A Relevance-Theoretic Approach to Decision-Making in Subtitling

"In his new book, Łukasz Bogucki embarks on a challenging and interdisciplinary journey into the decision-making process that regulates the professional practice of subtitling. Firmly grounded in the theory of relevance, this monograph offers a sustained, rigorous treatment of the topic. Skilfully analysing a trove of well-chosen examples, it will appeal to students, researchers and professionals alike." --Jorge Díaz-Cintas, University College London, UK
This book aims to investigate the process of decision-making in subtitling of feature films and entertainment series. The author uses Relevance Theory (Sperber and Wilson,1986) to argue that the technical, linguistic and translational constraints at work in subtitling result in a curtailed target text, and illustrates this argument by invoking examples drawn from the English-Polish subtitles of films and television series available through the subscription service Netflix. After introducing the current state of research on audiovisual translation within and outside the framework of translation studies, he presents the core concepts underpinning Relevance Theory and explains how it can be used to construct a model of the process of subtitling. This book will be of interest to students and scholars working in the fields of translation studies, audiovisual translation studies, and communication studies.
Łukasz Bogucki is Full Professor and Head of the Institute of English Studies and Department of Translation Studies and Language Pedagogy at the University of Łódź, Poland. He has been involved in researching and teaching translation since 1993 and audiovisual translation since 2001, making him one of the pioneers of this dynamic sub-discipline within Translation Studies.