Masarykova univerzita Filozofická fakulta
Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky
Bakalářská diplomová práce
2019 Tereza Raková Masaryk University Faculty of Arts
Department of English and American Studies
English Language and Literature
Tereza Raková
Transfer of Cultural Differences in the Czech Dubbing of The Simpsons Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis
Supervisor: Mgr. Lucie Seibertová, Ph. D.
2019
I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography.
…………………………………………….. Author’s signature
I would like to thank my supervisor Mgr. Lucie Seibertová, Ph.D. for her unconditional patience, valuable advice, support and guidance. My sincere thanks undeniably go to my family and friends for their kind and constant support.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction ...... 1
2 Theory of Dubbing ...... 4
2.1 History of Dubbing ...... 4
2.2 Dubbing Versus Other Types of Audiovisual Translation ...... 5
2.2.1 Subtitles ...... 5
2.2.2 Voice-over ...... 6
2.2.3 Dubbing ...... 8
2.3 Strategies of Dubbing ...... 12
2.3.1 Techniques in Transferring Cultural References ...... 13
2.4 Issues in Dubbing ...... 14
3 Research ...... 16
3.1 Specifics of Dubbing of The Simpsons ...... 16
3.2 About The Simpsons ...... 17
3.3 Analysis ...... 18
3.3.1 Techniques for Transfer of CR Identified ...... 18
3.3.2 Season 1, Episode 5: “Bart the General” ...... 20
3.3.2.1 Repetition ...... 20
3.3.2.2 Glosses ...... 20
3.3.2.3 Absolute Universalization ...... 22
3.3.2.4 Omission ...... 23
3.3.2.5 Creation of a New Cultural Reference ...... 24
3.3.3 Season 17, Episode 9: “Simpson Christmas Stories” ...... 25
3.3.3.1 Repetition ...... 25
3.3.3.2 Glosses ...... 26
3.3.3.3 Cultural Substitution ...... 26
3.3.3.4 Omission ...... 29
3.3.4 Season 29, Episode 12: “Homer is Where the Art Isn’t” ...... 29
3.3.4.1 Repetition ...... 30
3.3.4.2 Literal Translation ...... 30
3.3.4.3 Glosses ...... 31
3.3.4.4 Absolute Universalization ...... 32
3.3.4.5 Cultural Substitution ...... 33
3.3.4.6 Omission ...... 34
3.3.4.7 Creation of a New Cultural Reference ...... 36
3.4 Analysis Conclusion...... 36
4 Conclusion ...... 38
5 Bibliography ...... 41
5.1 Primary Sources ...... 41
5.2 Secondary Sources ...... 41
6 Resume (English) ...... 44
7 Resumé (Czech) ...... 46
1 Introduction
The Simpsons, an animated sitcom is highly popular among not only Czech and
American audience. Even though it is animated, the target audience are not only children, but people of any age, as the show deals with various problems and topics that people are familiar with, such as issues in marriage, family problems, religion, bullying, social class, ethnicity and more. Besides that, one of the reasons for its popularity is undoubtedly the number of cultural references. In audiovisual translation, cultural references may present considerable difficulties due to their link to the specific culture of the country where the sitcom or any other form of entertainment comes from. This thesis deals particularly with the cultural references used in the above-mentioned sitcom
The Simpsons. It focuses on the cultural references and their transfer from the original audio track into the Czech dubbing together with the techniques for transfer of cultural references used. It also tracks whether there are any differences in dubbing strategies within the time span they cover as it analyses three different episodes from the first, the seventeenth and the twenty-ninth season, spanning the period of twenty-five years.
The theoretical part of this thesis deals with the history of dubbing, the comparison of dubbing to other types of audiovisual translation, strategies of dubbing and issues in dubbing. The history of dubbing is important to mention as the strategies and the dubbing process itself has changed during the 20th and 21st century. This thesis assumes that nowadays or in recent years, translators use substitution much less that they did in past, especially in the 90s, as the familiarity with American culture was not so widespread. The comparison of dubbing to the other types of audiovisual translation
(voice-over and subtitling) is mentioned to demonstrate the differences between them, as each of them brings further challenges to the field. Strategies used in dubbing vary,
1 depending on the type of the form of entertainment and the visual content. There are many factors influencing dubbing and the strategies used, such as visual content, lip- synchronisation, culture specifics tied to the respective culture and more.
