The Translation of Russian Vulgar Language (MAT) in the Subtitling of the Film Viva Belarus!

Abstract

The Russian vulgar language, popularly known as mat, differs from the vulgarisms and profanity of the Portuguese language for its remarkable morphosemantic flexibility and discursive applications. In the film Viva Belarus!, whose narrative takes place in Belarus, one of the fifteen former Soviet republics, agents of the authoritarian regime of Aliak-sandr Lukašenka use this language, with influences from the Belarusian language, as a way of oppressing and humiliating dissidents. This article, which is part of a doctoral thesis in progress, seeks to reflect on the process of translating and subtitling that language in the film into Portuguese, bringing examples of translation challenges and the proposed solutions. With Dostoevsky’s A Writer’s Diary as a starting point, the methodology consists of studying the subject through academic sources, based on the works of Kovalev, Akhmetova and Plutser-Sarno. Regarding reflections on translation choices and strategies, the study has theoretical support from Gonçalves, and Sussex and Cubberley. It is hoped that the discussion will contribute to further research in the field of Slavic studies, especially by offering a look at the dynamics of mutual influence between two Slavic languages – Russian and Belarusian – and, more specifically, of Russian-language translation in Brazil.