The perception of dubbed cultural references in Italy

Italian TV viewers are constantly exposed to dubbed programmes containing a wide range of foreign cultural references. But what do they make of such references? Are Italian end-users of foreign fictional programmes aware of the fact that the language they hear spoken in fictional programmes is artificial, i.e. not the standard nor a spontaneous variety of spoken Italian? This paper, will outline the results of a research project conducted by means of an e-questionnaire and based on a corpus of dubbed fictional products, which was designed with the aim of assessing the perception of dubbed television programmes in Italy. The results will show what Italian audiences make and perceive of the plethora of references to the US school system and education.