The practical part begins with specific features of The Simpsons dubbing as there are particular features dependant on the fact that it is an animated sitcom set in America.
The thesis then explains the basic plot and characteristics of the sitcom for the reader to better understand the usage of references and the analysis itself. It is not concerned with a detailed description of the characters or the story, but it rather gives the reader a brief insight into the sitcom and the nuclear Simpson family that the show mainly focuses on.
The majority of the practical part of the thesis then focuses on the analysis, which is done on three selected episodes of the sitcom, which have been chosen for the number of cultural references that occur in the episodes and the time span they cover.
The analysis focuses on cultural references, whether it comes to food, TV and movies, entertainment in general or personalities and historical or military terms and more. With each episode there is a plot overview and with each reference there is a story background to it explained so the reference makes sense to the reader. For each episode examined, there is a comparison of the original references and the references in the
Czech dubbing put in a table to make the comparison more visible and an explanation of the meaning of both the source and target language messages follows. The cultural references are sorted according to the technique used for their transfer. It is assumed that the differences between strategies used for the translation in the selected episodes will prove the hypothesis that in the past cultural references were substituted more often than they are in the present.
The analysis in this paper might be useful for further research in the field of audiovisual translation as it deals with a very popular cultural sitcom known by many
2 people. It could help to better understand the cultural references and why they were translated in that particular way. It also maps the development of Czech dubbing of The
Simpsons and the dubbing strategies in the time span the analysed episodes cover.
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2 Theory of Dubbing
2.1 History of Dubbing
Dubbing as a type of audiovisual translation is one of the oldest modes used as it was first used in the late 1920s (Chaume 1). Dubbing means “replacing the original track of a film’s (or any audiovisual text’s) source language dialogues with another track on which translated dialogues have been recorded in the target language”
(Chaume 1). At the beginning of the twentieth century, subtitles were used for translating movies (mainly to German, Spanish and French) but, according to Chaume, the problem was that in the early 1930s many people visiting the cinema could not read
(12). On the other hand, in countries with high literacy, such as Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands, subtitles began to be used having the advantage of being a cheaper option than dubbing. The movie industry noticed the commercial potential of dubbing when “two engineers from Paramount Pictures recorded a synchronized dialogue matching the lips of onscreen characters in the Beggars of Life (William A. Wellman
1928) movie” (Chaume 12). Dubbing of other movies such as Rio Rita (Luther Reed
1929) and using dubbing itself for example by United Artists or 20th Century Fox followed (Chaume 12).
As Chaume says, the quality of dubbing at that time was very low and received negative feedback as the timing of the sound made the audience question the credibility of the dialogues (12). Kautský mentions that at the beginning, dubbers did not realize the challenges and demanding features of this mode, they ignored the acoustics and did not take stylization of the text into account (21). Regarding the dubbing scene in the
Czech Republic, not only the technical features were wrong, but people also found
Czech language coming out of lips of American or French actors ridiculous and pathetic
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(Kautský 25). When it comes to television dubbing in the Czech Republic, Kautský states that actors at first just read subtitles to the movie and one actor was used for reading parts of more characters (35). Later the same number of Czech voice-talents as characters in movies were used in dubbing of a movie and they at least tried to make the
Czech speech as long as the original one (36-37). This procedure was used while dealing with live dubbing, which lasted until 1964 and after that they finally started to record it (Chaume 38).
2.2 Dubbing Versus Other Types of Audiovisual Translation
Dubbing is only one type of audiovisual translation (AVT). This chapter deals with the comparison of dubbing to other forms of AVT and therefore demonstrates different challenges that dubbing bears and the other forms do not. The basic AVT forms are subtitles, voice-over and dubbing. Each of the forms requires a different approach and differs in the strategies used. In general, subtitles need to be short enough for the reader not to miss any part of them but at the same time they need to convey all the important information and the overall message. Voice-over is much less demanding than dubbing or subtitles, but still needs to fit regarding the time slot so the viewer knows to what character the comment belongs to. In dubbing there are lot of features and issues that need to be dealt with, such as lip-sync, voice intonation or a fitting voice to the original actor. Each form of AVT is examined in more detail in the following subchapters.
