Socio-Cultural and Technical Issues in Non-Expert Dubbing: A Case Study

Advances in computer sciences and the emergence of innovative technologies have entered numerous new elements of change in translation industry, such as the inseparable usage of software programs in audiovisual translation. Initiated by the expanding reality of fandubbing in Iran, the present article aimed at illuminating this practice into Persian in the Iranian context to partly address the line of inquiries about fandubbing which still is an uncharted territory on the margins of Translation Studies. Considering the scarce research in this area, the paper aimed to provide data to attract more attention to the notion of fandubbing by providing real-world examples from a community with a language of limited diffusion. An exploratory review of a large and diverse sample of openly accessed dubbed products into Persian, ranging from short-formed clips to feature movies, such dubbing practice was further classified into fundubbing, fandubbing, and quasi-professional dubbing. Based on the results, the study attempted to describe the cultural aspects and technical features of each type.