Models

Babel 48:1of1–13
Research
© in Audiovisual
Fédération Translation
Internationale des Traducteurs (FIT) Revue Babel 1

Models of Research in Audiovisual Translation

Frederic Chaume Varela

Universitat Jaume I

Audiovisual Translation as an Area of Study

Any given discipline must be able to describe and explain all the phenomena
that are to be found in its object of study. In the case of Translation Studies,
considered as an autonomous discipline, researchers have to be ambitious,
and make an attempt to cover each and every modality of linguistic and
cultural interchange that(c)occurs
John Benjamins
in the ambit of human communication be-
tween (two or more)Delivered
natural languages:byhenceIngenta
the interest, justified by the
Administrationon: Sat, 18 Nov 2006 00:59:35
and by academic circles, in studying translation and interpre-
tation in concert. They are two great modalities of translation, distinguished
to: University at Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
fundamentally by their mode of discourse: written or oral, respectively. The
elaboration of different IP: 130.126.32.13
theories for each modality of interlinguistic transfer,
or the neglect of one or other, especially in more recent translation practices,
represents a retrograde step in the advancement of the discipline, or tacit
permission for other disciplines to study translation processes from their own
vantage point (as indeed already occurs in localization, or the translation of
computer wares). There is thus the further necessity that general theories of
translation be sufficiently flexible in their postulates so as to embrace the
processes of new varieties of linguistic and cultural transfers (See Muñoz
1999: 155–156).
Audiovisual translation is one concrete example of an area of research
that has to find its rightful place in Translation Studies. It is the responsibility
of teachers and researchers to draw our attention precisely to those aspects
which mark it out as different from the other modalities, whilst the effort is
made to ensure that the global theoretical framework of our discipline can
include the peculiarities of this modality. As such, it is judicious for Transla-
tion Studies to abandon, or give new meaning to static conceptions like
equivalence or fidelity. Such terms have been understood for many years in
2 Frederic Chaume Varela

too strict a manner, and their renunciation or redefinition would open the way
for the translational strategies and solutions put into practice by professionals
every day. Finally, from the curricular point of view, audiovisual translation
should take its place in today’s syllabus, not just because it responds to one of
the translation activities with the most rapidly growing volume of work, one
ever more present in our daily lives, but also because of its didactic potential,
as an example of an exercise in translation. As an exercise, it helps to develop
creativity, it quickly gives an insight into the margins of freedom that the
translator has at his or her disposal, and from a methodological standpoint, it
shows extraordinary transparency with respect to understanding the function
of a translation and the reason behind its being carried out.
All told, audiovisual translation should not be considered as specialised
translation. Indeed, the contents of audiovisual texts mean that their transla-
tion is much closer to what it is usually called ‘general translation’, defined
(by Vega 1999: 250, my translation) as “an initiation to the translation that is
practised with texts that are easily assimilable for people with an average
level of education”. This(c)definition
John Benjamins
fits neatly with the intentions of those
who produce audiovisualDelivered by Ingenta
texts, especially where they are destined to be
broadcast onon: Sat, 18 Nov 2006 can,
television. Audiovisual translation 00:59:35
of course, be relatively
specialised too, inasmuch as the mass media allows this, since different
to: University at Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
audiovisual texts can deal with “subject matter that does not belong to the
sphere of daily life […] IP: 130.126.32.13
(mainly scientific, technical, legal, economic and
commercial)” (Vega 1999: 250). Audiovisual translation is thus opposed to
written or oral translation, and not to legal, technical or scientific translation,
because these fields can be broached by the written, oral or audiovisual texts
that the translator manipulates.
We set out, then, with the idea that audiovisual translation is a modality
of translation that constitutes a specific area of research. It should be upheld
insofar as it shares attributes with other modalities of translation, and seen as
peculiar insofar as it has attributes that set it apart from the rest.

