Impact of DVD on Translation: Language Options as an Essential Add-On Feature

This article discusses the significant influence DVD is having on translation from the perspective of translation studies. Focusing on the language support functionality afforded by this new medium, the author outlines the type of language options commonly provided on DVD film titles of fictional genres and examines the changes introduced by DVDs in relation to translation requirements and new possibilities opening up for translation research. Despite the scant attention paid by media and film studies, the author maintains that the language support functionality afforded by DVD is significant and argues that the approach treating language options as an essential add-on feature of DVD offers a productive research direction in the light of continuing globalization of audiovisual content.