Results of project

Although Italy has always been a dubbing country, mainly due to cultural and historical reasons, the recent introduction of new TV formats,…

Although Italy has always been a dubbing country, mainly due to cultural and historical reasons, the recent introduction of new TV formats, resulting from the hybridization between previously existing formats (such as docu-realities, a hybrid between documentaries and reality shows), has required the development of more suitable translation processes. Simil sync results from the hybridization between dubbing and voice-over, but it has not been clearly defined both from a theoretical point of view (as a separate branch within AVT, whose boundaries are blurred by the mentioned phenomenon of hybridization) and from a contractual point of view (the national collective agreement does not contain any reference to it and to its payment either). Consequently, the aim of the present work is to define simil sync as clearly as possible, also by providing a more suitable and less anglicized label for this translation practice (that is, semi-sinc).

The project “Exploring Subtitle Reading Process with Eye Tracking Technology (SURE)” has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon…

The project “Exploring Subtitle Reading Process with Eye Tracking Technology (SURE)” has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 702606. It was carried out by Dr Agnieszka Szarkowska at the Centre for Translation Studies, University College London, under the supervision of Prof. Jorge Díaz Cintas and in collaboration with Prof. Bencie Woll (UCL Deafness, Cognition and Language Research Centre) and with Olivia Gerber-Morón (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona). The goal of the project was to experimentally study the subtitle reading process to establish quality indicators on optimum subtitle speed and segmentation.

Even though audiovisual translation currently involves the use of new modes, such as audiodescription and audiosubtitling, the two most co…

Even though audiovisual translation currently involves the use of new modes, such as audiodescription and audiosubtitling, the two most common forms of screen translation still remain dubbing and subtitling. Italy is traditionally a dubbing country. Audiovisual products started to be dubbed in Italy in the 1930s, as a consequence of a Fascist law which forbade the use of any foreign word. Since then, the practice of dubbing has become so deeply rooted in Italian culture that the dubbing industry has developed into an extremely active and profitable business. The practice of audiovisual translation has obviously undergone considerable changes during the years, and it is continuing to evolve. Specifically, such changes are observable both at a diatopic and at a diaphasic and diastratic level, and they reflect the effort on the part of the dubbing professionals to make the language spoken in dubbed films as similar as possible to spontaneous spoken Italian.

Audiovisual translation is an academic term that covers both well-established and new ground-breaking linguistic and semiotic transfers li…

Audiovisual translation is an academic term that covers both well-established and new ground-breaking linguistic and semiotic transfers like dubbing, subtitling, surtitling, respeaking, audiosubtitling, voice-over, simultaneous interpreting at film festivals, free-commentary and goblin translation, subtitling for the deaf and the hard of hearing, audiodescription, fansubbing and fandubbing. This article presents a classification of audiovisual translation modes or types, and discusses some interesting developments in the audiovisual translation market at the beginning of this new century. Dubbing countries are moving towards subtitling, subtitling countries are beginning to dub, voice-over countries are shifting towards dubbing and subtitling, while voice-over is moving into dubbing and subtitling countries and gaining ground with younger audiences

There is a discrepancy between professional subtitling guidelines and how they are implemented in real life. One example of such discrepanc…

There is a discrepancy between professional subtitling guidelines and how they are implemented in real life. One example of such discrepancy are line breaks: the way the text is divided between the two lines in a subtitle. Although we know from the guidelines how subtitles should look like and from watching subtitled materials how they really look like, little is known about what line breaks viewers would prefer. We examined individual differences in syntactic processing and viewers’ preferences regarding line breaks in various linguistic units, including noun, verb and adjective phrases. We studied people’s eye movements while they were reading pictures with subtitles. We also investigated whether these preferences are affected by hearing status and previous experience with subtitling. Viewers were shown 30 pairs of screenshots with syntactically segmented and non-syntactically segmented subtitles and they were asked to choose which subtitle in each pair was better. We tested 21 English, 26 Spanish and 21 Polish hearing people, and 19 hard of hearing and deaf people from the UK. Our results show that viewers prefer syntactically segmented line breaks. Eye tracking results indicate that linguistic units are processed differently depending on the linguistic category and the viewers’ profile.

The article presents the conception of audiovisual translation and its main characteristics, describes its types and steps of performance,…

The article presents the conception of audiovisual translation and its main characteristics, describes its types and steps of performance, as well as translation strategies applied and constraints caused by technical and linguistic peculiarities of audiovisual products which translators face while translating. Films, animated films and series have become an integral part of an average person’s life. All of them have different functions and are targeted at different groups of people but all of them are united by the type of translation performed. Audiovisual translation is one of the youngest fields of Translation theory and studies, the investigation of which is aimed at improving the results of translators’ activity to meet the expectations of recipients. In contrast to other types of translations, it possesses specific characteristics which require special steps of its performance and translation strategies which can be used. Its main characteristic is synchronization of verbal and nonverbal components which make translators works not only with texts but other aspects of the media art. Translation strategies are viewed not in the situational context but in wider global meaning comprising an audiovisual product as a whole.

Subtitling is one of the two most common modes of audiovisual translation. The starting point of research on subtitling might be its class…

Subtitling is one of the two most common modes of audiovisual translation. The starting point of research on subtitling might be its classification. As the types of subtitles in existence seem too varied to be accounted for, the classification of them risks being overlapping, intricate or meticulous, which would make a systematic study of the subject all the harder. In view of the pitfalls of classification, the principles of being simple, clear and inclusive in classifying subtitles are established. Guided by those principles and measured by the major linguistic and technical parameters, the existing types and new types of subtitles can be classified and grouped into corresponding categories, exhibiting distinctive characteristics and targeting different audiences. The classification proposed and the types of subtitles discussed in this paper will shed some light on how subtitling can be conducted in the future in the hope of assisting both academic research and professional practice.

Language professionals tend to disagree as to whether subtitling is indeed translation, and even the subtitling industry is often reluctan…

Language professionals tend to disagree as to whether subtitling is indeed translation, and even the subtitling industry is often reluctant to grant this type of language transfer the status of 'real' translation.

This study investigates the linguistic dimensions of the subtitling of English movies into Chinese. The data derive from literature analysi…

This study investigates the linguistic dimensions of the subtitling of English movies into Chinese. The data derive from literature analysis, interviews with experienced subtitlers and administrators of translation agencies, my self-analysis as an experienced subtitler, and an analysis of four English movies rendered into Chinese subtitles. Grounded research methods are used to analyze the data and complete the report. The results indicate that several factors affect the quality of subtitling, including movie pirating, uncontrollable outsourced projects, economic factors, and linguistic factors. In the Chinese subtitles, swearwords are toned down, some punctuation marks and inessential information are omitted, and despite the source-language register, literary Chinese is used for brevity.

This article investigates the ideological component of patronage in the subtitling of four South African soap operas: Generations, 7de Laan…

This article investigates the ideological component of patronage in the subtitling of four South African soap operas: Generations, 7de Laan, Muvhango, and Isidingo. Taking the concepts introduced by Lefevere as point of departure, the article first discusses the various ways in which audiovisual translation (AVT) is subject to manipulation. This manipulation is shown to be a result of the fact that subtitles, as text superimposed onto the image during post-editing, thereby obscuring a small part of the screen, constantly foregrounds itself to the audience. This foregrounding is also affected by the linguistic background of the audience – whether or not they understand the original dialogue. The argument then turns to a discussion of AVT, and specifically subtitling, as rewriting. The link between language and ideology is discussed as it pertains to issues of power, particularly related to the role of English in the media, also in South Africa, where, in Gottlieb’s terminology, South Africa can be described as a multilingual anglophile context. The language policy of the South African Broadcasting Corporation is then discussed in terms of patronage and ideology followed by a discussion of the role of ideology in these four locally-produced soap operas. In this discussion the different ways in which the subtitling practices of the soap operas reflect ideology are investigated. The article concludes that accessibility plays a smaller role in subtitling in South Africa than the ideology of multilingualism and multiculturalism.