Research in Audiovisual Translation

Apart from descriptive studies on dubbing and subtitling, few authors have
made a profound study of the peculiarities of the construction of audiovisual
texts, of the semiotic interaction that is produced in the simultaneous emis-
sion of text and image, and the repercussions that this has in the process of
Models of Research in Audiovisual Translation 3

translation. However, there does exist rather more literature dealing with the
problems of general translation, analysed in the corpora of audiovisual texts.
Grouped under the heading of studies on audiovisual translation, these works
analyse to a better or worse degree the behaviour of certain transferences in
audiovisual texts. Strictly speaking, then, we should not consider those works
which centre on literary aspects of novels adapted for the cinema, on mecha-
nisms of cinematographic adaptation, on the sociological or political aspects
of an audiovisual text with the excuse of its translation, or those centred on
concrete cases such as the translation of film titles or proper nouns in certain
films, and so forth, to be studies on audiovisual translation. Independently of
the fact that the conclusions of these works are very often equally valid for
any other corpus of texts, the training of translators in this sector and the
discovery of translation strategies and rhetorical mechanisms unique to the
construction of audiovisual texts is only possible from an analysis of audiovi-
sual texts that looks at their peculiarity: meaning constructed from the con-
junction of images and words.
In the 60s and 70s(c)we do John
alreadyBenjamins
find in Europe some articles published
about the specificityDelivered
of subtitling and bydubbing
Ingenta(Cary, Caillé or Dollerup,
among others).on: Sat, 18 Nov 2006 00:59:35
Even so, it is the pioneering work of Fodor (1976) that opens
the doors to research in this field, especially in the analysis of the process from
to: University at Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
a professional perspective and in the insistence (we might say fixation) on the
adaptation of translationIP: to the130.126.32.13
movements of the mouths of screen characters.
Fortunately, audiovisual translation is not only characterised by this distinc-
tive trait. Years later, Titford (1982) makes an attempt to delimit those aspects
that characterise the modality in an article which enhances the role of cohesion
between text and images. A little later, the detailed contribution made by
Mayoral, Kelly and Gallardo (1988) lays the foundations for investigation into
audiovisual translation. In the 90s, Europe has seen the publication of wide-
reaching studies on audiovisual translation, such as that of Whitman (1992), or
Ivarsson (1992), which has been re-edited six years later (Ivarsson and Carroll
1998), the descriptive study by Luyken et al. (1991), the work on subtitles and
idioms by Gottlieb (1997), the work by Zoe de Linde and Neil Kay (1999)
focused on subtitling for the deaf, and Gambier’s compiled volumes (1996
and 1998). Recently, Karamitroglou’s Towards a methodology for the inves-
tigation of norms in audiovisual translation (2000), completes the European
landscape with a descriptive study of norms governing the choice of audiovi-
sual modalities based upon the polysystem theory.
4 Frederic Chaume Varela

In the Spanish panorama, especially noteworthy is the initiative under-

taken by the Basque Country University, in organising the first congresses
centred on the relationship between literature, cinema and translation, which
have borne their first fruit in the form of two excellent volumes (Eguíluz et al.
1994 and Santamaría et al. 1997), centred on the relationship among cinema,
literature and translation. A number of conferences and specialised courses
have also been undertaken by universities that wish to show their interest for
this branch, such as Autónoma de Barcelona, Valladolid, Vigo, Málaga,
Granada, Alacant, Vic and Pompeu Fabra. The Universitat Jaume I cel-
ebrated its fifth symposium on translation in 1999, which on this occasion
was dedicated to audiovisual translation and whose invited presentations and
some invited contributions have appeared under the title of La traducción en
los medios audiovisuales (Agost and Chaume 2001). Similarly noteworthy
are some doctoral theses and four monographs centred on this modality of
translation: Agost’s manual (1999), Díaz Cintas complete work on subtitling
(2000), Chaves’ filmic approach to dubbing (2000), and the historical devel-
(c) John
opment of dubbing offered by IzardBenjamins
(1992). We cannot, then, speak of a
complete absence of Delivered by area
bibliography in this Ingenta
of research, but its volume is
still a long on: Sat, 18 Nov 2006other
way from being comparable to 00:59:35
translation modalities.
Reasons for this situation have to be traced in the following facts:
to: University at Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
– IP: 130.126.32.13
the fact that Communication Studies and Media Studies (together with
Translation Studies) are still relatively new disciplines;
– the scarce prestige that the audiovisual translator’s task has in academic
settings, mainly due to the consideration of audiovisual translation as a
lesser manifestation of literary translation (which has received much
more attention though, paradoxically, it is not in great demand in the
market compared with other modalities of translation);
– the fact that audiovisual translation has been paid little attention within
its own professional setting, in which the speed of the process, together
with the wish to obtain short-term profits, and the number of persons
which have direct access to the translation, have made audiovisual
translation a mass production process, more than an artistic and profes-
sional activity based on systematic procedures.
Models of Research in Audiovisual Translation 5

