Pivot translation and direct translation

Abstract Previous studies on pivot translation indicate it tends to produce texts that are weaker in style and communication, contain numerous mistranslations, and lack linguistic richness. However, it can be argued that some level of loss is inherent in the translation process. The textual features often seen as vulnerable to mistranslation in pivot translation — such as humor, taboo language, cultural references, or marked language — are also notoriously difficult to translate accurately in direct translation. Therefore, it is important to compare the loss in indirect translation with that in direct translation. This paper aims to do so by analyzing two versions of the Egyptian series Paranormal (2020) : the indirect Polish subtitles based on an English pivot and the direct Polish voice-over. The goal is to determine whether the loss and misrepresentation commonly linked to pivot translation are truly caused by this method or are simply natural aspects of translation. Additionally, the study compares the translation accuracy of the indirect Polish translator with that of the direct Polish translator to see if indirect translators tend to introduce more errors independently (excluding those transferred from the pivot) than direct translators.