Defamiliarization in dubbed translation of the American television sitcom “The big bang theory” (lingvoculturological aspect)

The article deals with the strategy of defamiliarization used to translate culture-specific words in American television sitcom The Big Bang Theory. The author gives the overview of the interdisciplinary notion of defamiliarization in various spheres of research and art, paying special attention to its interpretation in translation and cultural studies, its defeated expectancy effect. We have made a translation analysis of culture-bound terms used in the series revealing humorous, anti-manipulative and abstracting functions of defamiliarization. It is concluded that defamiliarization is realized in the context and includes not only violations in the use of domestication or forenization strategies, but also various translator’s transformations. Applying defamiliarization, the translator welcomes the viewer to think actively about the content of the speech and he/she becomes an active creator of a new cultural text.