GlobEng Verona 14th -16th February 2008

1. GlobEngVerona 14th -16th February 2008 “Dubbing into English – an alternative translation strategy” Chris Taylor University of Trieste

2. Spoken Language The primacy of speech and an awareness of the properties of spoken discourse was long ignored, even by linguists (see Halliday, 1987). Scriptwriters of films and TV series were (and are) presumably even less aware of ‘the properties of spoken discourse’; hence the existence of what is variously called thelanguage of film, filmese, etc. And translators of film language are then presented with a ‘false text’.

3. Film Language The language (and grammar) of film is a scripted construct created by writers, altered by directors and actors, in the creation of an “artificially produced situation” (APS)

4. Experiments Past experiments in Trieste have investigated the comparative use of discourse markers, hedges, tag questions, vague language, parataxis, etc. More recent work has turned to other features such as lexical density.

5. Robin Hood 1938 Friar Tuck: Robber and thief! Give me back my mutton joint!... I’m a girdled friar and vowed to poverty. Robin Hood: If this is poverty, I’ll be glad to share it with you. Friar Tuck: Give me back my mutton joint!... Robin Hood: Not so close, my thunderous one!

6. Lexical density • Lexical words 19 • Total words 43 • Ratio 1:2.2 These figures show similarity with written texts.

7. Dawson’s Creek Screw pity. I love you. I love you Jack. I love that you’re the bravest person I know… the kindest. I love that no matter what you do, your life is gonna stand out. I want to stand out with you… and your daughter.

8. Lexical Density • Lexical words 19 • Total words 45 • Ratio 1:3c Cf. Robin Hood

9. Film texts There is in fact a co-existence of • written language features (complete sentences, high lexical density, lower grammatical intricacy, etc. • spoken discourse (self-correction, hesitation, repetition, frequent use of linkage items such as discourse markers, overlapping speech, etc.

10. Translation In translation, all this becomes ever more apparent.

11. Translation of Dawson’s Creek. • Given the original’s admittedly stated intention of not aiming at authentic dialogue, the dubbed version on Italian television, follows suit … only more so.

12. Translation of previous passage • Al diavolo la compassione! Io ti amo. Ti amo, Jack. Ti amo perché sei la persona più corraggiosa che conosca… la più gentile. Ti amo perché qualunque cosa tu faccia, la tua vita sarà speciale, e io voglio esserlo con te.. e tua figlia. • (very theatrical, too high a register – eg. use of subjunctive - and pays no heed to semi-vulgar language and substandard ‘gonna’, etc.)

13. ‘Dawson’s Creek’ in Italian • According to Zandegù: The language can be given the label ZERO ORALITY referring to the reduction in variation at a stylistic, sociocultural and dialectal level.

14. So… • film language is different from spontaneous spoken language … though it often attempts to recreate it with varying degrees of success … • … and the language of translation has been shown to have its own specificities (normalisation, explicitation, simplification, etc.) and to accentuate a number of the features associated with film language.

15. Furthermore • Brunetta (1977) explains that original (Italian) film texts already use a simplified, normalised and levelled language. • For example when based on a book, story, etc. word order is usually normalised eg. ‘sempre li guardavo/li guardavo sempre’; ‘si chiama essa’/’essa si chiama’ • Cf. Antonioni, Visconti

16. So where does this leave us with regard to translating films into English? • Well, very few films and television programmes are translated into English, due to the predominance of English language products in the media.

17. Subtitling • But those few films that are translated are generally SUBTITLED. • This is regarded as a good thing by language students, language enthusiasts, film buffs, the deaf and indeed by the general public, who are not used to any other form of film translation.

18. So … Dubbing into English? England is not a dubbing country cf. Germany, Italy, Spain, France? BUT

19. Ladri di biciclette 1948 The dubbed version contains: factual errors false characterisation total normalisation stereotyping

20. Errors tanto me to faccio accompagnà da lui a Porta Portese, noi rimaniamo qui damo una guardata ancora Anto, go with him to Porta Portese, might have better luck

21. False characterisation … Alfredo the thief’s mother is aggressive and will stop at nothing to protect her criminal offspring. In the dubbed version she is the classic ‘mamma italiana’.

