Translation and Interpreting Research
Research Institute for Translation Studies (RITS)

Singing Across Borders: A Genre-based Approach to Song Dubbing in Persian Animated Musicals

Document Type : Translation Studies

Authors

Parina Ghomi Oskoui 1
Behnaz Balsini 2

1 Assistant Professor of Translation Studies, English Language Department, Danesh Alborz University

2 MA in English Translation, English Language Department, Sohrevardi Institute of Higher Education

https://doi.org/10.22054/tir.2025.87851.1046
Abstract
Songs in animated musicals are far from homogenous; they belong to distinct genres, each fulfilling different communicative purposes, emotional tones, and narrative functions. This diversity requires genre-sensitive translation strategies, yet much existing scholarship continues to treat song dubbing as a uniform practice, overlooking how genre shapes translational choices. To address this gap, the present study adopts a functionalist, genre-based perspective, drawing on Reiss’s (1971/2000) text typology, to investigate the role of genre in shaping dubbing strategies in the Persian versions of animated musicals. The corpus consists of six English-language animated musicals and their Persian dubbed counterparts. Songs are categorized into three genres, including background songs, plot-related songs, and entertaining songs, and examined in relation to translation strategies adapted from Gottlieb (1992) and reformulated by Ghomi (2009). The analysis reveals a strong correlation between song genre and translation method, showing that genre-specific function in animated musicals plays a critical role in sustaining narrative cohesion and enhancing audience engagement. By demonstrating how song genre systematically informs translation choices, this study contributes to the expanding field of audiovisual translation and to the specialized area of song dubbing.

Keywords

Song dubbing
genre-based approach
animated musicals
text typology
dubbing strategy
Translation and Interpreting Research
Volume 2, Issue 6
Spring 2025
Pages 27-42

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