«Élite es la leche» in the Latin American Version: Adaptation and Diatopic Variation

Abstract

This study analyzes the process of lexical adaptation in the intralingual dubbing of the Netflix series «Élite» (2018), comparing the original Peninsular Spanish version with its Latin American counterpart. Based on the transcription and alignment of episode 4 from the first season, the analysis examines diatopic and pragmatic differences between the two audio tracks, classified according to their adaptation strategy. The results reveal a systematic tendency toward lexical and pragmatic neutralization, which removes distinctive features of Peninsular Spanish to enhance comprehension and pan-Hispanic acceptability. This strategy, clearly driven by commercial purposes, entails a loss of expressiveness, local color, and sociolinguistic authenticity. The study also identifies cases of substitution that are difficult to justify strictly on diatopic grounds, highlighting the lack of empirical criteria and specialized repertories of españolismos (Spain-specific usages). Finally, it calls for the development of contrastive corpora and perceptual studies to better understand the mechanisms of adaptation and speakers’ attitudes toward the different varieties of Spanish in contemporary audiovisual contexts.