Dubbing

 in  the  Arab  World  

Muhammad  Y  Gamal,  PhD  
Audiovisual  Translation  Consultant  
Sydney,  Australia  

Dubbing  in  the  Arab  world  has  assumed  a  much  greater  importance  in  the  digital  age.  In  a  culture  
where  subtitling  has  traditionally  been  the  prevailing  mode  of  audiovisual  translation,  dubbing  has  
gradually  become  accepted  as  an  alternative  way  to  enjoy  a  foreign  TV  drama.  

The  sociolinguistic  impact  of  dubbing  has  not  been  fully  examined  despite  the  much  attention  the  
phenomenon  has  attracted  since  the  dubbing  of  the  so-­‐called  Mexican  telenovelas  in  the  early  1990s.  
The  much  popular  Turkish  drama  that  preoccupied  Arab  screens  over  the  past  decade  has  paved  the  
way  for  Korean  and  other  foreign  language  TV  drama  to  ‘invade’  the  Arab  television  market.  The  
phenomenon  is  complex  with  intricate  and  delicate  factors  that  require  further  examination.  

One  such  factor  is  the  use  of  the  regional  vernacular  in  the  dubbing  of  imported  TV  drama  as  well  as  
in  the  dubbing  of  some  children  programs.  

The  paper  examines  the  rising  popularity  of  dubbing  in  Arabic  over  the  past  three  decades  against  
the  changes  brought  about  by  globalization  and  digital  technology.  The  paper  argues  that  dubbing  
(and  its  sociolinguistic  issues)  need  to  be  debated  from  a  translation  policy  perspective.  Dubbing  as  
opposed  to  subtitling  needs  to  be  viewed  from  a  wider  angle  that  takes  into  account  several  socio-­‐
linguistic  factors.  To  date,  dubbed  TV  drama,  and  notwithstanding  the  professional  success,  has  not  
received  the  level  of  academic  attention  it  deserves.  

Key  words:  Korean  wave,  AVT  studies,  dialects,  dubbing,  translation  policy