Analysis of Subtitle Translation In Home Sweet Loan Movie: Unit Shift and Readability of Intimate Dialogues

This research examines the impact of unit shifts in translating intimate dialogues from Indonesian to English subtitles in Home Sweet Loan (2024), on readability and emotional nuances. Using a descriptive qualitative approach with content analysis, this research applies Catford’s (1965) theory of translation shifts focusing on unit shift, Joos’s (1967) language styles framework containing intimate language style, and Nababan et al.’s (2012) on readability assessment to evaluate the data sourced from official Netflix subtitles. A total of 64 instances of intimate dialogue of language style were identified, with 52 unit shifts, primarily from word to phrase, with 21 data (32.81%), and 12 data found with no unit shift. The average readability score was 2.5 out of 3, indicating moderate comprehensibility, though improvements are needed. The research concludes that unit shifts are essential for linguistic and cultural adaptation, but they pose challenges in preserving the’ interpersonal tone and emotional depth of intimate dialogues. These findings show that subtitle translation can really affect how the audience sees the way characters speak and the mood of the scene, meaning that translation choices can change how people experience the story. Future research is recommended to explore the impact of other types of translation shifts on different language styles and broader subtitle contexts.