Translating humour in popular British comedies: Using subtitled versions of 'Bridget Jones’ diary' and 'Four weddings and a funeral' as case studies

Humour is an aspect of translation that poses great complications for a translator. It is a challenging field of translation studies, since humour is very specific to each individual and culture. This dissertation sets out to identify the extent of this challenge by exploring whether the French and Spanish subtitles in popular British comedies, Bridget Jones’ Diary and Four Weddings and a funeral have successfully achieved the intended comic effect. The overall structure of this dissertation takes the form of five chapters. Chapter one will explore the broad definitions of humour, and will present the cultural similarities and differences between French, Spanish and British humour. Chapters two and three will investigate how humour and culture can be translated. Chapter four will provide a general overview of the subtitling industry and the limitations subtitling carries for translators. The final and fifth chapter will feature examples from Bridget Jones’ Diary and Four Weddings and a funeral, in an attempt to further explore the challenges presented in translating humour. It will be concluded that wordplays are the most challenging feature of humour to translate, which often lead to unsuccessful comical transfer. However that, the overall translation of humour in these films is predominantly successful. The implications of these findings for theory and the development of translation of humour in films will then be discussed.