Audiovisual Translation Theories and Models

12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
Unit 1
lloc: Aules de la UAB 22-23 Imprès per: Luján Rubio, María
Curs: Teoria de la Traducció Audiovisual - Virtual [MO53320] Data: dilluns, 12 setembre 2022, 15:00
Llibre: Unit 1
https://e-aules.uab.cat/2022-23/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=34353 1/32
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
Descripció
Audiovisual
translation: definition, categorization and models
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
Taula de continguts
1. Some initial thoughts on audiovisual translation

1.1. Audiovisual translation: terminological variation
1.2. What about accessibility?
2. I want to translate. Do I need to study theory?

2.1. Translation Studies
2.2. Learning to theorize: abstraction and reflection
2.3. Participating in the forum
2.4. Assessment activities
3. The audiovisual text
4. A brief history of audiovisual translation

4.1. Silent films and intertitles
4.2. The arrival of sound and talking films
4.3. Film translation
4.4. Multilingual or double versions
4.5. Dubbing and subtitling
5. Transfer modes and genres

5.1. Audiovisual transfer modes
5.2. Genres and text types
6. Research on audiovisual translation

6.1. Sources of information: some key conferences on AVT
6.2. Sources of information: some specific bibliography
6.3. Analysis models
6.4. Chaume’s model: from Film Studies to AVTS
6.5. Zabalbeascoa’s priorities and restrictions model
7. Bibliography quoted in unit 1
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
1. Some initial thoughts on audiovisual translation
We will start this unit by thinking

about the concept of “audiovisual translation” (AVT). You have enrolled in a
master’s degree in audiovisual translation, but
do you all understand the same
by “audiovisual translation”?
In your mind, try to answer the

following questions before reading any further.
What
does audiovisual translation allude to? What modalities does it include and in
which genres are they used?
Does
audiovisual translation always entail a translation process between languages?
When
there are many changes between the original text and its audiovisual
translation, should we talk about translation or should we talk
about adaptation?
What
is the difference between audiovisual translation and general translation?
Try to
justify your answers and think about relevant examples that justify them. At
the end of this unit, come back to these questions and see whether you
can
formulate your answers more accurately.
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
1.1. Audiovisual translation: terminological variation
“Audiovisual translation” is a
widely accepted term, and we even talk about Audiovisual Translation Studies
(AVTS), but it has not always been
like this. Traditionally, there have been a
lot of terminological changes:
The
unsettled terminology of audiovisual translation is patent from the very
denomination of the field,
from Traducción subordinada or
Constrained Translation (Titford 1982: 113, Mayoral 1984: 97 & 1993,
Rabadán 1991: 172, Díaz Cintas 1998, Lorenzo & Pereira 2000 & 2001) to
Film Translation (Snell-Hornby 1988), Film and TV Translation (Delabastita
1989), Screen Translation (Mason 1989), Media Translation (Eguíluz
1994), Film
Communication (Lecuona 1994), Traducción Fílmica (Díaz Cintas 1997),
Audiovisual Translation (Luyken 1991, Dries 1995,
Shuttleworth & Cowie
1997, Baker 1998), or (Multi)Media Translation (Gambier & Gottlieb 2001).
(Orero 2004:vii)
Chaume (2003b:15) makes a similar

remark, and besides some of the denominations already included in the previous
quotation, he also adds:
film dubbing (Fodor 1976), media translation (Eguíluz
et al. 1994), comunicación
cinematográfica (Lecuona 1994) or traducción
cinematográfica
(Hurtado 1994-95), in addition to the popular dubbing and
subtitling. Despite such changes, Díaz-Cintas and Remael (2007:11) conclude
that
“audiovisual translation (AVT)” has been established as the reference
term:
fortunately
enough, one of the terms, audiovisual translation (AVT), has been gaining
ground in recent years and is fast becoming the
standard referent.
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
1.2. What about accessibility?
Audiovisual translation includes

traditional modalities such as subtitling or dubbing, but more recently it has
adopted other modalities linked to media
accessibility, such as audio
description or subtitling for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. For this reason,
some authors prefer to talk about accessibility in
some of their publications.
Adopting this approach (Orero and

Matamala 2007), media accessibility would include:
(a) linguistic accessibility: it allows

users to gain access to audiovisual content in a language they do not
understand, and
(b)
sensory
accessibility: it guarantees that users can understand and enjoy the sound or
visual elements when they do not have access to them. This
lack of access may
be due to a disability (visual, hearing, cognitive, etc.) or to a contextual
situation (for example, being in a place with a lot of noise and
therefore not
being able to hear the audio).
We
will see how the field evolves in the next years, since some authors are
considering whether it is time to establish specific studies on accessibility
separated from those on audiovisual translation. What do you think?
Read this article by Gian Maria Greco, published by JAT (Journal of Audiovisual Translation) in 2018.
If you read Catalan, in the book "Accessibilitat i traducció audiovisual" by Anna Matamala you will find her views on the topic, with this graph. Matamala
thinks that the same phenomenon can be approached from the perspective of accessibility and also from the perspective of translation. The overlapping
are would be audiovisual translation/accessibility.
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
2. I want to translate. Do I need to study theory?
Many of those starting this module

