The semantics and pragmatics of translating culture-bound references in film dubbing.

摘要

This work deals with a number of issues relating to the multifaceted phenomenon of audiovisual translation. The primary concern of the dissertation is with the evaluation of translation strategies of extralinguistic culture-bound references, in particular, in films dubbed from English (as the source language) into Ukrainian (as the target language). In the light of the multiplicity of semiotic codes involved, current audiovisual translation theories are not adequate to account for all factors that contribute to a successful translation. Besides this polysemiotic nature, audiovisual translation is complicated when there is a heavy load of culture-specific elements. Furthermore, it is not easy to define the notion of a culture-bound reference in itself, and the proximity and/or remoteness of source and target cultures may create different degrees of the so-called "culture bumps" (Leppihalme, 1993) during the process of translation.;This work focuses on instances of "culture bumps" in five computer animated comedies dubbed from English into Ukrainian, namely—Ratatouille (2007), Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), How to Train Your Dragon (2010), Shrek Forever After (2010), and Cars 2 (2011). The films were selected with consideration of idiosyncratic contextualizations that do not necessarily explicitly 'belong' culturally to either of the two cultural contexts considered, the original U.S. or the Ukrainian one. None of the films are overtly embedded in the U.S. culture, and the viewer must be familiar with it in order to attribute the films to the latter.;The uniqueness of the complexity of translation of these films is revealed even more in the particular context of audiovisual translation in Ukraine. Only in 2006 the Cabinet of Ukraine passed a decision about mandatory dubbing, voice-over or subtitling of all foreign films from its original language into the Ukrainian language. One of the first films subject to this law was the animated feature Тачки (Cars) which was dubbed into Ukrainian. The translation was a huge success, and some regard this as the beginning of the promotion of the Ukrainian language and culture via the film industry.;Due to the complicated history of the state, including seventy years under the Soviet regime, the language situation in Ukraine is very complex. Since Ukraine gained its independence in 1989, Ukrainian has been the officially recognized state language according to the Constitution of Ukraine. This led to slow implementation of the Ukrainian language usage both on the state and local levels and caused significant steps towards de-russification of the public sphere. By the directive of the President of Ukraine from August 27, 2003 the State Television and Radio Committee of Ukraine became responsible for implementation of the state language policy of Ukraine on television and radio.;Although historically a voice-over country (as a part of the Soviet Union, where this particular audiovisual technique was introduced), Ukraine now favors dubbing. This is in part due to the relatively small percentage of the population that speaks English (which is the top language of imported AV production worldwide). It is also a method of promoting the usage of Ukrainian on the everyday level, and raising its prestige in the country, especially with younger generations. The relationship between these factors and the strategies chosen by translators when dubbing foreign films into Ukrainian is among the key issues of interest in this thesis.;An important factor that contributed to the emphasis on the animated films, as opposed to other genres, was that the mandate of the Cabinet, first of all, oriented on younger audiences. It is my hypothesis that, due to the Ukrainian language promotion policy and the particular audience targeted, the animated films dubbed into Ukrainian will be "heavier" in the strategies that seek to embed the films into the Ukrainian context.;The analysis performed in this study revealed the symbiotic relationship between the national policy on language and choice of AVT mode, as well as translation strategies and its quality.