2.2.1 Subtitles
Subtitles are a widespread and common form of audiovisual translation.
According to Guillot, subtitling process has been through technical development that makes the creation of subtitles easier and more accessible than dubbing (33). Nowadays
5 a person with a computer and subtitling program can, without many difficulties, create subtitles and there are even online programs that allow the making of subtitles (Guillot
33). The programs usually involve auto prescription, meaning the program is able to
“read” the dialogues and transcribe them automatically so the subtitler does not need to write the dialogues manually (Guillot 33). Even though the mentioned progress in technology helps subtitlers, there are still things left that need to be done manually, such as time-coding (or spotting, cueing), translating or editing (Guillot 33). But as Gambier in Guillot marks, currently these activities can be done by one person only, in contrary to the past, when there were more people involved who carried out the above-mentioned steps (33).
In comparison to dubbing, the making of subtitles is notably faster and cheaper, but more demanding regarding the acceptance of the audience, in means of specifications that subtitles need to have in order to be readable. There are guidelines for subtitles and its form, such as the number of characters in one line, the number of lines at the same time, their colour, font, size or the duration of the subtitles on the screen (Guillot 34-35). Even though there is the restriction of length of the subtitles present, the dialogues can be translated and therefore displayed via subtitles more accurately, since, unlike in dubbing, there is for example no need for lip-sync. When it comes to cultural references or idioms, the task remains very similar in both subtitles and dubbing, but at least in subtitles translators may use any (fitting, in means of length) translation with similar meaning to keep the message, while in dubbing there are more features that need to be taken into account.
2.2.2 Voice-over
Even though voice-over has not been researched as much as dubbing or subtitling, there is of course some theory existent. Definitions of voice-over vary and
6 one of them, according to Cintas and Orero is that voice-over is a “technique in which a voice offering a translation in a given target language (TL) is heard simultaneously on top of the source language (SL) voice” (qtd. in Matamala 64). Matamala adds, that “the authors also indicate that “the volume [of the original programme] is reduced to a low level that can still be heard in the background when the translation is being read” and also notes that the same authors highlight that it “usually finishes several seconds before the foreign language speech does, the sound of the original is raised again to a normal volume and the viewer can hear once more the original speech” (64-65). Another definition, for example, stands for voice-over being a “voice of an offscreen narrator or a voice heard but not belonging to any character actually talking on screen” (Kuhn and
Westwell, qtd. in Matamala 65). The important fact is that voice-over is recorded over the original track and runs at the same time, but more loudly.
To compare it to dubbing, there are some features these AVT modes have in common and some that are different. Dubbing and voice-over are both “oral renderings of audiovisual content that has been prepared in advance” (Matamala 66). According to
Gambier, voice-over is sometimes also called “partial dubbing” or “half-dubbing” (qtd. in Matamala 66). Matamala also mentions that the original text is shortened and some of it is left out or changed, which are also strategies used in dubbing and are covered in chapter “Strategies of Dubbing” in this thesis (71). In both dubbing and voice-over, the message and translation are handed over orally, which is easier for the viewer to accept, but as voice-over does not demand isochrony (same duration) or lip synchronization, it is much cheaper to produce and, therefore, mostly used in lower budget productions, such as documentaries or TV shows.
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2.2.3 Dubbing
Dubbing is the most challenging type of audiovisual translation regarding the number of specific features that need to be processed in order to produce a high-quality product. These features are synchronisation (whether lip synchrony, kinetic synchrony or isochrony), idiosyncrasy, voice and prosody and the dubbing process itself (Bosseaux
50-54). This chapter covers all these features in more detail, as they play an important role in the comparison to other AVT types having some of the mentioned features in common and some of them not.
Chaume distinguishes six important features related to synchronization that need to be taken in account to deliver a standard quality dubbing – acceptable lip-sync, credible and realistic dialogue lines, coherence between images and words, loyal translation, clear sound quality and acting (15-20).
