The future of the British monarchy: Commented subtitling of two documentaries

Details

Supervisors

Caron, Nathalie

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master [120] en traduction, à finalité spécialisée: traduction et audiovisuel

Abstract

These past years marked a significant period for the British monarchy, spanning from Queen Elizabeth II’s passing to the subsequent coronation of her son, King Charles III, alongside the release of the Netflix series The Crown, which portrays the British royal family, and the controversies involving Harry and Meghan. Intrigued by this subject, I aimed to contribute via my master’s thesis. Hence, I opted to subtitle two documentaries addressing the British monarchy: “How 2021 Shaped The New Royal Family," produced by Adrian Munsey and directed by Vance Goodwin in 2021, and "Raising Questions about the Future of the Monarchy", a collaborative production directed by Allan Myers, Brett Mitchell, and Anton Koschany in 2022. My thesis will focus on the future of the British monarchy, which is potentially at risk due to the recent events cited above, among other reasons. It will delve into its constitutional monarchy status, explore its multifaceted roles, and analyze its impact on the populace. Furthermore, I will scrutinize its popularity and contentious issues to better understand what lies ahead. Additionally, the thesis will examine the translation aspect of the two documentaries’ subtitles. Drawing from translation literature and the courses I undertook during my master’s program—LTRAD2001, LTRAD2400, LTRAD2421, and LTRAD2422—I will discuss the challenges posed by space-time constraints, typographic considerations in subtitles, linguistic nuances, adapting cultural references, the transition from oral to written discourse in translation, and technical aspects of subtitling. Moreover, the thesis includes the translations (subtitles) and scripts of the two documentaries.