22. … and stereotyping Mamma: ma che vo’ sto gran farabutto? Alfre’ vie’ su!! Mamma: Oh mio Dio! What’s he doing, Alfredo, what’s he doing?

23. New project (Trieste/Forlì/Leeds/Durham) • Survey to test British (and American) attitudes to dubbing. • It has always been assumed that British audiences would not take to dubbing. • But it has never been investigated, let alone proved.

24. Trieste dubbing project • Students had to produce subtitled and dubbed versions of ‘Il Commissario Montalbano’ and ‘Prime Suspect’ • In the case of ‘Montalbano’, no dubbed version had yet been attempted.

25. Montalbano • Culture-bound problems – Sicilian variety Stephen Sartirelli, author of the English translations of the Camilleri novels, explained that he just made it as colloquial as possible. But he had more room for manoeuvre – explanations, footnotes, etc.

26. Student versions In the students’ dubbed versions we find syntactic and lexical intervention. • Syntax - simple, elided, repeated and use of phatic devices. • Lexis - colourful, colloquial, idiomatic, metaphorical, slang, taboo.

27. However … … the skill lies in calibrating these features to the individual characters. For example, the lawyer uses a high, formal register but also grammatically incorrect sentences apparently typical of the South

28. Non-linguistic constraints • Commissario = Superintendent (cf. translation into Italian of Detective Superintendent Tennison in Prime Suspect asCommissario Tennison. • BUT in the books the term had always been translated as ‘Inspector’ and so he had to remain Inspector Montalbano (cf. Inspector Morse, etc.)

29. Intonation Anna: Ma mi sembrava importante. Anna: But maybe it’s important, isn’t it? • Two reasons • the frequency and naturalness of question tags in English (cf. use in similar series through parallel texts): • from the intonation of the speaker it is clear that she aimed to involve Montalbano.

30. Character quirks • Lawyer Palillo says: Peccato che questa persona senza occhiali non riesca a distinguere una gemma da una patata. (he wants to say ‘he can’t see very well’). Pity, isn’t it? ..this person without glasses can’t separate the wheat from the chaff.

31. To leave and not leave Nicolò: Mi sono imparato a fare la scaccia coi broccoli. Nicolò: I’ve learnt a new recipe: scaccia coi broccoli. (Sicilian food is an important ‘character’ in the Montalbano series, so leave it, adding ‘a new recipe’) The incorrect ‘mi sono imparato’ is normalised as the person speaking is an educated journalist. Regionalisms are more frequent across all classes in Italy.

32. Comparative grammar • … va a passeggiare il cane • … when walking his dog The verb ‘passeggiare’ is intransitive in Italian, but ironically the literal translation is correct in English. There is no point in forcing the issue.

33. Lip synch and timing Giacomo: Io, non ho ucciso mio fratello! Giacomo: Me, I didn’t kill my brother (length of enunciation and lip synchronisation) Montalbano: Perchè? Montalbano: What happened? • (translating with ‘Why?’ has only one lip movement. ‘What happened?’ respects the alternation open/half closed – open/half closed.

34. Lip synchronisation Mi sembra davvero improbabile. That’svery unlikely. fra cinque minuti five minutes

35. Line length and delivery speed • Non voleva essere di peso alla famiglia • He didn’t want to be a burden. • L’ho accompagnato adesso in prigione a Vigata. • I have just taken him to prison.

36. Coordination with visual • Il signor La Russa questa notte si è spogliato nudo, si è applicato ai polsi e alle caviglie questi, la fascia grande se l’è legata al petto, ha indossato la cuffia, si è coperto il corpo, con la maschera il viso. Sembra tutta roba che si è fabbricato lui cu’ santa pacienza. • Mister La Russa, last night, stripped himself naked, applied these things on his wrists and ankles, tied the large strap to his chest, put on the cap, covered his body, and his face with the mask. It seemed like he made all the stuff himself with saintly patience.

37. General considerations 1. Lip synch helps anchor stess patterns, etc. but imposes modifications; 2. Greater timing synch gives impression that actors are speaking English, Italian or whatever, but there is enforced loss of some details; 3. Coordination with the visual can impose strained syntax.

38. So if dubbing into English takes off… • we are going to be dealing with a use of language that is different from any hitherto studied in terms of information structure, cohesion, transitivity patterns, lexical choice, register, etc. • So be it.