Voices of Algeria: Translating Diglossia in “A Handful of Sand”

This talk explores the linguistic and cultural challenges of translating diglossia on screen, focusing on the subtitling work of Dr Khadidja Merakchi for the film Pour quelques grammes de sable (A Handful of Sand). Set in contemporary Algeria, the film navigates a rich linguistic landscape where Algerian Arabic, French and Kabyle languages interact fluidly. Such multilingual realities pose specific subtitling questions: how can we convey linguistic hierarchies, code-switching, identity cues, and the emotional or social weight of choosing one variety over another? And how can subtitles remain faithful to the speakers’ voices while remaining accessible to international audiences?

Pour quelques grammes de sable, directed by Sami Tigharghar, with a cast including Lyna Khoudri, Khaled Benaissa and Farid Larbi, was recently screened in its international premiere at the Festival international du film arabe d’Oran in Oran, Algeria (30 October – 5 November 2025).  

Drawing on selected clips from the film, this talk will show the strategies and compromises involved in representing diglossia through subtitles—highlighting issues such as untranslatable cultural references, humour, register shifts, and the politics of language choice in a postcolonial context. Whether you’re a cine-lover, a translation enthusiast or simply curious about how language shapes film, this session invites you to rethink what lies beneath the words we watch.

Dr Khadidja Merakchi is an Assistant Professor in French at Heriot-Watt University and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She teaches translation, interpreting, subtitling, and translation technologies. A specialist in multilingual communication, she has subtitled numerous films between Arabic, French, English, and Kabyle, including the recent Algerian feature Pour quelques grammes de sable (A Handful of Sand). She is passionate about the links between language and identity, and how stories travel across cultures.