want to be professionals in audiovisual translation. Some of you, maybe fewer,
will feel attracted by research. But
studying a module about audiovisual
translation theory will be useful to all of you.
In a quite simple way, we could say

that a theory allows us to understand how something works. In other words, a
theory establishes principles that can
explain a phenomenon.
In the translation field, Chesterman

defined “theory” with the following words:
a set
of concepts and statements (claims, hypothesis) that provides a systematic
perspective on something, a perspective that allows us to understand it in some
way,
and hence perhaps to explain it (Chesterman 2000:15)
Some authors believe that a theory

in the strict sense of the term has not been developed yet in audiovisual
translation, and that we actually use models
(understood as structures between
theory and data) from Translation Studies or similar fields. In fact, it is a
young discipline that comes from practice
and still has a long way to go in
terms of theory.
it is
reasonable to posit that a fully fledged theory is yet to emerge within and for
audiovisual translation studies […] Instead, the burgeoning body of audiovisual
translation
studies published over the last three decades reveals the extent of
the field’s reliance on allochthonous models of translation (approaches
imported from the wider
context of translation studies and beyond), to the
detriment of their autochthonous counterparts (developed from within and for
audiovisual translation studies) (Pérez
González 2014:97)
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
2.1. Translation Studies
In this module you will see some

theoretical models that have been used in audiovisual translation. However, you
will realize that many of them belong to
more general frameworks, inside
so-called Translation Studies, adopting in some cases hypotheses from other
fields.
We will not go into detail about the

different theoretical approaches to translation from a general perspective, but
we do recommend some books that
can help you:
Amparto
Hurtado Albir (2001) Traducción y
traductología. Introducción a la traductología. Madrid: Cátedra.
Anthony
Pym (2010, 2014) Exploring Translation
Theories. London: Routledge. 2nd edition.
Jenny
Williams (2013) Theories of Translation.
London: Palgrave.
Jeremy
Munday (2001) Introducing Translation
Studies. Theories and Applications. London: Routledge.
Lawrence
Venuti (ed.) (2000) The Translation
Studies Reader. London: Routledge.
Mary
Snell-Hornby (2006) The Turns of
Translation Studies. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
In these volumes you will find a

historical vision of translation theory, and you will also become familiar with
concepts, authors and models from a broader
perspective, focused not only on
audiovisual texts.
You will discover different theories

about the same phenomenon: translation. The reason for this is that translation
is not a simple mechanical
transference of words from one language to another,
but a much more complex phenomenon that can be addressed from many points of
view. The key
issue here is to know where you position yourself and how you understand
translation. Take a moment to think about this.
If you
have specific doubts, you can also check works like Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, The Routledge Handbook
of Translation
Studies, Handbook of Translation Studies o Dictionary of
Translation Studies. You can find the references at the end of this unit.
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
2.2. Learning to theorize: abstraction and reflection
In the first page of his book Exploring Translation Theories, Anthony

Pym explains that translators are constantly theorizing: when we find a
translation
problem, we often have to choose between several options.
Formulating the possible options and selecting the most suitable one can be a
complex
operation. All of us have ideas about what a translation is and how it
should be done, and our concept of translation definitely influences our
decisions,
our choices.
As we have said before, in this unit

you will get to know different theoretical models that have been used in
audiovisual translation, their terminology, and
basic concepts. You should be
able to observe phenomena, relate them, and explain them with the appropriate
terminology.
A translator needs to understand the

source audiovisual text and its context, justify his/her decisions, and be able
to critically analyse the translation
produced. The theoretical models will
help you in this task and will offer you the tools you need to approach problems
from new perspectives.
What do we expect from you?
That
you don’t give explanations based solely on intuition or preferences (“because
it sounds better”, “because it’s right/wrong”).
That
you can express abstract ideas and defend your decisions using the most
appropriate words.
That
you can verbalize your decisions and actions, your implicit knowledge.
That
you are aware of translation both as a process and as a product.
That
you can identify recurrent patterns, instead of focusing on individual problems
and solutions
All
this knowledge will help you even in the most practical modules.
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
2.3. Participating in the forum
The forum is a good place to show

your ability to express your thoughts. Please do not use difficult words or
endless sentences. Carefully think what you
want to express and structure it adequately
before writing anything.
You are not writing a quick message

to a friend, but participating in an academic forum where everybody wants to
learn. The forum cannot be a source of
confusing conversations, and that is why
we need to publish brief and well-prepared posts that relate to what the others have said. Please do not send
a post in which you only present your analysis or point of view. It is not an academic essay, it is a forum.
The teacher will open different fora