Lip-sync, or in other words phonetic synchrony, “[mirrors] certain phonemes in close-ups” and is defined as “adapting [of] the translation to the articulatory movements of the on-screen characters” (Chaume 68-73). Chaume also mentions that most of translators focus on this feature only when there is a direct shot on the character speaking (73). According to the same author, the main aim of dubbing is producing a credible and realistic product that would fit the audience’s expectations, which is provided, apart from other features, by “[ensuring] that the translation respects the open vowels and bilabial and labio-dental consonants pronounced on screen” (Chaume 73).
Even though “open vowels in the [source text] … must correspond with open vowels in the translation …, rotations are possible [, which] means that translations can use vowels other than those in the source text, in the same position” (Chaume 74). Some vowels may therefore substitute others, which creates more space for the translator. The same applies to bilabials, where according to Chaume “words in the target language do
8 not have to have the same consonants as the source” and can be replaced by other consonants or by labiodentals (74). In practice it means that “a /p/ can … be replaced by an /m/ or /b/, or by /f/ or /v/” (Chaume 74). Chaume then mentions strategies used for maintaining the standard quality of synchronization, which are for example substitution or omission, but these strategies are discussed further in the chapter “Strategies of
Dubbing” (74-75). Remaining five synchronization features are summed up below.
Credible dialogues, as Chaume states, are often more important than the exact translation of the source text, even though the most accurate translation is always desired, which puts dubbing in between two measurements: “its adequacy in relation to the source text and its acceptability in the target culture” (16).
Coherence between images and words means “coherence between what is heard and what is seen” (Chaume 16). Chaume also emphasizes that dubbing must be cohesive not only regarding the linguistic or semiotic point of view, but also the visual and audio content should be cohesive and coherent (16-17). The same author highlights the fact that some dubbing companies use automatic translation software which does not take the visual content into account and therefore lowers the quality of dubbing
(Chaume 16).
Loyalty or fidelity is the fourth standard Chaume enlists (17). Even though “the concept of fidelity” was earlier used for “faithful interpreter”, who practiced word-for- word translation, nowadays it is accepted as being “identified with faithfulness to the meaning rather than the words of the author” (Munday 40). In other words, it is more important to deliver the message and meaning of the source text than provide the audience with an exact, literal translation. To this matter, Chaume adds that the target language audience expects to receive the same story as the source language audience, with the emphasis on censorship that is nowadays unacceptable, as for example in
9 politics or topics as sexuality or religion (17). Even though the above mentioned features are demanded to deliver a faithful translation, Chaume acknowledges that there are some features that – when changed – are tolerated by the audience, such as over- adaptation (“…semiotic distortions caused by the use in the translation of certain characteristic features of the target culture in a typically foreign atmosphere and place”) or changes to some film titles (17-18). Chaume concludes that it depends on the form of entertainment (for example movies or cartoons) whether the changes will be accepted or not in terms of credibility and faithfulness, as for example “over adaptation can be found in cartoons more frequently than in art films…” (18).
The fifth quality standard, according to Chaume is clear sound and sound quality, even though it is not the job of the translator (18). For Chaume, clear sound and quality include, apart from other features, the importance of not hearing the original track of audio in the new track in the target language, recording the soundtrack in a soundproof studios so there are no noises and voices that do not belong into the track or that “the volume of the voices is … higher than in normal speech” (18).
The last quality standard Chaume states is acting, as the “performance and dramatization of the dialogues” plays an important role as the voice talents “are required to perform in such way that they sound neither faked (overacted) nor monotonous
(underacted)” (19). In other words, the acting of voice talents should sound natural and credible and in accordance to the onscreen actor. Chaume also mentions that one voice talent should not be used for more characters in one movie and if possible, voice talent dubbing a particular more known actor should “play” this actor in every movie or series
(19).
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Apart from these features connected to synchronisation, there are two more synchronisation types that play an important role and need to be mentioned, which are kinetic synchrony and isochrony.
Kinetic synchrony according to Chaume’s definition stands for it to be “the synchronisation of the translation with the actors’ body movements” (69). As Bosseaux states, this synchronisation is important in means of delivering the message of the source text as the body movements “[add] nuances to or [complement] the meaning of the characters’ lines” (50). In other words, it should not, for example happen that the actor or actress on screen is nodding their head for yes but the voice says no. This kind of “dischrony” is easily spotted and lowers the quality of dubbing and makes the dialogues or scenes nonsensical.
