넷플릭스 오리지널 영화 제목의 한국어 번역 양상 연구―영어 중심의 유통 구조와 상업적 현지화―

초록

This study empirically analyzes the Korean translation patterns of 1,018 Netflix original film titles released between 2015 and 2025, with the aim of identifying the English-centered distribution structures and commercial localization strategies operative in translation practice. The study adopts the ZTLAP classification system—comprising Zero translation (Z), Transliteration (T), Literal translation (L), Adaptation (A), and text Production (P)—and supplements it with English-based Transliteration (ET) as an independent category, while applying an EO/LO classification that distinguishes whether non-English-language productions carry original titles in English (EO: English-Original) or in the language of production (LO: Local-Original). The findings show that translation techniques shifted gradually from an early dominance of Transliteration (T) and Literal translation (L) toward greater use of Adaptation (A), ET, and text Production (P). While Transliteration accounted for a high proportion of 52.8% in English-language films, non-English-language films exhibited a marked diversification of translation strategies. In addition, EO was identified in 22% of non-English-language foreign films, and the ET technique expanded to 12–15% in 2022–2023, remaining at 8–10% thereafter, demonstrating that linguistic displacement—the replacement of source-language phonetic identity with English phonetics as English functions as a pivot language—has become an established translation practice. In the domain of active localization, three strategies were identified: an inherited authority strategy, a commercial typecasting strategy, and a phenomenon of voluntary Anglicization. These findings suggest that Korean film title translation operates as a marketing act aimed at maximizing audience engagement, with English internalized as the default standard of commercial judgment. By empirically demonstrating the tension between the linguistic diversity that Netflix professes and the English-centered hierarchization that governs actual translation practice, this study contributes to translation policy deliberation and the broader discourse on linguistic diversity in the digital platform era.

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