Forlixt 1 – The Forlì Corpus of Screen Translation: Exploring microstructures
-
Christine Heiss
Abstract
This paper will complete and conclude the Forlixt presentation, linking with that of Cristina Valentini in this volume. In a bank of multimodal and multilingual data about film dialogues the methodology for extracting and analyzing data differs fundamentally from the approaches which have to date been applied to corpora of written texts. In addition to the methods and examples used for a macrostructural analysis which Valentini’s paper has already stressed, we show all the aspects of research that are possible on a microstructural level through a complex system of tagging which can be combined with a free text search. In particular, the potential for microstructural analysis is fully apparent when linguistic information is linked with iconic, aural and situational details accessible from video clips. We will thus present an analysis (contrasting Italian with German) which relates to a discourse element closely connected with the pragmatic aspect of communication in diverse situations. The different stages of analysis have the aim not only of broadening knowledge about one specific case, but chiefly to illustrate one of a number of possible ways in which dialogue can be studied. As well as indicating differences and similarities between the linguistic and pragmatic structure of the two languages, the system allows for a focus on all the problems that characterize the strategies for translations and adaptations. Finally, we will also give examples of how to seek out clues, on a diachronic level, about the appearance and disappearance of linguistic phenomena, which may at the same time refer back to semiotic codes according to the relative social and ethnocultural context.
Abstract
This paper will complete and conclude the Forlixt presentation, linking with that of Cristina Valentini in this volume. In a bank of multimodal and multilingual data about film dialogues the methodology for extracting and analyzing data differs fundamentally from the approaches which have to date been applied to corpora of written texts. In addition to the methods and examples used for a macrostructural analysis which Valentini’s paper has already stressed, we show all the aspects of research that are possible on a microstructural level through a complex system of tagging which can be combined with a free text search. In particular, the potential for microstructural analysis is fully apparent when linguistic information is linked with iconic, aural and situational details accessible from video clips. We will thus present an analysis (contrasting Italian with German) which relates to a discourse element closely connected with the pragmatic aspect of communication in diverse situations. The different stages of analysis have the aim not only of broadening knowledge about one specific case, but chiefly to illustrate one of a number of possible ways in which dialogue can be studied. As well as indicating differences and similarities between the linguistic and pragmatic structure of the two languages, the system allows for a focus on all the problems that characterize the strategies for translations and adaptations. Finally, we will also give examples of how to seek out clues, on a diachronic level, about the appearance and disappearance of linguistic phenomena, which may at the same time refer back to semiotic codes according to the relative social and ethnocultural context.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction: Audiovisual translation comes of age 1
- Recent developments and challenges in audiovisual translation research 11
-
Part 1. Electronic databases and corpora
-
ICT approaches
- Forlixt 1 – The Forlì Corpus of Screen Translation: Exploring macrostructures 37
- Forlixt 1 – The Forlì Corpus of Screen Translation: Exploring microstructures 51
- New tools for translators: INTCA, an electronic dictionary of interjections 63
-
Linguistic approaches
- Spoken language in film dubbing: Target language norms, interference and translational routines 79
- High felicity: A speech act approach to quality assessment in subtitling 101
- Inserts in modern script-writing and their translation into Spanish 117
-
Part 2. Perception and quality
-
Empirical approaches
- The perception of dubbese: An Italian study 135
- Acceptance of the norm or suspension of disbelief? The case of formulaic language in dubbese 149
- Measuring the perception of the screen translation of Un Posto al Sole : A cross-cultural study 165
-
Cultural and psycholinguistic approaches
- Taming teen-language: The adaptation of Buffyspeak into Italian 183
- From darkness to light in subtitling 197
- Subtitles and line-breaks: Towards improved readability 211
-
Socio-economic approaches
- The localization of promotional discourse on the internet 227
- Issues of quality in screen translation: Problems and solutions 241
- References 257
- Filmography 285
- Index 289
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction: Audiovisual translation comes of age 1
- Recent developments and challenges in audiovisual translation research 11
-
Part 1. Electronic databases and corpora
-
ICT approaches
- Forlixt 1 – The Forlì Corpus of Screen Translation: Exploring macrostructures 37
- Forlixt 1 – The Forlì Corpus of Screen Translation: Exploring microstructures 51
- New tools for translators: INTCA, an electronic dictionary of interjections 63
-
Linguistic approaches
- Spoken language in film dubbing: Target language norms, interference and translational routines 79
- High felicity: A speech act approach to quality assessment in subtitling 101
- Inserts in modern script-writing and their translation into Spanish 117
-
Part 2. Perception and quality
-
Empirical approaches
- The perception of dubbese: An Italian study 135
- Acceptance of the norm or suspension of disbelief? The case of formulaic language in dubbese 149
- Measuring the perception of the screen translation of Un Posto al Sole : A cross-cultural study 165
-
Cultural and psycholinguistic approaches
- Taming teen-language: The adaptation of Buffyspeak into Italian 183
- From darkness to light in subtitling 197
- Subtitles and line-breaks: Towards improved readability 211
-
Socio-economic approaches
- The localization of promotional discourse on the internet 227
- Issues of quality in screen translation: Problems and solutions 241
- References 257
- Filmography 285
- Index 289