for each unit, which will be related to the proposed tasks.
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
2.4. Assessment activities
There are three evaluation activities in this course.
1. Presentation (18% of the module's mark, which corresponds to approx. 27.3% of the subject mark).
You need to prepare a 5-minute presentation of an article or a project. You can record a Powerpoint in which you add your voice, you can record yourself
giving the presentation or you can record your voice only, as you prefer. Or you can come up with better ideas! In any case, you need to read a scientific
article on audiovisual translation or get information about a research project, and summarise it in a maximum of 5 minutes. If it is shorter, it is not a
problem. I value quality rather than quantity.
What article will you be presenting? When will you be presenting? Write down your name here. First-come, first-served basis.
Anna Matamala will be marking units 1 and 2. Estel·la Oncins will be marking the presentations in units 3 and 4. We will both use the same rubric.
2. Participation in fora (8% of the module's mark, approx. 12.1% of the subject)
Throughout the different units, you will find several tasks related to an audiovisual content of your choice. It can be the film or series you have chosen for
the final essay (see below) or a series you are watching at the moment. As you like!
There are compulsory tasks and non-compulsory tasks. The first are discussed in the forum in a brief and structured way and they count in the final mark.
The second ones are not discussed and are a source of personal thoughts.
For each compulsory task, the lecturer will open a specific space in the forum. The posts will not be individually assessed, because the objective is not
finding out “the right answer”, but general feed-back will be given to contribute to the discussion.
Remember that, as we said in the introduction, that we value short posts that promote interaction, suggest new ideas and refer to what other students
have said. This is not a written essay. It is a discussion forum.
3. Essay (40% module's mark, i.e. 60.6% subject)
It is a group essay: 3 members (4 members can be accepted if the lecturer approves it).
The essay will focus on

one audiovisual content in English which is either dubbed, voiced-over or
subtitled into Catalan or Spanish (a film, a series, a
documentary: minimum run
time 50 minutes) and will analyse 3 aspects, to choose from: language
variation, terminology, cultural references, humour,
gender aspects, or any
other aspect the student considers relevant. For example, cultural references
and humour in the subtitled version of a film. Or
terminology and cultural
references in a voiced-over version of a documentary.
If there are 4 members

in a group, 4 aspects need to be analysed or more than one language needs to be
considered. For example, language variation,
terminology, cultural references
and humour in a Spanish dubbing. Or language variation and terminology in a
dubbed film into Catalan and Spanish.
The essay should have

the following structure:
1. Introduction: it must include the aims of the essay

and its structure (maximum 1 page)
2. Theoretical framework: short description of how the

chosen topics have been analysed by relevant authors in the bibliography. If a
specific model is
followed in the essay, please describe it. (4 pages).
3. Methodology: description of the audiovisual content

and how it has been analysed (1-2 pages).
4. Analysis (4 pages per topic).
5. Conclusions (1 page).
6. References: they must follow an established citation

system. You can only include in the reference list what you actually mention or
quote in the
document.
7. Annexes, if necessary.
The essay can be

written in English, Spanish or Catalan.
In the introduction you

should indicate who is responsible for each of the topics under analysis.
Deadline for the Final essay: 14.12.2022. No deadline extensions are possible.
Submit it through the Final Essay item, under Welcome.
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
The essay is not a simple description of translation techniques. It must show that the student is able to think in an abstract way, to synthesize information
and to apply the theoretical knowledge acquired in the units. A careful wording with with an academic tone is expected. Plagiarism will result in a 0.
Check the module and course guides!
Any questions about the assessment will be answered through the forum “Final essay”.
Estel·la Oncins will be marking all essays.
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
3. The audiovisual text
Audiovisual translation deals with

the transfer of audiovisual texts, and this is precisely the topic we are going
to address: the definition of an audiovisual
text.
The audiovisual translator (or

researcher) may have a script or transcription available, but our mission does
not involve translating (or analysing) that
script or transcription, but
transferring (or analysing) the audiovisual
text. In fact, sometimes the available scripts do not match the final
version.
Task 1. Search
various types of scripts/transcripts on the Internet, and pay attention to
the elements included in the script. Try to find a script or transcript of
the series or film
that you have chosen. If you can’t find it, select another
script/transcript.
Do the scripts include all the

audiovisual content? Do they reproduce the actors’ words
accurately? Do they transcribe
the text on screen? Do translators need to translate
everything that is
included in the script?
Think about this and publish a

brief and well-structured comment in “Unit1-Task1”. You do
not need to reply
to each of the previous questions. They are just suggestions.
A number of authors have tried to

define the audiovisual text. Some proposals will be presented next, but we
encourage you to read the articles we will be
referring to.
In Translation Studies, Reiss