Lines of Work in Audiovisual Translation

The revision that I offer, which neither makes any pretension to being
exhaustive nor does it do justice to all the authors, is based on a previous study
(Chaume 1997), which had two main axes. Firstly, there is the consideration
of audiovisual translation as the process which transforms one audiovisual
text into another, with the strategies employed, the textual configuration of
each one, etc. Secondly, there is the study of the translation itself: the
product; in other words, the translated audiovisual text is studied from
linguistic-discursive, cinematographic, ideological, cultural and other per-
spectives. As far as the study of the process is concerned, the various
contributions have centred on two fields: a) studies that deal with the audiovi-
sual text as a genre or type of text susceptible to being translated, and b)
studies that deal with the specificity of the audiovisual text according to its
mode of discourse (oral, written, audiovisual, iconic or mixed). As for the
study of the product, the authors usually dedicated their attention to two
general areas: c) studies(c) John
which Benjamins
deal with the audiovisual text as a translation
Delivered
of a previously existing byd) Ingenta
literary text and studies that deal with the cultural
on: Sat, 18 Nov 2006of 00:59:35
impact of audiovisual texts, the generation new types of texts in the
receiving
to:The cultures
University and the necessary adaptations.
at Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
first of these four considerations, that of the theoretical study of the
audiovisual text as a genreIP: or130.126.32.13
type of text susceptible to being translated,
includes the attempts at classification of audiovisual translation with the
paradigm of Translation Studies. The different proposals offered by research-
ers such as K. Reiss (1971: 33), S. Bassnett (1991: 7–8) or M. Snell-Hornby
(1988: 32), are not successful in finding a satisfactory and definitive space
for our modality of translation because they are based either on the function
of the texts, or on the subject matter that they cover. Audiovisual texts,
however, can contain the three functions that Reiss describes and be essen-
tially informative, expressive or instructive (or have a mixture of functions),
and, what is more, they can contain terminology belonging to any area of
learning (Chaume 1997), as has been argued previously. The only possible
position for the classification of our texts as a whole is a paradigm based on
the mode of discourse (see below) in opposition to oral, written, iconic and so
forth. Hurtado (1994–1995), Hochel (1986) and Zabalbeascoa (1993) coin-
cide in their inclusion of semiotics as a key science in the study of audiovisual
6 Frederic Chaume Varela

texts — with the parallel study of the image, and in their regarding these texts
as specific genres, different from other, established types.
The second consideration is comprised of the studies that deal with the
specificity of the audiovisual text according to the mode of discourse. The
authors who prefer to centre their attention on these lines of investigation
begin with the idea of the text as a construct whose specificity consists of
the conjunction of images and words. These authors study the influence of
the iconic text on the elaboration of the verbal text and, therefore, its influ-
ence upon the eventual translation. For these cases Titford (1982: 113)
prefers to speak of constrained translation. Mayoral, Kelly and Gallardo
(1988: 356) adopt Titford’s concept of constrained translation, but instead
of limiting their study to subtitles, they include all types of translation in
which more than one channel of communication intervenes: advertisements,
comics, songs, subtitles, dubbing and so forth. This is a highly innovative
contribution in its application of communicative aspects to constrained
translation, and as such, it is fitting that we make special reference to a few
(c) JohninBenjamins
ideas that are today fundamental the analysis of any given audiovisual
Delivered
text: a) the consideration by Ingenta
that the linguistics of the day showed itself to be
on: Sat, 18 Nov 2006 00:59:35
insufficient in explaining the process of translation of verbo-iconic texts; b)
the description and explanation of the process of communication; c) the
to: University at Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
inclusion and the role played by ‘noise’ in this type of textual transfer,
IP: 130.126.32.13
understood in communicative terms; d) the significance of communication
systems other than the verbal one, and, therefore, the synchrony of contents,
using their terminology, or coherence that has to exist between the transla-
tion of the verbal text and other components of the message, such as image,
music, etc.; and e) the classification of the different degrees of constraints to
be found in each one of the varieties of translation where the mode of
discourse is complex. Hochel (1986: 152), Ivarsson (1992: 48) Whitman
(1992), Zabalbeascoa (1993) and Hurtado (1994–95) have also concerned
themselves with these aspects.
The third block is comprised of the studies that analyse the process of
audiovisual translation as an adaptation of a previously existing literary text.
A good example of this line of thinking is given by Cattrysse (1992: 53–70),
who first and foremost justifies the idea of broadening the concept of transla-
tion for film adaptations of literary works, and not restricting it to interlin-
guistic processes. Cattryse proposes the polysystem theory as a frame of
analysis for this type of translation and submits that texts adapted to cinema
Models of Research in Audiovisual Translation 7

