“The Thing is Like, W1A Needs, Like, Subtitles” “And I’m Not Being Funny or Anything, but It’s Actually Quite Complicated”

Abstract

This thesis looks at the difficulties of subtitling, using the British comedy series W1A as a case study. It looks at what knowledge the translator needs to have about the source text and culture and the target culture. It also discusses the spatial and temporal limitations by which subtitles and bound and the implications of this. In the light of the case study, the concept of humour in translation is discussed. The final chapter discusses the two main sources of humour in W1A, cultural references and the mocking of management culture, and how the humorous instances based on this can either be preserved or not.