Standard subtitling practices have long been influenced, if not governed, by norms and conventions such as the Code of Good Subtitling Prac…

Standard subtitling practices have long been influenced, if not governed, by norms and conventions such as the Code of Good Subtitling Practice(Ivarsson & Carroll 1998). Yet recent research into film subtitling has begun to take a creative turn: a trend that is matched by increasing numbers of fansubs and professionally produced creative subtitles. This paper seeks to demonstrate the need for a multidisciplinary approach to creative subtitling and, by drawing upon principles from film studies, suggests some key features for the development of a creative subtitling practice.

The dramedy Gilmore Girls is known for its references to popular culture. For subtitlers, it can be a difficult task to formulate fitting s…

The dramedy Gilmore Girls is known for its references to popular culture. For subtitlers, it can be a difficult task to formulate fitting subtitles for these references, all the while adhering to the technical constraints of this particulier field of translation studies. This thesis will discuss the choices a subtitler has to make in the translation of cultural references, and the humour they contain, in the Dutch subtitles of Gilmore Girls.

This paper addresses the problem of synchronizing movie subtitles, which is necessary to improve alignment quality when building a paralle…

This paper addresses the problem of synchronizing movie subtitles, which is necessary to improve alignment quality when building a parallel corpus out of translated subtitles. In particular, synchronization is done on the basis of aligned anchor points. Previous studies have shown that cognate filters are useful for the identification of such points. However, this restricts the approach to related languages with similar alphabets. Here, we propose a dictionary-based approach using automatic word alignment. We can show an improvement in alignment quality even for related languages compared to the cognate-based approach.

Slides focus on audiovisual translation in Finland, the field of research on audiovisual translation, characteristics of subtitling and du…

Slides focus on audiovisual translation in Finland, the field of research on audiovisual translation, characteristics of subtitling and dubbing

The manipulation and censorship of taboo and sensitive references in AVT has attracted the interest of several scholars over the last few y…

The manipulation and censorship of taboo and sensitive references in AVT has attracted the interest of several scholars over the last few years, but systematic studies of the impact of such practices on different genres in different countries are still needed. The paper analyses the Italian dubbing of three gay-themed TV series, Queer as Folk, Queer as Folk (US remake), and The L Word. Gay-themed series are less mainstream on Italian TV channels than in the UK and the USA, and gayspeak as a linguistic phenomenon is not well-known to Italian audiences. Consequently, the Italian dubbed dialogues are the product of different degrees of manipulation and even censorship. The paper finds empirical evidence of such alterations in data from the DubTalk corpus and attempts a tentative evaluation of the impact of such practices on the Italian versions of the above-mentioned series.

In the early 1930s the crime film Scarface: The Shame of a Nation (1932, USA, dir. Howard Hawks) stirred censorship controversies in the Un…

In the early 1930s the crime film Scarface: The Shame of a Nation (1932, USA, dir. Howard Hawks) stirred censorship controversies in the United States because of its gritty portrayal of criminality and violence. Debates over crime, race and immigration proliferated in the North-American press and finally led to Italian-American pressure groups to call out for the film’s boycott because it ‘offended the Italian nation and people’ and vilified immigrant communities. Archival historical research in AVT has revealed how film versions have frequently been cut and dialogues ideologically manipulated to suit political agendas, commercial interests and dominant sexual and religious moralities. Indeed the translation of films has often served too many masters, suffering direct or indirect censorship intervention whenever a film defied existing societal taboos. My contribution aims to offer a diachronic perspective on the reception of Scarface lo sfregiato in Italy. It will look at the film’s Italian-language translation and re-translations for cinema, television and DVD, prepared by different hands and re-voiced by different actors during a span of fifty years (1940-90s). From the textual and contextual analysis of the film’s different Italian editions, it will be possible to trace significant ideological shifts in the reception of Italian-American crime iconography and in the language used to communicate it.

In recent years, owing to the spread of cultural and economic globalisation, Western values and ideologies have become increasingly accessi…

In recent years, owing to the spread of cultural and economic globalisation, Western values and ideologies have become increasingly accessible via media products to the general public in the People’s Republic of China (Mainland China, or China). Although translation enables the exchange of socio-cultural values and ideas across different languages and cultures, it is susceptible to manipulation in terms of political and ideological control. This paper examines interventions by Chinese authorities in the online distribution of foreign audio-visual products. Such interventions are undertaken to secure broadcasting and distribution rights of the government which also encompass more conventional media from other countries, such as television, in promoting mainstream ideological values and political agendas. Censorship institutions supervise the selection of specific media products to be imported and translated for the Chinese market not only to ensure ease of comprehension but also for political correctness, with a view to avoid any clashes of cultures and ideologies. In the last decade, Chinese audiences have the rise of new media facilitating the wide-spread online viewing of foreign TV and thereby changing the dynamic of access and dissemination of foreign entertainment media in China. We argue that censorship institutions in China opt to adopt alternative strategies, or in many cases more relaxed criteria, in appraising foreign audiovisual products, in order to cater the demands of the new generation of Chinese audiences in those officially supervised media rather than suppressing their needs outright. We will dwell into the Chinese-subtitled version of the second season of the American political drama House of Cards (Netflix 2014), as released by Sohu, the largest online franchise in China. We consider the outcome of subtitling "honest" in terms of the exposure of sensitive information and controversial cultural and political allusions to the reality in contemporary China. By analysing possible reasons behind such “honest” exposure, we argue that an attempt at ideological manipulation has been made in this subtitled version, serving rather than subverting the political objectives of the Chinese government.

This article presents an overview of the technological components used in the process of audio description, and suggests a new scenario in …

This article presents an overview of the technological components used in the process of audio description, and suggests a new scenario in which speech recognition, machine translation, and text-to-speech, with the corresponding human revision, could be used to increase audio description provision. The article focuses on a process in which both speaker diarization and speech recognition are used in order to obtain a semi-automatic transcription of the audio description track. The technical process is presented and experimental results are summarized.

Although Audiovisual Translation has received considerable attention in recent years, evidence suggests that there is a paucity of empirica…

Although Audiovisual Translation has received considerable attention in recent years, evidence suggests that there is a paucity of empirical research carried out on the topic of ideological constraints in audiovisual translation from English into Arabic. This is despite the fact that subtitling and dubbing Western animation into Arabic has been on the increase ever since television sets entered Arab homes; which is why several authority figures are calling for tighter control and moral screening of what is aired on television sets, in particular that which is aimed at children. This study aims to add some understanding of the problems facing practitioners in the dubbing industry, such as the reasons for their alleged reality distortion and how these problems are dealt with by the dubbing agencies. This is achieved by exploring the extent ideological norms, as well as other agents, shape the outcome of dubbed English animations/films when rendered into Arabic by manipulation, subversion and/or appropriation. Fifty-two dubbed episodes of The Simpsons were selected for this study. The Simpsons was chosen due to its universal appeal and influence. It addresses many sensitive issues, such as sex, drugs, religion, politics, racial and gender stereotypes, with a bluntness and boldness rarely seen before, and goes beyond passive entertainment and school education. Therefore, it is looked at with suspicion and vigilance in the Arab World. The contrastive analysis of the English and Arabic versions of The Simpsons yielded interesting results; it established that the translation process is marred by many intrinsic and extrinsic factors either exercised by the translator or imposed upon him. Ideological and socio-cultural factors are the chief culprits in the case of translating The Simpsons into Arabic.

Distribution of Disney films and TV products in the Arab world has recently undergone a radical change: since the signing of a large-scale …

Distribution of Disney films and TV products in the Arab world has recently undergone a radical change: since the signing of a large-scale agreement between Al Jazeera and Disney, in 2013, most films and TV series are being dubbed, or redubbed, in Modern Standard Arabic. Contrary to the long-standing tradition of dubbing Disney productions using the Egyptian vernacular variety of Arabic, the eminently written, formal language used for administration and classical education has been introduced as a vehicle for animation dialogue. And not without consistent semantic manipulation. This article seeks to contextualize this recent shift in dubbing animation in the Arab world, with a view to unveiling its underlying dynamics. The role played by Al Jazeera in reshaping media communication and translation across the Arab world and beyond is also considered, in an attempt to grasp the social, political and ultimately ideological implications of its strategies, as well as its power in significantly orienting traditionally imperialist, Western colossi like Disney. A comparative analysis of the original English TV series Aladdin, its Egyptian dubbed version and MSA redubbing follows, providing evidence for this new trend in audiovisual translation aimed at Arabic speakers the world over.