(1971:33) proposes a classification based on the discourse function, the
discourse dimension and the text type, and she
distinguishes between
informative, expressive and operative texts. In a special fourth section she
makes reference to audiomedial texts,
which are
specific texts that are difficult to classify. Munday (2012:268) indicates
that this definition is focused on the translation of adverts and not
specifically on
documentaries or films. Chaume (2003:55) explains that the first
three text types consider the language function, while the last one departs
from the
discourse mode, medium or channel. It is probably for this reason that
Reiss abandons and revises this fourth category in subsequent studies. However,
it is important to mention that, as early as 1971, audiovisual texts were
beginning to be seen as specific.
Other authors have addressed this

issue later on, either within the field of Translation Studies or specifically
within AVTS. Zabalbeascoa’s contributions
will be explained in this unit.
According to Zabalbeascoa (2008), an

audiovisual text is a communication act “involving sound and images”. His
vision of what an audiovisual text is can
be found in the article “The nature
of the audiovisual text and its parameters”.
Personal task. Read “The nature of the audiovisual text and its parameters”. Then watch
your film or series trying to
be aware of all the elements (visual/verbal, visual/non-verbal,
acoustic/verbal,
acoustic/non-verbal) that appear in it and how they help to construct
meaning. It is not necessary to discuss this in the forum, it is a personal
activity to raise
your awareness about the audiovisual text.
The following
graph, found on page 26 of the abovementioned publication, presents an outline
of the axes of audiovisual communication:
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
An audiovisual text can contain

acoustic verbal elements (words that are heard) or visual verbal elements
(words written on screen), and also acoustic
non-verbal elements (music and
special effects) or visual non-verbal elements (images, photography).
Zabalbeascoa explains on page 31

that there can be different types of relationships between the visual and
acoustic element:
Complementarity
Redundancy
Contradiction
Incoherence
Separability
Aesthetic
quality
Audiovisual
texts can be translated using different transfer modes that we will see in a
later section, but before moving forward we will give you a quick
overview of
the history of audiovisual translation.
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
4. A brief history of audiovisual translation
The overview presented here is based

on the book La traducció cinematográfica
by Natàlia Izard, published in 1992, as well as the chapter by the same
author entitled
“Doblaje y subtitulación: una aproximación histórica”, published in 2001. If
you are especially interested in dubbing, Alejandro Ávila
published a book in
1997 about La historia del doblaje
cinematográfico. Finally, Frederic Chaume wrote a chapter focused on the
history of dubbing and
subtitling. It appears in the books he wrote in 2003 and
2004.
The
history of audiovisual translation is parallel to the history of cinema, whose
origin is related to the historic projection of the Lumière brothers in March
1895. You can find more information on the webpage of the Institut Lumière.
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
4.1. Silent films and intertitles
At first, cinema was silent (https://archive.org/details/silent_films)

and many directors and critics considered that cinema was an exclusively visual
art
and that the introduction of language violated the film’s integrity.
However, others started to include written language in titles and intertitles
(https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/10/the-art-of-the-film-title-throughout-cinema-history/).
For example, as early as 1903, in Uncle Tom’s
Cabin (http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/onstage/films/mv03hp.html)
(Edward S. Porter), written language was
incorporated, in this case as intertitles
that helped to better develop the plot.
Previous attempts, albeit unsuccessful ones, had been to include written words
above the characters’
heads or to freeze the image and include written text.
Intertitles
could be translated in two ways: (a) original intertitles were cut and replaced
by translated intertitles before selling the film, or (b) the original
version
was projected and someone did a simultaneous oral translation. In fact, these
“explainers”, similar to the Japanese benshi,
often interpreted the
film to an audience that was not used to “reading”
audiovisual texts, and the success of the film was very much dependent on them.
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
4.2. The arrival of sound and talking films
The importance of language in cinema

was obvious with the creation of sound films, whose main milestones are
reproduced in the following chronology.
1926. First commercial success of

sound cinema with the film Don
Juan,
which incorporated a soundtrack (not dialogues). There had
been previous
tests, like Der grüne Wald, Olscar
Messter, 1910.
1927. The Jazz Singer, in New York. It was a silent film with
intertitles, soundtrack and some spoken dialogues. This would be
called a part-talkie. Notice the difference
between “sound films”
and “talking pictures” or “talkies”.
1928. Warner releases the first

all-talking film, Lights of New York.
However, a discovery in 2010 indicates that the first talking film might have been Spanish:
(http://cultura.elpais.com/cultura/2010/11/03/actualidad/1288738815_850215.html.)
The talkies or part-talkies

were not well received at first. There were many reservations about talking
pictures. Proof of this is that Warner Bros produced
a silent version of each talkie
until 1929-30 in order to avoid risks. The transition to sound presented
several difficulties, not only economic but also due to
the low performance of silent
film actors in talkies.
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
4.3. Film translation
The first talking films were

exported in their English original version, without a translation, but the
audience reacted negatively and the studios started to
export the films with
subtitles, first in French, German and Spanish, and later on in other
languages. Cutting the scenes with dialogues and projecting
them with
intertitles was another solution that was tested.
However, in the 1930s there were

many spectators that could not read. In countries with lower illiteracy rates,
such as Holland or Sweden, where there
was also a need for lower costs,
subtitling was accepted. In other countries, where illiteracy rates were higher
and a language preservation policy was
often prioritized, dubbing was chosen. Some key dates for dubbing are presented next.
1928. Beginning of dubbing: two

