This study examines the expressions considered as offensive language produced by all characters in their workplaces in Billions and the subtitle translation strategies used to translate them. The writer applied two theories: Battistella’s (2005) theory of offensive language and Pedersen’s (2011) theory of subtitle translation strategy. This study was done using a qualitative approach. The expressions produced fall into all four categories: Vulgarity, Epithets, Profanity, and Obscenity. In addition, four out of six subtitle translation strategies are used to translate the offensive language: Substitution, Omission, Generalization, and Direct Translation. Both Retention and Specification are not used. Some expressions that are linguistically considered offensive language may not carry the offense when applied in a certain context of the conversation. Substituting the offensive language with another local expression ensures the message is delivered and maintains the unpleasant impression whereas euphemizing or eliminating it may significantly alter the original nuance.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.