A Comparative Study on English and Persian Subtitles of Korean Slangs: A Case of Television Variety Show Running Man

Regarding the challenges in translating slang expressions, This study aimed at describing the translation strategies of Korean slang expressions translation, particularly secondary slang according to Chapman’s (1998) theory, by two translators of English and Persian languages in the form of subtitles in a Korean variety show entitled Running Man. The researcher intended to first identify the most frequently used strategies by both English and Persian subtitlers to translate slang expressions, particularly secondary slang, and then compare them to find the differences that may exist between the translation strategies applied by translators for subtitling the slang in English and Persian languages. This research followed the descriptive quantitative method and the subtitling strategies used in this TV variety shows were classified. To analyze the data, Baker’s (1992) model was employed, the data was put in SPSS and a chi-square test was run to identify significant differences among the strategies used by Persian and English translators for subtitling the Korean slang expressions in the named TV show. The results indicated that there was a significant difference between the strategies used by Persian and English translators. Out of Baker’s (1992) eight micro-strategies, the English translator applied five of them and the Iranian translator used six of them. The most commonly used strategies by English subtitlers were Classification ‘B’ and ‘D’ of Baker’s (1992) model and the most frequent strategies applied by Persian subtitlers were Classification ‘B’ and ‘F’. The researchers concluded that the dominant strategy used by both the English and the Persian translators was Classification ‘B’ and none of them used Classification ‘H’. Finally, it is suggested that the findings and literature of this study can be used in the slang translation process, by instructors, translators, and subtitlers; moreover, it is beneficial for other researchers in this area.