can be studied according to: a) the policy of the selection employed, b) the
policy of adaptation according to culture or epoch, c) the reception and
criticism, and d) the relationships produced between the policies of selection
and adaptation on the one hand, and the function or position of the adapted
text in the cinematographic context, on the other. These lines are followed by
most of the works of the Belgian-Dutch school of descriptive studies, as well
as studies based on the so-called Rezeptionästhetik, and in Spain, numerous
recent works published in Bravo (1993), Eguíluz et al. (1994) and Santamaría
et al. (1997).
In the final section, we have selected those studies that deal with the
cultural impact of the translation of audiovisual texts. This line has its
beginnings in the theoretical premises proposed by Delabastita (1989 and
1990) and Lambert (1989), and has produced excellent results such as those
of Goris (1993). Although these studies run parallel to the previous ones, they
are centred particularly on what the reading/watching of new genres and new
types of text supposes for the target culture (henceforth TC). Delabastita
(1989) offered a check (c)listJohn Benjamins
which can summarise the foundations of his
research model proposal:Delivered
a) What is theby Ingenta
position of the TC in the international
on: Sat, 18 Nov 2006 00:59:35
context, in social, political, economic and other terms? b) What cultural
relationships does it maintain with the source culture? c) What cultural
to: University at Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
constraints does the TC impose upon the translator? d) What are the inten-
IP: 130.126.32.13
tions of the client who requested the translation with respect to the translated
text (time and place of broadcasting, for example)? e) What tradition does the
TC have with regard to types of text and intertextuality? f) What degree of
openness exists in the TC? g) What is the linguistic policy existing in the TC?
Finally, and of great importance: h) Do the genre of the source culture, the
values expressed in it, the rhetorical argumentation used, the different lin-
guistic, stylistic, cultural and filmic models, the degrees of intertextuality and
so forth exist in the TC? Historical and sociological studies are also to be
found in this section, as are the eminently serviceable style guides.

Curricular Aspects and Learning Objectives

Thus far, the presence in universities of audiovisual translation is also scarce.

In 1991, Luyken et al. complained that the only place in Europe that ran an
academic course on dubbing and subtitling was the University of Lille.
Mayoral (2001) has produced an exhaustive survey of the graduate and
8 Frederic Chaume Varela

