Subtitling Arabic Swear Words into English: A Tensity Model

Authors

  • Mohammed Farghal

    English Department and Translation, Jadara University, Irbid 21110, Jordan
  • Lana Al-Mufleh

    Department of English and Translation, Applied Science Private University, Amman 11931, Jordan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i12.11953
Received: 4 September 2025 | Revised: 11 October 2025 | Accepted: 17 October 2025 | Published Online: 17 November 2025

Abstract

This study explores the subtitling of Jordanian Arabic swear words into English on two major streaming platforms, Netflix and Shahid, with a particular focus on how translators handle taboo and offensive language. A corpus of 125 Jordanian Arabic swear words was analyzed using Hughes' (1998) thematic categorization framework alongside the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) tensity model, which classifies swear words as strong, moderate, or mild based on their emotional and social impact. The analysis reveals that sexual swear words are the most frequent in both Arabic and English subtitles (29% and 37%, respectively), suggesting a shared global tendency toward sexual taboos in swearing. However, Jordanian Arabic displays a stronger inclination toward excrement-related (16% vs. 8%) and animal-based insults (20% vs. 6%), whereas English features a higher proportion of swearing associated with mental illness (29% vs. 17%). In terms of translation strategies, subtitlers generally preserve or intensify the intensity of the original Arabic swear words. Approximately 50% of cases maintain the same level of offensiveness, 10% heighten it, and 60% overall either match or exceed the source intensity. Only minimal use of omission or neutralization strategies (3% each) was observed. Furthermore, 21% of English swear words appear without Arabic equivalents, indicating adaptive creativity. These findings suggest that subtitlers tend to align their choices with more liberal Anglo-American norms while subtly challenging the traditional linguistic conventions of Arab culture. Ultimately, the study underscores how subtitling operates as a cultural negotiation between authenticity, audience sensitivity, and global streaming standards.

Keywords:

Netflix; Subtitling Tensity; Thematic Categorization; Arabic; English

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How to Cite

Farghal, M., & Al-Mufleh, L. (2025). Subtitling Arabic Swear Words into English: A Tensity Model. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 7(12), 1185–1195. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i12.11953

Issue

Vol. 7 , Iss. 12 (December 2025): In progress

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Article

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Copyright © 2025 Mohammed Farghal, Lana Al-Mufleh

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This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.