This chapter illustrates the results of a workshop held at the University of Salento, during an English-Italian Translation Course. A group…

This chapter illustrates the results of a workshop held at the University of Salento, during an English-Italian Translation Course. A group of undergraduate students was asked to produce an intralingual translation for the subtitles of the video Capsized in Lampedusa – Fortress Italia, which deals with the situation in Lampedusa after a boat capsized in October 2013. The original video – available on YouTube – is subtitled into English for Vice News and, in a ‘role play’ exercise (Rosnow 1990), students were commissioned to adopt a type of English that could be directed at a wider international audience also including non-native English speakers. The contrastive analysis of the original and reformulated versions is designed to enquire into the influence and actualisation of the commissioner’s requests in the lexical, structural and functional features of target texts. The extent will also be explored, to which the type of English adopted in the alternative subtitles can be defined as a lingua-franca variation (Seidlhofer 2011), due to the inclusion of specific verb tenses and the selection of simplified syntactic structures (Seidlhofer 2004), aimed at facilitating the audience’s reception and accessibility to the semantic dimensions of the text. Finally, the analysis will also highlight the translators’ attempts to respect the temporal and spatial constraints of subtitles (Neves 2009), as well as the multimodal construction (Kress and van Leeuwen 2006) of audiovisual texts, which result in the use of condensation strategies (Gottlieb 2005; Pedersen 2011), thus proposing the new definition of audiovisual mediation.

Lo scopo di questo articolo è quello di presentare il progetto Clipflair, una piattaforma web per l'apprendimento delle lingue straniere (L…

Lo scopo di questo articolo è quello di presentare il progetto Clipflair, una piattaforma web per l'apprendimento delle lingue straniere (L2) attraverso la risonorizzazione (revoicing) e il sottotitolaggio (captioning) nei filmati. L’uso di materiale audiovisivo nelle aule di lingua è una pratica frequente per gli insegnanti in quanto introduce varietà linguistiche, mostra elementi culturali non verbali e, ciò che è più importante, presenta aspetti linguistici e culturali della comunicazione nel loro contesto. Tuttavia, gli insegnanti che usano gli audiovisivi hanno la difficoltà di trovare attività che permettano un ruolo attivo degli studenti al di là della semplice visione del film. ClipFlair permette di lavorare con materiale audiovisivo in modo produttivo e anche motivante, chiedendo agli studenti di fare il revoicing o il sottotitolaggio di un filmato. Revoicing è un termine usato per riferirsi alla risonorizzazione di un filmato, come sarebbe il doppiaggio, il libero commento, l’audiodescrizione o il karaoke. Il termine captioning fa riferimento all’inserimento di un testo scritto sul filmato come nel caso dei sottotitoli convenzionali oppure i commenti o gli intertitoli. I filmati possono essere brevi file di video o audio, compresi i documentari, scene di film, notizie, animazioni e canzoni. ClipFlair sviluppa materiali che permettono agli studenti di lingue straniere di mettere in pratica le quattro abilità basilari del QCER: scrivere, parlare, ascoltare e leggere. Nell’ambito del progetto, sono state elaborate più di 350 attività di doppiaggio e/o sottotitolaggio. Queste attività sono state create per più di 16 lingue tra cui l’inglese, lo spagnolo e l’italiano, ma soprattutto ci sono attività finalizzate all'apprendimento delle lingue meno insegnate, cioè estone, greco, rumeno e polacco, o delle lingue minoritarie, vale a dire basco, catalano e irlandese. Inoltre, il progetto comprende anche attività rivolte a lingue non europee come l’arabo, il cinese, il giapponese, il russo e l’ucraino. La piattaforma ha tre aree diverse: la Biblioteca offre i materiali e le attività; l'area Studio offre gli strumenti per sottotitolare e doppiare i filmati per imparare la lingua portando a termine le attività o creandone altre nuove; l'area Social Network è uno spazio dove gli utenti possono trovare i materiali - tra cui attività, filmati e tutorial - collaborare attraverso i gruppi, inviare commenti attraverso i forum, cercare informazioni sul progetto, ecc.

Creating fictional dialogues that sound natural and believable is one of the main challenges of both screenwriting and audiovisual transla…

Creating fictional dialogues that sound natural and believable is one of the main challenges of both screenwriting and audiovisual translation. The challenge does not lie so much in trying to imitate spontaneous conversations, but in selecting specific features of this mode of discourse that are widely accepted and recognised as such by the audience. The main purpose of this article is to analyse and describe the linguistic code in an audiovisual corpus, focusing on what is specific to audiovisual texts and, therefore, to audiovisual translation. Although this code is common to all texts that need to be translated, it stands out further in audiovisual texts since they are ³written to be spoken as if not written´ (Gregory and Carroll, 1978: 42). We are therefore dealing with texts whose orality may seem spontaneous and natural, but which is actually planned or, as Chaume (2004a: 168) terms it, µprefabricated¶. Since this is a characteristic that is common to most audiovisual fictional texts regardless of their origins, our aim here is to describe the main features of the linguistic code in native and foreign productions (dubbed from English into Spanish) and to highlight the trends when writing and translating these texts, in order to compare them at a later stage.

Audiovisual programs are meant to be seen and heard simultaneously. Screen translators have to take the verbal, acoustic and visual element…

Audiovisual programs are meant to be seen and heard simultaneously. Screen translators have to take the verbal, acoustic and visual elements of audiovisual works into consideration. However they translate only the verbal content of the message. In the following article we focus on one of the main modalities for audiovisual translation, namely the subtitling. Our aim is to describe the specificity of screen translation and to think about the impact of subtitling process on the final product, that is on translation. We will show how translators take advantage of the presence of the verbal (dialogues) and the visual (screen) codes with the aim of reducing an original text.

The study of subtitling, although widely practiced over the past 20 years, has generally been confined to comparative studies focusing on t…

The study of subtitling, although widely practiced over the past 20 years, has generally been confined to comparative studies focusing on the product of subtitle translation, with little or no consideration of the conditions of creation and reception. Focusing on the process of subtitle production, occasional studies have touched upon the cognitive processes accompanying it, but no study so far has related these processes, and the resulting products, to various degrees of translators’ competence. This is precisely what this essay does, focusing on the different layers of subtitle translation provided for two different films and in two different contexts. By analysing the first and second versions of subtitle translations, we shall reflect on the acquisition, and application, of different subtitling competences.

In an age where the average Egyptian viewer has access to more than 500 Arabiclanguage channels and with crumbling state censorship, the i…

In an age where the average Egyptian viewer has access to more than 500 Arabiclanguage channels and with crumbling state censorship, the issue of education and entertainment in the contemporary digital age becomes very significant, particularly when the percentage of those under 20 accounts for 40% of the total population. The paper looks at the role of Audiovisual Translation (AVT) in raising the standard of education in the digital age. AVT research remains a western European academic pursuit and it has not been translated into different linguistic or cultural settings. AVT research and studies in Arabic remain few and far in between (Gamal: 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012). And while most western research focuses on subtitling, dubbing and audio description, research in other parts of the world need not follow suit. It should use global techniques to tackle local issues and problems and create innovative solutions. Such global/local, or as the now-accepted term ‘glocal’, suggests a new approach for making AVT a vehicle for educational change and cultural development. The paper examines the situation of audiovisual translation in Egypt and reflects on the Arab world which exhibits the same features seen in Egypt. In previous studies by the author, he points to the need to develop Screen Translation which focuses only on subtitling and dubbing to widen its scope to include other relevant areas such as the DVD Industry, audio-description on television, same language subtitling and the enhancement of the on-line content in Arabic.

This paper traces the rise of the audiovisual translation (AVT) industry in Egypt and provides an insight into the main issues that charac…

This paper traces the rise of the audiovisual translation (AVT) industry in Egypt and provides an insight into the main issues that characterize work from and into Arabic. Simply put, AVT is concerned with translation on screen. From film subtitling to television broadcasts, mobile phone applications to ATM screens, the number of AVT translation projects is on the rise as technology continues to expand the scope of applications. AVT projects tend to differ from text-based translation in that they are usually the written interpretation of a spoken message; AVT projects are shorter, transient and more constrained in space and time. The literature on AVT has been up till now devoid of reference to Arabic in general and to Egyptian practice in particular. This study contributes to the emerging scholarly literature on AVT, which has yet to fully come to grips with the much greater diversity of programming, from localized advertisements to reality programming, that translators work with made possible by the satellite broadcasting revolution of the 1990s.

