Appunti esame di Audiovisual Translation (subtitling & dubbing)

COMMENTARY CLOSED CAPTIONS

 

→ What are the main differences between dubbing and subtitling?

DUBBING SUBTITLING

It is very expensive. It is also expensive, but much cheaper.

The original version is lost since it implies a The original version is respected.

revoicing of the dialogues.

It is laborious and slow. It takes time but it is much faster.

Viewer can focus on the image. Viewer has to share the attention between

image, writing and original sound.

It is guided by lip synchrony: there are sev- It is guided through limitations, specifi-

eral degrees of accuracy in lip synchrony. cally space and time.

It is used to translate movies and TV series. It is used for any type of program.

The oral essence is respected, since there is There is a form of inter-semiotic transla-

an intra-semiotic translation, as the trans- tion from speech into writing (spoken dis-

lation occurs within the same semiotic code course into written discourse).

(speech into speech).

It makes the illusion of reality more effec- There are two linguistic codes working at

tive. the same time.

Let’s take a look at the opening scene of Skins dubbed into Italian.

→ What are the first impressions about the dialogue?

One of the main problems of the translation here is the strong language, which characterizes

Tony’s father: he’s rude, frustrated, bad-mannered, funny. Humour, in fact, is part of the dia-

logue too. As part of the context, Tony’s family belongs to the working class.

→ What difficulties would a professional translator have to face in this dialogue?

Strong language, high-speed dialogue, background noise, intertextuality (realia, culture-spe-

cific elements), slang. At one point, Tony’s father says: “You’d like to think that I’m a complete

James Blunt?”. In Italian, there was no possibility of giving the intertextual reference: James

Blunt was translated into “coglione”. 18

→ Why James Blunt?

Let’s have a look at Urban Dictionary:

1. A rubbish singer songwriter, who likes swimming when it’s snowing (it refers to You’re

Beautiful video, where he swims naked in the snow).

2. Rhyming slang for “Cunt”.

“You are a complete James Blunt”.

The translator got the hidden reference, translating that into asshole, which is a good option.

The translator has always to be aware that there might be some specific references to culture

– intertextual reference – that he/she has to consider.

The high-speed dialogue is also a problem: in dubbing, there would have been problems with

the lip-sync; in subtitling, there would have been problems of space and time. The fact that

there is background noise, it is because the dialogue wants to reproduce spontaneous conver-

sation; it is, of course, a made-up dialogue, but it does try to reproduce an effect of spontane-

ity. In this case, background noise is designed as an expressive element of the series: it has a

diegetic function.

features and functions of screened dialogue

spontaneous conversation vs written/scripted dialogue

We should bear in mind that, even if the effect can be one of spontaneous conversation, film

dialogue is actually scripted, so it differs from every-day spontaneous speech.

« […] we must also bear in mind the ways in which film differs from spontaneous everyday

speech. In narrative films, dialogue may strive mightily to imitate natural conversation, but it

is always an imitation. It has been scripted, written and rewritten, censored, polished,

rehearsed, and performed. » - (Sarah Kozloff, Overhearing Film Dialogue, 2000)

It is true that a dialogue can be very similar to spontaneous conversation, but it will never be

the same. For example, if we compare an actual conversation among friends with an extract

from the script of Marie Antoinette, we will see that the first one gives an idea of spontaneous

speech, even if is not 100% spontaneous, because these friends know that they are being rec-

orded, while the actress representing Marie Antoinette speaks like a girl of this time.

Let’s have a look at the script: 19

It is a very similar situation to the one we saw in the clip, with friends drinking and having a

party. The dialogue is of course more orderly and organized. Even though it is not 100% spon-

taneous, the effect is.

If we compare the features of random conversation and film dialogue, we will have:

RANDOM CONVERSATION FILM DIALOGUE

Fragmentation. It presents information in a concise and func-

 Frequent repetitions. tional way: screened dialogue is definitely

 Reformulation. more dense, rich and timelier.

 Ellipses: missing information since

 they share the same context.

Voice overlapping: they were all talk-

 ing at the same time, something not pos-

sible in a film dialogue.

Interruptions.

 Hesitations fillers.



These are the typical aspects of random con-

versation. Of course, they can also appear in

film dialogue, but are reduced to minimum

or used purposely.

Unnecessary data. Sentences tend to be short and of similar

 False starts. length: it has been compared to a sort of

 Digressions. ping-pong match, a give-and-take exchange.

 Unstructured continuity.

 Use of general nouns: thing, stuff, Turn-taking is generally respected.

 things like that.

