26.3027, Review: Applied Ling; Discourse; Translation: Pérez-González (2014)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-26-3027. Wed Jun 24 2015. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 26.3027, Review: Applied Ling; Discourse; Translation: Pérez-González (2014)

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Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2015 15:57:44
From: Ulrike Stange [stangeu at uni-mainz.de]
Subject: Audiovisual Translation

 
Discuss this message:
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Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/25/25-3263.html

AUTHOR: Luis  Pérez-González
TITLE: Audiovisual Translation
SUBTITLE: Theories, Methods and Issues
PUBLISHER: Routledge (Taylor and Francis)
YEAR: 2014

REVIEWER: Ulrike Stange, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

Review's Editor: Helen Aristar-Dry

SUMMARY

This textbook on audiovisual translation (AVT) is designed both for (advanced
undergraduate or postgraduate) students and researchers concerned with
audiovisual or screen translation. It is composed of three parts and contains
a total of eight chapters plus an introduction. After laying out the
disciplinary and industrial foundations (Part I), it addresses relevant
theoretical and methodological perspectives (Part II) and concludes with an
overview of new directions (Part III). A glossary containing film- and
translation-related terminology crucial to understanding the texts and a
companion website are important bonuses. The latter features introduction
videos for all the chapters, additional material, links, core references and
suggestions for research projects (the last two are also found in the book
itself). 

Part I: Disciplinary and Industrial Foundations

In Chapter 1, the author introduces the reader to the expanding scope of AVT,
“the fastest growing strand of translation studies” (12), and highlights the
need that arose for robust theoretical foundations as well as solid
methodology to establish AVT as a research field in its own right. The AVT
practices discussed include subtitling, revoicing in a variety of forms (viz.
lip-synchronized dubbing, voice-over, narration, free commentary and
simultaneous interpreting) and assistive forms of AVT (e.g. subtitling for an
audience with impaired vision or hearing). The particularities of all of these
AVT modalities are described in turn and techno-historical information is
woven in where appropriate. The chapter closes with a discussion of the
obstacles that AVT, not that long ago described as a “virgin area of research”
(Delabastita 1989: 202), encounters in its establishment as an academic
discipline.  

Chapter 2 is essentially a summary of the history of film and the film
industry. This chapter is very informative and provides important background
knowledge. A number of AVT modalities discussed in the previous section are
now placed in their respective historical contexts, and the author draws
attention to and explains the effects that culture-specific preferences and/or
political agendas have on AVT practices and the distribution of films. 

Chapter 3 focuses on AVT as a site of interventionist practice. That is,
amateur translators become involved in providing translations and/or
(complete) subtitles of political speeches, for instance, and spread these via
social networks, youtube, blogs, etc. These “consumers-turned-producers” (61)
are also found to promote the non-commercial distribution of media content.
Thus, in cases where professional translations are not profitable enough,
ordinary citizens may be found to take the translation job into their own
hands. Importantly, in challenging the monopoly of professional translators as
to which meaning is to be conveyed to the audience, the involvement of amateur
translators also affects the media industries and “giv[es] viewers more
control over their user experience” (63). The introduction of key concepts
serves as a useful basis for the study of interventionist AVT, which focuses
mainly on political subtitling and fansubbing (a form of aesthetic subtitling;
fans become involved in subtitling films or TV series, esp. anime ones). 


Part II: Theoretical and Methodological Perspectives

In Chapter 4 the author provides an overview of the main audiovisual
translation models (which have either been imported from translation studies
or developed within AVT) and, highlighting the differences between theories
and models, postulates the absence of a “fully fledged theory” for AVT (97).
The models presented include process, comparative and causal models of
translation. While process models focus on the different phases in the
translation process (which can be studied from a psycholinguistic, cognitive,
neuro-linguistic or pragmatic perspective), comparative models are concerned
with the differences between source and target texts (concentrating on the
shifts that occur in the target text or using monolingual corpus data to
identify language-specific features). Lastly, causal models of translation
centre their interest on the factors that influence the production of targets
text and the effects these texts have on a given readership. These factors can
be investigated in terms of culture-specific systems, norms, discourse
strategies and ideologies. 

