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Socio-Cultural and Technical Issues in Non-Expert Dubbing: A Case Study Christiane Nord1a, Masood Khoshsaligheh2b, Saeed Ameri3b Abstract ARTICLE HISTORY: Advances in computer sciences and the emergence of innovative technologies have entered numerous new Received November 2014 elements of change in translation industry, such as the Received in revised form February 2015 inseparable usage of software programs in audiovisual Accepted February 2015 translation. Initiated by the expanding reality of fandubbing Available online February 2015 in Iran, the present article aimed at illuminating this practice into Persian in the Iranian context to partly address the line of inquiries about fandubbing which still is an uncharted territory on the margins of Translation Studies. Considering the scarce research in this area, the paper aimed to provide data to attract more attention to the notion of fandubbing by KEYWORDS: providing real-world examples from a community with a language of limited diffusion. An exploratory review of a Non-expert dubbing large and diverse sample of openly accessed dubbed Fundubbing products into Persian, ranging from short-formed clips to Fandubbing feature movies, such dubbing practice was further classified Quasi-professional dubbing into fundubbing, fandubbing, and quasi-professional dubbing. User-generated translation Based on the results, the study attempted to describe the cultural aspects and technical features of each type. © 2015 IJSCL. All rights reserved. 1 Professor, Email: [email protected] 2 Assistant Professor, Email: [email protected] (Corresponding Author) Tel: +98-915-501-2669 3 MA Student, Email: [email protected] a University of the Free State, South Africa b Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran 2 Socio-Cultural and Technical Issues in Non-Expert Dubbing: A Case Study 1. Introduction the Iranian context in specific and in other similar locales and other languages in general. lthough Translation Studies (TS) is becoming more divergent academically, 2. Theoretical Framework A and is tapping into more uncharted territories, translation by fans or amateurs, in The first signs of translation by fans were words of Olohan (2014) and Pérez-González spotted in subtitling of Japanese anime tracing and Susam-Saraeva (2012), is still a scarce and back to the 1980s (O'Hagan, 2009), mainly unexplored notion. Gentzler (2014, p. 23) due to technological advancement such as easy states that “translation today knows no availability of software programs (Diaz-Cintas institutional boundaries, and it is time for & Muñoz Sánchez, 2006), but nowadays scholars to catch up to the practice”. Similarly, renditions by fans can be seen in every type of Nergaard and Arduini (2011) propose that “the translation. According to Cronin (2012) and inauguration of a trans-disciplinary research Gambier (2014), rendering by fans and non- field with translation as an interpretive as well experts has been very conspicuously originated as operative tool…where translation is viewed by crowdsourcing of websites like Facebook as fundamentally trans-disciplinary, mobile, or LinkedIn. Accordingly, Cronin (2012) and open ended” (p. 8). highlights that such translations are “personalized, user-driven, and integrated into Dubbing and subtitling alongside voice-over dynamic systems of ubiquitous delivery” (p. as the frequent modes of audiovisual 475). Both fanned translation and amateur translation (AVT) (Diaz-Cintas, 2013) are also translation share the same idea of unpaid undertaken by fans and amateurs every so translations by non-experts, even though it often. However, these expanding unprofessional cannot be denied that a few of these translators activities have only been mentioned in the TS might be professionals in the field of literatures by a few scholars. Fansubbing has translation and interpreting (Izwaini, 2014). been noted by Pérez-González (2007a, 2007b, While the markets of professional translators 2012a, 2012b, 2012c), and fandubbing has as well as their identity have been gravely been occasionally addressed by Chaume threatened by non-professionals (Pérez- (2007, 2012, 2013a, 2013b, 2013c). However, González & Susam-Saraeva, 2012), fans have quite a few other scholars have mentioned the played a crucial role in exchanging economic notion in their publications, which clearly and cultural assets among nations throughout indicates to the dearth of research into fan- history (Pym, 2000). generated audiovisual renditions and this line of inquiry is awaiting further study. As Diaz- The body of research produced and the Cintas and Orero (2010) assert, “little attention richness of related debates show that AVT is has been devoted to the collaborative practice one of the increasingly