An Analysis of Translation Techniques Used in the English–Indonesian Subtitle of The Perfect Neighbor (2025)

Abstract

Subtitle translation plays a vital role in facilitating intercultural communication by enabling audiences from different linguistic backgrounds to access and understand audiovisual content. This study investigates the translation techniques used in the English–Indonesian subtitles of The Perfect Neighbor (2025) based on Molina and Albir’s (2002) translation techniques framework. The documentary was selected because it presents authentic real-life interactions and context-rich dialogues that require translators to maintain accuracy, naturalness, and readability while addressing the linguistic and technical constraints of subtitling. This study employed a descriptive qualitative design, using the English and Indonesian subtitles of the documentary as the primary data source. Data were collected through documentation and analyzed by identifying, classifying, and interpreting the translation techniques found in corresponding subtitle pairs. From 1,519 time-aligned subtitle pairs, 94 semantically validated translation units were systematically sampled for analysis. The findings reveal that Literal Translation was the most frequently employed technique (40.4%), followed by Reduction (17.0%), Established Equivalent (12.8%), Modulation (11.7%), and Amplification (7.4%), while Generalization, Adaptation, Borrowing, Particularization, and Transposition accounted for the remaining 10.7%. The predominance of Literal Translation reflects the documentary’s factual and straightforward discourse, whereas the frequent use of Reduction demonstrates the influence of subtitling constraints. Overall, the translator successfully balanced semantic accuracy, naturalness, and readability, contributing valuable empirical evidence to the field of audiovisual translation, particularly subtitle translation in documentary films.