The Challenge of Subtitling Offensive and Taboo Language into Spanish: A Theoretical and Practical Guide

This book provides readers, students and teachers with a clear and concise guide to understanding the concepts of offensive and taboo language and how this type of language can be subtitled into Spanish used in Spain. It combines theoretical and practical approaches and covers technical matters, as well as those of censorship, (ideological) manipulation, translation strategies and techniques, the treatment of offensive and taboo language and how to conduct research in this field. It includes an array of examples from recent films and TV series to present the reader with real samples of subtitles broadcast on digital platforms today. In addition, each chapter includes exercises with which the reader can put theory into practice, as well as possible solutions in the form of answer keys. It will be of use not only to researchers and students, but also to future audiovisual translators seeking to acquire further knowledge in the transfer of offensive and taboo language.

José Javier Ávila-Cabrera is a Lecturer at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Spain. His research explores audiovisual translation as a tool in foreign language learning, with a particular focus on the treatment of offensive and taboo language.