A Study on Widely Accepted English Expressions in Subtitle Translation

The present paper explored how English expressions such as ‘OK,’ ‘all right,’ ‘oh my God,’ and ‘thank God,’ as used in certain contexts in a film, are perceived and then are rendered them into the TL (Korean). The translation work was carried out by university students studying interpretation and translation. Some translations showed the correct interpretation and translation of the target phrases while some failed to figure out the correct meaning of the target phrases used in context, thus producing awkward translations. The findings implied that some students did not understand different meanings that the phrases may have, believing that one word has only one corresponding meaning. Also, they failed to read the situational contexts in which the words are used. Lastly, the results clearly showed the need for the use of condensation and omission strategies for some target phrases. Students need to be trained on how to read visuals accurately, viewing them as complements to the texts. A film s visuals serve not only to provide important clues for interpreting the meanings of the texts but also to provide contexts to omit in the TL. Training in the judicious use of film visuals will help students produce the best possible translations.