Paramount engineers
manage to record a German dialogue synchronized with the
actors in The Flyer.
1929. Spanish, German and French

dubbing of Rio Rita by Radio
Pictures. They probably used South American voices.
Beginning of dubbing, bad initial

quality.
1931. First dubbing in European

Spanish in the studios
Joinville (Paris): Devil
and the Deep (Marion Gering),
translated as Entre la espada y la pared.
However, the first film dubbed in

Joinville that was released in
Barcelona was Derelict (Rowland W. Lee, 1931), translated as
Desamparados.
1932. First full-length film

dubbed in Spanish in Spain, in Trilla-La
Riva studios (Barcelona): Rasputín.
Despite bad reactions, both the

technique and the technology improved and dubbing was consolidated in Spain,
creating a powerful industry that has
produced remarkable dubbings such as the
one by Elsa Fábregas:
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
4.4. Multilingual or double versions
Before dubbing or subtitling was

consolidated, the so-called multilingual or double versions were tried: the
same film was recorded in several languages
simultaneously or within a short
time span.
The director and actors could be the

same or different ones. For example, when two or three versions were recorded,
they used to turn to the same
director, while when more versions were recorded
there was a director per language. As for the actors, it depended on their
linguistic competence,
although some of them, like Buster Keaton or even Stan
Laurel and Oliver Hardy, acted in the foreign versions without knowing the
languages. However,
most of the actors in these films were Spanish actors who
settled down in Hollywood. The documentary Hollywood
Talkies
(http://www.filmaffinity.com/es/film275563.html)
portrays this situation.
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
4.5. Dubbing and subtitling
Despite this period in which there

were multilingual versions, the countries started to decide on subtitling or
dubbing, two modalities that had advantages
and disadvantages, supporters and critics.
Task 2. Watch
at least 10 minutes of the series or film that you have chosen, both in its
dubbed and subtitled version. What differences/similarities can you see? To
what extent
does the modality influence the translation? Can you find any
patterns?
Let us know what you observe under

“Unit 1-Task 2”. Although you can
mention specific
examples, it is more important to find patterns and
systematize the information. Do not let
your personal preferences influence
your analysis.
Despite the fact that dubbing in

Spain was often related to the censorship suffered during Franco’s dictatorship,
dubbing was already a reality in Spain
before Franco. However, we cannot ignore
the fact that the dictatorship took advantage of dubbing to censor films. If
you are interested in this topic,
Alejandro Ávila’s book La censura del doblaje cinematográfico en España provides a lot of
data. In his book you will find examples such as the following: in
the film Casablanca a reference to a character
that had fought for the republicans in the Spanish civil war was changed to a
reference to the Austrian
Anschluss. Likewise, in Miracle on 34th Street (Spanish title: De ilusión también se vive) a reference
to a divorce becomes “my father’s death” in the
dubbed version. Try to find
more examples!
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
5. Transfer modes and genres
In the previous
section the focus has been the dubbing and subtitling of fiction films, but
these are not the only possible transfer modes or genres. Think
for a moment:
what modalities of audiovisual translation (i.e. audiovisual transfer modes) do
you know? In which genres are they used?
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
5.1. Audiovisual transfer modes
Several
categorizations have been proposed by different authors. In 1991 Luyken et al. published the following proposal:
Gambier has
proposed different classifications, in 1994, 1997 and 2003, for example. In the
following list you can see how his categorization has evolved:
1.
Subtitling
2. Real-time or
simultaneous subtitling
[2003:
he adds interlinguistic subtitling and, as a “challenging” modality,
intralinguistic subtitling and live subtitling]
3. Dubbing or post-synchronization
[2003:
he deletes “post-synchronization”]
4. Interpreting
(consecutive, pre-recorded, long-distance)
[2003: he separates
consecutive and simultaneous interpreting, he deletes “long-distance”]
5. Voice-over
[2003:
he adds “or half-dubbing”]
6. Narration
[2003: deleted]
7. Commentary
[2003:
“free commentary”]
8. Multilingual
diffusion
[2003:
“multilingual distribution”]
9. Surtitling
[2003:
considered a “challenging” modality]
10. Simultaneous
translation
[2003:
considered a “challenging” modality]
11. Multilingual or double

