Seminar stuff Flashcards
Constraints in audiovisual translation
- Time and Space Constraints:
o Subtitling: Subtitles must fit within the limited space on the screen and synchronize with the audio. This often requires condensation and rephrasing of dialogue to fit within a few lines while maintaining readability.
o Dubbing: The translated dialogue must match the lip movements and timing of the original actors - Synchronization:
o Timing: Ensuring that subtitles appear and disappear at the right moments to match the spoken dialogue and scene changes.
o Lip-sync: In dubbing, the translated script must match the mouth movements of the on-screen actors, which can limit the choice of words and sentence structure. - Audio Description:
o Visual Information: Providing concise and clear descriptions of visual elements for visually impaired audiences, fitting these descriptions into natural pauses in the dialogue. - Technical Limitations:
o Format and Quality: Ensuring subtitles, dubbing, and audio descriptions meet technical standards for different media platforms (e.g., cinema, TV, streaming services).
Constraints in translation in general
- Linguistic Constraints:
o Terminology: Ensuring consistent and accurate use of specialized terminology
o Syntax and Grammar: Adapting the source text’s syntax and grammar to fit the norms and rules of the target language - Cultural Constraints:
o Localization: Adapting cultural references, idiomatic expressions, and context-specific elements to make the text relevant and understandable to the target audience.
o Sensitivity: Being mindful of cultural sensitivities and avoiding potential offense or misinterpretation. - Contextual Constraints:
o Purpose and Function: Ensuring the translation serves the intended purpose and function
o Audience: Tailoring the translation to the needs, expectations, and comprehension levels of the target audience. - Technical Constraints:
o Formatting: Preserving the original format, layout, and structure, especially in documents where these elements are crucial - Legal and Ethical Constraints:
o Confidentiality: Maintaining confidentiality and adhering to data protection laws, particularly in legal and medical translations.
o Accuracy and Liability: Ensuring accuracy and completeness to avoid legal liability, particularly in legally binding documents and medical information.
Translation operations
Domestication- making text closely conform to the culture of the language being translated to, which may involve the loss of information from the source text. Domestication refers to translation strategies that make the text closely align with the target culture. The goal is to make the translated text read as if it were originally written in the target language, thus minimizing any sense of foreignness.
Foreignisation- retaining information from the source text, and involves deliberately breaking the conventions of the target language to preserve its meaning. Foreignization involves maintaining the original cultural context of the source text at the risk of the text seeming exotic or unfamiliar to the target audience. This approach values the preservation of the source culture’s integrity and seeks to expose the target audience to different cultural elements.
Functional approaches to translation
Functionalist approaches generally believe that the function of a text in the target culture determines the method of translation.
Skopos theory
In this theory, the process of translation is determined by
the function of the product. This function is specified by the addressee. This theory is one of the functionalist approaches whose aim is to dethrone the source text (ST). This is done by emphasizing the role of the translator as a
creator of the target text (TT)and giving priority to purpose(skopos)of producing TT. Functionalism is a major shift from a linguistic equivalence to functional appropriateness. Thus , translation is considered primarily as a process of intercultural communication whose end product is a text which has the ability to function appropriately in specific situations and context of use.
1. The main determinant of any translation process is its intended purpose
2. The needs and expectations of the client commissioning the translation and the target audience are paramount
3. The target text must be coherent for the intended audience. This means it should be understandable and meaningful within the cultural context of a target audience
4. While the focus is on the target text’s function, there should still be a relationship of faithfulness to the source text.
5. The translation should maintain a coherent relationship with the source text. This does not mean literal adherence but rather maintaining elements that are essential to the source text’s intended purpose.
Factors shaping translation choices
types of source text
purpose of translation
target readers
position of culture
translator subjective decision
emotional factors
* The grammatical structures, idiomatic expressions, and lexical availability in both the source and target languages can significantly shape translation choices.
* Register and Style: The formality level, tone, and stylistic elements of the original text must be appropriately matched in the translation.
* Sentence structure and meaning must be preserved while making the text natural and coherent in the target language.
* Cultural References and Context
* Audience Expectations
* Local Norms and Conventions
* Purpose of the Text
* Medium and Format: Space constraints in subtitles, for example, can necessitate shorter, more concise translations.
* Genre and Subject Matter: Different genres and subject matters demand specialized knowledge and appropriate terminology.
Accesibility
subtitling for deaf and hard of hearing and audio description
Equivalence
indicates the kind and degree of similarity (or even sameness) between the source text and the target text.
1. Vinay and Darbelnet’s idea of direct and oblique translation, otherwise referred to as literal (translated element by element) and free (with the usage of more methods to transfer the meaning from one language to another) translation (Saridaki, 2021).
2) Nida’s concept of formal (focused on the form of the message) and dynamic (focused on the equivalence of the response of the source message recipient and the translated message recipient) equivalence
Translation quality
- Accuracy:
o The translation should accurately convey the meaning, without omissions, additions, or distortions.
o Consistent use of terminology - Readability:
o The translated text should read smoothly and naturally
o The text should be clear and easily understood by the target audience - Cultural Appropriateness:
o Adapting the text to fit the cultural context, idioms, and conventions of the target audience while retaining the core message.
o Being aware of and respectful towards cultural differences, avoiding potential offense or miscommunication. - Functionality:
o The translation should meet the intended purpose and function
o Tailoring the translation to the needs, expectations, and comprehension levels of the target audience. - Technical Accuracy:
o Maintaining the correct layout, formatting, and technical specifications required by the target text.
o Ensuring consistency in style, tone, and terminology throughout the document.
Methods of ensuring translation quality
o Proofreading: Reviewing the translated text for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and typographical errors.
o Editing: Assessing the translation for accuracy, coherence, and readability, making necessary adjustments.
Methods of domestication
- Cultural Substitution: Replacing culture-specific items from the source text with those familiar to the target audience.
- Naturalization: Adjusting names, titles, and places to be more familiar or easier to understand for the target audience. This can include changing the format of dates, measurements, or monetary values.
- Omission: Excluding elements that are culturally irrelevant or potentially confusing for the target audience. This can involve removing references that do not have a direct equivalent in the target culture.
- Simplification: Making complex or culturally specific ideas more straightforward or general to ensure comprehension by the target audience.
Methods of foreignisation
- Keeping terms, names, and cultural references unchanged or providing minimal explanation
- Literal Translation: Translating the text as closely as possible to the source language, preserving its structure, idioms, and cultural references, even if they are unfamiliar to the target audience.
- Annotations and Footnotes.
Image in translation
Images can play a crucial role in translation, especially in contexts where visuals accompany text, such as in multimedia, advertising, or illustrated books. Translators must consider:
* Cultural Context and Symbolism
* Consistency with Text
* Layout and Design
Sound in translation
Sound is particularly significant in translating audiovisual content, poetry, and advertising. Translators consider:
* Phonetic Qualities The sound of words can influence their translation, especially in poetry or slogans where rhyme, rhythm, and alliteration are important. Translators strive to maintain these auditory effects to preserve the aesthetic quality of the original.
* Voice and Tone: In dubbing or voice-over work, the translator must ensure that the translated dialogue fits the character’s voice and tone.
* Cultural context
Interplay of image and sound
In multimedia translation, the interplay between image and sound adds another layer of complexity:
* Subtitles: Translators must ensure that subtitles are synchronized with the visual and auditory elements on screen. This involves timing the text to appear and disappear at appropriate moments
* Interactive Media: In video games and other interactive media, translators need to account for how players will interact with both visual and auditory cues, ensuring an immersive and coherent experience.
