(Un)Translatability of Cultural Elements in AudioVisual Translation. A case study on the French subtitles of the Iranian movie In the Eye of the Wind

Translation of movies, telecasts and any other audiovisual product is associated with special procedures and techniques which become more challengeable and complex when facing the culture and cultural elements. Due to the fact that the translator who writes the subtitles is confronted with myriads of technological restrictions, linguistics requirements and stylistic challenges, the question arises as follows: are subtitles essentially able to reproduce or duplicate the cultural elements? For studying the modalities of the transfer of the cultural messages from the original text (oral statements in Farsi) to the translated formats (subtitles in French) we have proposed a descriptivo-analytic approach applied on a case study. After giving a brief definition and an outlook of the concept, we move toward the possibility or impossibility of transferring cultural elements via the classification of cultural elements furnished by the Polish ethno-cultural theoreticians. Once the classifications are laid out, the analytical study of cultural elements in French subtitles of the “In the Eye of the Wind”, will be implemented. The results will lead us to the initial question: Translatability or untranslatability of cultural elements and the way by which they will be perceived by the audience.