Transadapting the Cultural Realia of Soviet Russia to an Arab Audience: The Case of the Film Утомленные Солнцем (Burnt by the Sun (original) (raw)

The Americanization of Film Subtitles: A Sociocultural Linguistic Perspective to Subtitling Translation in the Arab World

ALUSTATH JOURNAL FOR HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES, 2018

One inevitable technique used by translators is to draw the author’s modes of thinking towards that of the reader as close as possible without paying much attention to the various aspects of meaning associated. This domestication technique has been criticized by Venuti (1995) for its denial of the visible role of the translator in his/her translated text. As a substitute, a translator might foreignize the reader’s modes of thinking and introduce him to that of the author. In parallel, a film subtitler is doomed to choose one of these preferences either to satisfy the target language audiences linguistically and culturally, or to impose on them the source language foreign structures and modes of thinking. The translator’s preference between these two techniques is not as clear cut as Venuti suggests. Factors such as the language distance between the SL and the TL, the translated text’s subject matter, the language dominancy, and the translator’s level of acquaintance with the v...

Film dubbing and the Impact of English to Persian Translation on Communicative preferences

2018

Dubbing is the most prevalent method used to make foreign-language films available to visual media of countries. The dialogues that actors use in the films are the main factors for understanding the main purpose of the directors in anygenre. Orientation toward the function of the source text can be realized in the target text through the correct and appropriate translation of the speech acts. It causes dubbing for a film from other countries with different cultureto be more comprehensive and enablespeople to perceive the main points of directors' idea. This study examined the influence of English to Persian translation of the films on the communicative preferences in the target language. The corpora of the study are films with different genres with their dubbed versions. Searle's (1979) categorization of illocutionary acts was examined and attempted to investigate the influences of the target language in establishing the communicative preferences. The dialogues of the movies dubbed in IRIB were transformed to written texts. Then by comparing the source and the target corpora based on the study's theoretical framework the mismatchings between the two languages were examined and analyzed. The results showed that although the correspondence percentage between the main dialogues and the dubbed versions was high, there were some key sentences thatwere changedin meaning and had affected the film's intended purpose.

Translation of Multilingual Films in Iran in Persian Dubbing

International Journal of Multilingualism

Filmmakers increasingly resort to using multiple languages in their work to realistically reflect today's globalised world. However, this multiplicity poses specific challenges in the process of translation for dubbing. This study explores the rendition of Western multilingual films into Persian dubbed versions for the Iranian audience. Films as audiovisual texts have multimodal content, so both verbal and non-verbal elements were analysed. We compared the original versions of a selection of ten multilingual films with the Persian dubbed versions based on two models of analyses [i.e. Sanz Ortega, E. (2011). Subtitling and the relevance of Non-verbal information in polyglot films. New Voices in Translation Studies, 7, 19-34; Zabalbeascoa, P., & Voellmer, E. (2014). Accounting for multilingual films in translation studies. Intratextual translation in dubbing. In D. Abend-David (Ed.), Media and translation. An interdisciplinary approach (pp. 25-51). Bloomsbury Academic]. The results reveal that the most frequently used solution for translating multilingual films at the verbal level is neutralisation, which eliminates linguistic variation, and consequently, the multiplicity of languages in multilingual films is not maintained. Incidentally, a vast range of non-verbal signs is altered to conform to the socio-cultural norms of the target culture.

'Translating the Untranslatable': An Analysis on Translating Culture Specific References in Translating a Script for Dubbing Purpose

International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 2015

The field of translation is becoming exceedingly popular with the advancement of technology. In the Sri Lankan context, the field of audio visual translations, specifically dubbing and subtitling was first practiced in early 1980s. However, compared to the practices in the field of audio visual translation in the other parts of the world, the advancement of the field in Sri Lanka was comparatively slow. Nevertheless, dubbed dramas, movies, etc. from various continents of the world are dubbed in Sinhala and Tamil and telecast in Sri Lanka. Translating a script for dubbing purpose is challenging since the translator has to focus on the linguistic factors as well as socio-cultural factors related to both the source language and the target language. The purpose of the study was to analyze strategies in translating culture specific expressions in translating a script for dubbing purpose. As the methodology, culture specific references of a Korean drama which was translated and telecast in Sinhala was analyzed. The analysis was done from the word level and above word level considering the linguistic factors as well as socio-cultural factors of both source language and the target language. Thus, the findings show that apart from strategies of translating the other conventional media, polysemiotic nature in audio visual translations, has led the translator to use several interventional strategies in translating culture specific expressions within the cultural, linguistic, technical and contextual considerations in translating a script for dubbing purpose, challenging the conventional theories of translation equivalence.

Exploring the Strategies of Translating Cultural References in Kurdish Subtitling: A Case Study

Cihan University-Erbil Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2023

The current study investigates the strategies of translating cultural references applied in the Kurdish subtitles of the American movie entitled "Scent of a Woman." This research also determines the parameters that affect the application of translation strategies in the Kurdish subtitles on the movie. In doing so, the English audio scripts (i.e., source text) and their Kurdish subtitles (i.e., target text), were compared and interpreted in accordance with Pedersen's taxonomy of subtitling strategies and parameters (2011). The results revealed that all the translation strategies proposed by Pedersen (2011) were used in the Kurdish subtitles. However, due to the consideration of the "monocultural parameter," the subtitler most frequently used the strategy of retention in the Kurdish subtitles. On the other hand, he used the strategies of omission and official equivalence least frequently. It is also shown that the parameters affecting the application of subtitling strategies were monocultural, transcultural, infracultural, and polyesemiotics. In sum, the cultural differences between SL and TL made the subtitler adopt justifiable strategies depending on availability of specific parameters.

