Back-Translation of Swearwords by Professional Translators: Evidence From the Arabic Subtitled Version of The Wolf of Wall Street

This study examines how swearwords are translated across linguistic and cultural boundaries. A professional translator was asked to back-translate the Arabic subtitles of ‘ The Wolf of Wall Street’ movie into English. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted to investigate swearing in the source and target texts, focusing on the frequency, intensity, meaning, and implications of these expressions. The quantitative analysis indicated that the translator used taboo expressions in 150 cases. The analysis has also revealed that there were only 22 cases with consistent intensity, 117 cases of intensification, and 11 cases without an ST counterpart. The qualitative analysis revealed that intensification strategies were linked to the preservation and recreation of the original script’s tone, as well as to processes of naturalization and cultural adaptation. The results of this study reveal that the communication of taboo language is related not only to linguistic form but also to nuance, culture, context, and role. Further studies are recommended to explore the translation of swearwords across a wider range of audiovisual materials, genres, and cultural contexts. Future research could also examine language pairs beyond Arabic and English to provide broader cross-linguistic insights.