Constraints on Translating Taboo Language in English Movies into Arabic

Movies translation became an international field where translators and subtitlers play a major role in translating and transferring culture from one language into another. This study sheds light on the constraints on translating taboo language in English movies into Arabic. It precisely discusses four main constraints which are: culture, religion, ideology and channel. The study also discusses what terms should or should not be considered as taboo in the Arab World by the Arab translator according to a fair argument drawn by the researcher; explained through many examples from movies. It also sheds light on the impact of certain unsuccessful translations of taboo terms on the Arab target audience. This thesis is a qualitative study depending on descriptive approaches. The researcher follows the techniques of a qualitative study in collecting and analyzing data depending on a variety of authenticated resources such as, books, journals, interviews, a questionnaire, magazines, articles and movies to draw a fair argument and reach reasonable findings and conclusions. The researcher concludes that Arab translators should take into consideration the four main constraints when translating taboo language in English movies into Arabic. Moreover, unsuccessful translations of taboo language or using unpreferable translation methods to translate taboo language can mislead the Arab audience and conceal reality. The researcher also provides a number of recommendations to help Arab translators avoid any misleading translations of taboo language and to respect the Arab target language culture at the same time.