Language Literacy: Journal of Linguistics, Literature, and Language Teaching
Vol 9, No 1: June 2025

TRANSLATING TABOO SPEECH ACT IN THE OMAR SERIES: A PRAGMATIC AND TECHNIQUE-BASED ANALYSIS OF ARABIC-INDONESIAN SUBTITLES

Solihat, Siti Roisah (Unknown)
Al Farisi, Mohamad Zaka (Unknown)
Saleh, Nalahuddin (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
26 Jun 2025

Abstract

Understanding the translation of taboo speech acts in audiovisual media is essential, particularly in contexts involving differing cultural norms and values. This study analyzes the translation strategies used to render taboo speech acts from Arabic into Indonesian in the Omar series. A descriptive qualitative approach was adopted using an embedded case study design. The data comprise 26 Arabic taboo utterances and their corresponding Indonesian subtitles. These utterances were categorized into nine types based on Jay’s (2009) typology, with the most frequent being insults related to perceived psychological, physical, or social deviations (19.2%). The translation techniques were examined using Molina and Albir’s (2002) framework, which revealed that reduction (25%) was the most applied strategy. A combination of single, double, and triple-technique applications was also observed across the dataset. These findings suggest that subtitles prioritize cultural acceptability over literal equivalence, employing strategies that mitigate potential offense while preserving the communicative intent of the source text.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

languageliteracy

Publisher

Subject

Humanities Education Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media Social Sciences

Description

Language Literacy: Journal of Linguistics, Literature, and Language Teaching is a double blind peer reviewed international journal biannually published by the Faculty of Literature, Islamic University of North Sumatra, Medan, Indonesia. Publication is issued in June and December. Authors are ...