Chapter 5 presents an excellent and exhaustive overview on current research
methods in audiovisual translation. Both conceptual and empirical research
methods find consideration, with a special emphasis on the latter. The author
explains each research method in turn and illustrates them with well-chosen
examples, highlighting the benefits and drawbacks of each approach. As to
empirical methods, he outlines and discusses eye-tracking, questionnaires and
interviews, archival and corpus-based methods (also explaining the properties
of parallel, comparable and reference corpora). The final section of this
chapter explores the advantages of triangulation (viz. combining two or more
methods) and stresses the importance of reception-oriented studies (which are
finally on the rise).

Part III: New Directions

Chapter 6 is concerned with AVT and multimodality (viz. the “combination of
speaking, writing, visualization and music” (185)). It offers an introduction
to multimodal theory and presents a clear description of the various core and
sub-modes involved (language, sound, music and image) in AVT. It also shows
how these modes, which have a meaning-making function, can be combined in
audiovisual texts to affect the viewer’s experience. 

In Chapter 7, the focus is again on interventionist AVT, in particular on AVT
as a form of self-mediation (that is, amateur translators becoming involved in
AVT and in distributing media content). This chapter describes three different
forms of self-mediation (participation, remediation, bricolage) and identifies
the role that affectivity and subjectivity play in these interventionist
practices. It also sketches the impact that self-mediation has on commercial
practices and speaks in favour of a cross-fertilization between amateur and
professional translators. 

The last chapter is a general chapter primarily aimed at students, providing
orientation both for theory-driven projects as well as practical
dissertations. It explains the concept of the case study and its subtypes
(single-case, embedded, multiple-case, multiple embedded), using examples to
illustrate the differences. This section also discusses research questions and
hypotheses in relation to AVT research and explores AVT-specific
methodological considerations. 

EVALUATION

This textbook offers an excellent overview on and introduction to audiovisual
translation for novices and professionals alike. It successfully ties together
relevant knowledge pertaining to film and translation studies and definitely
helps further establish audiovisual translation as a research field in its own
right. 

The companion website offers valuable and instructive additional material (for
students and instructors), which makes it an important contribution to the
book. The introduction videos help set the scene for the chapters but are not
essential to understanding the texts. 
The boxes in the printed text contain featured examples and are, without
exception, extremely well chosen and beneficial for the comprehension of more
complicated phenomena discussed in individual sections.

The research projects (aimed at a student audience) suggested at the end of
each chapter offer stimulating input, but more often than not it will be
necessary to consult other resources to be able to tackle the projects.
However, relevant reading is provided either in the text itself or in the
references list at the end of the respective chapters. For the designated
audience (advanced undergraduate students or higher), this procedure is
unproblematic. 

Chapter 5 (on research methods) is especially useful for scholars interested
in AVT who are about to embark on empirical research. The different methods
are well described and the examples should enable novices to make informed
decisions as to what approach is suitable for their research questions. 

In terms of coherence, the final chapter is problematic both in terms of
content and style. It explains in a simplified manner how to conduct your own
research, while the remainder of the book presents the other topics in a very
sophisticated way, requiring close reading on the part of the intended
audience. In fact, non-native speakers of English (and maybe even native
speakers) may encounter difficulties in understanding the text and the topics
it raises in their entirety because of the author’s use of scientific register
and a rather dense writing style. 

The fact that the author is mainly concerned with amateur translation in his
research is reflected in the book, as the main focus is on interventionist
practice (e.g. fansubbing and activist subtitling) as opposed to professional
practice. The majority of examples is also drawn from interventionist forms of
AVT. For professionals concerned with AVT, this is not exactly satisfactory.
Multimodality and humour in translation are, for instance, a major challenge
in professional AVT and would have deserved a detailed discussion. The same
goes for the issues involved in lip-synchronized dubbing or professional
subtitling. A greater concern with relevant models and theories or a
presentation of studies aimed at professional translators would have been
desirable. However, given the broad scope of the book it is understandable
that some aspects were prioritised at the expense of others. Professional
translators need to be aware, though, that this book may not exactly be what
they wish for. Yet, it does provide an excellent overview on interventionist
practices and gives amateur translators’ contributions to AVT the attention
they merit. 

Despite the drawbacks (which are minor in comparison to the book’s merits),
this textbook represents essential reading for anyone interested in or
concerned with AVT. It is thoroughly researched, successfully brings different
disciplines together and represents an excellent starting point for further
explorations in the field of AVT.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Ulrike Stange holds a PhD in English Linguistics and is a research assistant
at the Department of English and Linguistics at Mainz University in Germany.
Her research interests include emotive interjections (PhD thesis to be
published soon), translation studies and dialectal variation in British
English.





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