Translating Culture Specific References on Television: The Case of Dubbing

261 Pages·2015·2.071 MB·English

by  Irene Ranzato

Translating Culture Specifi c
References on Television
Offering an in-depth analysis of the translation of Culture Specifi c Ref-
erences in three interesting and original television series, Ranzato’s work
uncovers key trends in Italian dubbing and contributes to documenting the
evolution of this fascinating AVT modality. She provides an impressive amount
of examples, beautifully argued and presented, in a monograph which will
engage AVT researchers and translation scholars alike.
—Rocío Baños Piñero, Centre for Translation Studies,
University College London, UK
Translating Culture Specifi c References on Television provides a model for
investigating the problems posed by culture specifi c references in transla-
tion, drawing on case studies that explore the translational norms of con-
temporary Italian dubbing practices. This monograph makes a distinctive
contribution to the study of audiovisual translation and culture specifi c
references in its focus on dubbing, as opposed to subtitling, and on con-
temporary television series rather than cinema. Irene Ranzato’s research
involves detailed analysis of three TV series dubbed into Italian, drawing on
a corpus of 95 hours that includes nearly 3,000 CSR translations. Ranzato
proposes a new taxonomy of strategies for the translation of CSRs and
explores the sociocultural, pragmatic and ideological implications of audio-
visual translation for the small screen.
Irene Ranzato is a researcher in English language and translation at Sapienza
University of Rome, Italy. She holds a PhD in Translation Studies from
Imperial College London, UK.
Routledge Advances in Translation Studies
1 Applying Luhmann to Translation 7 Translation and Linguistic
Studies Hybridity
Translation in Society Constructing World-View
Sergey Tyulenev Susanne Klinger
2 Interpreting Justice: Ethics, 8 The Dao of Translation
Politics and Language An East-West Dialogue
Moira Inghilleri Douglas Robinson
3 Translation and Web Searching
9 Translating Feminism
Vanessa Enríquez Raído
in China
Gender, Sexuality
4 Translation Theory and
and Censorship
Development Studies
Zhongli Yu
A Complexity Theory Approach
Kobus Marais
10 Multiple Translation
5 Perspectives on Literature and Communities in
Translation Contemporary Japan
Creation, Circulation, Reception Edited by Beverley Curran,
Edited by Brian Nelson and Nana Sato-Rossberg, and
Brigid Maher Kikuko Tanabe
6 Translation and Localisation 11 Translating Culture
in Video Games Specifi c References
Making Entertainment on Television
Software Global The Case of Dubbing
Miguel Á. Bernal-Merino Irene Ranzato
Translating Culture Specifi c
References on Television
The Case of Dubbing
Irene Ranzato
First published 2016
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2016 Taylor & Francis
The right of Irene Ranzato to be identifi ed as author of this work has been
asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation
without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ranzato, Irene.
Translating culture specifi c references on television : the case of dubbing /
Irene Ranzato.
pages cm. — (Routledge Advances in Translation Studies; #11)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Translating and interpreting—Multimedia translating. 2. Dubbing
of television programs. 3. Closed captioning. 4. Language and
culture. I. Title.
P306.93.R36 2015
418'.020285—dc23
2015017175
ISBN: 978-1-138-92940-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-68125-2 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
List of Figures and Tables vii
Abbreviations ix
Acknowledgements xi
Preface by Jorge Díaz Cintas xiii
1 Introduction 1
2 Theoretical Framework 12
3 Censorship and the Film Industry: A Historical
Overview of Dubbing in Italy 28
4 Culture Specifi c References 53
5 “The Lesser-Known I Don’t Have a Dream Speech”:
Cultural Humour in Friends 104
6 “Follow the Yellow Brick Road”: Cultural Time
and Place in Life on Mars 150
7 Coffee Bars in Slumber Rooms: Culture Specifi c Death
in Six Feet Under 187
8 Conclusions 221
Appendix: Sample Pages From the Corpus 231
Name Index 237
General Index 243
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Figures and Tables
Figures
5.1 Distribution of CSRs in the analysed seasons of Friends 118
5.2 Translation strategies in F riends 119
5.3 Translation strategies in F riends Season 1 120
5.4 Translation strategies in F riends Season 2 120
5.5 Translation strategies in F riends Season 3 121
5.6 Translation strategies in F riends Season 5 121
5.7 Translation strategies in F riends Season 8 122
5.8 Translation strategies in F riends Season 10 122
6.1 Distribution of CSRs in the two seasons of L ife on Mars 154
6.2 Translation strategies used in L ife on Mars 172
6.3 Translation strategies used in L ife on Mars Season 1 182
6.4 Translation strategies used in L ife on Mars Season 2 183
7.1 Distribution of CSRs in the analysed seasons of Six Feet Under 190
7.2 Translation strategies used in S ix Feet Under 191
7.3 Translation strategies used in Six Feet Under Season 1 192
7.4 Translation strategies used in Six Feet Under Season 3 193
8.1 Distribution per category through the three series 222
8.2 Translation strategies: comparative overview of the three series 225
Tables
4.1 Classifi cation of CSRs 64
5.1 Friends’s viewers 106
5.2 ‘Respectful’ vs. ‘manipulative’ strategies 141
5.3 Types of references in F riends 143
6.1 Types of references in L ife on Mars 155
6.2 Deleted excerpts in Life on Mars Season 1 166
6.3 Deleted excerpts in Life on Mars Season 2 166
7.1 Six Feet Under’s viewership 189
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Abbreviations
AVT audiovisual translation
CS culture specifi c
CSR culture specifi c reference
SA source audience
SC source culture
SL source language
ST source text
TA target audience
TC target culture
TL target language
TT target text