Gender Awareness in the Subtitling from English into Spanish of The Bridgerton (2020): a Re-Vision of Sexism

Abstract

[eng] The language usage used in AVT is still questioned by many scholars who put the stress on the sociolinguistic implications that the role of translation may have in maximising, minimising or neutralising stereotypes regarding sexism. This issue emerged in the 1970s and it is still present due to the gender awareness developed nowadays. This paper aims to question and analyse from a gendered approach the translation from English into Spanish of the series The Bridgerton (Folkson 2020), taking into account the original novel The Duke and I (Julia Quinn 2000) and arguing that the role of the translator may contribute to create and propagate gender stereotypes — disseminated through films, series, and media — opposed to the 21st century feminist ideas. This gender perspective analyses the language usage focusing on cultural and sociolinguistic aspects when Romance languages are being translated from Germanic languages, such as English. On account of these two important facts, this work outlines the main examples of the problematic about cultural and sociolinguistic features regarding sexism in the Netflix original series. The paper concludes that there are differences which may lead to propagate stereotypes that might contribute to guarantee the permanent sexist ideology. Nevertheless, although translations mainly follow an established sexist pattern, contemporary translators are decoding this sexism that may be hidden under a black veil and, by doing so, they are ensuring a process of gender awareness, a crucial approach in translation for feminist theories.