NON-PROFESSIONAL SUBTITLING OF LOGICAL MECHANISMS IN HUMOUR OF THE COMEDY MOVIE AIRPLANE: A STUDY BASED ON THE GENERAL THEORY OF VERBAL HUMOUR

Abstract

This research explores the subtitling strategies used to translate Logical Mechanisms in humour, specifically focusing on the non-professional subtitling of the comedy movie Airplane. The film is renowned for its extensive use of wordplay, puns, and culturally specific jokes, which causes a great deal of difficulty for the subtitler. Utilising a qualitative research methodology, the study employs the General Theory of Verbal Humor (GTVH) framework to analyse how Logical Mechanisms, pivotal in creating humour effects, are subtitled in Sinhalese subtitles. The subtitling strategies presented by Gottlieb have been utilized as a theoretical framework in analysing subtitling strategies used to translate Logical Mechanisms. English subtitles of the comedy movie Airplane that carry humour effects and parallel Sinhalese subtitles have been gathered as primary data. Library sources and online sources have been used as secondary data. By conducting a content analysis, this research identifies the strategies the subtitler has used to translate the Logical Mechanisms that characterize the humour in the original movie. Thus, the study assesses the effectiveness of various subtitling strategies, using the Logical Mechanism subjected to GTVH as a metric. The findings revealed that the transfer strategy is the most used strategy resulting in successful transfers of humour into the Target Language as the content of the Source Texts remained unchanged in the usage of that strategy, and thus preserved the Logical Mechanisms. Also, it was identified that due to a lack of awareness of the deletion strategy, the subtitler has deleted some key elements in rendering Logical Mechanisms, resulting in unsuccessful transfers. Further, the researcher suggests a Logical Mechanism related to the use of words in creating humour, which is Wordplay, to the existing Logical Mechanisms. This research contributes to the field of translation studies by providing insights into non-professional subtitling and practical recommendations for subtitling humour in audiovisual media.