A STUDY OF TRANSLATION STRATEGIES FOR TABOO WORDS IN THE SUBTITLES OF THE SERIES “THE BOYS”

Abstract

Abstract— The rapid growth of cross -cultural media consumption has heightened the importance of subtitle translation, particularly regarding the delicate balance between original fidelity and cultural appropriateness when handling taboo words . This study investigates the translation strategies for taboo words in the Thai subtitles of the series The Boys (Season 1). The research objectives were to identify the frequency of the most common taboo words and analyze the specific strategies employed to render them from English to Thai . Using a mixed- methods approach, data were collected from eight episodes streamed on Amazon Prime Video. The analysis utilized established taboo word translation frameworks and standardized offensive language lists to categorize the findings. Results indicate that "fucking" was the most prevalent taboo word, appearing 217 times (29.60% of total instances) across 31 distinct translation pairs. A total of 733 translation instances were documented and classified into four main strategies . Substitution emerged as the primary method (37.79%), followed by taboo-for-taboo translation (34.24%), censorship (19.24%), and the application of euphemisms (8.73%). The findings conclude that translators prioritize substitution to maintain the emotional weight of the source material while ensuring the content remains suitable for the target culture's linguistic norms . Future research should consider comparative studies between subtitling and dubbing to further explore these linguistic shifts.