Context-dependent indexical words:

 I think like that, that thing, that stuff, re-

ferring to something we all know.

General noun-clusters: what’s-his-

 name, how-do-you-name-it and so on.

General verbs: do, make, happen.

 General extenders: …and so on, …you

 know what I mean etc.

Vague quantifiers: lots of things, loads

 of money.

Informal words.

 Short names.

 Common verbs.

 Basic adjectives.



Some films try to reproduce the effect of spontaneity such as Woody Allen’s movie Annie Hall.

Allen’s characters use lots of hesitation fillers and repetitions. The dialogue definitely tries

to reproduce spontaneous conversation, but it is still planned for characterization, contextu-

alities, humour. 20

So, to conclude, we can say that film dialogue provides:

Information: film dialogue provides only information that is relevant to the develop-

 ment of the story (they do not talk about this and that).

Narrative-related and expressive purposes: within a framework dense with semi-

o otic, psychological and aesthetic meaning, because film dialogues also have an emo-

tive function (Tony’s father).

Conflict: conflict is used to trigger the plot and to raise viewers’/listeners’ interest and

o involvement, as the dialogue in Skins was meant to emphasise the conflictual relation-

ship between the characters. The more conflict there is the more viewers are involved

and interested in the situation.

the functions of screened dialogue

Film viewers are treated as “eavesdroppers”, as if they are not there. As a result, this creates

dramatic irony, a gap between what someone knows and what somebody else knows; it can

result from the fact that spectators know more about the character than the character him-

self does.

This is a phone call from Sliding Doors: Gerry, her man, is in a hotel with his lover, but Helen

does not know it. This is her reporting her dream:

Helen: It was the weirdest dream. You were there, and you had a funny mask over your face,

and you had something that you needed to tell me, but you couldn’t say it.

Gerry: well, that does it. I’m taking away your class one drugs for a week.

Helen: Anyway, um, there’s something else I wanted to tell you. I fainted at work the other night.

Gerry: Sweetheart, are you OK?

Helen: Yes, but I don’t normally faint, so I, um...

(Ohhhhhhh…….)

There are a lot of references to the fact that he is cheating. The person screaming is Lydia,

Gerry’s lover.

The dialogue goes on like this: 21

Helen: What was that?

Gerry: I don’t know. The people next door are plainly engaged in some bizarre sexual ritual. I

may pop in later and introduce myself. What were you saying? (…)

Helen: Look, I’ll phone you back when World War XII has stopped for tea.

(He hangs up. CONTINUED on the other side of the phone)

Helen: So, I did a test, and it turns out that I’m pregnant. I just thought you might like to know.

This is an example of dramatic irony: Gerry does not know since he hung up the phone, but

viewers know more than the character does.

There are of course some exceptions, as in the movie 25 Hour by Spike Lee, where there is a

th

monologue in which the character is actually looking at himself in the mirror, but he is also

looking at the camera, so he does not pretend viewers are not there. We know that he knows

that we are there. It is a very unusual situation in which the character acknowledges the pres-

ence of spectators.

So, the functions of film dialogues are:

1. Characterization: character self-revelation or revelation through other characters’,

communication between characters, anchorage of the diegesis and characters or “di-

alogue hooks”.

2. Narrative function: dialogue can create atmosphere, bring a detail into focus, or con-

vey the speaker’s response to unseen events. In fact, dialogue can explain what hap-

pened before and give hints at what is going to happen next. It can also, at some points,

summarize the story.

3. Contextualization: dialogue is in many ways necessary for the viewer-listener to ac-

tivate inferential strategies for understanding the story, first and foremost by placing

characters in space and time and making relations among participants studiedly im-

plicit/explicit.

4. Exploitation of language: the “aesthetic” function of dialogue is also very important.

The exploitation of all the resources of language involves the use of rhetorical strate-

gies (puns, metaphors), the creation of humour and irony.

5. Thematic message: this function appears in last scenes in particular, where they may

attempt ideological solutions and where the characters may assume the mantle of the

conscious spokesperson. Film dialogue can also offer a consistent, powerful perspec-

tive on very serious issues.

The border between engagement and the aesthetic intent inherent in star-turns can be

rather blurred since this kind of monologue is usually acted out by a talented actor or

actress. Yet, there are monologues in which we perceive that the content of the mes-

sage is even more important than the way it is conveyed through language.

6. Control of viewers’ evaluation and emotion: under the text, film dialogue may have

a deeper layer of meaning, a “subtext” which can be related to thematic issues, trigger

emotions or intensify them and, more generally, convey communicative intentions.

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AVT: challenges, stages & guidelines

translation options

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