Analysis of the spanish subtitling of the british television show "Skins": evaluation and alternative translation

Abstract

This dissertation encompasses a descriptive and analytical evaluation of the quality of the subtitle translation to Spanish of the British television show Skins. The dissertation presents a translation analysis heavily focused on cultural aspects, between the original English version of the show and the proposed Spanish subtitles, which details the adequate and inadequate elements of the subtitles. In addition, an alternative version of the subtitled television show will be produced in order to tie in the theoretical aspect of this dissertation with the practical application that it has. The theoretical framework is composed of linguistic and translation aspects which include cultural, communicative and non-verbal dimensions, as well as various theories for evaluating translation. This project seeks to apply analytical methods that complement each other to carry out an evaluation considering the inadequacies or errors in the translator’s thought process in order to provide a critical assessment of the translation. The assessment presented in the theoretical framework will be a tool for the analysis and proposal of an alternative translation. The practical aspect of this project will emphasize and highlight the need of systematic and analytical thought processes before and after carrying out any type of translation work.