expanding extensions of fandubbing, which consists in the free of TS. It is a special class of translation since distribution over the Internet of audiovisual AV material differs from written texts in that programs, most commonly Japanese anime, the acoustic and visual channels intricately which have been dubbed by fans for fans” (p. work together (Chiaro, 2013). “Dubbing is a 444). Chaume (2013a), however, considers process which uses the acoustic channel for fandubbing/fundubbing as a new genre in translational purposes, while subtitling is AVT, which needs to be further explored. visual and involves a written translation that is superimposed on to the screen” (Chiaro, 2009, This study aims at providing context-specific pp. 141-142). Information on the origin of insights into the practice of fan-produced, fandubbing is scarce, but it seems that the dubbed audiovisual materials into Persian in practice of fandubbing dates back to the early the Iranian context across the three 2000s and is presumed to be related to subcategories of fundubbing, fandubbing, and translation of Japanese anime or manga which quasi-professional dubbing. On a more general were not dubbed officially (Chaume, 2007; level, this paper aims to provide a basis for Diaz-Cintas & Orero, 2010). As mentioned in further detailed investigations into the Wikipedia (July 2014): marginal yet expanding issue of fandubbing in C. Nord et al. / International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, 3(2), 2015 ISSN 2329-2210 3 A fandub … is a fan-made dub or redub of capital city of Kerman Province in central a live-action or animated production … Iran; they were quickly distributed, shooting [and] the dialogue can range from being a their creators to a national fame. They were close translation to a completely altered home-made dubbings of short-formed clips version of the original script's story and from Hollywood movies, recorded at home by plots, as well as the personalities of easily accessible software programs like protagonists. (par. 1) Movie Maker on Microsoft Windows, using a simple microphone. At this point in time in Fandubbing might be for the aim of satire and Iran, fandubbers have progressed as they have there might not even be an intention of an gained more experience and presently dub overt relation between the original and the full-length feature movies with adequate dubbed script. It is described in Wikipedia quality in translation, by even preserving the (July 2014) that “the story line, character original sound effects. However, the personalities, and content are dramatically performance of the voice-actors is a noticeable altered, typically in a humorous manner” (par. drawback. 1). Fandubbing at times is also called fundubbing because of “the witty and At the same time, there are certain cases of humorous nature of this type of home-grown Persian dubbed editions of feature movies dubbing” (Chaume, 2013c, p. 111). Nevertheless, which can hardly be regarded as instances of unlike other fan-produced translations, fandubbing even though they are distributed subtitling by fans (or fansubs), fandubbing has on the Internet free of charge. Typically, they not received substantial popularity on the are professional dubbings which have not Internet. Chaume (2013b) believes that received authorization for distribution in the fandubbing is currently in a flux and is gaining official Iranian market. This could be due to a ground in practice and might influence the number of reasons: either the exclusive right market of professional translators like of dubbing was granted to another company, fansubtitling. or the movie does not meet the cultural or ideological requirements. In such cases, the Izwaini (2014) extensively discusses various dubbing company which did not obtain the kinds of fan translations in the Arabic world distribution permission would sell the dubbed and proposes a special kind of amateur AVT version for a minimal price to some illegal (in subtitling – not to be confused with websites or even make it available on the fansubbing) to be characterized as “fake Internet for free downloads themselves. This is translation” (p. 3). why such products can hardly be classified as fandubbing, and they were not included in the Some translations are fake and done for current study. fun; they are humorous translations in regional dialects and may be totally 3. Methodology different from the ST. In some cases exaggerated offensive language is used Considering the exploratory nature of the when the Arabic is a fabricated text rather study and the unprecedented purpose of this than a translation. (p. 14) qualitative investigation, a triangulated methodology (Dörnyei, 2007; Saldanha & Nornes (2007) calls such translational products O'Brien, 2013) is adopted so that