This scene centers on the fact that the gang of girls want Mia to stop watching them and leave. The principal translation challenges which it poses centre on the re-rendering of culturally-specific taboo words, swear words and non-standard grammar in the TL in such a way that the French-speaking audience can still appreciate their significance. If the variety of SL expressions used to convey this - 'fuck off' (line 7), 'get away' (line 8) and 'walk away' (line 11) - is preserved in the TT - 'casse-toi', 'dégage', tire-toi' -, the force of line 7 is certainly lost in translation. Indeed, 'fuck' is used three times in this scene, but is not once translated into French. Attempts are nevertheless made to compensate for this elsewhere in the TT. In lines 2, 3 and 4 the vocabulary used - 'bouse', 'chier' and 'thons' - is more vulgar than that in the corresponding ST. 'Bitch' (line 8) and 'c**t' (line 10) are both translated with an offensive TL term, 'sale pute', which preserves the aggressive nature of the exchange. However, as the second term is far more offensive in the SL than the first one, there is again a sense of loss in the TT. Further, when the highly slangy and derogatory 'you skanky*1 little pikey*2' (line 5) is re-rendered as 'sale gitane', another case of undertranslation occurs. 'Manouche' (gippo / pikey) would have been a preferable alternative to the more conventional 'gitan(e)' (gypsy).

The use of non-standard grammar is a noteworthy feature of the translation of this scene. In line 1, 'C'est quoi, ton problème?' compensates in part for the vulgarity of the ST and, in line 3, omission of the negative 'ne' helps to preserve the colloquial quality of Keeley's 'Quit it, Mia'. This said, when Mia asks, 'What you gonna do about it?' (line 6), the French translation is much more correct in terms of both lexis and pronunciation; this results in a definite neutralization of the ST style.

Given that this is an audiovisual text, any such losses are, however, minimal. It is not only the lexis and grammar which convey the aggressive nature and informal register of this scene. Aural clues - tone, volume and speed of voice and constant interjections -, and visual ones - facial expressions, body language and violent gestures - are available to the TT audience and contribute significantly to the sense of acrimony which pervades this scene.*3

In brief, if instances of loss in translation and undertranslation can be witnessed in the subtitling of this scene, these are, for the most part, successfully compensated for, both lexically and grammatically. Moreover, when translation results in a neutralization of the style of the source language, aural clues play an important part in preserving the aggression and informality of the original scene in its subtitled version.

In this scene, Mia meets Connor for the first time. She is in the kitchen, dressed in her pajamas, waiting for the kettle to boil and dancing seductively to music on the television. Connor sees Mia dancing as her enters the room. Taken by surprise and embarrassed, she is defensive and rude to him. Nevertheless, the camera shots, which show Mia watching Connor, suggest her immediate interest in, and attraction to, this new man.

The key challenge which this scene presents concerns the translation of accent, the sociocultural implications of which are not immediately available to the French audience. The most noteworthy linguistic feature of this scene is the clear distinction between Mia's Essex accent and Connor's American lilt. The recapturing of this in translation is handled in a number of ways. First, both of these non-standard SL accents are partially compensated for in the TT through less accurate use of TL grammar. Mia's 'What do you know?' (line 10) becomes 'D'où tu sors ça ?' rather than a lengthier more correct 'Qu'est-ce que tu en sais?'. Similarly, Connor's American 'girl' (line 1) is recaptured by the non-standard 'T'occupe-toi de moi' (omission of negative 'ne').

More significant, and easier to preserve in the TT, are the characters' very different attitudes. If Mia is snappy, her speech is less aggressive than usual and she uses no vulgar language. Her defensive responses are successfully preserved by using relatively close translation strategies (lines 3, 5, 12, 15). By contrast, Connor is not only of another culture but also has a very different personality. His relaxed manner is reflected in his voice, both in his use of non-aggressive language and in the slow pace of his speech. This is easily preserved in the TT, given that the subtitles evidently accompany the original soundtrack. Last, Connor's gentle use of irony, which serves to diffuse the slight tension in the atmosphere (line 16), is fully maintained in the TL through use of a more concise, but perfectly equivalent expression. In this instance, equivalence of effect is created in the TL (Nida, 1964).

