Loss and Gain in the Translation of Songs from English into Arabic: The Case of Dubbed Animations

This study tackles the issue of dubbing animation songs from English into MSA and ED. It depicts how the phonic and prosodic features together with their thematic value are transferred into the target song. It also spots some light on the translation of metaphors which have sound effects. This study, furthermore, presents the translation strategies used in the dubbing of animation songs. The analysis reveals that the balanced translation strategy is followed in the MSAD, and the semantic translation strategy is followed in the EDD. Dubbing animation songs from English into Arabic is feasible without compromising the meaning for the sake of form or vice versa. This is possible through the use of different compensation strategies: CIK, CIP, CBM, CBS, and CBV. In other words, it is not always true that when form and meaning are interrelated we approach a situation of untranslatability.