postgraduate courses on audiovisual translation that are currently offered by

Spanish universities, where the situation is gradually changing.
It is certainly true that if a university is to give classes properly in
audiovisual translation, it must have the appropriate technical equipment at
its disposal (reduced groups in classrooms with one or more large television
screens, stereo video equipment and microphones to record the translations in
the target language, in the case of dubbing, for instance). The learning
objectives of these subjects require the translation and adaptation of an
audiovisual text in a situation similar to that found in a professional environ-
ment: otherwise what is taught remains limited to a theoretical approximation
and has little bearing on the professional practice of this modality.
Agost, Chaume and Hurtado (1999) have attempted to summarize the
learning objectives of the student of audiovisual translation who wishes to
enter the professional market after graduation. In this work, the learning
objectives are grouped into three main sections: a) professional objectives, b)
methodological objectives, and c) textual objectives. In the first of these it is
(c) John
considered to be of importance Benjamins
for the student to know the situation of the
work market (modalitiesDelivered by supply
of translation, Ingentaand demand, professional
on: Sat, 18 Nov 2006 00:59:35
issues, etc.) and the complete process of audiovisual translation (steps and
protagonists of the process). During the assimilation of the methodological
to: University at Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
principles, special attention is paid to the communicative aims of audiovisual
translation with respectIP: 130.126.32.13
to other modalities, the importance of the mode of
discourse of a verbo-iconic text, the understanding of the principles of
reading and writing scripts, the importance of visualising text and image
together and of paralinguistic and extralinguistic elements, the assimilation of
the dynamism of translational equivalence and the characterisation of audio-
visual genres. Lastly, included among the textual objectives is the learning of
dubbing and subtitling practice for all audiovisual genres, with the conse-
quent division of the text in takes or in subtitles and adequate synchronisation
both in dubbing and subtitling. The article offers a detailed and progressive
explanation of audiovisual translation, accompanied by exercises and texts to
serve as orientation for the teacher.
All in all, investigation into learning objectives and methodology is still
scarce and these initial reflections have done little more than open the doors
to future contributions on the didactics of this modality.
Models of Research in Audiovisual Translation 9

Future Perspectives

The reality of the professional situation is one which does not recognise the
translator legally, one which demands that a translation be completed in a
question of days or even occasionally in hours, one which does not typically
permit the translator’s name to appear in the final audiovisual product, one
which does permit, on the other hand, each of the participants in the transla-
tion process to modify the original translation, one which has no quality
standard references at its disposal at European levels, and one which never,
other than on a very few occasions, offers any preparation to the would-be
audiovisual translator (Chaume 2000). Despite all this, however, the areas of
investigation in this modality are thrilling. Beyond the works mentioned in
this article, the area left to cover is immense. We might make mention of the
following lines of research, which are in need of greater attention:
a. studies on the complex and elaborated mode of discourse in audiovi-
sual texts, essentially studies on the prefabricated orality that this type of text
presents, written (and(c) JohntoBenjamins
conceived) be spoken by actors (and seen by the
public) as though theyDelivered
were not writtenby Ingenta
(or filmed) texts, but rather something
approximating on: Sat, 18 Nov 2006 00:59:35
reality, as far as communicative verisimilitude and iconic
naturalness is concerned. The contributions
to: University at Illinois at Urbana-Champaign made by style guides are practi-
cally all that is available in this field;
b. studies on cohesionIP:ties
130.126.32.13
within the source verbal text, with the aim of
investigating script writing and the later confection of a script which seems
realistic and efficient in the target language; studies on visual cohesion ties
(fade-outs, scene changes, links between sequences…) and their bearing on
the translation as a relevant or redundant supplementary information source;
and above all, studies on cohesion ties between the codes at work in both the
verbal and the visual text and the extra meaning that this interaction pro-
vokes;
c. studies on synchronisation in dubbing, not so much from the artistic
point of view, but rather from a rhetorical perspective: discovering the
techniques of adapting the translation to the movements of the actors’ mouths
as they appear on the screen (phonetic synchrony), to the actors’ body
movement and gestures (kinesic synchrony) and the duration of the actors’
utterances in the source language (isochrony). A study of the rhetorical
mechanisms (or what others would prefer to call translation techniques)
which make it possible to adapt an initial translation to the visual demands of
10 Frederic Chaume Varela

the source text would be of enormous help to the translator;

d. studies on the strategies of synthesis of information, not only for the
case of subtitles, in which this necessity is most evident, but also for dubbing,
in linguistic combinations of English as the source language, which indeed it
almost invariably is for audiovisual texts, and a Romance language as the
target language, as these tend to require physically more oral and written
space for expression in the majority of registers.

