Exploring the effect of translating non-verbal elements in film subtitles

Abstract This study investigates the relevance of including the translation of non-verbal elements in film subtitles. It suggests that non-verbal elements play a crucial role in understanding films and, consequently, need to be considered when translating: what is non-verbal becomes written in the translation, carrying a significant semantic load. The article presents an empirical study adopting a qualitative approach that aims to explore and analyse the effect of including non-verbal translation in film subtitles, particularly in a Lebanese movie titled The Insult, subtitled in French. The results show that non-verbal communication and its semantic value should be explicit in subtitling to the foreign-language audience, whether explicitly apparent, graphically represented, or implicitly present between words and lines.