“Mole Agent” and chilenisms: a research on phraseological units and their English subtitles

Abstract

Rica Peromingo established in 2016 that for a subtitle to be proficient, it needs to transfer the core meaning and the necessary context for the foreign audience to comprehend the movie's actions. Considering this, the present research develops an analysis of Chilean expressions found in the movie Agente Topo, by using the concept of phraseological units and comparing the English and Spanish versions of the captions to determine whether the translations of these units were proficient. An Excel table was used to compare the adaptation results with the original transcription and analyzed alongside the context to provide an alternative whenever necessary. The results showed that on a technical level, the translations were proficient but struggled with the inclusion of specific style and character mannerisms, which affected the significance of the speech and caused problems whenever said context was required. It was concluded alongside the personal proposals that an attempt is required to maintain the original expressions, but limited by the purpose and character limits demanded by the captions, hence the need for a balance that leans towards the foreign culture but without excess that may make the adaptation unusable for its purpose.