Subtitling British Slang in Peaky Blinders into Thai

Abstract

Slang evolves over time, with meanings that constantly shift. This poses a challenge for translators and subtitlers, who must possess cultural knowledge and apply appropriate translation techniques to retain the intended meanings. Studies on English–Thai translation of British slang are rarely found. This study aims to identify the translation techniques used, and to examine whether the type of slang influences the translation choices in the series Peaky Blinders, Seasons 1–3, on Netflix. The translation typology proposed by Gottlieb (1997) and the types of slang proposed by Mattiello (2008) were adopted in this study. Twenty-two British slang words were identified. The results revealed that five translation techniques were used, including transfer (41%), condensation (23%), expansion (8%), dislocation (5%), and deletion (5%). In addition, hybrid techniques were also resorted to, including imitation and condensation (8%), expansion, paraphrase, and imitation (5%), and expansion, condensation, and imitation (5%). Two slang types were identified, namely group- and subject-restriction (64%) and informality and debasement (36%). Due to the strong gangster context in Peaky Blinders, most slang terms belonged to the group- and subject-restriction category. This type of slang influenced the translation choices, with the translator most frequently employing the transfer technique. As a result, some slang terms were only partially translated, and their connotative meanings were not fully conveyed.