Shifts in Transadapting Western Socio-cultural References for Dubbing into Arabic. A Case Study of The Simpsons and Al-Shamshoon

inTRAlinea, 2020

& Keywords English: Each culture has its specificities that are governed by its socio-cultural norms. Cultures that share the same values and worldviews tend to facilitate the task of translators to transfer specific socio-cultural references to their own audience with minimal intervention. However, translators of distant cultures may find themselves at the mercy of many unsurmountable constraints and need to mitigate transmitting foreign content by resorting to either creative ways or even through blatant manipulation. This paper investigates the transadaptation of Western socio-cultural references of an audiovisual corpus dubbed for Arab audiences. The study looks at how, and to what degree, the Arabic translator managed to render these elements, and what intrinsic or extrinsic factors were behind any shifts in the process. The corpus examined was selected from The Simpsons: Seasons 1, 2 and 3; which was dubbed into Egyptian vernacular in 2005. The series addresses many sensitive issues with candour rarely seen in animated programmes. Because it is animated, it is generally assumed that The Simpsons targets children and teenagers; however, because of its satirical character and some of the themes that it tackles, it is looked at with suspicion and vigilance in the Arab World. Drawing on notions such as culture, ideology, manipulation, while leaning on the Descriptive Translation Studies framework and using Discourse Analysis as a tool to unveil any shifts in translation, the results demonstrate clear manipulation of the source text by the translator which seems to be attributed to his own agenda or the influence of patronage.

Strategies used in dubbing multilingual movies into Persian

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 2019

A new trend in the creation of multimodal products has been to include various ethnicities and languages to be more representative of current societies. The presence of more than one language can be problematic and challenging for translators, and consequently, various scholars have attempted to propose possible strategies for rendering such languages. The present study aimed to investigate the translational strategies used in multilingual movies translated into Persian and analyse possible effects of each strategy on L3 visibility and find the frequent patterns in the translation of such materials in Iran. To this end, three multilingual movies dubbed into Persian were analysed based on a model proposed by Corrius and Zabalbeascoa [2011. "Language Variation in Source Texts and their Translations: The Case of L3 in Film Translation." Target 23 (1): 113-130]. The results indicated a tendency towards standardisation of the additional languages and producing a linguistically homogeneous target text. The implications of this study may provide guidelines regarding how to translate multilingual texts.

The Other in Subtitled Documentary Films and Making History: A Multidisciplinary Perspective to Arabic/English Translation

Occasional Papers Vol.62 (Dec.), 2016

What is the relation between translation and history? A simple question as it may seem, but it gave the motive for this study to explore academically this relationship. The study aimed to investigate the role of subtitling translation of documentary films from Arabic into English and the use of supplementary visual images in making the history of the Other, the Arab Other generally and Egyptian Other particularly. It hypothesized that the West has constructed a deformed image of the Egyptian 'Other' and used translation and visual images as a tool to make the latter's history. To test the authenticity or the inauthenticity of the hypothesis, it set the following objectives: to analyze and compare English TTs to their original Arabic STs to infer the translator's strategy; to analyze visual images and discuss the image of the Other as delineated in both the TTs and STs; to present counter stories to reveal the other side of the story and who makes history; to explore how subtitling translation and visual images are utilized to help in making the Other's history; and to devise a future role for translators in this respect. The sample data was collected from the BBC documentary 'Egypt's Stolen Billions' (2012) and it consists of original Arabic utterances and their subtitling translation from Arabic into English, and some visual images. The study applied a qualitative, theoretical method of research using content analysis and comparison between TTs and STs as tools of analysis. An interdisciplinary approach deriving its key concepts from cultural translation studies and international relations theories was employed. The study found out that whatever the translator' modes of negotiating the Other are, translation can become an operative political decision to make the history of this Other and that subtitling translation and visual images can be used as political tools to achieve certain agendas.

A Cultural Discourse Perspective through the Strategies of Subtitling of American Films from English into Persian A Case Study of Subtitling Friends Series

The research is based on the analysis of the American television series named Friends with the focus on the CSIs (Culture Specific Items) and how these differences have been handled by Persian translators who produced the subtitles. The analysis was based on the assumption that Iranian's culture is different from the US culture so people in these two countries may have problems in understanding CSIs if they are translated literally and if the subtitle translation is not adapted to the target audience. The research looked at the way subtitle translators involved with subtitling the American television series Friends had dealt with CSIs in when translating oral discourse into Persian. The main objective of this study has been to analyze different translation choices which are currently used by the translators in questions, dealing with CSIs where cultural differences between Iran and the US arise. The researcher has provided some questionnaires among university students of this field, some of the students were B.A. students of translation studies and some other were M.A. students of linguistics. The research discovered that in the translation of CSIs, Synonymy and Naturalization are the most frequent strategies which are used and performed well, succeeding to help the Iranian audience to comprehend the cultural connotations associated with the CSIs. Also the research discovered that high efficacy is obtained in translation.

Translating Culture-Bound, Context-Based, Idiomatic Expressions in Motion Pictures in Iran: Success and Challenges

The paper investigates whether bilingual translators (English into Persian subtitles) are successful in filling the cultural gaps in this kind of translation. In bilingual subtitling, getting the gist precedes the art of translation and in doing so, mastery of the original language is of utmost importance. In this respect, the study aimed to examine the rate of success in translation of culture-based, context-based and idiomatic expressions. To this end, eight comedy motion pictures and their Persian subtitles were analysed to show that transferring cultural elements through subtitles, and giving the new audience the same impression as that produced by the original, do not happen in Iran as best as expected.