Specialised vocabulary in subtitling science documentaries

This article describes an exploratory study which tries to shed light on audiovisual translation considered as specialised translation through two English language health-themed documentaries with Greek subtitles. The aim is to highlight the way English specialised vocabulary is translated into Greek.

After a brief overview of the main aspects of interlingual subtitling and the general features of documentaries, the focus moves onto the translation of science documentaries as specialised texts. The methodology is based first on the formal characteristics of the specialised vocabulary identified, and second on a translation strategies model by means of which the translation of the specialised vocabulary is studied. The findings are discussed with emphasis on the specifics of the equivalences provided, in order to proceed to an overall account of the translation.