Thus, although it would be impossible to fully recapture Connor's American accent in translation, Boillot and Haughton compensate for this through their use of non-standard TL grammar. Again, the presence of the original soundtrack, against which the subtitles are set, allows the relaxed pace of his speech to be preserved. The use of equivalent TL expressions also enables the ironic tone of the ST to be recreated in its subtitles. It can thus be argued that, by employing a combination of translation strategies, the film's subtitlers manage to convey the essential 'foreign' qualities of the American culture to the TL audience.

In this, the penultimate scene of Fish Tank, Mia is about to leave home to begin a new life with her traveler boyfriend. In the lounge, Joanne is dancing to one of Mia's CDs, which is in fact the theme tune of the film. The music is very different to that which Joanne usually listens to; this scene therefore suggests her eventual attempt to connect with her daughter. Following the dialogue below, Mia responds to Joanne. The pair dance together in synchrony, are joined by Tyler and are watched closely by their pet Staffordshire bull terrier, Tennent's.

The overriding translation issue to which the present scene gives rise is again the translation of accent. The way in which culture-bound terms are handled also proves interesting. The language which accompanies this scene is typically informal and the characters' regional accent comes across strongly. The challenges of re-rendering this in the TL are dealt with variously. In line 4, Joanne's slovenly pronunciation of 'It's alright' ('Sorright') is partly recaptured by an omission of the negative 'ne'. Mia's 'yeah' is not translated in line 3 as the meaning of this internationally understood word is self-evident. However, in line 5, her 'Yeah, it's Nas.' becomes 'Oui, c'est Nas.'.*4 Boillot and Haughton opt for a standard spelling in their subtitle, avoiding the non-standard French equivalent of 'yeah', 'ouais'.*5 This, in turn, is compensated for in line 6, when Joanne's standard SL question form, 'What are you waiting for?' becomes a very informal 'T'attends quoi?' as opposed to a more standard 'Qu'est-ce que tu attends?'.

This is an emotionally charged scene; Joanne is upset and has obviously been crying. Her listening and dancing to Mia's CD and her giving approval to this music are the only signs of affection which she shows her daughter in the entire film. Despite this, Joanne ultimately tells Mia to 'fuck off' (line 6), which is once again undertranslated as 'casse-toi'. She is so used to addressing her daughter aggressively that she seems unable to talk to her in any other way. In sum, despite some instances of undertranslation, the non-standard register of the language which pervades this scene is largely recaptured through the use of non-standard, informal TL grammar.

As mentioned above, the family's pet dog witnesses this scene. Due to the drinking culture which prevails on this housing estate, alcohol assumes considerable importance; the characters are seen drinking at home, in the street, while dancing and at parties. In this spirit, the family pet is named Tennent's, after the famous Scottish lager. Thus, the issue of translating cultural allusions arises. As Luyken comments aptly: 'If language consisted of just words, subtitling would be easy. The problem lies in the fact that behind the words lies a world of associations, customs, institutions: in short, a whole culture.' (1991: 157). When Mia returns home in one scene and the dog growels, she says: 'It's only me, Tennent's, stupid dog.'. This name is directly transposed from the ST to the TT: 'C'est moi, Tennent's, gros débile.' To the ST audience, this name is very funny. By contrast, the 'foreignizing' translation strategy used (Venuti, 1995: 19-20) results in a loss of humor in the TT. In order to achieve 'dynamic equivalence' (Nida, 1964) and therefore 'domesticate' the TT (Venuti, ibid.), it would be necessary to substitute this name with a well-known brand of French lager such as 'Kronenbourg' or 'Stella' - a choice which Boillot and Haughton do not make and is perhaps a lost opportunity to render the humorous name of the dog amusing to a French-speaking audience.

Throughout Fish Tank, Mia's interaction with her sister, Tyler, is characterized by bitching and nastiness.*6 However, before Mia gets in to the car to go to Wales with her boyfriend, she and Tyler share an affectionate hug. As the car pulls away, Tyler runs after it, shouting. These two characters are not used to being nice to each other; the sentiment which they show here is therefore masked by use of apparently hostile language.

When translating this scene, Boillot and Haughton again confront the issue of translating humor and irony which is linguistically and culturally bound. This scene is underpinned by a strong sense of affection. Due to the audiovisual context in which the speech is set - viewers witness the two sisters hugging -, the irony of lines 1 and 2 is immediately apparent. This is recaptured closely and concisely in the TL. In line 2, Tyler calls Mia a 'skank'. In the above discussion of scene one, it was seen that 'skanky' can be defined as 'cheap', 'dirty', 'nasty' or 'slutty'. 'Pétasse' ('slut') is therefore an apt translation of this SL insult. The offensiveness of this term is, however, mitigated; in the second part of line 3, Tyler reminds Mia to keep in touch. Her 'Don't forget to text me' is translated by the contracted and equally effective TL structure 'Envoie-moi un SMS'.

