A Study of Some Selected Igbo Movies Subtitlings

Abstract

With subtitles, a movie's spoken utterance is swapped out for its written equivalent on screen of television or cinema. This study examined Nollywood through an analysis of a few chosen Igbo movie subtitles. The objective of the study was to analyse exactness of expressions in context of the subtitled Igbo movies. Descriptive survey design was used in this study. All of the Igbo movies produced by the Nollywood entertainment industry make up the study's population. Specifically, Ákà ázú dì yá and Ònyé bù nnà ? are the two Igbo movies that were employed in the study. The analysis was done by using the strategies of Gotlieb and Toury’s descriptive translation theory that was used as the framework of this study. This investigation reveals that certain expressions had incorrect subtitles on the screen, and thereby misleading the target viewers. This study suggests that names of actors should be included with their on-screen words and that directors should take an active part in the subtitling process. In order to further research on subtitles in Igbo movies, this study suggests that more study should be done in Igbo culture as well as this field in the future.