Language Literacy: Journal of Linguistics, Literature, and Language Teaching
Vol 10, No 1: June 2026 (In Progress)

TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES AND TRANSLATION IDEOLOGIES OF CULTURE SPECIFIC ITEMS IN THE NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY STREET FOOD: USA

Feby Apriola (Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta)
Andy Bayu Nugroho (Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta)



Article Info

Publish Date
17 Jun 2026

Abstract

This study investigates and classifies culture-specific items in the Netflix documentary Street Food: USA, along with the translation techniques and ideologies applied. This research employed a descriptive qualitative method. The data source was the Netflix documentary Street Food: USA, using English and Indonesian subtitles as target language. A total of 164 data containing culture-specific items were analyzed. The study draws on Newmark’s (1988) theory for culture-specific items, Molina and Albir’s (2002) framework for translation techniques, and Venuti’s (2004) concept of translation ideology. Data were analyzed using translation equivalence and distributional methods. All categories of culture-specific items were identified in the subtitles. Material culture dominated (95 instances), followed by social organization (39), social culture (28), and ecology (1). Nine of eighteen techniques were identified. Pure borrowing was most frequent (78), followed by literal translation (36), adaptation (10), reduction and amplification (3), and particularization and calque (1). The dominant couplet technique was literal + pure borrowing (12). Foreignization dominated (145), while domestication appeared in 19. These findings contribute to audiovisual translation studies by demonstrating how subtitle translators negotiate cultural preservation and audience accessibility in documentary contexts.

Copyrights © 2026






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 ...