Table of Contents
What is Audiovisual Translation?
For defining what is Audiovisual Translation (AVT), scholars proposed a large range of different terms. It is origins are found in Cinematographic translation (Mayoral 2001: 20). However, the Urgent need for translating television, computing, games and many videos has motivated the appearance of the term AVT.
Audiovisual translation is a term used to refer to what has been called screen translation, film translation or multimedia translation. The term screen ‘translation’ reflects the locative of the channel(medium) or the carrier where the translation product appears, namely the TV, cinema, or the video screen (Fotios karamitroglou 2000)
Audiovisual translation (AVT) is also the term used to refer to the transference of the AVT content from one language to another considering the verbal and non-verbal components contained in audiovisual works and products. Feature films, theater, TV programs, musicals, video games and Web pages are the most common examples of the vast area of audiovisual products available and that require translation. Audiovisuals are made to be both heard (audio) and seen (visual) simultaneously but they are primarily meant to be seen.
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Furthermore, there are various types of AVT products, which are defently used for different purposes, such as political meetings, contests or opera.
Audiovisual translation is generally a translation of verbal component of a video. The main feature of AVT is the synchronization of verbal and nonverbal components. While dealing with an audiovisual product, translators do not work only with text but also with other aspects of media art.. Thus, they work with dialogues/ comments, sound effects, image and atmosphere of the video (G. Gotlieb) distinguishes the main important channels of information which should be taken into consideration while translating:
- Dialogues, off-screen voices, songs (Verbal audio channel)
- Music, sound effects, off-screen sounds(Nonverbal audio channel)
- Subtitles, signs, notes, inscriptions that appear on the screen( Verbal and visual channel)
- Picture on the screen (Nonverbal visual channel)(Gotlieb,1998).
Types of Audiovisual Translation
Most of the scholars approximately distinguish ten kinds of audiovisual translation. However, they can be united into two major and larger sub-kinds: revoicing and subtitling. Revoicing is the term which is used to refer to audiovisual methods of translation with the aim of complete or partial coverage of the text of the original language by the new text of the target language. Thus, revoicing can be subdivided into the following types: voice-over or half-dubbing, narration, audio description, free commentary and dubbing (Савко, 2011).
In other words voice-over is a faithful and reasonable translation of the original message performed in a simultaneous mode that is mostly used in the context of monologue, for example answers to the question in the interview or several replicas of one person. Voice-over presupposes putting a sound track of the target text over the muffled soundtrack of the original text (Luyken, 1991).
The next type of revoicing is narration which is defined as a technique of AVT which does not focus on the lip movements(SYNCRONIZATION) of the original text and is not aimed at recovering the ST completely but seek for more faithful translation of the source text approximately.
Dubbing and VO and are extremely similar but according to (Luyken) considers extension of the translation to be the distinctive feature. Dubbing is an extended voice-over which is characterized by certain structures or even use of several voices (Mack,2001, p.156).
Free commentary is a common type of voice-over that focuses neither on the synchronization ( lip movements) of the ST, nor on the faithfulness and the accuracy of the TT and not on the simultaneous mode of the performance. It is a free and often performed in different modes of translation which is usually accomplished by different elements and text is covered partially or completely (Karamitroglou, 2000).
Constraints of Audiovisual Translation
The translators of audiovisuals products are constrained by a set of rules. they have have no option but to follow which , distinguishes this type of translation from the others. The most and the major constraint of both dubbing and subtitling is the limitedspaceand time. Basically Subtitling is extremly affected by the reading ability of the viewer. In case of dubbing, the length of the translated speech has to match the original source, which could be sometimes tricky to achieve given the fact that every language has a different vocabulary and sentence structures.
Dubbing as the Most Used Type of Revoicing
The definition of dubbing
In filmmaking, Dubbing is the process of adding new sound or other dialogue to the sounds track of a movie that has already been shot. It consists of the translation of the script of certain audiovisual material and its subsequent interpretation by an actor in the target language, which must be carefully matched to the lip movements (synchronization) of the actors in the ST (Chaume, 2004: 32). Dubbing has permitted a great diffusion and exchange between cultures. As it allows different foreign audiovisual contents to be displayed in places where the same language as the original is not spoken.
Types of dubbing
- Every character is dubbed by one dubbing actor (nevertheless, several characters can be dubbed by the same actor but only professionals in this field can see that fact.
- All male roles are dubbed by the same dubbing actor and all women parts are also dubbed by the same actress.
Synchronized dubbing which is also recognized as lip-sync, is the most widely known type of revoicing of feature movies which are in mass distribution and especially it is performed by professional actors. During selection of dubbing actors ST, temperament of the character and voice age and gender are taken into consideration.
The process of the dubbing
The process of dubbing can last from days to months. It depends on the type of AV production, which is under consideration, difficulties of the SL, increased standards of quality, etc. British scholar Luyken in his research mentions the most important steps of the dubbing process (Luyken, 1991, p.78) (Dubbing and subtitling for European audience)
- Check and mapping the script and dialogue sheet, working out the temporary draft copy with the mapping and marking
- The first translation, which serves the basis for further work
- Selection of the actor’s voices that reflect certain characters
- Text layout and the prosesses of the translation, synchronization with the actors’ mimics
- Process of recording
- Confirming and editing a finished translation of an audiovisual product.
Children Literature
Adults learned to see correlations, to reason and, in general, their senses have become dulled through experience. Most of the children experience and explore the world around them in a more different and unique way than the adults explore. Children do not have the knowledge and skills, which adults have had years to acquire. Yet they experience their surroundings in a completely unbiased way. They have no preconceived ideas or backgrounds. They are open to everything. Accordingly, their abilities deserve special consideration and attention.
Definition of the CHL
There are various definitions of ChL and, because of the complex features of the subject matter, many different definitions are possible to relay on. They range from things that a child find interesting including newspapers, magazines, literature read by children up to the age of 16, even video films, literature targeted and produced for children to literature for any child or adolescent under the age of 16. It could includ textbooks for schools.
McDowell attempts to define children’s books by their characteristics (in Hunt 1991:63)
‘ They tend to favor an active rather than a passive treatment, with dialogue and incident rather than description and introspection. They are generally shorter. child protagonists are the rule. Conventions are much used. They tend to be optimistic rather than depressive. Language is child-oriented. Plots are of a unique order, probability is often discarded and one could go on endlessly talking of magic and fantasy and simplicity and adventure.’
CHL Translation
There are two fundamental factors, which the translator should pay a considerable attention to. The first factor is the circumstance of the translation and the second one is the purpose of translation itself. Translators do not translate words in isolation, that is the context or the whole situation would be taken into consideration.
Regarding the purpose of translation, (Snell-Hornby: 1988) contends that” the problem does not depend on the ST itself, but it actually depends on the significance of the translated text for its reader as members of a certain culture, or of sub-group within the culture, with the constellation of judgment and knowledge, perception they have developed from it.’ Translators inspire the translation from their reading experience, their historical and cultural heritage and specifically in translating for children.
References
- Cross Cultural: Different Words or Different Worlds?
- AUDIOVISUAL TRANSLATION LABELLING FRAMEWORK THE SIX “As” AND THEIR SIMPLER CRITIQUE
- Sign Language Translation on Various Platforms
- #AVT Audio Description for Immersive Spaces
- What is Multimedia Design?
- Cyber Atlantis – A source of science, technology, and everyday inventions
