The subtitling of impoliteness and its humour effects in telecinematic fiction: A multimodal perspective

Part of the SOAS Linguistics Research Seminar Series 2025-26

Speaker: Chun Liu

Abstract

Impoliteness, often observed in telecinematic fiction, can contribute to various aspects, including characterisation, plot development, and humour for viewers. While its treatment in audiovisual translation has attracted attention, previous research has largely focused on the translation of dialogue rather than multimodal aspects. A multimodal perspective is important, as (im)politeness is inherently multimodal and characters construct meaning through multiple modes (e.g., gesture, gaze, and speech).

This talk proposes an analytical framework for comparing multimodal impoliteness in the source text and its rendition in the target text through interlingual subtitling. Integrating a social semiotic multimodal approach to translation with (im)politeness models, the framework considers the rendition of impoliteness through three interconnected dimensions: impoliteness-related forms (modes and intermodal relations), meanings (e.g., face, sociality rights, identity, and emotion), and functions (e.g., humour). Impoliteness-driven humour is approached from an incongruity-resolution perspective, incorporating incongruity (deviations from expectations), incongruity resolution, and the humorous frame.

The talk then presents a framework-driven qualitative analysis of data from the Chinese fansubbed version of the American sitcom Modern Family (2009–2020), demonstrating how subtitles and translation techniques influence impoliteness rendition across the three dimensions. The talk concludes by highlighting the framework’s contributions to translation scholarship and practice, and to (im)politeness research.

Image: Mathias Reding (Unsplash)