Interdisciplinary Studies in Media and Culture

Investigating the translation of cultural elements of the Sacred Defense in the English subtitles of the film The lost strait based on the Pedersen's model (2011)

Document Type : .

Authors

Ali Akbar Arjmand Rad 1
Mona Seghayati 2

1 Assistant Professor, Department of English, Faculty of Humanities, Tolo Mehr University, Qom, Iran.

2 MA student, Department of English, Faculty of Humanities, Tolu e Mehr University of Qom

10.30465/ismc.2025.51250.2927
Abstract
Abstract
Nowadays, spreading the high culture of the Sacred Defense beyond the borders of our country has become an urgent and priority. This study evaluates the quality of English subtitles in the film The Lost Strait using Pedersen’s model (2011). The main aim is to examine challenges involved in translating culture-specific items (CSIs) in film subtitles and to assess how successfully the subtitler transfers source-culture concepts into the target language. Culture-specific items were identified based on Newmark (2010) and subsequently analyzed according to Pedersen’s framework. A descriptive-analytical approach was used to determine the frequency and types of translation strategies as well as the extent to which a source-oriented or target-oriented approach prevailed Findings indicate that the subtitler predominantly adopted a source-oriented strategy, prioritizing the preservation of the original cultural meanings over extensive adaptation to the target audience.
Keywords: cultural elements, Sacred Defense, Pedersen's model (2011), subtitles, The lost strait

Introduction
After the end of the imposed war, numerous efforts were made to record and promote the noble values of the Sacred Defense in the form of various cultural products. In this regard, various works such as books, articles, war memoirs, and especially numerous films and series in the Sacred Defense genre were produced in our country's domestic media, which, by narrating sacrifices and idealisms, strengthen national identity and transmit this culture to future generations. Given the importance of this issue, some of these noble works have been translated into different languages, especially English, in order to transmit this culture and values to non-Persian-speaking nations. Translating cultural items such as idioms, proverbs, religious allusions, and native concepts leads to difficult choices for translators due to the lack of precise equivalents in the target language. In many cases, the terms used in the culture of the Sacred Defense include values, emotions, and experiences that are unfamiliar and sometimes even complex to non-Iranian audiences. A translator who is trying to maintain cultural authenticity may have to choose between literal translation, which may not make complete sense to the reader, and reconstruction or localization of the content, which comes at the cost of losing some of the authenticity of the work. These challenges are further complicated in the translation of film subtitles due to spatial and temporal constraints. In view of this, the quality of the English translation of elements and terms related to the Sacred Defense in the subtitles of one of the few films of this genre; “The lost strait” was studied using the Pedersen’s (2011) model. The aim of this study is to examine the strategies used in the English subtitles of this film and analyze their success in accurately conveying the culture of the Sacred Defense in English, in order to comprehend the role and impact of these strategies in a better way, to establish an effective cultural communication between nations.

Materials & Methods
The research method of this study is descriptive-analytical. Newmark's (2010) six-item classification has been used as a criterion for identifying cultural elements in the film. Each of these categories includes examples of specific cultural items that may be unfamiliar or difficult for readers of the target culture. The selection of samples was purposeful. The samples include a number of cultural elements from the film The lost strait that are specifically related to the cultural, historical, and religious concepts of Iran. These elements can include symbols, terms, proper names, proverbs, and Iranian-Islamic cultural concepts that may change when translated into other languages. Various methods have been used to collect data in this study. First, data were collected through the analysis and careful observation of different sequences of the film. In this study, data were analyzed with a qualitative approach. First, the cultural items identified from the film were categorized based on Pedersen's (2011) theoretical framework. Then, the translation strategies used in the subtitles were carefully examined to determine how cultural concepts were transferred from the source language to the target language.

Discussion & Result
In this study, a total of 84 cultural elements were identified and analyzed from the subtitles of the film The lost strait, and in these cases, a total of 93 strategies from Pedersen's (2011) strategies were identified. These strategies are classified into two general categories: source- oriented and target-oriented. Among the source- oriented strategies; 10 cases of retention, 22 cases of specification, and 14 cases of direct translation were identified. Also, in the target-oriented strategies category; 11 cases of generalization, 11 cases of substitution, and 4 cases of omission were recorded. In addition, 21 cases were identified as official equivalents that do not fit into any of the above classifications.
Source- oriented strategies have the largest share among the strategies used with 46 cases, equivalent to 49.5 percent. This percentage indicates the translator's emphasis on preserving the linguistic and cultural features of the source text. In contrast, target -oriented strategies with 26 cases, equivalent to 27.9%, indicate an attempt to better adapt the text to the culture and language of the target audience. Finally, formal equivalents with 21 cases, equivalent to 22.6%, were used for elements that had formal and common equivalents in the target language. This study clearly shows that the translation was done with greater emphasis on preserving the features of the source text, while attention was also paid to adaptation to the target language. This distribution of strategies indicates that the translation of film subtitles was generally based on a balanced approach that, while remaining faithful to the original text, tried to make it as understandable and acceptable as possible to the target language audience.

Conclusion
The film The lost strait, as a work of sacred defense, deals not only with historical events but also with specific cultural and value concepts that are of great importance to the Iranian audience. In this context, preserving these concepts in translation, especially in the film's subtitles, is of great importance. For this reason, the translator's choice of source-oriented strategies seems logical, as he has tried to preserve the authenticity of the cultural and value concepts emphasized in the film. In contrast, the use of target -oriented strategies is observed to a lesser extent in the translation of this film. This indicates that the translator has focused more on maintaining loyalty to the source text and its concepts than on extensively adapting the concepts to the culture of the target audience. However, in specific cases where there was a need to adapt the concepts to the needs of the target language audience, strategies such as generalization and substitution have been used. Furthermore, the use of official equivalents in some cases has helped to maintain the accuracy and credibility of the translation and indicates that the translator has taken advantage of this option when it was possible to use common equivalents in the target language. This choice, especially in the translation of culturally specific terms and expressions, reflects the translator's attempt to strike a balance between fidelity to the original text and comprehensibility for the target language audience.

Keywords

cultural elements
Sacred Defense
Pedersen'
s model (2011)
subtitles
The lost strait
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Interdisciplinary Studies in Media and Culture
Volume 15, Issue 2 - Serial Number 30
Autumn and Winter 2025-2026
March 2026
Pages 31-60

  • Receive Date 14 February 2025
  • Revise Date 28 October 2025
  • Accept Date 29 October 2025
  • Publish Date 20 February 2026

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