisual Translation: Language Transfer on Screen. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Den Danske Ordbog (n.d.). [online] Available at: [Accessed 24 March 2014]. Gottlieb, H. (1994) Tekstning: Synkron Billedmedieoversættelse. København: Reproafdelingen, Det Humanistiske Fakultuet, Københavns Universitet. Gottlieb, H. (1997) Subtitles, Translation and Idioms. Copenhagen: Reproafdelingen, The Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen. Gottlieb, H. (2008a) Multidimensional Translation. In A. Schjoldager (ed.) Understanding Translation. Aarhus: Academica, Gottlieb, H. (2008b) Screen Translation. In A. Schjoldager (ed.) Understanding Translation. Aarhus: Academica, Greenall, A. K. (2011) The non-translation of swearing in subtitling: Loss of social implicature? In A. Serban, A. Matamala and J.-M. Lavaur (ed.) Audiovisual Translation in Close-Up: Practical and Theoretical Approaches. Bern: Peter Lang AG, International Academic Publishers, Page 70 of 72

72 Gut-6. (2006) Reviews & Ratings for Blinkende Lygter. [online], 13 April. Available at: [27 March 2014]. Ivarsson, J. and Carroll, M. (1998) Subtitling. Simrishamn: Grafo-Tryck AB. Jo-wiltshire. (2006) Reviews & Ratings for Blinkende Lygter. [online], 19 August. Available at: [27 March 2014]. Lindberg, I. (1989) Nogle Regler om Tv-tekstning. Available at: [Accessed 14 March 2014]. Ljung, M. (2011) Swearing: A Cross-Cultural Linguistic Study. [online] New York: Palgrave MacMillan. Available at: [Accessed 25 March 2014]. Luyken, G.-M. (1991) Overcoming Language Barriers in Television. Manchester: The European Institute for the Media. Midjord, M. S. (2013) Swearing in Subtitles: A study of the use and translation of swear words in English and Danish based on the criticism of the English subtitles in the Danish crime series The Killing (Forbrydelsen). MA thesis. School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus Universitet, Institut for Erhvervskommunikation. [PDF] Available at: [Accessed 27 January 2014]. Olsen, M. (2012) Fy faen! Bandeord er et jävla ugleset forskningsområde. Politiken, [online] 5 December. Available at: [Accessed 3 April 2014]. Oxford Dictionary (n.d.). [online] Available at: [Accessed 24 March 2014]. Politiken (2011) Nu er 'sgu' ikke længere et bandeord. Politiken. [online] 14 May. Available at: [Accessed 3 April 2014]. Page 71 of 72

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