TRANSLATION TECHNIQUES AND PRAGMATIC STRATEGIES IN THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF INDONESIAN MOVIE TITLE ON NETFLIX

Shafa Aaliyah Alamudi. English for Business and Professional Communication Study Program. Translation Techniques and Pragmatic Strategies in the English Translation of Indonesian Movie Title on Netflix.
This study investigates the translation techniques, pragmatic strategies, and cultural adaptation elements in the English translations of Indonesian movie titles on Netflix. In global streaming, local film titles require strategic localization rather than literal transfer to balance linguistic clarity, cultural accessibility, and promotional appeal. Using a descriptive qualitative research design with content analysis, this study examines 60 title pairs selected via purposive sampling from the Netflix Tudum weekly Top 10 chart spanning 2021 to 2026.
The results reveal that out of nine utilized translation techniques, discursive creation was the most dominant (31.15%), followed by modulation (27.87%). This demonstrates a distinct preference for creative, context-specific equivalence to enhance emotional resonance. Regarding pragmatic strategies, coherence change (30.88%) and information change (26.47%) were the most frequent, illustrating that translators heavily prioritized textual clarity, logical arrangement, and genre reinforcement over strict formal adherence. Furthermore, cultural adaptation analysis shows that references to "Organizations, Customs, and Beliefs" were the most heavily modified elements (68.75%), especially in horror titles where localized supernatural concepts lack direct English equivalents.
In conclusion, the interaction between adaptive techniques and pragmatic strategies confirms that film title translation on digital streaming platforms operates as a powerful cross-cultural marketing tool. Netflix's localization ecosystem consistently prioritizes global audience reception, pragmatic impact, and commercial accessibility over rigid literal fidelity.
Keywords: Audiovisual translation; cultural adaptation; discursive creation; movie titles; Netflix localization