The same as lip-sync, isochrony is connected to mouth articulation movements and Chaume describes its necessity stating that “the translated dialogue must be exactly the same length as the time the screen actor or actress has his/her mouth open to utter the ST dialogue exchanges” (72). Chaume continues by stating that bad isochrony is usually a reason for criticism of dubbing as it is also (as kinetic synchrony) easily spotted and therefore translators are challenged to make the target language text length the same as the length of the source language text (72).
Other important features of dubbing mentioned by Bosseaux are idiosyncrasy, voice and prosody and the dubbing process itself (52-56). According to Bosseaux the specific feature of idiosyncrasy of dubbed language is that dubbing is dealing with written text transferred to speech in a way that it should sound as natural as possible even though dubbing dialogues are not natural on their own because dubbed dialogues do not really represent the way people usually speak to each other in reality (53). When it comes to voice and prosody, Bosseaux discusses the usage of a single voice-talent for
11 different characters in different movies or shows and she also mentions the importance of intonation which is not commonly researched in the field (54-56). Dubbing process itself is very complex as, according to Bosseaux, many people are involved in it, such as translators, dialogue writers, dubbing directors, actors or sound engineers (52). There are many steps that need to be followed and every person has its own role in the creation of dubbing.
2.3 Strategies of Dubbing
As demonstrated in the chapter dealing with the dubbing process, there are many challenges that dubbing produces. In order to overcome these obstacles in translation, translators use certain strategies or techniques. Pettit distinguishes eight such strategies
(45). Chaume mentions only five and some of the strategies mentioned are different
(74-75). The reason why the number differs may be that Pettit draws her theory on
Tomaszkiewicz who uses this distinction for subtitles theory (45). Nonetheless, Pettit applies these strategies to dubbing too (45). The following techniques are mentioned by both authors: omission, repetition (called borrowing in Pettit) and substitution
(equivalence or adaptation in Pettit, since she claims that “adaptation may be considered a form of equivalence”) (74-75, 45). Chaume then adds change of word order and reduction or amplification (74-75). Pettit enlists also literal translation, generalisation and explication, “which usually involves a paraphrase to explain a cultural term” (45).
Chaume defines omission as “omission of a word or sentence or addition of a new element … considered to be translation error in written translations, but [is] permanent in AVT, especially in dubbing” (75). Repetition is defined as repeating “of the word or words in the source language, when the words are identical or very similar in both source and target languages” by Chaume (74). By Pettit it is defined as “original terms from the source text [being] used in the target text” (45). To sum up substitution or 12 equivalence, it can be defined as that it keeps the message of the source language term
(Chaume 75). Equivalence, as Pettit briefly defines it, means that the “translation has a similar meaning and function in the target culture”, which indicates that the importance and aim of this strategy is to keep the meaning of the original text, too (45). Such strategies are helpful in the dubbing process in terms of synchronisation and preserving the meaning.
2.3.1 Techniques in Transferring Cultural References
Transferring cultural references is a complex and challenging process during translation. Antonini and Chiaro have specified ten most common areas regarding culturally specific references: institutions, educational references, place names, units of measurement, monetary systems, national sports and pastimes, food and drink, holiday and festivities, books, films and TV programmes and celebrities and personalities (in
Chiaro 156-157).
In the same way that there are general strategies in translation for dubbing, there are several techniques translators can choose from while dealing with the translation of cultural references (Chaume 145). According to Chaume these are: repetition, orthographic adaptation (when source language and target language have different alphabets), literal translation, glosses (meaning explained), cultural adaptation with three different ways to implement them (limited adaptation, absolute universalization and cultural substitution), omission and creation of a new cultural reference (145-146).
The choice of a technique depends on various aspects, such as client’s wish, target culture, type of the text, genre or visual layer of the dubbed content. In the practical part of this thesis these techniques are explained in more detail. If the above- mentioned techniques were used in the dubbing process of the analysed episodes of the
13 show The Simpsons, the specific cases are provided, and the choice of the particular technique is explained.