The word play contained in line 4 ensures that this scene ends on a lighter note. In Tyler's 'Say hello to the W(h)ales for me!', it is unclear whether this young girl thinks that the Welsh are called the Wales, or whether she is deliberately referring to these people as animals. In any case, the SL viewer hears the noun 'whales', which has a gently humorous effect. Translation of this term as 'galeux' ('shabby') instead of the phonetically similar 'Gallois' ('Welsh'), has an equally amusing effect on the TT audience; in this instance, Boillot and Haughton's creation of an alternative TL pun enables 'dynamic equivalence' (Nida, 1964) to be achieved.

In brief, use of equivalent TL insults, recreation of SL word plays and reliance on audiovisual context enable the humor and irony of this scene to be successfully transferred across cultures.

As this paper mentioned in its introduction, it is not only the character interaction which Fish Tank contains, but also its musical soundtrack, which contribute significantly to the portrayal of the social class and culture which the film seeks to represent. In their discussion of the subtitling of songs, Diaz-Cintas & Remael (2007) suggest that the translation of certain tracks may be necessary. These include songs: which are long and which would leave viewers wondering about their meaning if they were left untranslated; which constitute the essence of a film; which support the narrative more or less explicitly; which suggest mood or create atmosphere (ibid.: 207-10). Diaz-Cintas and Remael also posit that, when the decision to translate has been made, three issues should be considered; those of content, rhythm and rhyme (ibid.: 211). Bearing in mind these issues, three of the film's key songs will be considered. The first two are the only ones in the film to have been subtitled. The third, somewhat surprisingly, is not translated.

Me & U (2006) is sung by Cassie, an American singer, model and dancer whose music is in the mould of that of Janet Jackson or Jennifer Lopez. It features in the second of the eight previously discussed scenes; a gang of girls from the housing estate are performing a dance to some local boys, and Mia is watching them critically. If the above criteria are applied, the decision to translate this song (approximately one fifth of the song's entire lyrics) is entirely founded. The song is relatively long; non-anglophone TL viewers would therefore need to understand its meaning. The sexual nature of the lyrics also explicitly supports the seductive dance which is performed; these lyrics therefore contribute to creating an atmosphere of sexual enticement. In sum, the message of the scene is certainly enhanced by this use of intertextuality.

(Original lyrics: www.metrolyrics.com) [accessed 03/05/10]

The above translation is not always exact; simplifications are made (lines 2, 7, 9 and 12) as are some slight modifications (8, 10 and 11). This said, the song is, at all times, couched in a perfectly equivalent TL idiom and the content of the ST is fully preserved in the subtitles. The rhythm is also maintained as the subtitles are set against the song's melody on the SL soundtrack. By contrast, whereas alternate lines of the ST rhyme (call/all, you/do, true/too), which is not the case in the TT. This is, however, of no real consequence; content and rhythm take precedence over the rhyme of the song and an absence of the latter entails no real linguistic or cultural loss in translation; this song is successfully transferred across cultures. Indeed, the decision to subtitle this particular track enhances the TL audience's appreciation of the message, and the mood of the scene.

The film's second translated song, California Dreamin', was first released in 1965 by the 'Mamas and the Papas', an American vocal group (http://en.wikipedia.org). However, when Joanne and Connor discuss his CD collection in his car, it becomes apparent that the track which features in Fish Tank is in fact Bobby Womack's 1968 cover version of the song.*7

This song features three times in Fish Tank: first, when Connor takes Joanne and her two daughters for a drive in the countryside; second, when Mia is practicing a dance which she intends to perform at an audition; third, as she is about to perform her dance at the audition, before she actually changes her mind and leaves. Again, the decision to translate these lyrics was particularly appropriate. The song is lengthy and is repeated; an explanation of its meaning is therefore necessary. It supports the narrative very explicitly; the words describe an exotic and better world in America, which Connor clearly represents. In the car, the song helps to create a relaxed atmosphere on the family day out. At the audition, it may be seen to encourage Mia to accept a challenge and to aspire to something which is preferable to her current situation. Thus, in both of these contexts, this use of intertextuality contributes to, and enhances, the film.