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Agost, Rosa. 1999. Traducción y doblaje: palabras, voces e imágenes. Barcelona: Ariel.
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About the author

(c) John Benjamins
Dr. FREDERIC CHAUME VARELA received his PhD degree in Translation and Inter-
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preting from the Universitat Jaume I (Castelló, Spain). For the past 13 years, he has been
teaching a variety of English courses, including audiovisual translation theory, dubbing
on: Sat, 18 Nov 2006 00:59:35
and subtitling, as well as courses and conferences on the subject. He has published 20
to: University at Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
articles on audiovisual translation, two of them for Volumes 17 and 27 of Benjamins
Translation Library, has co-edited a number of Perspectives: Studies in Translatology
IP: 130.126.32.13
(1999, 7:2), devoted to Hispanic Translation Studies, and has also co-edited a collective
volume on audiovisual translation (La traducción en los medios audiovisuales). For the
past 13 years he has also been working as a professional translator for different TV
channels and film distributors and producers.
Address: Serpis, 68–104. 46022 Valencia (Spain) E-mail: uji00096@uji.infomail.es

Abstract

This paper will try to offer a classification of the models of research in audiovisual
translation and to describe the different theoretical approaches towards this field proposed
during the last two decades. The analysis reveals that studies on audiovisual translation
can tentatively be grouped into two large sets: studies focusing on the process involved in
audiovisual translating, and studies of audiovisual translated texts as products. In the first
set, one can distinguish between (a) studies that try to find a place for audiovisual texts in
the different traditional classifications of text typologies, and (b) studies attending to the
mode of discourse and the interaction between text and image in audiovisual genres, both
aiming to draw conclusions applicable to the practice of translation of these particular
texts.
Models of Research in Audiovisual Translation 13

The second group moves further into the basic constituents of audiovisual texts and
the interaction between word and image: taking into consideration audiovisual texts as
verbal-iconic discourses, authors focus on the interplay between linguistic utterances and
iconic representations on the screen through mechanisms of cohesion and a deeper
analysis of the process of communication involved. On the other hand, studies focusing
on the product go from the ones that consider films as adaptations of former literary texts,
to studies centred on the cultural impact of audiovisual translations in target audiences,
according to the polysystem theory and the norms of audiovisual translation. Finally we
will try to outline some learning objectives for the training of translators in this field as
well as some perspectives for future research.

Résumé

L’objectif de cet article est d’essayer d’établir un classement des méthodes de recherche
en traduction audiovisuelle. Il décrit les différentes approches théoriques proposées dans
ce domaine pendant les vingt dernières années. L´analyse révèle que les études sur la
traduction audiovisuelle peuvent être classées en deux grands groupes: l´étude du proces-
sus de traduction audiovisuelle et celle des textes audiovisuels traduits, en tant que
produits. Au sein du premier groupe, une distinction peut être faite entre l´étude tentant de
(c) John Benjamins
justifier la place des textes audiovisuels dans les différentes classifications de typologie
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textuelle d´une part, et l´étude du mode de discours et de l´interaction entre texte et image
dans les genres audiovisuels d´autre part. Ces deux études ont pour but de dresser des
on: Sat, 18 Nov 2006 00:59:35
conclusions quant à la pratique de la traduction de ces textes particuliers.
to: University at Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Le second groupe s´intéresse de plus près aux éléments de base des textes audiovi-
suels et à l´interaction entre les mots et l´image. En considérant les textes audiovisuels
IP: 130.126.32.13
comme des discours texte-image, les auteurs se penchent sur les interactions entre la
prononciation linguistique et la représentation visuelle au travers des mécanismes de
cohésion et d´une analyse approfondie du processus de communication impliqué. D´autre
part, les études du produit lui-même vont de la considération d´un film comme adaptation
de textes littéraires, à l´intérêt porté à l´impact culturel des traductions audiovisuelles sur
l´audience cible, selon la théorie des polysystèmes et les normes de traduction audiovi-
suelle. Enfin, nous chercherons à mettre en relief des objectifs d´apprentissage de la
traduction dans ce domaine, ainsi que des projets de recherches envisagées.

ERRATUM
Due to a typographical error in the article “Rhetorical Repetition in
Literary Translation” by Prof. Adnan K. Abdulla, Babel, Vol. 47 (2001)
4: 289–303, some Arabic words or expressions appear to be printed in
reverse, viz. on pp. 293–295 and 297–299.
We apologize for the inconvenience and thank our readers for their
understanding. (R.H.)