Modulo AVT, Lingua e Traduzione Inglese 2

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Audiovisual Translation: some definition and terminology

- Dubbing and Subtitling

- “Film translation” is an out of date/obsolete definition

- Screen translation

- Multimedia translation

Types of AVT

For most people, screen translation is limited to dubbing and subtitling. Nevertheless, various types of

screen translation exist today. They can be categorised into two main groups: dominant and

challenging. The dominant types of AVT are interlingual subtitling, dubbing, consecutive

interpreting, simultaneous interpreting, voice-over, free commentary, simultaneous (or sight)

translations.

TELEVIDEO (it) = TELETEXT (eng)

Interlingual subtitling

Interlingual subtitling (or open caption – already subtitled) involves moving from the oral dialogue to

one/two written lines and from one language to another. The task can be carried out by the same person

(translating and spotting/cueing/synchronising) or by a translator and a technician spotting and timing

the subtitles.

Container = limited time you can have the subtitle on

Interlingual subtitling can also be done with or without a dialogue list (post-production script). It can be

offered to any audience, including the deaf and hard of hearing (HH).

Dubbing

It involved adapting a text for on-camera characters and therefore lip-synchronisation plays an important

role.

Voice-over

Voice-over or half-dubbing occurs when a documentary or an interview is translated/adapted ad

broadcast approximately in synchrony by a journalist or an actor.

Free commentary

It is clearly an adaptation for a new audience, with additions, omissions, clarifications and comments.

Synchronisation is done with on-screen images rather than with the soundtrack. This mode is used for

children programmes, documentaries and corporate videos.

Training in subtitling (an excuse for improving language awareness)

“Who transmits to whom, what for, which medium, where, when, and why, a text with what function? On what

subject matter does he/she say what, (what not), in what order, using what-nonverbal elements, in which words, in

what kind of sentences, in which tone, and to what effect?” (C. Nord, 1991)

- 4 marriages and a funeral: problem of pragmatics (1994-2011)

Important steps and special training

1) Media text analysis

To be fully proficient in the field, the audiovisual translator needs to have basic knowledge in the

making of media texts and, in order to understand the audiovisual text, he/she needs to acquire

the tools for semiotic analysis.

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Audiovisual transaltors must be fully aware that all media texts are constructed using media

language and that the codes which are chosen convey certain cultural information. Signs are

manipulated to produce meanings. These codes are consciously taken in by the viewers as a

perceptive whole. Different interpretations will rise at every new reading and different audiences

will relate to these codes in conformity with their particular cultural background.

2) Script analysis

In an ideal world audiovisual translators would always be applied with a post-production dialogue

list or a script or montage list. Scripts or montage lists are preferable since they will incorporate

additional directorial information. Most useful of all would be an accurate post-production script

with glossary (Luyken et al. 1991). However annoying the situation may be to the professional

subtitler, inadequate scripts are excellent tools for translator training or even language

learning in general. On the one hand, incomplete or incorrect scripts make wonderful gapfilling

exercises. The transcription of film dialogue, on the other hand, is a wholesome listening

comprehension task. This exercise is particularly difficult when the sound track lacks

clarity…

3) Translation/editing [transadaptation]

Whenever oral text is transferred into a written form, editing is in order and the constraints

involved are numerous. Hatim and Mason (2000: 430-431) clearly set out such constraints: the

shift in mode from speech to writing, factors which govern the medium or channel in which the

meaning is to be conveyed, the reduction of the source text as a consequence of these factors,

the requirement of matching the visual image. The main concern is TO AVOID the urge to

‘CUT’. To many, editing means reduction; it is easier to omit, thus eliminating important prosodic

elements, redundancies, and all the colour and flavour of the spoken word. The temptation to

produce grammatically correct written language often leads to a completely new message and

unfortunate blunders, and the original will always be there to underline inaccuracies. Contrastive

analysis between both modes and languages can be helpful in detecting the elements which should

be kept and in deciding which features of each mode are to be respected in the transfer.