The digital revolution of the 1990s has changed the way people see and seek information and education. Today in the Arab world, many peopl…

The digital revolution of the 1990s has changed the way people see and seek information and education. Today in the Arab world, many people resort to screens to get their information, to do their business and to seek entertainment. This paper examines the changing scene where Arabic is being adapted to the digital applications of the new era of multimedia, online sites of major newspapers, satellite channels and DVDs. It highlights the significance of the audiovisual culture in a society characterised by its young population.

Foreign movies in Egypt provide both a stimulus for the local culture and the impetus for the nascent film industry. Egypt was one of the f…

Foreign movies in Egypt provide both a stimulus for the local culture and the impetus for the nascent film industry. Egypt was one of the few countries the Lumière brothers visited to demonstrate their new invention, the Cinématographe. With the first purpose-built cinema house opening in 2007, foreign films are fast becoming a regular event that the local cultural milieu is becoming accustomed to. However, foreign movies are not only foreign in their language but also extravagant in their context, social mores and themes. When foreign movies are brought into Egypt they require translation as very few movies are shown in their original language. This paper examines how foreign movies are received and processed in Egypt.

Recent developments in Egypt point to the rising importance of social media and to the power of audiovisual culture. For centuries Egypt ha…

Recent developments in Egypt point to the rising importance of social media and to the power of audiovisual culture. For centuries Egypt has been a meeting point of cultures, religions, languages and the arts. In today’s world, digital technology plays a fundamental role in the interface between countries and cultures and this is done via a screen. The paper aims to pave the way for the endorsement of audiovisual translation as a modus operandi starting at translation schools and expanding into numerous applications that link AVT with other industries such as cinema, tourism, Egyptology, trade, diplomacy, business and the broadcasting sector. To date, translation schools and translation authorities alike remain uninterested in audiovisual translation while the applications of digital technology increase on a daily basis. The paper will argue that the endorsement of AVT should not be an individual initiative but a collective effort.

Translation remains one of the most complex issues in modern Arab culture, thought and development. Despite the collective efforts of indi…

Translation remains one of the most complex issues in modern Arab culture, thought and development. Despite the collective efforts of individuals, organisations and government policies the results continue to be modest and stop short of the desired target. In addition to the wellknown issues that contribute to the translation crisis in the Arab world, digital technology has changed the rules of the game almost entirely. Translation, in the traditional sense is no longer accessed through paper and books but via screens and online. This is the world of audiovisual translation. This paper continues a study that began in 2007 that examines the status quo of audiovisual translation in the Arab world. Specifically, this work analyzes the challenges of localizing audiovisual translation, and unpacks some of the limitations in both policy and pedagogy that the field is currently facing.

Egyptian films began to appear on DVDs in 2002 subtitled into English and French. The new technology brought opportunities for marketing on…

Egyptian films began to appear on DVDs in 2002 subtitled into English and French. The new technology brought opportunities for marketing one of the major industries in the country: cinema. However, close examination of the subtitling of films on DVD reveal that the practice is not without some serious problems. The practice of treating Egyptian films as linear texts and without proper training in film semiotics; the subtitling fails to enhance what otherwise would be a marketable product. Subtitlers, eager to complete their “translation” on time fail to see and account for non-verbal communication in film and thus contribute inadvertently to damaging the very product they were contracted to promote. The paper looks at the current practice of Arabic DVD subtitling into English. It will focus on the English subtitling of one of Omar Sharif’s most enduring films A Man in our House.

1 Practical Approaches to English/Arabic Audiovisual Translation 1 Prof. Alaa Eddin Hussain 1 and Dr. Ahmad Khuddro 2 1 Sem…

1 Practical Approaches to English/Arabic Audiovisual Translation 1 Prof. Alaa Eddin Hussain 1 and Dr. Ahmad Khuddro 2 1 Semantics and translation studies, St. Andrews University, formerly professor of linguistics and translation in MMU, Huddersfield University, and a number of several Middle East universities, currently postgraduate studies at KAUST University. 2 Translation & interpreting studies, formerly visiting professor at Bologna university, Italy and currently postgraduate translation studies at Effat University. Abstract: This article aims to establish the factors that the translator needs to be aware of in audiovisual translation (AVT) and to show when, how and in what context to mediate in this domain. The article is divided into two parts: The first part discusses what AVT is and shows the fundamental difference between two of its main components: voice-overs and subtitles along with similar aspects particularly in voice-over target text to those in simultaneous interpreting. This difference is either overlooked or misunderstood by theorists in the audiovisual field. The second part of the article shows what the translator might do when presented with audiovisual source text (ST) material that has some factual or logical errors which would inevitably reflect badly on the producer/translator of the target text (TT), and who might be blamed for such obvious errors by the target audience, even though it is not a fault of his/hers but rather a flaw of the ST. Finally, it must be noted here that this article is written from the point of view of an academic as well as a practitioner in the field for almost two decades

Everybody knows what subtitling for cinema and TV is, but opera surtitling is widely unknown. The latter derives from the former, but there…

Everybody knows what subtitling for cinema and TV is, but opera surtitling is widely unknown. The latter derives from the former, but there are some important diversities between the two concerning the physical environment, the techniques, the relationship between the show and its public and some other minor differences.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the so-called fansubs, a different type of subtitling carried out by amateur translators. The firs…

The purpose of this paper is to describe the so-called fansubs, a different type of subtitling carried out by amateur translators. The first part of this study covers both the people and phases involved in the fansubbing process from beginning to end. The second section focuses on the legality and ethics of fansubs. The third part pays attention to the actual translation of fansubs and their unique features, such as the use of translator’s notes or special karaoke effects. The paper concludes with a reflection on the work done by fansubbers and the possibilities opened by this mainly Internet phenomenon.

Although there are a large number of books and articles on subtitling concentrating on different aspects of the endeavour, less attention s…

Although there are a large number of books and articles on subtitling concentrating on different aspects of the endeavour, less attention seems to be devoted to the subtitling constraints and the possible strategies to be used in film and television series genres. For example, the subtitling of historical drama TV series, which have become very popular and reach a wide audience across the world, is a rarely studied endeavour. The following article is an effort to present a framework for the subtitlers of historical drama in consideration of the constraints of subtitling, as well as the features of the genre itself. Following an introduction about historical distance in translation, the linguistic, cultural and discoursal elements used in the production of the genre, the constraints of subtitling are exemplified with a comparative analysis of a historical drama and its subtitles into English. Particular attention is devoted to the translation strategies used in rendering registers and temporal and geographical varieties of language and, the strategies used to convey military, imperial, religious culture and social stratification. In conclusion, the study hopes to suggest points of practical use for subtitlers, concerning the subtitling of, what is explained in the study as, pseudo historical distance in historical drama and formulating a subtitling metatext.

Le Linee Guida per l’audiodescrizione filmica di Blindsight Project, nascono per accelerare il percorso di abbattimento delle barriere e d…

Le Linee Guida per l’audiodescrizione filmica di Blindsight Project, nascono per accelerare il percorso di abbattimento delle barriere e di adeguamento all’accessibilità, già presente da qualche tempo nel resto d’Europa e per cui l’Italia ha ratificato da anni la Convenzione ONU sui Diritti delle Persone Disabili.

Audiovisual Translation (AVT) has a scientific responsibility to develop analytical methodologies for the textual phenomenon of multimodali…

Audiovisual Translation (AVT) has a scientific responsibility to develop analytical methodologies for the textual phenomenon of multimodality, and for the translation strategies associated with it. At the same time, it should aim to provide studies of universal accessibility with a powerful tool for facilitating access to knowledge. This article offers some reflections on the theoretical foundations of AVT and considers how these are projected in the creation of new professional profiles, with specific application to universal accessibility in the museums.

