Tag Archive for: Abbreviations

Subtitles tend to use a standard form of language for the sake of clarity and accessibility to different types of viewers regardless of their idiosyncrasies. However, the use of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) in subtitling may not always achieve this objective. This article aims at arguing that MSA hinders the subtitler’s task as it does not provide them with the tools that might enable them to carry out their mission efficiently. It provides evidence that the problem is not exclusively connected to the specificity of subtitling as a constrained translation or to the ideological motives that engender manipulation. It concludes that MSA manipulates subtitlers as the linguistic options it offers are very limited if not sometimes inexistent. These restrictions and scarcities of options manipulate translators and push them in turn to manipulate their translations.