versions
[2003:
“multilingual production]
12. In 2003 he adds script

translation and audio description (“double dubbing”) as “challenging”
modalities.
Agost (1999)
distinguishes between dubbing, subtitling, voice-over, simultaneous
interpreting and other modalities (translation of multimedia text, etc.).
Chaume (2003) proposes the distinction between dubbing, subtitling, voice-over,
simultaneous interpreting, narration, partial dubbing, free commentary
and
sight translation. Finally, Bartoll, in his PhD thesis, available online (TDX, Tesis
Doctorals en Xarxa), suggests the following categorization:
audio description (audio introduction, audio

subtitling and audio commentaries),
dubbing (dubbed commentary),
consecutive interpreting,
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
sign language interpreting,
simultaneous interpreting,
intertitling,
remake (multilingual versions, double versions),
written summary,
subtitling (surtitling, simultaneous subtitling,
subtitling for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, subtitled commentary) and
voice-over (narration and commentary).
This variety of classifications

shows that the reality can be categorized in different ways and that it has a
changing nature. As Aline Remael stated at the
Intermedia 2016 conference,
“hybridity is the new norm”.
As researchers in AVT, a key issue

is to indicate the categorization we will be using (our own or someone else’s),
and define how we understand the
transfer mode we are analysing, since
definitions may differ depending on the author.
As audiovisual translators, what is

really important is that you should be able to translate using different transfer
modes and you should be able to
understand the client’s requirements and needs.
You should be aware that terminology can change between countries and clients.
A clear example is the
meaning of “voice-over” in Film Studies, in AVTS, and in
certain professional environments. We will take up this issue in the voice-over
module.
In this MA the emphasis is placed on

written modalities such as subtitling (for hearing and non-hearing audiences),
dubbing, voice-over and audio
description, since these are the main audiovisual
transfer modes in our professional environment.
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
5.2. Genres and text types
The audiovisual transfer modes can be applied to different types of

content. Agost (1999:31) proposes the following chart, where genre is different
from
text type or function.
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
6. Research on audiovisual translation
The first
voices to discuss audiovisual translation started to be heard during the 1950s,
with contributions by Cary (1956) or Laks (1957). In 1960 an
almost monographic
issue on cinema and translation appeared in FITBabel,
with articles by authors like Cary, Caillé and Rowan. Other, more isolated,
publications
appeared in the 1960s and 1970s, until the first conference on audiovisual
translation was held in 1987 in Stockholm.
The
following are some of the key articles of this period.
A
study by Mayoral, Kelly and Gallardo (1988), one of the first publications to discuss AVT in Spain.
http://www.erudit.org/revue/meta/1988/v33/n3/003608ar.pdf
An article by Titford (1982): “Subtitling-constrained

translation”.
An article by Delabastita (1989): “Translation and

mass-communication: films and T.V. translation as evidence of cultural
dynamics”.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233578733_Translation_and_masscommunication_Film_and_TV_translation_as_evidence_of_cultural_dynamics
Since the
1990s, there has been an explosion of specific conferences and studies on
audiovisual translation. In our century, media accessibility has been
incorporated into this frame, broadening and increasing the number of publications
even more.
A suggestion: have a look at JAT's inaugural issue.
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
6.1. Sources of information: some key conferences on AVT
Some
regular conferences are the following.
Languages
and the Media: http://www.languages-media.com/
Media
for All: http://www.mediaforall.eu/
InterMedia:
http://intermedia.uni.lodz.pl/
ARSAD,
on audio description: http://jornades.uab.cat/arsad/
Fun
for All, on video games: http://jornades.uab.cat/videogamesaccess/
There are
also specific sections on AVT in translation conferences.
• AIETI conference: http://www.aieti.eu/
• EST conference: http://www.est-translationstudies.org/
• IATIS conference: http://www.iatis.org/
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
6.2. Sources of information: some specific bibliography
BITRA: https://aplicacionesua.cpd.ua.es/tra_int/usu/buscar.asp?idioma=en
MAP http://mapaccess.org/
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
6.3. Analysis models
Pérez-González (2014:98) departs from Chesterman’s classification to differentiate

between process models, comparative models, and causal models.
A summary is
included in his book.
In Chaume (2004: chapter 4) you can find a classification of studies on

AVT: (a) studies focused on the translation stages, which include research on
the
position of the audiovisual text and AVT and studies on the specificity of
the audiovisual text; (b) studies about the product, which include research on
film adaptations and investigations on translation norms. It is important to highlight
that in the last ten years since the publication of his book, the field of
AVT
has evolved considerably and new approaches have arisen. They are presented,
for example, in the 2016 volume of Target.
Take a look at the table of
contents: https://benjamins.com/catalog/target.28.2
Two proposals will be briefly discussed in this section.
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
6.4. Chaume’s model: from Film Studies to AVTS
Please read the

chapter “Un modelo de análisis de los textos audiovisuales con finalidades
traductológicas”, written by Chaume and included in his book
Cine y traducción, or the English paper
by the same author:
https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/meta/2004-v49-n1-meta733/009016ar/
Chaume’s model is
conceived as a unifying model with two dimensions:
a)
an external dimension that includes professional
factors, communication process factors, socio-historical factors, and reception
factors.
b)
an internal dimension focused on textual aspects,
which is divided into:
1. problems shared with other translation varieties,