Many Deaf and Hearing Impaired people use subtitles to gain access to audio content on television and film presentations. Although subtit…

Many Deaf and Hearing Impaired people use subtitles to gain access to audio content on television and film presentations. Although subtitles tell the viewer what is being said they fail to communicate how it is being said. This “emotional gap” experienced by viewer’s highlights a significant drawback to current subtitling especially when used for learning by the Deaf. In this paper we introduce a system that demonstrates the presentation of subtitles that depict the emotions behind the words used on screen. The system also provides viewers with the ability to personalize and adapt their interaction with subtitles, so as to assist them in their learning. Using this system we hope to conduct a series of surveys looking at how people receive and use subtitles. In conducting this research we aim to gain a comprehensive understanding of the issues associated with emotional subtitling and to provide guidance for future producers of subtitled materials.

This research set out to evaluate deaf people’s experiences of subtitling, looking specifically at how comprehension and enjoyment of dif…

This research set out to evaluate deaf people’s experiences of subtitling, looking specifically at how comprehension and enjoyment of different types of programmes are affected by the speed of the words on screen. The sample of respondents consisted of a range of moderately, severely and profoundly deaf subtitle users and included people from across a wide range of literacy levels.

Respeaking is increasingly used to offer live intralingual subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing (Romero-Fresco 2011), hence guarantee…

Respeaking is increasingly used to offer live intralingual subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing (Romero-Fresco 2011), hence guaranteeing media accessibility to a wider section of the population. However, our hypothesis is that respeaking could be efficiently used for other tasks, such as transcribing non-fictional products that do not have an already created script. This could benefit transcribers in their jobs but would also allow to (semi-)automatically generate an input for machine translation processes, to name just one example. This paper aims to present the results of an experiment in which three scenarios were compared: a) manual transcription; b) revision of an automatically generated transcription; c) respeaking. Three comparable 4-minute clips were selected, and 10 professional English transcribers were asked to do three different tasks: manually transcribe an excerpt, revise an automatically generated transcription (ASR), and respeak another excerpt. The order of the tasks and excerpt was randomized. The time spent in each of the tasks was monitorized, and data on the perceived effort and the transcriber experience were collected. This paper describes the experimental set-up as well as the results of this test.

After several decades of promoting a homogenous language in the People’s Republic of China (China), the inclusion of local languages other…

After several decades of promoting a homogenous language in the People’s Republic of China (China), the inclusion of local languages other than Putonghua (standard modern Chinese) in films in recent years has led to a heated debate on language policy in the country. It is against this background that the paper seeks to discuss the current situation in China as well as explore factors behind the current development of multilingual films in the country, indicating that there is a grassroots appeal for the protection of language and cultural diversity. By conducting a case study on The Flowers of War (Yimou Zhang, 2011), a China-made polyglot film, this paper investigates the role of subtitling in multilingual films and its potential for promoting a multilingual multicultural society.

This paper presents results of subtitle reading speeds in five languages (Spanish, English, German, French and Italian), for subtitles bot…

This paper presents results of subtitle reading speeds in five languages (Spanish, English, German, French and Italian), for subtitles both ripped from a commercial DVD and downloaded from an Internet site of the film Lethal Weapon (Richard Donner, 1987). The reading speed calculations are shown in the parameters most widely used in the field: CPS (characters per second) and WPM (words per minute). The research questions posed in this descriptive and quantitative study have been two-fold. In the first place it is intended to find out which of the two above mentioned parameters is best suited to express reading speeds which are language-independent. Secondly, the possible difference, as far as reading speed parameters is concerned, between more commercial DVD-ripped and more «fan-oriented» and downloaded from Internet subtitles is investigated as well. The reading speed calculations were carried out by a new application developed by the author and some other researchers. A total amount of about 5000 subtitles were statistically evaluated.

Standard subtitling practices have long been influenced, if not governed, by norms and conventions such as the Code of Good Subtitling Pra…

Standard subtitling practices have long been influenced, if not governed, by norms and conventions such as the Code of Good Subtitling Practice (Ivarsson & Carroll 1998). Yet recent research into film subtitling has begun to take a creative turn: a trend that is matched by increasing numbers of fansubs and professionally produced creative subtitles. This paper seeks to demonstrate the need for a multidisciplinary approach to creative subtitling and, by drawing upon principles from film studies, suggests some key features for the development of a creative subtitling practice.

Subtitling is one of the major types of screen translation, and can be defined as “incorporating on the screen a written text which is a c…

Subtitling is one of the major types of screen translation, and can be defined as “incorporating on the screen a written text which is a condensed version in the target text of what can be heard on screen ” (Chiaro, 148). Subtitling was originally invented as a screen translation method for those with a hearing disability. It is still used for this purpose; however, today, it has also become a means for translating screen products with the purpose of reaching a wider range of audience. The aim of this paper is to give an overall outline of subtitling as a translation activity with special emphasis on its limitations and advantages.

The present thesis aims at analysing interlingual subtitling within the framework of AudiovisualTransiation a relatively new field of study…

The present thesis aims at analysing interlingual subtitling within the framework of AudiovisualTransiation a relatively new field of study on the boundary of severaldisciplines. The advantages and repercussions of subtitling are studied from a cognitive semiotic approach focusing on the viewers of the film. Interlingual subtitling is often regarded as a necessary bad thing by the public. To see whether this opinion has any foundation in the characteristics of subtitles linguistic semiotic, cognitive and psycological issues are considered that can influence the processing of subtitled films. The empirical research conducted with the participation of 8 high-school students indicated that the presence of subtitles does have an effect on the way different semiotic resources of the film are processed. It disrupts image reading and enhances the recall of verbal elements in the film. However the loss of visual information is insignificant. Results have also shown that the processing of the information is not worse when more codes are perceived simultaneously. This implies that the negative opinion about interlingual subtitling is based on the greater cognitive effort required by the viewers as well as on psychological and attitudinal variables

We conducted an eye tracking study with professional subtitlers and subtitling trainees producing interlingual (English to Polish) and intr…

We conducted an eye tracking study with professional subtitlers and subtitling trainees producing interlingual (English to Polish) and intralingual (SDH) subtitles. No TPR study to date has been concerned with the process of subtitling. Data was collected using eye tracking, keystroke logging, screen recording and semi-structured interviews. The participants received the video, the transcription of the English dialogues, subtitling guidelines concerning the length and duration of subtitles and were allowed to use the Internet. The data make it possible to explore the different stages of the subtitling process and the time spent on each task, and to compare the techniques used by subtitling trainees and professionals when they face translation problems.

Today audiovisual translation (AVT) occupies an important place in our lives. In a country like Italy, where all foreign films are dubbed, …

Today audiovisual translation (AVT) occupies an important place in our lives. In a country like Italy, where all foreign films are dubbed, an analysis of how AVT does justice to original films has become compelling. Audiovisual translations can in fact be very challenging, as AVT professionals act not only as language translators, but also as cultural mediators. In this paper, the pitfalls of AVT will be brought to the fore, together with successful instances. Translation patterns will hence be highlighted, together with some possible reasons for adaptations, modifications and unfaithful renderings. Conclusions will be drawn, on the basis of the gathered evidence. In particular, what will emerge is that most of the times the greatest impediments to a faithful rendering may lie in cramped budgets, time constraints, cultural adaptations, adherence to fixed translation norms and technicalities. A final call for change in AVT will be urged, mainly focussing on the importance of raising the audience's awareness and on not reducing AVT to a mere “business as usual” matter.

I will try to illustrate how fansubbing is integrated in the Italian media context and to look at it from a causal point of view, so to spe…

I will try to illustrate how fansubbing is integrated in the Italian media context and to look at it from a causal point of view, so to speak. What brings some people to become fansubbers, what brings others to look for fansubbed material, and how the mediascape is affected by this phenomenon. I conducted a study on the membersof an Italian fansubbing community to see what their opinion on these matters was and I put it in relation to the evolving context of a traditionally dubbing country such as Italy, a country where up to 5 years ago all imported audiovisual material used to be dubbed and where subtitles have just recently and quite suddenly become much more prominent.