4) Spotting/cueing

Translating Documentaries

Defining the term ‘documentary’ is not an easy task, although from a professional standpoint the

difference is clear-cut. One of the distinctive features of documentaries, as opposed to fictional

products, is that they deal with reality, but separating fiction and reality is not always easy and

documentaries, although based upon reality, usually offer a subjective vision. As Chaume Varela (2003a:

189) points out, the distinction between genres is only relevant if it entails different translation strategies,

which are the key matters for the professional.

So even though all documentaries are different – depending mainly on the target audience they address

and their skopos the aim of the lesson is to offer some generalisations as well as a classification of the

main problems found in documentary translation.

What people say about ‘Working Conditions’: the fact that translators have to work against the clock is

not a specific characteristic of this genre, but it is especially relevant since documentary translation usually

demands more time. The translation of documentaries tends to put higher demands on the translators as

it requires a documentation process longer than that of a TV episode or a cartoon. Another serious hurdle

is the lack of a postproduction script and, when this is available, the poor quality of the transcription.

Dries (1995: 22) states that a ‘post-production script is absolutely essential to all people involved in the

dubbing of a foreign production’, adding that ‘Latin names of all flora and fauna appearing in the film

script should be given’ (Dries, 1995: 23).

Specific Genre Difficulties: Terminology, Speakers and Translation Modes

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Audiovisual nonfictional programmes cover a vast array of topics, on various levels of specialisation,

presented by different speakers, who use varying discourses and are revoiced using different

techniques.

- Terminology. Documentaries deal with a wide range of subjects, forcing audiovisual translators

to do research and undertake terminological searches in very specialised areas. Usually, translators

are not specialists in a specific field and they must be resourceful enough to get in a very short

time all the information necessary about any specific area to understand the documentary and to

be able to translate it. The extent of specialisation in documentaries varies according to their

skopos and their target audience (general public, children, learners), but they all will include

terminological units, albeit in a lesser degree than specialised texts. Nevertheless, they usually

contain terms which pose real challenges to translators. According to Cabré (1999), terms are

multidimensional lexical units which acquire specialised value according to discourse

conditions. The translator must understand all the values associated with each unit and

render them in the target language. The next step is to consult all kinds of specialised reference

works, terminological databases, internet resources, parallel corpora, and so on, ad to ask

specialists. This means that, when translating nonfictional programmes, translators must

undertake specific terminological searches. Scientific documentaries targeted to a general public

usually include specialised terms which are then reworded in plainer words, so that the viewers

can understand them.

- Speakers. Apart from terminological challenges, difficulties also arise from the type of speakers

and from the different techniques used. The main techniques, based on the types of speakers,

their relationship to the addressee and the degree of spontaneity in their discourse are

Divulgare (it) = Popularise (eng)

A T : S

UDIOVISUAL RANSLATION UBTITLING

The computer has been one of the technological advances to have greatly changed the world of

translation in general; it could be argued that in the field of subtitling the impact has been even greater,

with the launch of many computer programs designed exclusively for subtitling. Internet is the translator’s

best friend: there you can find dictionaries, glossaries, encyclopedias, specialised thematic websites,

distribution groups, automatic translation tools, translators’ forums, job offers, scripts…

One of the most serious obstacles for the subtitler has traditionally been the prohibitive price of the

subtitling programs.

Translation memory tools are based on computational linguistic analysis and they have had a very

important impact on translation practice, although again their value in AVT is questionable and still to

be researched. Technology and computers have had a direct impact upon subtitling praxis and have made

life easier for all those working in the field of subtitling; it is also true, however, that they have changed

the professional profile expected of subtitlers. Linguistic competence and socio-cultural and subject

knowledge are no longer sufficient in order to be able to operate effectively in this profession.

A frame may contain 0.0625 spaces or characters.

A good dialogue list is a key document that facilitates the task of the subtitler, helping to dispel potential

comprehension mistakes; it is essentially the compilation of all the dialogue exchanges uttered in the film

and it is a document usually supplied by the film distributor or producer of the film. Besides a verbatim

transcription of all the dialogue, the ideal list also offers extra information on implicit socio-cultural

connotations, explains plays on words or possible amphibologies, the meaning of colloquial and dialectal

terms… Needless to say, they are not always this complete. Although they are essential, they are not very

common in the profession, and this is why in many subtitling training courses students work directly

from soundtrack alone. In particular, the European cinema industry does not seem to realise the value