AN ANALYSIS OF IMPERATIVE SENTENCES AND TRANSLATION SHIFTS IN THE SUBTITLE OF THE FILM AMATEUR (2018)

This study aims to analyze imperative sentences and translation shifts found in the subtitles of the film Amateur (2018). The film was selected due to its heavy use of basketball-related dialogue, where imperative sentences are frequently used by coaches and players to deliver instructions, prohibitions, invitations, or motivational messages. Translating these sentences into Indonesian presents specific challenges, particularly in maintaining the meaning, communicative function, and expressive tone appropriate to the context. The research employs a qualitative descriptive method with a translation studies approach. Data were collected by identifying and classifying imperative sentences in the original English dialogue of Amateur and their corresponding Indonesian subtitles. The analysis is based on the theory of imperative sentences by Aarts & Aarts (1982) and the theory of translation shifts by Catford (1965), which includes level shift and category shift (structure shift, class shift, unit shift, and intra-system shift). The findings reveal that the imperative sentences in the film undergo various types of translation shifts at both lexical and structural levels. These shifts are generally applied to comply with the linguistic norms of the target language and the technical constraints of subtitling, such as time and readability. However, some shifts may also affect the expressive force or alter the original meaning of the utterance. This study concludes that a deep understanding of imperative sentence functions and the application of translation shift theory are crucial in audiovisual translation to ensure the target text remains communicative, natural, and contextually appropriate.

Keywords: Imperative Sentences, Translation Shifts, Subtitles, Amateur, Audiovisual Translation.