Audiovisual translators and taboo: Attitudes on subtitling on Portuguese television

Many studies have focused on the translation of taboo words within Audiovisual Translation, either in subtitling, dubbing, fansubbing, or more recently within Media Accessibility studies. However, most of this research has been restricted to textual analysis, and less on the human agents behind the process of translation. Relatedly, this study aims to assess the attitudes of audiovisual translators regarding the subtitling of taboo words on Portuguese FTA (free -to -air, opensignal) television. An online questionnaire was distributed to respondents matching the profile. Results show a high level of agreement towards maintaining the taboo, as well as the high relevance of different aspects relating to the role taboo plays in film narratives. Nonetheless, these attitudes differ from the most common strategy for the subtitling of taboo found within the Portuguese context - omission, which could mean a new paradigm is emerging.