Strategies for subtitling the s-word in Hollywood films into Arabic: A corpus-based study

Yousef Sahari
University of Bisha

This study investigates the translation strategies and prevailing approaches applied by Arab translators in translating the s-word. To achieve this aim, a corpus of ninety Hollywood films released between 2000 and 2018 was utilized. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted on a self-designed parallel and aligned corpus of the English dialogue and Arabic subtitles. The findings indicate that the cultural substitution strategy is most commonly used in subtitling s-words, followed by the reformulation strategy. The functions of s-words appear to influence the choice of subtitling strategies. The use of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) for the subtitling of these films also restricts the linguistic options available to subtitlers. Additionally, the affordances of audiovisual translation play a role in subtitler choices since the meaning of a word can be conveyed through gestures, images, or sounds on screen.

Publication history

Date received: 18 November 2023

Date accepted: 17 July 2025

Published online: 21 August 2025

Table of contents

Language is a flexible tool used by humans to convey thoughts, ideas, and emotions. One way of expressing strong feelings is to use taboo words, considered inappropriate from a social, cultural, or moral perspective. These words are generally part of informal language, used casually among friends or in everyday situations. Taboo words can intensify emotional expression due to their provocative nature. However, their acceptability varies depending on context, cultural norms, and social situations.

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