Towards a Model for Film Literacy in Audiovisual Translation: a Case Study of the Subtitling of a Classic Egyptian Film Into English
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Towards a model for film literacy in audiovisual translation: A case study of the subtitling of a classic Egyptian film into English Muhammad Y Gamal A thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of International Studies Faculty of Arts and Social Science March 2013 THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname or Family name: GAMAL First name: Muhammad Other name/s: Y. Abbreviation for degree as given in the University calendar: PhD School: International Studies Faculty: Arts and Social Sciences Title: Towards a model for film literacy in audiovisual translation: a case study of the subtitling of a classic Egyptian film into English. Abstract 350 words maximum: (PLEASE TYPE) The emergence of DVD technology prompted a surge in subtitling a large number of Egyptian films into English. Although subtitling has been around in Egypt since the early thirties of the past century, most of the activity has been into Arabic only. Most western universities have been debating audiovisual translation issues for the last decade. Yet contribution from Arabic has been virtually negligible. The increasing number of Egyptian films subtitled onto DVD has prompted the examination of subtitling Arabic language films. In the current study, the subtitling of Egyptian classic films is examined. The study looks at the current professional practice, the quality of the subtitling and the teaching of screen translation in Egypt. The study will argue that the current subtitling practice is flawed as it remains oblivious to three significant factors that impact on the training of subtitlers and consequently on the quality of subtitling. These factors are 1) the lack of formal debate of subtitling in translation curricula, 2) the reliance on the dialogue list as an economical way of producing subtitles and 3) the lack of film literacy. The research examines the first film produced by the DVD industry in Egypt. The film, featuring Omar Sharif, is widely considered an Egyptian classic. It applies a multimodal analysis of thirty significant scenes in the film and highlights the common challenges in the subtitling which were not met. It will argue that failure to meet the challenges is primarily due to the above three factors which seriously hamper the production of quality subtitling in Egypt. The major conclusion reached is that film literacy is a must for audiovisual culture to take root in the country. Declaration relating to disposition of project thesis/dissertation I hereby grant to the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all property rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstracts International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). …………………………………………………………… ……………………………………..……………… ……….……………………...…….… Signature Witness Date The University recognises that there may be exceptional circumstances requiring restrictions on copying or conditions on use. Requests for restriction for a period of up to 2 years must be made in writing. Requests for a longer period of restriction may be considered in exceptional circumstances and require the approval of the Dean of Graduate Research. FOR OFFICE USE ONLY Date of completion of requirements for Award: THIS SHEET IS TO BE GLUED TO THE INSIDE FRONT COVER OF THE THESIS ORIGINALITY STATEMENT ‘I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.’ Signed …………………………………………….............. Date …………………………………………….............. ii Abstract The emergence of DVD technology prompted a surge in subtitling a large number of Egyptian films into English. Although subtitling has been around in Egypt since the early thirties of the past century, most of the activity has been into Arabic only. Most western universities have been debating audiovisual translation issues for the last decade. Yet contribution from Arabic has been virtually negligible. The increasing number of Egyptian films subtitled onto DVD has prompted the examination of subtitling Arabic language films. In the current study, the subtitling of Egyptian classic films is examined. The study looks at the current professional practice, the quality of the subtitling and the teaching of screen translation in Egypt. The study will argue that the current subtitling practice is flawed as it remains oblivious to three significant factors that impact on the training of subtitlers and consequently on the quality of subtitling. These factors are 1) the lack of formal debate of subtitling in translation curricula, 2) the reliance on the dialogue list as an economical way of producing subtitles and 3) the lack of film literacy. The research examines the first film produced by the DVD industry in Egypt. The film, featuring Omar Sharif, is widely considered an Egyptian classic. It applies a multimodal analysis of thirty significant scenes in the film and highlights the common challenges in the subtitling which were not met. It will argue that failure to meet the challenges is primarily due to the above three factors which seriously hamper the production of quality subtitling in Egypt. The major conclusion reached is that film literacy is a must for audiovisual culture to take root in the country. iii Dedication To Kazue, my darling wife, Thank you for everything, the love and support and endless patience. Arigato! iv Acknowledgements I wish to acknowledge the effort of All my supervisors at The University of New South Wales, Professor L. Stern, Dr R. Machali, Dr E. McDonalds, Professor P. Collins and Dr James Lee. And particularly, Mr Mounir Shawky, Cairo, who taught me English Professor Marcel Thelen, Zuyd University, for his motivation Professor Mamuru Tsuda, Osaka University for his encouragement Professor David Widdowson, University of Canberra for his inspiration Mr Abdel-Aziz Hamdy, American University in Cairo, for his brotherly care and concern Mr Dale Redfern for his unfailing support, technical and editorial assistance and friendship All my students, friends, family and Australian fans of Omar Sharif (in black and white) v Table of Contents Dedication ..................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ v Part 1: Historical perspectives on audiovisual translation in Egypt ............................................... 1 Chapter One ................................................................................................................................... 2 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 2 1.1 Deciphering meaning ..................................................................................................... 2 1.2 The new impetus for subtitling ...................................................................................... 3 1.3 Audiovisual translation in the Arab world today ........................................................... 3 1.4 Background to the current research .............................................................................. 4 1.5 Researching Egyptian films subtitled into English ......................................................... 5 1.6 Hurdles before the present research ............................................................................. 6 1.7 Overcoming hurdles in researching DVD subtitling in Egypt ......................................... 7 1.8 Towards a theoretical framework for researching DVD subtitling ................................ 8 1.9 Impact of the Digital Revolution on the young in Egypt .............................................. 10 1.10 Film language and literacy ........................................................................................... 11 1.11 Classic films on DVD ..................................................................................................... 13 Chapter Two ................................................................................................................................. 18 DVD Context in Egypt ................................................................................................................... 18 Introduction ............................................................................................................................