An Analysis of Translation Procedures of Thai Cultural Terms in English Subtitles: : A Case Study of Mae Yua (The Empress of Ayodhaya)

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the translation procedures used in translating cultural terms in the subtitles of Mae Yua (The Empress of Ayodhaya). The analysis of cultural categories and the translation procedures used in this study was based on Newmark (1988). A total of 338 cultural terms were identified. Material culture was the most frequently found with 33.14%, followed by Social culture with 30.18%, Organization, etc. with 27.22%, Gestures and habits with 6.8%, and Ecology with 2.66%, respectively. The results of the analysis of translation procedures showed that the Literal Translation procedure was the most frequently used with 44.97%, followed by Neutralization with 22.19%, Transference with 16.27%, Couplet with 9.76%, Deletion with 2.37%, Paraphrase with 2.37%, Cultural Equivalent with 1.48%, and others with 0.59%, respectively. In addition, the analysis of the overall translation tendency is based on the concepts of Foreignization and Domestication as proposed by Venuti (as cited in Munday, 2016). The study found that Foreignization at 69.50% was the most used strategy, followed by Domestication at 28.40%. This suggests that the translator was more inclined toward Foreignization than Domestication to preserve the foreignness of the cultural terms in the drama.