A Reception Study:

Assessing the Impact of Subtitles on the Viewing Experiences of Senior Population

Anqi Guo

Newcastle University

This study aims at exploring the impact of inter-modal relation, centered on subtitle, on the reception of “mo lei tau” (non-sensical) humour through a proposed multimodal analytical model. Audience reception of humour has gained increasing attention within Audiovisual Translation studies (AVT). However, empirical studies on how subtitled humour is received across different cultures remain limited. “Mo lei tau”, a Cantonese-originated form of nonsensical humour characterised by non-sensical dialogues and visual incongruity, has been widely discussed in film studies (Teo, 2024). However, despite its popularity, it has received little attention in AVT, particularly regarding audience reception.

This study aims to explore how do English subtitles, in interaction with other semiotic modes, affect British senior viewers’ reception of a “mo lei tau” comedy. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, combining questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, alongside a proposed multimodal analytical framework based on Kress and van Leeuwen’s visual grammar (Kress and Van Leeuwen, 2020), with modes adapted from Stöckl’s framework (Stöckl, 2004). The analysis is based on empirical data gathered from British viewers aged 60+, a demographic often overlooked in AVT. Preliminary analysis suggests that “mo lei tau”, which is often missed or changed by translations and cultural references, can be inferred by the complementary interactions of subtitles and visual cues.

Keywords: audience reception, “mo lei tau” humour, multimodality, empirical study

Anqi Guo is currently a PhD candidate in School of Modern Languages at Newcastle University (UK). Her research focuses on empirical studies of humour translation, with particular attention to multimodality and audience reception. Her current study focuses on the translation and reception of mo lei tau humour among elder audiences, examining how inter-modal relations affect humour comprehension across cultural contexts. She also works as a part-time subtitler and translator, mainly for Chinese and English TV dramas, which also enlightens her research on audience reception in AVT. Her future study will involve the development and application of multimodal analytical frameworks in AVT.