LANGUAGE LOCALIZATION ISSUES IN AUDIOVISUAL TRANSLATION
Keywords:
audiovisual translation, localization, subtitling, dubbing, cultural adaptation, multimodality, translation studiesAbstract
Audiovisual translation (AVT) has become a crucial field in the era of globalization, enabling media products to cross linguistic and cultural borders. However, language localization in AVT presents numerous linguistic, cultural, technical, and pragmatic challenges. This article investigates the major localization issues in audiovisual translation within the IMRAD framework. The study applies qualitative content analysis to selected film and streaming media examples, identifying key challenges such as cultural adaptation, humor translation, synchronization constraints, multimodality, and censorship. The findings reveal that successful localization requires a balance between fidelity to the source text and cultural acceptability in the target audience. The study concludes that localization in AVT is not merely translation but a complex intercultural mediation process influenced by linguistic norms, technical limitations, and socio-cultural expectations.
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