La traduzione audiovisiva è un settore ancora relativamente giovane ed inesplorato dei Translation Studies. Pur essendo lo strumento di fru…

La traduzione audiovisiva è un settore ancora relativamente giovane ed inesplorato dei Translation Studies. Pur essendo lo strumento di fruizione principale di prodotti audiovisivi sul grande e piccolo schermo, l'adattamento viene guardato con sospetto da critici e studiosi, che non concordano nemmeno sulla definizione scientifica. Dopo aver presentato le diverse tipologie di traduzione audiovisiva, l'articolo si concentra sulle tappe del processo di adattamento: le sfide linguistiche, gli accorgimenti tecnici spesso non considerati nell'analisi dell'attività, le constraints, le figure coinvolte, e non ultime le regolamentazioni uniformizzanti del settore. La scelta del case study cade su South Park come ottimo esempio di sfida traduttiva che si snoda su molteplici livelli, per analizzare quali sono i problemi concreti che si presentano ad ogni battuta e ad ogni frame, e verificare le vittorie e le sconfitte del mestiere

The article offers a practical approach to the skills a present-day translator needs in order to create high-quality translations. Although…

The article offers a practical approach to the skills a present-day translator needs in order to create high-quality translations. Although a lot of theories can be found regarding the skills of a translator, it is worth checking the reality, which is the primary aim of this article. After a short introduction about the standard skills, we look into the subtitling of an episode from a TV series. Our presupposition is that a subtitler has to combine all sorts of information from different fields effectively in order to maintain quality, including general and specific knowledge of the subject matter. Furthermore, the particular environment of subtitling may contain certain pitfalls, such as the technical know-how. layout, and constraints deriving from the nature of subtitling. We can draw the conclusion that a well-prepared translator can successfully handle the technical challenges of multimedia translation of whatsoever type.

There is no international standard for the writing of captions. Nevertheless, most companies in many countries use the guidelines laid down…

There is no international standard for the writing of captions. Nevertheless, most companies in many countries use the guidelines laid down by the BBC which has devoted considerable space and time to the issue and has developed a guide, Subtitles Editorial Guideline , to standardize the format of the subtitles for its multimedia content. As the authors point out in the guide, it is impossible to apply all the requirements simultaneously: good subtitling entails selection and finding the right balance; it is a question of deciding which elements in the soundtrack merit reporting.

Watching subtitled television programmes was undoubtedly one of my first contacts with foreign languages and cultures which, at a later sta…

Watching subtitled television programmes was undoubtedly one of my first contacts with foreign languages and cultures which, at a later stage, aroused my interest in translation matters. This interest formed part of my motivation to take up research in audiovisual translation. The aim of the present paper is twofold: to attempt to establish a theoretical framework, which will hopefully provide some conceptual tools for more fruitful research in audiovisual translation; and to make some tentative statements about what guides translators’ decisions in the process of subtitling, as illustrated in the case of Greek subtitlers

Audio description (AD) is the act of providing blind and low vision people with a sound translation of visual and audiovisual communication…

Audio description (AD) is the act of providing blind and low vision people with a sound translation of visual and audiovisual communication programs, such as TV shows, artworks, or operas. This activity was formalized in the 1980s in the United States, using the model: "describe what you see. ” In this model, the audio describer, wielding the controversial banner of “objectivity,” offers a supposedly impartial - and to some extent protocolized - reading of what he/she observes. The American school prospered and spread around the world, becoming the standard for AD, even in Brazil. However, by recovering the best Tupinikin tradition of “transcreation” or “re creation,” defended by the concrete poets, we raise, at least for the visual arts, another methodological/experimental proposal: using sound poetry diagrams to perform AD, a process known as intersemiotic translation. It is widely believed that the sensitive layer, which is significant in the arts, is often lost in the technicality of standardized AD, and that diagrammatic constructions, can perhaps recover this dimension through sound signs that are intelligible but, above all, sensual. There is, as we explain, a certain aesthetic, ethical, and semiotic articulation that reinforces the proposal presented here

A audiodescrição (AD) é a tradução em palavras dos elementos visuais de uma produção audiovisual, tais como filmes, peças de teatro, jogos …

A audiodescrição (AD) é a tradução em palavras dos elementos visuais de uma produção audiovisual, tais como filmes, peças de teatro, jogos esportivos, obras de arte, dentre outros. A AD torna acessíveis essas produções audiovisuais a pessoas com deficiência visual. A pesquisa em AD de filmes vem se destacando dos demais tipos de AD, envolvendo tanto estudos descritivos quanto exploratórios. Este trabalho tem o objetivo de apresentar os resultados de um desses estudos desenvolvidos pelo grupo de estudo LEAD (Legendagem e Audiodescrição) na Universidade Estadual do Ceará (UECE), no âmbito do projeto de cooperação entre a UECE e a UFMG (PROCAD). O estudo em questão abordou a recepção de pessoas com deficiência visual ao filme O Grão, do cineasta cearense Petrus Cariry (2007).

Like the various forms of audiovisual translation (AVT), ‘audio films’ are a hybrid, consisting of both the original film and an audio desc…

Like the various forms of audiovisual translation (AVT), ‘audio films’ are a hybrid, consisting of both the original film and an audio description (AD) inserted into it as a voice-over that provides the listener with a substitute for the visual content. According to the German guidelines, AD should be objective in order not to compromise the original work. This raises two questions: firstly, is it appropriate for the AD to be descriptive if one assumes that a feature film has a narrative structure, which is primarily represented on the level of images? And secondly, if the aesthetics of the film are essentially a function of its visual content, how can objectivity be reconciled with the stylistic and aesthetic objectives of the movie? This analysis is a contribution to the question of how sound and visual information of a feature film interact to tell a story and, as a consequence, what audio description should ‘look’ like in order to respect both the function of the original and the needs of the target audience.

Il progetto ADLAB parte dalla premessa che la situazione riguardo l’accesso ai prodotti audiovisivi da parte della popolazione cieca e ipo…

Il progetto ADLAB parte dalla premessa che la situazione riguardo l’accesso ai prodotti audiovisivi da parte della popolazione cieca e ipovedente in Europa è decisamente migliorabile. L’obiettivo del progetto è di andare incontro alle esigenze delle comunità dei ciechi e degli ipovedenti del vecchio continente attraverso un’offerta sempre più ampia di audiodescrizioni di qualità che possano essere sfruttate in ambiti diversi. Oltre al suo uso per l’intrattenimento (film, programADLAB: Aspetti di un progetto sull’audiodescrizione christopher taylor Università di Trieste 48 mi televisivi, ecc.) delle persone non vedenti, l’audiodescrizione (AD) è molto utile anche, per esempio, nel campo dell’istruzione. Determinati gruppi come gli immigrati e le persone con difficoltà di apprendimento possono infatti trarre benefici dall’AD. Infine, anche attività pratiche quali visite a musei e eventi dal vivo possono essere resi possibili grazie all’audiodescrizione.

I film dei fratelli Marx sono un vero e proprio compendio delle difficoltà traduttive che caratterizzano questo mezzo: umorismo, giochi di …

I film dei fratelli Marx sono un vero e proprio compendio delle difficoltà traduttive che caratterizzano questo mezzo: umorismo, giochi di parole, idioletti, dialetti, linguaggio metaforico, riferimenti alla cultura della lingua di partenza, canzoni, filastrocche e così via. Nel presente lavoro si è scelto di studiare come questi ed altri aspetti problematici del testo di partenza sono stati risolti in tre diverse traduzioni dello stesso film, Horse Feathers, conosciuto in Italia anche come I fratelli Marx al college.

Il lavoro si è articolato in diverse fasi. Quella iniziale è consistita nello studio e nel confronto del copione e del film stesso: avere i…

Il lavoro si è articolato in diverse fasi. Quella iniziale è consistita nello studio e nel confronto del copione e del film stesso: avere il copione a disposizione è stato certamente un grande aiuto, in quanto ha permesso di verificare, per esempio, i nomi dei personaggi, l'ortografia corretta di alcune parole, ecc. Prima di utilizzarlo, però, lo si è confrontato con il film, per vedere se ci fossero stati dei cambiamenti. Si è così notato che alcune scene sono state anticipate, altre posticipate o eliminate e lo stesso si è verificato anche nel caso di alcuni dialoghi e battute.

l volume è interamente dedicato all’audiodescrizione filmica per i ciechi e gli ipovedenti: un ramo speciale della traduzione audiovisiva c…

l volume è interamente dedicato all’audiodescrizione filmica per i ciechi e gli ipovedenti: un ramo speciale della traduzione audiovisiva che, ricorrendo al delicato processo di traduzione intersemiotica, trasforma le informazioni visive del film in parole a beneficio del pubblico cieco o ipovedente. L’audiodescrizione completa la traccia sonora e i dialoghi del film e consente anche a chi non vede di goderne appieno. I diversi aspetti dell’audiodescrizione sono qui trattati da studiosi, da audiodescrittori, da speaker professionisti e da ex-studenti della Scuola Superiore di Lingue Moderne per Interpreti e Traduttori (SSLMIT). Aprono il volume e lo inquadrano un contributo sintetico sulla storia accademica dell’audiodescrizione e sulle sue aree di ricerca più attuali e un saggio interamente dedicato al progetto europeo ADLAB (Audio Description: Lifelong Access for the Blind) all’interno del quale si colloca la ricerca sull’audiodescrizione condotta dall’Università di Trieste.

