Translation of the dialogue in the above-mentioned films
approaches equivalence at certain moments; occasionally the subtitled
dialogue provides more information than is given in the SL dialogue,
such as a foreshadowing of sympathetic characters by their use of
nonoffensive language in the TL version, as in The Closet, for example.
More often significant cultural lacunae exist between the SL and TL
versions, and cultural references resulting either from naming or
grammatically gendered language prove problematic to render in the
subtitles. Elements in the SL dialogue serving to maintain the tone of
the discourse—for example, wordplay, intonation and register, as well
as extradiegetic cultural references—all create a specific impression
for the SL viewer, nuancing the characters’ representation, yet these
references are rendered to varying degrees in the subtitles, resulting
in different filmic perceptions for the TL and SL viewers.