Chapter Two

Literature Review

Overview 2.0

This chapter outlines the theoretical background of the current study. There, the researcher

will briefly present an overview of the history of translation, the definitions of AVT, and its

types, focusing more on subtitling, its definitions, and its strategies. Furthermore, this study will

present the definition of equivalence and its types.

Translation .2.1

It is assumed that until the 1980s, translation studies had been a subfield of philology,

linguistics, or language teaching departments. However, specifically over the last three

decades, translation studies have grown into a fully-fledged discipline. Since then, many

scholars and theorists have done many theories, researches, and differently have dealt

with it as a discipline.

Audiovisual Translation .2.2

The term audiovisual translation has been coined to embrace television and video

material, whereas the term multimedia translation has been chiseled out to cover all sorts

of media, communication, and technology(Chiaro, 2009; Jorge Díaz-Cintas & Remael,

2014; Gambier & Gottlieb, 2001; Pérez-González, 2014; Varela, 2002, as cited in Yassin,

2019).

Delabastita(1989 as cited in JIN, 2017) stated, that AVT emphasizes audiovisual

dimensions of the communicative mode. Unlike communication through other

aural and the visual channels through acoustic and optical waves are simultaneously

utilized.

Modes of Audiovisual Translation .2.2.1

❖ Dubbing

Dubbing can be defined simply as lip-sync. This means that the dubbed dialogue

should follow the original dialogue's wording, timing, and lip movements as much as

possible. These stages include translation, performances of actors and actresses, and

timing. However, the translator does not participate in any other stages except the

translation process. There are also technical improvements in dubbing to make it more

appropriate, such as shortening or stretching sentences to achieve better synchronization.

Also, Karamitroglou (2000) defined dubbing as a “specific revoicing technique that

attempts to cover entirely the spoken source text with a target text adjusted to fit the –

visible – lip movements of the original utterances” (p. 5).

❖ Voice Over

The voice-over is all about transferring the source soundtrack and the translation at the

same time, keeping the original tone at a low volume, while the sound of the read

translation will be opened at a high volume approximately two seconds after the original

playback starts, and the two sounds will end almost simultaneously. This kind of

audiovisual translation mode adds a realistic effect; therefore, it is widely used in

interviews and documentaries.

❖ Interpreting
Interpreting refers to the speaker's translation of audiovisual products.
Interpreting can be synchronized, sequential, recorded, or live, which is the most popular

type. The most important factors in translation are fluency and voice because only one

voice can be heard during the entire production process. Live news and interviews of the

source soundtrack are often played in the background. This AVT mode also includes

translation into sign language.

❖ Surtitling

According to Ajabbad (2019) "Surtitling, also known as supertitling, is common in

theatres, specifically opera houses. It consists of a line displayed with no interruption

above the stage or on the back of the seats". The display of the surtitling is prepared in

advance but inserted in real-time.

❖ Free Commentary

Free commentary generally refers to adapting the program to a new audience, adapting to

cultural factors or new goals. Therefore, its final product is fundamentally different from

the original, and the producer does not intend to accurately reproduce the original. Due to

the discrepancy between the free commentary and translation, the creators of these

projects only rely on the image or synchronization instead of the original soundtrack.

Free commentaries are often used in documentaries, humorous videos, children's shows,

film parodies, and corporate movies, especially when the goal of the product is not

literacy. If this is the case, the translator must gather more information, and so the latter

acts as a journalist in a way.

Partial dubbing or concise synchronization includes adding "spoken text to provide the

necessary information in the target language without providing a complete translation of

the dialogue" (Hendrickx, 1984, p. 217, as cited in Bartolomé & Cabrera, 2005). This

AVT mode is cheap, but due to its infidelity lack of authenticity, and similarity to the

original version, it is rarely used compared to copying.

❖ Narration

Regarding narration, the original text has been translated and compressed; then it is read

by dubbing actors/actresses who only read, not perform. The original audio track is toned

down or muted.

