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Slaying Vampires in French. and talking about it in Tunisia. Tunisia. Translations of wordplay and proper names in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Visual wordplay?. Wordplay Definition(-s):.
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Slaying Vampires in French... • and talking about it in Tunisia.
Translations of wordplay and proper namesinBuffy the Vampire Slayer
Wordplay Definition(-s): The use of a word in such a way as to suggest two or more meanings, or the use of two or more words of the same sound with different meaning, so as to produce a humorous effect, a play on words. (The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary)
Wordplay Definition(-s): Associated with several features in dictionaries: • joke (plaisanterie) • ambiguity (équivoque) • pun (calembour) • allusion (allusion) • understood (sous-entendu) • double meaning (double sens) (Ben Amor)
Wordplay Examples: 11 examples of wordplay How translated into French? • 7 - no wordplay • 3 - wordplay kept (almost the same) • 1 - ?
Wordplay Examples: English examples; types and translations: • Homonymic (7) (1 Kept) • Visual (1) (Kept) • “Precision” (1) (Not kept) • Rhyme (2) (1 Kept)
Wordplay Examples (no wordplay kept): - Aw, you wanna be part of the gang now, don’t you? - Yes, yes, but I’m not dying to be in the gang, if you get the, um... the pun there. - What? You’re too good to be dead? - T’as dit que t’étais d’accord pour faire partie du group ? - Oui, oui, bien sûr, mais je veux pas mourir pour en faire partie, si vous saisissez la petite nuance...
Wordplay Examples (no wordplay kept): - I’m about ready to pop. - Pop? - You up for it? - I’m up. I’m suddenly very up. It’s just that I haven’t been up with people before. - Je vais péter les plombs si tu ne m’aides pas. - Ah oui ? À ce point-là ? - Tu serais partant? - Ah oui, j’uis partant. Je me sens très partant. Il faut que je te dise... C’est la première fois que je suis partant avec une fille.
Wordplay Examples (no wordplay kept): - Would you like to tell some jokes? - Would I? As a matter of fact, it is! It’s also a wood nose and a wood mouth. - Je ferais bien quelque chose qui doit te paraître bizarre. Une ballade en forêt avec toi ! J’ai comme qui dirait envie de trouver ma racine.
Wordplay Examples (wordplay kept): - I know. If you don’t go out it’ll be the end of the world. Everything is life or death when you’re a sixteen-year-old girl. - Chérie. Si tu ne sors pas, ce ne sera pas la fin du monde. Tout est une question de vie ou de mort quand on a ton âge.
Wordplay Examples (wordplay kept): - Sensible girl with her feet on the ground. - ... avec les pieds solidement ancrés sur terre.
Wordplay Examples (wordplay kept): - Can I have you? Duh... Can I help you? - Je peux vous aimer ? Eh... je veux dire... je peux vous aider ?
Proper names:Examples: 19 examples of proper names How translated into French? • 4 - proper names (1 the same name, 3 other name) • 3 - explanation • 3 - some equivalent • 9 - something completely different
Proper names:Proper name - > proper name: • Taco Bell - Taco Bell • John Tesh - John Travolta • Walker Texas Ranger - les X-files • The Watchtower - Citizen Kane
Proper names:Proper name - > explanation: • Starbucks Town - une petite ville • Neiman Marcus - ma boutique préférée
Proper names:Proper name - > equivalent: - Sorry, that’s incorrect. But you do get this lovely watch and a year’s supply of Turtle Wax. - C’est faux. Je suis désolée. Mais vous avez gagné un bon d’abonnement à notre journal.
Proper names:Proper name - > equivalent: - I’d much rather be at home with a cup of Bovril and a good book. - Je préférerais être chez moi, dans mon lit avec un bouquin.
Proper names:Proper name - > equivalent: - Does anybody else feel like they’ve been Keyser Soze’d? - Elle nous a drôlement manipulé, la marionnette.
Proper names:Proper name - > different: - You look like DeBarge! - Vous êtes d’un démodé..!
Proper names:Proper name - > different: - They couldn’t just pour Gatorade on each other? - Elles ne pourraient pas se dévorer les unes les autres ?
Conclusions? • 11 wordplays - 3 kept • 19 proper names - 1 kept (!) / 3 other proper names
Conclusions? What happens if you take away wordplay? • The story / plot - still there • The characters - still there • The images - still there
Conclusions? • Some characteristic of the series lost • Some features that are crucial for the characters lost
Conclusions? What happens if you take away proper names? • The story, characters, images - still there • The characters may lose some of their identity (Nieman Marcus - modern, Bovril - brittish) • Some associations lost (DeBarge, Gatorade) • Several cultural references lost (Keyser Soze, Gatorade, Turtle Wax)
Conclusions? What happens if you keep proper names and wordplay? • They may be lost anyway! • Many features transmitted by means of other strategies
Thank you! Merci !