which can be linguistic-contrastive, communicative, pragmatic or semiotic;
2. typical or specific
problems
In this last
section he imports Film Studies models into AVTS, so as to establish a
relationship between film construction elements and audiovisual
translation.
Several codes are identified:
Linguistic code
Paralinguistic code
Musical and special effects codes
Sound arrangement code
Iconographic code
Photographic code
Planning code
Mobility codes
Graphic codes
Syntactic codes
Task 3. Please read the article and, if

possible, the chapter, and watch the film or series
that you have chosen
taking into account these parameters.
Some questions
that you can ask yourselves are: Do all the codes have the same
importance?
What influence do the different codes have on subtitling and dubbing? What
influence would they have on other modalities? Are all the codes transferred
in the
dubbed/subtitled version you have chosen? How?
Discuss this and

other relevant aspects in the forum with a brief comment (Unit1-Task3).
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
6.5. Zabalbeascoa’s priorities and restrictions model
Zabalbeascoa
explains translation as a matter of priorities and restrictions:
the
concept of priorities is used as a means of expressing the intended goals for a
given translation task and the restrictions are the obstacles and problems that
help to
justify one’s choice of priorities as well as the solutions adopted in
the translation (Zabalbeascoa 1997:331)
Zabalbeascoa illustrates it with the

translation of TV comedies. In this type of audiovisual content, the priorities
are having a high audience share,
amusing the audience, having an immediate
response (laugh), integrating the translation with the other constituents of
the audiovisual text and using a
language that is appropriate for the
communication channel. The restrictions would be the differences in the shared
knowledge of the two audiences, lip
synchrony, and the professional context of
the translator, among other aspects. You can read Zabalbeascoa’s article here:
http://www.arts.kuleuven.be/cetra/papers/files/zabalbeascoa-1999.pdf
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
7. Bibliography quoted in unit 1
Agost, Rosa (1999) Traducción y doblaje: palabras, voces e

imágenes. Barcelona: Ariel.
Ávila, Alejandro (1997) La censura en el

doblaje cinematográfico en España. Barcelona: CIMS.
Ávila,
Alejandro (1997) La historia del doblaje. Barcelona: CIMS.
Baker, Mona (ed.) (2001) Routledge

Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. London: Routledge.
Bartoll, Eduard (2009) Paràmetres per

a una taxonomia de la subtitulació. Barcelona: UPF.
Cary, Edmond (1956) La traduction cinematographique. In E. Cary (ed.) La traduction dans le monde
moderne. Geneva: Georg,

105-113.
Cary, Edmond (1960) La traduction totale. Babel 6(3): 110-115.
Chaume, Frederic (2003) Doblatge i

subtitulació per a la TV. Vic: Eumo.
Chaume, Frederic (2004) Cine y

traducción. Madrid: Cátedra
Chesterman, Andrew (2000) A causal model for translation studies. In M.

Olohan, (ed.) Intercultural faultlines.
Research models in translation studies I.
Textual and Cognitive Aspects.
Manchester: St. Jerome, 15-28.
Delabastita, Dirk (1989) Translation and mass-communication: film and T.V.

translation as evidence of cultural dynamics. Babel 35(4): 193-218
Díaz-Cintas, Jorge (2004) In search of a theoretical framework for the

study of audiovisual translation. In P. Orero (ed.) Topics in audiovisual translation.
Amsterdam: Benjamins, 21-34.
Díaz-Cintas, Jorge; Remael, Aline (2009) Audiovisual

translation: subtitling. Manchester: St. Jerome.
Eguíluz, Fernando et al. (eds.) Transvases

culturales: literatura, cine, traducción. Vitoria: Universidad del País
Vasco.
Fodor, István (1976) Film dubbing.

Phonetic, aesthetic and psychological Aspects. Hamburg: Helmut Buske.
Gambier, Yves (1994) Audiovisual communication : typological detour. In C.

Dollerup & A. Lindegaard (eds.) Teaching
translation and interpreting:
insights, aims, visions. Amsterdam:
Benjamins, 275-283.
Gambier, Yves (1997) Communication audiovisuelle et traduction:

perspectives et enjeux. Parallèles
19: 79-86.
Gambier, Yves (2003) Introduction: screen transadaptation: Perception and

reception. In Y. Gambier (ed.) The
Translator. Studies in intercultural
communiation. Screen Translation. Manchester:
St. Jerome, 181-189.
Gambier, Yves.; Gottlieb, Henrik (eds.) (2001) (Multi)Media Translation. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Gambier, Yves; van Doorslaer, Luc (eds.) (2010) Handbook of Translation Studies. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Hurtado Albir, Amparo (2001) Traducción

y traductología. Introducción a la traductología. Madrid: Cátedra.
Izard, Natalia (1992) La traducció

cinematogràfica. Barcelona: Centre d’Investigació de la Comunicació.
Izard, Natalia (2001) Doblaje y subtitulación: una aproximación histórica. In

