translation strategies
Once we have described the diverse working situations of audiovisual transla- tors in Spain, we would like to focus on how this diversity of contexts is relevant in order to determine the initial norm of a translation. We should remember that the initial norm decides the basic choice of a translator, that is, whether he or she gives priority to the original language and culture or to the target language and culture.
What happens when a television or cinematographic product in which the cultural references are very diŸerent from those of the target culture is to be
translated? This subject has been explored innumerable times in studies carried out on translation for dubbing, yet it is rather di¹cult to come to a conclusion. In spite of the fact that in this paper we focus on the situation in Spain, especially regarding the forms of behaviour and regularities observed in dub- bing translation in bilingual communities, ªrstly we oŸer a selection of studies which deal with the adequacy or acceptability as translation strategies for dubbing translation in Italy and France, countries which also have a long dubbing tradition. After that, we will review some of the few studies carried out in Spain on dubbing in bilingual contexts. All these works have in common a high concern for the ªnal translation result, which mostly consists in develop- ing target-oriented translations (Zaro 2001: 55).
In relation to the dubbing situation in Italy, Kovarski (1996: 251–262) takes as a starting point the idea that when we speak of translating a ªlm, the references to linguistic components are insu¹cient. He goes on to explain that all references related to the reception and comprehension of the translated text must be dealt with, and he takes up Popovic’s concepts of naturalisation and exoticism to explain these relationships. For Kovarski (1996: 256), the very fact of substituting the words of the original for others implies a change in referents and the perception of this reality. He a¹rms that in the Italian dubbing of Taxi
Blues (1989) there is
[…] una azione desemantizzante del doppiaggio in lingua italiana. Il doppiaggio
di Taxi Blues, oltre all’usata, tormentosa e immotivata italianizzazione degli
antroponimi e dei loro martoriati accenti, presenta una palese forma di normalizzazione dei dialoghi in cui si tende ad epurare ogni elemento russo (e non linguistico!) con un processo de desemantizzazione delle situazioni.3
He makes reference to the constant use of hyperonyms and ambiguous sen- tences to avoid concrete references to Russian and Hebrew culture. This, for Kovarski, is an unmistakable form of ideological manipulation that modiªes the essence of the ªlm, which is based on the confrontation of two diŸerent cultures. Kovarski insists on this idea when the Italian dubbing is a means of censure.
In Capanaga et al. (1996: 213–230), the authors analyse the Italian dubbing translation of Pedro Almodovar’s ªlm Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) (1988). They concentrate on the linguistic adaptations and comment that “essempi di normalizzazione caratterizzano la traduzione e un senso di corretezza grammaticale s’impa- dronisce del traduttore…”.4 At the same time, however, they point out that the
with a lower register than that of the original, where it is precisely the diŸerences of register that produce humorous situation for the viewer (Capanaga et al. 1996: 228). The idea of an assumed treason of the original is the dominant aspect in this work. This somewhat negative evaluation of adap- tation is also present in La Polla’s work (1994: 51–60) on dubbing and cultural context, to which I shall refer later.
In Bovinelli and Gallini’s study (1994) we observe, however, a change of attitude. This is the result of a descriptive study made from analysing ªve ªlms. The authors do not take up any position with regard to the convenience or otherwise of adaptation. After this analysis they go no further than concluding that in the majority of cases, the dubbing translation makes an attempt to bring the text to the target culture. Referring to the results obtained from the study of translation of six main categories (toponymy, units of measurement, food- stuŸs and some aspects of popular culture such as games and set expressions) they consider that “la versione doppiata del ªlm tende a tradurre gli elementi contestuali che abbiamo raccolto in queste 6 categorie con altri elementi delle estesse categorie, ma considerati più familiari al pubblico della cultura di arrivo” (1994: 90).5
Gaiba (1994) goes a little further when she arrives at the conclusion that the translation of humour must attain a functional equivalence, with the cultural referents of the target culture taking preference.
Taking into account dubbing in France, some works which we cannot overlook are those of Goris (1991 and 1993) on norms and dubbing, in which he speaks of naturalisation (the obtention of a translation close to the viewer), explicitation and linguistic standardisation as solutions to the relationship between translation and culture. There thus appears a con¶ict between the maintenance or otherwise of the linguistic and cultural characteristics that deªne an original. In the terms used by the followers of Polysystem Theory, this amounts to a debate between adequacy and acceptability (Baker 1999, Toury 1999).
Toury (1980) deªnes adequate translation as that which is oriented to- wards the norms of the source language and culture. It is an equivalent, mutatis
mutandis, of the dichotomy existing between Venuti’s foreignizing translation
(1995) or House’s overt translation (1981). On the other hand, Toury deªnes an acceptable translation as that which is oriented toward the norms of the target language and culture. This is equivalent to Venuti’s domesticating trans- lation or House’s covert translation.
In Spain, the bibliography on adequacy vs. acceptability in dubbing trans- lation is scarce. Most times we ªnd studies which are not systematic. The selection of works we will present here aims at oŸering a view on almost all the o¹cial languages in Spain, only considering studies which could be regarded as representative for this purpose. Therefore, in the ªrst place we enhance the research developed by Izard (1999, 2000) on Catalan dubbing situation. After having analyzed the translation of a French series into Catalan (Hélène et les
garçons), this author summarizes three main concluding points: ªrst, that a
clear intention to adapt the cultural French context is observed; second, that the linguistic adaptation is diŸerent on a lexical and morphosyntactical level; and third, that the kind of language that TVC proposes is not a realistic but a didactic model (Izard, 1999: 349–350). An interesting aspect of Izard’s results is that they coincide with the analysis that Agost (1995) carried out on the series (Premiers Baisers) which was the starting point for the one analyzed by Izard. This means a ªrst step in order to detect regularities on Catalan dubbing of teenagers’ series at the beginning of 1990’s.
Ferrer (2003) describes the translation into Spanish of the Japanese anime, and concludes that there is a range of strategies, though she explains that currently more attention is paid to the function of the original text, the client’s expectations and the expectations of the viewers in the target language.
Larrinaga (2000, 2003) describes that in Basque dubbing there is a ten- dency to be faithful to the original references and situations, not only because of image restrictions, but because it is believed that through audiovisual texts we can gather information about other cultures. Nonetheless, he recognized that it is necessary to adapt when the viewer’s comprehension is jeopardized. Moreover he distinguishes between diverse adaptation degrees in relation to the audiovisual dubbing genres (documentaries, cartoons, ªlms, etc.).
Finally, regarding the Galician dubbing context, Camiña and Sánchez (2000: 42) conclude that it is almost always necessary to adapt cultural refer- ences, though it is also true that it depends on the genre being dubbed. Thus, for instance, it is not the same to adapt in a sitcom that to do it in a ªlm by Woody Allen, where it is essential to respect the New York atmosphere.