Independent versus latched interjections: Co-textual differences and their expendability in film subtitling

This study investigates the distinction between interjections as independent utterances (e.g. Ow!) and those latched onto other utterances (e.g. the ow in Ow, I wasn't ready). The aim is to provide possible explanations for the perhaps counter-intuitive finding that independent interjections were omitted more frequently than latched interjections in the context of English-to-Chinese film subtitling, despite the fact that latched interjections are syntactically optional. Drawing on the Systemic Functional Linguistic treatment of interjections, this study focuses on the independent interjections realizing exclamations and the latched interjections realizing Expletives. Based on close analysis of the verbal co-text of exclamations and Expletives in two generically different English films, it was found that exclamations typically occur as isolates from their verbal co-text, whereas Expletives are necessarily integrated into their verbal cotext. It is thus proposed that the isolation from the verbal co-text may contribute to the greater expendability of exclamations compared to Expletives. This research is thus significant in highlighting what appears to be an unnoticed distinction between independent and latched interjections, which may condition the decision as to whether to subtitle soundtrack interjections.