Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

Entrevista a Efi Yanopulu, traductora de literatura española y francesa al griego moderno

Despite the general opinion, the practice of selftranslation is, from multiple points of view, as wide as interesting. This article aims to make a presentation of its history and the multiple variants of the phenomenon in general, as well as its importance for literary and translation studies

Book reviews 2011

Compensation is a translation strategy used frequently in audiovisual translation in order to overcome the constraints which characterize audiovisual texts (Chaume, 2008: 82). In dubbing, in addition to considering synchronization constraints, translators should take into account that the text they receive has been written to be interpreted as if it had not been written, that is, as if it was spontaneous. In addition, translators should bear in mind the specificities of the register of dubbing, and that some orality markers which are common in domestic productions, are not appropriate in dubbed productions (Baños Piñero and Chaume, 2009). Due to the impossibility of using specific linguistic features which make audiovisual dialogue sound spontaneous, compensation turns out to be a very useful strategy to achieve credible dialogues in dubbed productions. The aim of this article is to reflect on the appropriateness of this strategy to mirror naturally-occurring conversation in dubbing. This will be illustrated with examples from episodes of the TV series Friends dubbed into Spanish. Through these examples, it will be shown how compensation is implemented through the addition of features which are typical of colloquial conversation in Spanish and which are absent in the original version.

When it comes to the creation of humorous sequences or to character building within an audiovisual fiction text, dialects and accents turn out to be one of the most valuable resources for scriptwriters. Bound as they are to a specific society and culture, these varieties instantly rouse the researcher’s curiosity as to how they could be dealt with by translators. This article sets out to shed some light on the issue by summarising the findings of a descriptive study carried out on the use of language variation in two American sitcoms, Friends and Will & Grace, both in their original and their Spanish dubbed version. In keeping with the goals outlined at the outset of this research, two sets of conclusions have been reached: one on linguistic varieties in the source text, their frequency, function and underlying stereotypes; and another on dubbing strategies through which dialect-marked fragments are translated, with a view to identifying a series of translation tendencies vis-à-vis language variation in audiovisual fiction texts

When studying the process of film dubbing it is usually stressed the fact that in the production of the dubbed version people see at the movies or at home, a chain of agents has been involved, agents that have modified to a greater or lesser extent the dubbed text. There are also many studies that have carried out a thorough description of the role played by these agents, as well as the several phases of the dubbing process. However, few studies mention that such actions have a textual form belonging to the mode of working documents. And there is not a single reference in those studies to the absolute necessity of consultation of such working documents for the study of film dubbing. The concealment of this archive has an immediate consequence: most studies on dubbing are insufficient since they have only been able to analyze the more accessible textual surfaces. Therefore a new genetic analysis model that brings to light the documentary archive generated in each stage is needed

To date, few academic studies about the dubbing industry have been conducted and no quality standards have ever been set. As a consequence, translation for dubbing in Spain lacks a set of professional norms. Although Spanish dubbing studios share some common conventions, there is no uniformity in the use of parameters such as dubbing symbols or the number of lines a take must have. Instead, each dubbing studio applies its own rules according to its habits and needs. The research group trama (Translation and Communication in Audiovisual Media) from the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló, has conducted an empirical and descriptive study, financed by the former Ministry of Education, with the aim of producing a map of the professional norms for dubbing in Spain. This article sets out to describe this study and to analyse the data gathered from a professional perspective. A discussion will follow, highlighting the relevance of this cartography of norms for the profession and for the training of translators-adapters in Spain

Dubbing, together with subtitling, is one of the most widespread types of audiovisual translation. Its origins can be traced back to the late twenties, with the need to transfer the new sound films to other languages and cultures. This article places dubbing in the world of audiovisual translation, reviews the origins of research on dubbing, and offers an overview of the first theoretical and professional approaches to this audiovisual translation mode. The paper then sets out to compare research approaches centred on the problems posed by the source text to descriptive approaches focused on the target text. It concludes by showing research avenues which are still unexplored and call for urgent attention among the academic community. Each section explores basic concepts which have proved to be useful to audiovisual translation theory, such as the notion of translation constraints, dubbese and dubbing norms. The article also presents new genres and new combinations of audiovisual translation modes that are progressively changing the dubbing industry.

Germany is a dubbing country, but translators do not play an important role in the dubbing process. Still, it makes sense to teach dubbing in the translation classroom, for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the constraints of translation and dialogue writing for dubbing pose a challenge to the students which they normally enjoy. Secondly, classes in dubbing can focus on the distribution of tasks typical of the process and on the role translators play and might play in the dubbing process. In addition to teaching competences needed for the translation process itself, a dubbing class can provide a platform for reflecting on the role of the profession in the audiovisual sector

This paper studies the phraseological translation considered as one of the challenging pitfalls for translators. The error that the translator commits in any of the phases of the translational process, from the identification of the phraseological unit and the interpretation of it, to the search of equivalents in the target language and the establishment of correspondences in the target text, can produce a meaning that is different than the one presented in the source text. This study analyzes the translation of proverbs and idioms in the three Arabic versions of Lazarillo de Tormes, focusing on the translation techniques managed by the translators.