Rap Lyrics Translation: Theoretical and Practical Aspects

Abstract

Despite being a very popular music genre, Hip Hop does not seem to have drawn Translation scholars' attention. There are many studies on Hip Hop culture from a socio-linguistic point of view, but a theoretical debate about the translation of rap lyrics seems missing, even though rap songs, just like sung songs, can be included in a translation project in a number of circumstances, from audiovisual (i.e. dubbing and subtitling) to literary contexts (such as biographies, textbooks etc.). This paper attempts to show – in a limited space – the theoretical and methodological aspects which emerged during the comparative study of poetry and song translation theories, and the analysis of some real examples of rap lyrics translation from English into Italian.