❖ Simultaneous Translation

Simultaneous translation, also known as sight translation, is performed on the spot from

scripts or subtitles that have been prepared in a second language in order to use the

second foreign language as the main language, which distinguishes it from interpretation.

Cabrera and Bartolomé (2005) argued that this is usually limited to film festivals and film

archives, when there is a time limit for creating more complex translations, or when the

original language is somewhat exotic and the main language is more common. The

audience hears two voices: the original version and the target version. However, the

synchronization quality is poor.

❖ Live Subtitling

Live subtitling, also known as real-time subtitling, is the production of real-time subtitles

for game shows and live news programs, especially for the deaf or audiences with
hearing problems. It needs to be very fast, and a special keyboard has been developed for

this.

❖ Audio Description

Audio description (AD) is an AVT mode suitable for visually impaired or

partially-sighted audiences, which includes narrating visual elements related to the plot,

such as clothing, body language, etc. According to Gambier (2003), "this narration is

added to the soundtrack, either the original one and, thus, intralinguistic or the dubbed

version and so interlinguistic"(p. 176).

❖ Script Translation

The main and only purpose of script translating or scenario translation is to obtain

financial support for co-production (Gambier, 2004 as cited in Bartolomé & Cabrera,

2005). This AVT model is strictly procedural because it is not for real audiences. Only

authorized persons will read the translation to obtain information about the audiovisual

project not to appreciate the product of translation.

❖ Animation
The animation includes translation and scriptwriting. Animation translators will

look at silent pictures (usually cartoons) and create the dialogue from the beginning.

Animation is also likened to a free commentary; however, the latter remains in the script,

and the animation does not have an original script to start.

❖ Multimedia Translation
 "Multimedia translation combines audiovisual translation (particularly dubbing

and subtitling), programming skills and sci-tech translation know-how (Chaume, 2004 in

Bartolomé & Cabrera, 2005). It is usually found in interactive games (on game consoles

or PC)"(Ajabbad, 2019, p. 44). Subtitling and dubbing are both synchronized, and special

attention should be paid to acoustic and visual virtual reality in the game.

❖ Double Versions

Double versions belong to multilingual productions, which is to say, products that

have two or more languages. Each actor in double versions, however, plays his/her role;

thus, the movie is later dubbed and post-synchronized so it has just one language.

Subtitling .2.3

Subtitling is generally a common means to transfer language in television and

film. However, the practice of subtitling has a long history. Fong and Au (2009) claimed

that a form of subtitles, called intertitles, has existed since the inception of film in 1903.

However, it was in 1909 that ' subtitle' as a term was first used. Although originally

placed on the text screen between movie clips, over time, the subtitles have evolved to be

placed within the image, usually at the bottom of the screen, which is the type of subtitle

that viewers are accustomed to. Luyken et al., (1991) defined subtitles as condensed

written translations of original dialogue which appear as lines of text, usually positioned

towards the foot of the screen. Moreover, subtitling is translating media messages into

another language, which is represented in the form of a line or lines of text written on the

screen simultaneously with the original verbal message (Gottieb, 2005). Accordingly,

Díaz-
Cintas and Remael provided an inclusive definition for subtitling as "a translation

practice that consists of presenting a written text, generally on the lower part of the

screen, that endeavors to recount the original dialogue of the speakers, as well as the

discursive elements that appear in the image (letters, inserts, graffiti, inscriptions,

placards, and the like), and the information that is contained on the soundtrack (songs,

voices off)" (p. 8). While some scholars argue that subtitling is not a translation on its

own, it is rather an adaptation, which is to their views an inferior activity to translation,

many scholars believe that subtitling is a major branch of audiovisual translation.

Generally speaking, the widespread of mass media, namely television, films, tv shows,

and even video games have increased the demand for subtitling. However, subtitling is

not an easy job. In subtitling, it is not only the language that the translator should be

concerned about, but also the pictures, sound effects, and accent that might be even more

challenging for the translator (Debbas & Haider, 2020).