The present article is part of a wider translation project from Spanish carried out by Juan Abad, Judith Harling, Yuka Miyakita, Mark Seag…

The present article is part of a wider translation project from Spanish carried out by Juan Abad, Judith Harling, Yuka Miyakita, Mark Seager and Christina Wiggins, students at the University of Surrey Roehampton. Audiovisual translation seems to have been absent from academic exchanges on translation until very recently. Focusing solely on subtitling, this article starts by taking a look at the reasons behind this state of affairs. It then presents the reader with a detailed account of the research that has taken place in this field, both outside and in Spain. After an overview of the topics, figures, publications and conferences that have had an impact on subtitling, the paper points to the direction of possible avenues of research. Although the future seems very promising for this field of research, the article finishes with a section highlighting some of the challenges that lie ahead of us.

La traduzione audiovisiva costituisce un vasto dominio di ricerca che si presta a essere analizzato da molteplici angolature. Lo sviluppo e…

La traduzione audiovisiva costituisce un vasto dominio di ricerca che si presta a essere analizzato da molteplici angolature. Lo sviluppo e la diffusione del cinema va di pari passo con la crescita delle metodologie di questo tipo di traduzione adottate dalle produzioni filmiche in maniera diversa per ogni paese per ragioni storico-culturali.La dimensione linguistica dei processi di traduzione audiovisiva, e precisamente della metodologia del sottotitolaggio, rappresenta il dominio della presente indagine

Pensar en la audiodescripción como una adaptación de los productos audiovisuales pasa por considerarla una actividad traductora de índole i…

Pensar en la audiodescripción como una adaptación de los productos audiovisuales pasa por considerarla una actividad traductora de índole intersemiótico: se trata de traducir imágenes en palabras. En este sentido, a la hora de redactar el guión audiodescriptivo de una película, el audiodescriptor debe conocer tanto el sistema meta (sistema verbal) como el sistema origen (sistema audiovisual), y más concretamente uno de sus principales lenguajes específicos: el lenguaje cinematográfico. En este trabajo queremos iniciar un recorrido por los caminos inversos que emprenden el guionista de cine y el audiodescriptor. El primero escribe un texto destinado a convertirse en imágenes. El segundo, parte de las imágenes para componer un nuevo texto escrito, es decir, para emprender el regreso al sistema verbal. Se trata, en cierto sentido de un “viaje de ida y vuelta” a las palabras.

Audio description is a discipline within Translation Studies aimed at making audio visual products and events accessible to blind and visua…

Audio description is a discipline within Translation Studies aimed at making audio visual products and events accessible to blind and visually impaired audiences. Works of art, TV programs, films and stage arts are audio described in order to guarantee that anyone, regardless of his/her visual capacity, can enjoy them. In the case of films, it consists of a verbal description of visual details such as settings and characters (what they look like, what they do and how they do it) provided to the audience in those parts of the movie where no relevant sounds or dialogues are heard.

For some time now, subtitling companies have been providing broadcasters with regular data on the accuracy of their live subtitles. In some…

For some time now, subtitling companies have been providing broadcasters with regular data on the accuracy of their live subtitles. In some cases this is actually a contractual obligation, as companies are required to obtain a given accuracy rate in their subtitles. However, given that accuracy calculations vary greatly between countries and even companies, the question arises of whether we are effectively comparing incomparable data. The aim of this paper is, first of all, to review different accuracy models used around the world. Then, using the model put forward in Romero-Fresco (2011) as a starting point, a new model is presented to assess the accuracy of live subtitles in different countries and in different languages by analyzing the extent to which errors affect the coherence of the subtitled text or modify its content. Real-life examples in English, Spanish, Italian and German obtained from a corpus of 35,000 words are included. The focus is placed on respoken subtitles, which are nowadays the most common type of live subtitles. However, the model is also applicable to automatic subtitles, since, given the rapid progress of speech recognition technology, they are likely to be introduced in the near future. The model is currently being used by regulators, broadcasters, companies and training institutions in Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Australia, among other countries.

Le but du sous-titrage est de répondre aux besoins des sourds et malentendants. Toutefois, bien que ces gens en soient les principaux conso…

Le but du sous-titrage est de répondre aux besoins des sourds et malentendants. Toutefois, bien que ces gens en soient les principaux consommateurs, le sous-titrage constitue également un outil très utile pour le grand public, en raison de ses nombreuses applications, notamment comme moyen d’alphabétisation des téléspectateurs de tout âge et de toute culture. Les télédiffuseurs canadiens ont à cœur d’accroître l’accessibilité de leur programmation pour tous et ont, pour ce faire, contribué à perfectionner la technologie du sous-titrage. Chaque année, l’industrie de la télévision investit d’importantes ressources financières et humaines à la fois dans la recherche qui fait progresser la technologie et dans le sous-titrage même de ses émissions. Le sous-titrage codé est ainsi devenu partie intégrante des activités des stations de télévision canadiennes de langue anglaise et de langue française.

Da tempo relativamente breve si è iniziato a prendere in esame la traduzione audiovisiva, ovvero la traduzione di quei testi che veicolano …

Da tempo relativamente breve si è iniziato a prendere in esame la traduzione audiovisiva, ovvero la traduzione di quei testi che veicolano un significato attraverso la compresenza di espressioni verbali, visive e sonore. Questi testi preservano delle particolarità, che devono essere trattate specificatamente, prestando attenzione non solo alla dimensione linguistica, ma anche a quella visiva e sonora. È quindi utile essere a conoscenza dei rudimenti dell' analisi filmica per capire al meglio come tradurre un documento audiovisivo. Prendiamo ad esempio i sottotitoli: essi si aggiungono a tutte le componenti preesistenti del film, ovvero immagini, suoni e dialoghi, presentandosi chiaramente come una traduzione scritta di ciò che viene pronunciato in un'altra lingua. La nostra capacità di lettura, tuttavia, non va di pari passo con la capacità ricettiva che abbiamo dei suoni. Ciò significa che molte volte non è possibile riprodurre integralmente quanto viene espresso oralmente dai personaggi. Saper sfruttare le informazioni che le immagini e i suoni ci comunicano diventa dunque un vantaggioso aiuto per il traduttore. Grazie a queste due componenti è possibile evitare la ripetizione di elementi ridondanti nella traduzione, rendendo la presenza dei sottotitoli meno intrusiva e la visione dell'opera più piacevole.

Tale lavoro, infatti, ha un duplice obiettivo: da una parte, fornendo una descrizione delle molteplici restrizioni riguardanti la traduzion…

Tale lavoro, infatti, ha un duplice obiettivo: da una parte, fornendo una descrizione delle molteplici restrizioni riguardanti la traduzione per quanto concerne la sottotitolazione, si è voluto dimostrare che le scelte traduttive effettuate dai sottotitolatori rappresentano delle soluzioni ben ponderate, lungi dall’essere scontate, come possono apparire ad uno spettatore inesperto. Il secondo obiettivo riguarda la valorizzazione del fenomeno del fansubbing: difatti, questo rappresenta un caso certamente interessante, poiché nelle comunità di fansubbing, le traduzioni non sono svolte da professionisti, bensì da appassionati di film e serie tv. Pertanto, si potrebbe pensare che le 2 traduzioni fornite dai fansubber risultino imprecise o poco calzanti. Inoltre, tale fenomeno è molto cono sciuto e apprezzato dall’utenza del web.