Miguel. Duro (coord.) La traducción para el
doblaje y la subtitulación. Madrid:
Cátedra.
Laks, Simon (1957). Le sous-titrage

des films. Sa technique. Son esthétique. Paris: unpublished manuscript.
Lecuona, Lourdes (1994) Entre el doblaje y la subtitulación: la

interpretación simultánea en el cine. In F. Eguíluz et al. (eds.) Transvases culturales:
literatura, cine,
traducción. Vitoria: Universidad del País Vasco, 279-285.
Luyken, Georg-Mikel et al. (1991) Overcoming

linguistic barriers in television. Dubbing and subtitling for the European
audience. Manchester: The
European Institute for the Media.
Mayoral, Roberto; Kelly, Dorothy; Gallardo, Natividad (1988) Concept of constrained

translation. Non-linguistic perspectives of translation. Meta, XXXIII,
3, 356-367.
Millán, C.; Bartrina, Francesca (2017) The

Routledge handbook of translation studies. London: Routledge.
Munday, Jeremy (2001) Introducing

Translation Studies. Theories and Applications. London: Routledge. Third
edition (2012).
Orero, Pilar (2004) Topics in

audiovisual translation. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1
Orero, Pilar; Matamala, Anna (2007) Accessible opera:
overcoming linguistic and sensorial barriers. Perspectives. Studies in
Translatology, 15(4): 262-
277.
Pérez González, Luis (2014) Audiovisual

translation. London: Routledge.
Pym, Anthony (2010, 2014) Exploring

Translation Theories. London: Routledge. 2nd edition.
Reiss, Katarina (1971) Möglichkeiten

und Grenzen der Übersetzungkritik. Munich: Max Hueber.
Snell-Hornby, Mary (2006) The Turns of Translation Studies. Amsterdam:

Benjamins.
Shuttleworth, Mark; Cowie, M. (2014) Dictionary

of Translation Studies. London: Routledge. Previously published in 1997 by
St. Jerome.
Titford, Christopher (1982) Subtitling – constrained translation. Lebende Sprachen, 27(3): 113-116.
Venuti, Lawrence (ed.) (2000) The

Translation Studies Reader. London: Routledge.
Williams, Jenny (2013) Theories of

Translation. London: Palgrave.
Zabalbeascoa, Patrick (2008) The nature of the audiovisual text and its
parameters. In J. Díaz-Cintas (ed.) The
didactics of audiovisual translation.
Amsterdam: Benjamins, 21-38.

Audiovisual Translation Theories and Models

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Audiovisual Translation Theories and Models

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

12/9/22, 15:00 Unit 1

1. Some initial thoughts on audiovisual translation

2. I want to translate. Do I need to study theory?

3. The audiovisual text

4. A brief history of audiovisual translation

5. Transfer modes and genres

6. Research on audiovisual translation

7. Bibliography quoted in unit 1

1. Some initial thoughts on audiovisual translation

We will start this unit by thinking

In your mind, try to answer the

1.1. Audiovisual translation: terminological variation

Chaume (2003b:15) makes a similar

1.2. What about accessibility?

Audiovisual translation includes

Adopting this approach (Orero and

(a) linguistic accessibility: it allows

2. I want to translate. Do I need to study theory?

Many of those starting this module

In a quite simple way, we could say

In the translation field, Chesterman

Some authors believe that a theory

2.1. Translation Studies

In this module you will see some

We will not go into detail about the

In these volumes you will find a

You will discover different theories

2.2. Learning to theorize: abstraction and reflection

In the first page of his book Exploring Translation Theories, Anthony

As we have said before, in this unit

A translator needs to understand the

What do we expect from you?

2.3. Participating in the forum

The forum is a good place to show

You are not writing a quick message

The teacher will open different fora

2.4. Assessment activities

There are three evaluation activities in this course.

3. Essay (40% module's mark, i.e. 60.6% subject)

The essay will focus on

If there are 4 members

The essay should have

1. Introduction: it must include the aims of the essay

2. Theoretical framework: short description of how the

3. Methodology: description of the audiovisual content

4. Analysis (4 pages per topic).

5. Conclusions (1 page).

6. References: they must follow an established citation

7. Annexes, if necessary.

The essay can be

In the introduction you

Submit it through the Final Essay item, under Welcome.

Estel·la Oncins will be marking all essays.

3. The audiovisual text

Audiovisual translation deals with

The audiovisual translator (or

Do the scripts include all the

Think about this and publish a

A number of authors have tried to

In Translation Studies, Reiss

Other authors have addressed this

According to Zabalbeascoa (2008), an