2.4 Issues in Dubbing
As mentioned in the previous subchapters, dubbing poses a wide range of challenges and requirements in order to meet quality standards so the dubbed version is credible and realistic for the audience. The dubbing should not, therefore, spoil for example the plot by nonsensical kinetic synchrony or isochrony.
Apart from linguistic and synchronisation-related features or cultural references, there are some other issues that dubbing faces. One of them is the presence of visual content of the dubbed material which has to be in accordance with what is heard, for
“with filmic products many references are in full view on the screen, leaving the translator with little room for manoeuvre” (Chiaro 155). This is often related to cultural references, for example in comments on famous or well-known people. When there is a photo of or shot on a particular figure in the original, or generally a reference to someone who exists in reality, they or it cannot be substituted for some other figure known to the audience of the target language as it would not match.
During the dubbing process, translators have to take into account not only keeping the message, but they also have to consider the strategy to follow when transferring it. Depending on the specific country or culture and the people’s knowledge of the source language culture/country, it is crucial to decide whether to keep the original reference or substitute it with a better-fitting option.
Walló also mentions the importance of a good actor as a voice-talent, while at the same time she emphasizes that a good on-stage actor does not necessarily mean a
14 good voice-talent (9). She also mentions that it is important for the voice-talent not to have any language disorder (10). Another issue in the dubbing process, as Martínez mentions is that there are many people working on dubbing, which creates more space for mistakes or delays in process (3).
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3 Research
The following chapter briefly introduces the specifics of the dubbing in the researched sitcom The Simpsons, gives a quick overview of what the sitcom is about and, finally, there is an analysis of three different episodes. These three episodes are: episode five from the first season entitled “Bart the General”, episode nine from the seventeenth season called “Simpsons Christmas Stories” and episode twelve from the twenty-ninth season “Homer Is Where the Art Isn’t”.
3.1 Specifics of Dubbing of The Simpsons
As The Simpsons is a situation comedy portraying and satirizing a typical
American middle-class family and American culture, it is primarily important to maintain jokes and to deliver the message of cultural references. As Gil claims, not only the translation of the above-mentioned features is a challenge but also for example
“features of the national, social and community identity of some of the characters are sometimes reflected linguistically in the way they speak, such as Mr Burns’ extremely formal speech or Fat Tony’s Italian accent” (143). This particular feature is hard to transfer to Czech, as in the Czech Republic there are no such distinguishing accents.
Another specific feature is that it is a cartoon and therefore the lip- synchronisation is not so visible and important and there is not any distinct lip movement according to vowels or consonants pronunciation, which makes it easier for translators and it leaves more space for them to be creative than if they work under the pressure of a strict (or at least as accurate as possible) lip-synchronisation demand.
Even though it may seem that a cartoon must target young audience, The
Simpsons’ target audience are not only children or young people, as it covers various topics throughout the spectrum as mentioned in the following subchapter. This is
16 important to keep in mind when translating for example insults or swear-words as well as when translating dialogues or cultural references.
3.2 About The Simpsons
Although The Simpsons is a well-known animated show broadcasted in many different countries all around the world, this chapter will introduce the basic characteristics and the main characters. The Simpsons series have been created by Matt
Groening and developed by James L. Brooks, Matt Groening and Sam Simon (Fox).
The show has been running in the USA since 1987 and since 1993 in the Czech
Republic. It has won many awards, such as Emmy Awards, Annie Awards or People’s
Choice Award (Fox). The show is set in a fictional town of Springfield. There are many characters that appear throughout the whole show and many hosting characters, such as celebrities or other famous personalities. This appearance of characters makes a lot of space for cultural references too.
The core of the show is the Simpsons family, whose members are parents Homer and Marge and their children Bart, Lisa and Maggie. Homer is not a very smart character; he works in a nuclear power plant and spends his free time either with his family or drinking beer or eating. Marge is a housewife who cooks every, cleans the house and takes care of Maggie, who is a toddler. Bart is a typical prankster and always gets himself into some trouble. Lisa appears to be a genius, she plays saxophone and excels at school, mainly in philosophy and maths.
