From The Office to Al-Maktab: A Comparative Analysis of Format Adaptation and Audiovisual Translation in Saudi Arabia

Diplôme Master From The Office to Al-Maktab: A Comparative Analysis of Format Adaptation and Audiovisual Translation in Saudi Arabia eng 2025 author Daoud Cynthia 986811 director Halimi Mallem Ismahene Sonia 0000-0002-2105-7466 88483 Services communs du département de traduction (TRACO) This study investigates Al-Maktab, the Saudi adaptation of The Office, to examine how audiovisual translation (AVT) and format adaptation strategies negotiate cultural boundaries. Using a comparative analysis of the American adaptation and the Saudi remake, the study focuses on humour, gender roles, romantic subtext, and censorship. The analytical framework draws on Abomoati’s (2019) humour translation strategies, such as substitution, omission, paraphrasing/adaptation, and literal translation, supplemented by localisation, and situates these within Venuti’s (1995) concepts of domestication and foreignisation as well as Moran and Malbon’s (2006) theory of television format adaptation. Findings show that Al-Maktab overwhelmingly employs domestication, with source elements restructured through culturally resonant substitutions and omissions. While format fidelity is preserved, narrative and ideological adjustments align the series with Saudi cultural, religious and regulatory expectations. Audiovisual Translation Humour Translation Format Adaptation Domestication Localisation Saudi Arabia Soft Censorship Dewey 418.02 Maîtrise universitaire en traduction et communication spécialisée multilingue 111 Département de traduction 91 false fc4647a4-2aaf-4592-b9b4-a997b98ddcc9 Master thesis Restricted CynthiaDaoud_Memoire.pdf 764664 application/pdf 7fbc53a3ed4c1691b7d793e22a900ecfd6e88cfe93d46afa5d22e601acac9448 restrictedAccess Faculté de traduction et d'interprétation / Département de traduction

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From The Office to Al-Maktab: A Comparative Analysis of Format Adaptation and Audiovisual Translation in Saudi Arabia				2025	28	3

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Daoud, Cynthia