Meaning Shifts in the English Subtitle Translation of Verbal Humor: A Case Study of Agak Laen (2024)
Keywords:
verbal humor, meaning shift, subtitle translation, audiovisual translation, Indonesian comedy filmAbstract
This study investigates meaning shifts in English subtitle translation in verbal humor in an Indonesian film, Agak Laen, in 2024. Using a qualitative descriptive content analysis methodology, a total of forty samples of verbal humor were identified and coded in accordance with Shade’s typology in 1996. The study used a framework based on equivalence concepts in translation by Nida and Taber in 1969/1982 to include categories such as loss, gain, change, and neutral meaning. The results indicate that wit is the most prevalent humor style, which represents the embedded culture of Indonesian speaking behavior. Based on translation solutions, meaning shifts in both change of meaning and neutral meaning share a common index of 32.5%, which shows how semantic shifts are prevalent in ensuring ease of access by a cross-cultural audience. Even if some cultural specifics in humor are lessened, a global sense of humor remains intact. Meaning shifts represent adaptive solutions facilitating cross-cultural humor translation in audiovisual translation.
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