Aiming to map the situation in AVT practices in the central European context, the goal of the conference is to provide an opportunity for s…

Aiming to map the situation in AVT practices in the central European context, the goal of the conference is to provide an opportunity for scholars and practitioners in AVT and related areas to present their approaches, research and experience. The ambition of the organisers is to initiate a discussion on the specifics of theory, criticism, translation training and AVT practice in the defined cultural and geographical area ' with respect to its translation tradition,language and cultural context as well as the demands of the translation market.

Audio description is a discipline within Translation Studies aimed at making audio visual products and events accessible to blind and visua…

Audio description is a discipline within Translation Studies aimed at making audio visual products and events accessible to blind and visually impaired audiences. Works of art, TV programs, films and stage arts are audio described in order to guarantee that anyone, regardless of his/her visual capacity, can enjoy them. In the case of films, it consists of a verbal description of visual details such as settings and characters (what they look like, what they do and how they do it) provided to the audience in those parts of the movie where no relevant sounds or dialogues are heard.

Audiodescription (AD) is a growing arts and media access service for visually impaired people. As a practice rooted in intermodal mediation…

Audiodescription (AD) is a growing arts and media access service for visually impaired people. As a practice rooted in intermodal mediation, i.e. 'translating' visual images into verbal descriptions, it is in urgent need of interdisciplinary research-led grounding. Seeking to stimulate further research in this field, this paper aims to discuss the major dimensions of AD, give an overview of completed an ongoing research relating to each of these dimensions and outline questions for further academic study.

As an emerging form of intermodal translation, audio description (AD) raises many new questions for Translation Studies and related discipl…

As an emerging form of intermodal translation, audio description (AD) raises many new questions for Translation Studies and related disciplines. This paper will investigate the question of how the coherence of a multimodal source text such as a film can be re-created in audio description. Coherence in film characteristically emerges from links within and across different modes of expression (e.g., links between visual images, image-sound links and image-dialogue links). Audio describing a film is therefore not simply a matter of substituting visual images with verbal descriptions. It involves ‘trans-lating’ some of these links into other appropriate types of links. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to examine the means available for the re-creation of coherence in an audio described version of a film, and the problems arising. To this end, the paper will take a fresh look at coherence, outlining a model of coherence which embraces verbal and multimodal texts and which highlights the important role of both source text author (viz., audio describer as translator) and target text recipients in creating coherence. This model will then be applied to a case study focussing on the re-creation of various types of intramodal and intermodal relations in AD.

Audio description (AD) has established itself as a media access service for blindand partially sighted people across a range of countries, …

Audio description (AD) has established itself as a media access service for blindand partially sighted people across a range of countries, for different media andtypes of audiovisual performance (e.g. film, TV, theatre, opera). In countries suchas the UK and Spain, legislation has been implemented for the provision of ADon TV, and the European Parliament has requested that AD for digital TV bemonitored in projects such as DTV4ALL (www.psp-dtv4all.org) in order to beable to develop adequate European accessibility policies. One of the drawbacks isthat in their current form, AD services largely leave the visually impairedcommunity excluded from access to foreign-language audiovisual products whenthey are subtitled rather than dubbed. To overcome this problem, audio subtitling(AST) has emerged as a solution. This article will characterise audio subtitling asa modality of audiovisual localisation which is positioned at the interface betweensubtitling, audio description and voice-over. It will argue that audio subtitles needto be delivered in combination with audio description and will analyse, system-atise and exemplify the current practice of audio description with audio subtitlingusing commercially available DVDs.

Le sous-titrage, comme activité de traduction audiovisuelle, est caractérisé par deux aspects complémentaires : d’une part, le sous-titrag…

Le sous-titrage, comme activité de traduction audiovisuelle, est caractérisé par deux aspects complémentaires : d’une part, le sous-titrage permet une libertée d’interprétation et d’adaptation du message peu communes dans d'autres domaines de la traducion et, d’autre part , sous l’aspect formel, la meme activité oblige le sous-titreur de considérer de nombreuses limitations spatiales et temporelles plus strictes et rigides que dans tout autre type de traduction.

Les restrictions formelles étroites des séries et une durée de travail très limitée pour délivrer le« produit » final déterminent les diffi…

Les restrictions formelles étroites des séries et une durée de travail très limitée pour délivrer le« produit » final déterminent les difficultés pour obtenir une qualité satisfaisante de la traduction pourla télévision de ce type de programmes. Cette carence qualitative pourrait très certainement êtreaméliorée par des choix méthodologiques rigoureux.Nous proposons, dans notre chapitre, une approche fonctionnelle, une adaptation de la théorie du skopos, pour la traduction de ce type de texte audiovisuel.

The present thesis is a study of Subtitling for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (SDH) with special focus on the Portuguese context. On the one…

The present thesis is a study of Subtitling for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (SDH) with special focus on the Portuguese context. On the one hand, it accounts for a descriptive analysis of SDH in various European countries with the aim of arriving at the norms that govern present practices and that may be found in the form of guidelines and / or in actual subtitled products. On the other hand, it is the result of an Action Research project that aimed at contributing towards the improvement of SDH practices in Portugal.

Il presente lavoro è strutturato in due parti. Nella prima parte viene spiegato cos'è un audiovisivo e le varie modalità esistenti per trad…

Il presente lavoro è strutturato in due parti. Nella prima parte viene spiegato cos'è un audiovisivo e le varie modalità esistenti per tradurre questo tipo di testi, dopodiché ci si concentra su una di queste, la sottotitolazione, analizzandone carattesistiche e problematiche, con esempi dalla serie televisiva "Plus One". La seconda parte della tesi contiene una proposta di sottotitoli in italiano per la serie televisiva britannica "Plus One".

Are subtitling practices different in Greece and Spain? And if so, how and why?These are the questions that instigated this study in the fi…

Are subtitling practices different in Greece and Spain? And if so, how and why?These are the questions that instigated this study in the first place. In the attempt toanswer them, first a theoretical framework is established and conceptual tools areprovided, including the notion of recoverability, categories of temporal relations between subtitles and utterances, as well as subtitle types, most notably the type termed ―zeroliner‖. This research is based on three general hypotheses: that the most suitable approachfor such a query is a descriptive product-focused methodology based on normtheory; that there are regularities in the subtitling practice; and that subtitling normsare of a different nature in Spain, a dubbing country, and Greece, a subtitling country.

The movie as discourse represents a mimesis of the quotidian life discourse,a mix of audio, video, verbal, and non-verbal elements intended…

The movie as discourse represents a mimesis of the quotidian life discourse,a mix of audio, video, verbal, and non-verbal elements intended to makecredible a made-up story. As mimesis of life, the cinematographic discourseis adapted to the situations of communication presented in a movie; itdiffers according to the characters involved in the narrative and is tailoredto suit the target audiences.Under this perspective, in children’s movies , the cinematographic discoursepresents special features adapted to its target audience, children. Itslinguistic characteristics such as easy-to-understand vocabulary, simplifiedsyntax and direct discourse may induce the erroneous idea that in a children’s movie the dialogues should be easier to translate.

In this paper we address the question whether shot changes trigger the re-reading of subtitles. Although it has been accepted in the profes…

In this paper we address the question whether shot changes trigger the re-reading of subtitles. Although it has been accepted in the professional literature on subtitling that subtitles should not be displayed over shot changes as they induce subtitle re-reading, support for this claim in eye movement studies is difficult to find. In this study we examined eye movement patterns of 71 participants watching news and documentary clips. We analysed subject hit count, number of fixations, first fixation duration, fixation time percent and transition matrix before, during and after shot changes in subtitles displayed over a shot change. Results of our study show that most viewers do not re-read subtitles crossing shot changes.

The basic aim of this dissertation is the one of analyzing in depth the new and constantly changing fansubbing phenomenon within the vast a…

The basic aim of this dissertation is the one of analyzing in depth the new and constantly changing fansubbing phenomenon within the vast and fascinating world of Audiovisual Translation (AVT). Furthermore, the lack of comprehensive and complete works on AVT (mainly in Italian) was the starting point: after a general overview, with a particular focus on the new and innovative professional challenges (subtitling for the deaf and hard-of-hearing people -SDH, audio description for the blind and the partially sighted people -AD, fansubbing, etc.), a brief analysis of TV series was considered mandatory.