Subtitling versus dubbing in animated films: cognitive and evaluative reception in young children

Abstract

The empirical study of children’s cognitive and evaluative reception of viewing dubbed versus subtitled animated films in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) remains largely unexplored in academic circles, with few existing discussions often relying on purely speculative assumptions. To address this issue, we conducted a qualitative study to explore the cognitive and evaluative reception of young children when viewing a dubbed versus subtitled version of the same excerpt. We used a set of questions directly related to studying these two types of reception, along with researcher observations. A total of 29 children were shown a 30-minute excerpt of the subtitled film How to Train your Dragon: the Hidden World, while a total of 41 children were shown the same 30-minute excerpt from the dubbed version. The results reveal that both the subtitled and dubbed film versions were positively received and enjoyed by children.