The Simpson family represents many social issues and they are portrayed as a typical middle-class family that deals with parenting, money, alcohol, issues in marriage, bullying and more.
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3.3 Analysis
In this part of the thesis, following episodes are analysed:
- Season one, episode five: “Bart the General”
- Season seventeen, episode nine: “Simpson Christmas Stories”
- Season twenty-nine, episode twelve: “Homer Is Where the Art Isn’t”
These episodes were selected based on the frequent appearance of cultural references which are transferred to the target language in order to be understandable for the target audience. For each episode analysed, the references are sorted according to a technique used for the transfer of the reference to the target language. Each reference is represented by a table where both target language (Czech), and source language
(English) texts are written. The text in the tables is a manual transcription based on listening to the tracks as there is no official script available. Commentary on the translation and explanation of the differences and the usage of particular transfers follows after every table.
3.3.1 Techniques for Transfer of CR Identified
Following techniques were identified in the transfer of cultural references in the analysed episodes. This chapter will provide an explanation of these techniques according to Chaume and to more complex techniques example of their use will be given (145-146).
The first identified technique is repetition, which means repeating the cultural reference from the source language in the target language without translating it, such as
Halloween (Chaume 145-146).
Next technique is literal translation, for example translating “thanksgiving” to
Czech as “díkuvzdání” (Chaume 145).
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Another technique mentioned by Chaume are glosses, which are used when the meaning of the cultural reference is explicit in the translation, in other words that the translation overall explains the meaning of the reference (145). To this technique
Chaume gives an example with haggis translated to German as “schottisches Gericht aus gehackten Schafsinnereien und Hafer im Schafsmagen1” (145).
The fourth technique mentioned by Chaume and identified in the analysis is cultural adaptation or substitution, used to transferring when the cultural reference is unknown in the target culture (145-146). Chaume distinguishes three following ways to implement cultural adaptation:
- limited adaptation, where the original cultural reference is replaced by a
different one from the source culture, globally better known, such as
substituting a British band The Kooks with The Beatles
- absolute universalization means substituting references known in the source
culture but not so much in the target culture by all over the world very well-
known target culture references, for example substituting a Canadian hockey
player (Sidney Crosby) with a Czech hockey player (Jaromír Jágr)
- cultural substitution or naturalization is used when the new cultural reference
fits the target culture, such as substituting baseball with football in Europe as
football is the most popular sport here. (145-146)
The last two techniques identified in the following analysis are omission of the cultural reference (meaning deleting it completely) and creation of a new cultural reference; in other words, adding a cultural reference even though there is none in the source text (Chaume 146).
1 “Scottish dish made of minced sheep bowels and oat meals in sheep stomach” in English. 19
3.3.2 Season 1, Episode 5: “Bart the General”
In this episode, Bart gets into a fight and therefore in trouble with Nelson, who is a school bully. Nelson and his friends beat Bart and he decides to do something about it and asks grandpa Simpson for help. Grandpa takes him to a military antique shop to meet Herman, who together with Grandpa and Bart decides to declare Nelson a war and develops a war strategy. Because of this war themed atmosphere, there are various military or historical references.
3.3.2.1 Repetition
Otto von Bismarck Otto von Bismarck
The translators probably assumed the audience will be familiar with Otto von
Bismarck as he is a generally known historical figure and, therefore, they decided to keep the original reference.
3.3.2.2 Glosses
Vždyť generál George S. Patton byl prej General George S. Patton was a little nuts,
taky cvok, když osvobodil Plzeň tak se o and this guy is completely out of his mind.
tom 40 let nesmělo mluvit. We can’t fail!
General George S. Patton really managed to liberate Pilsen, so the purpose of the translation was to maintain the message that it is not important whether Herman is nuts or not, as long as they win the war. But because Patton might not be known as well for
Czech audience as for the American, the dubbing translation also adds some more information for the audience to better understand the reference, while omitting the straight forward message that they “can’t fail”.
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To se dělalo už za Pruských válek a teď The Greeks knew it, the Carthaginians
to víte i vy. knew it and now you know it
There were Sicilian wars between Greeks and Carthaginians. The exact war was not important for delivering the message, so the translators used a war best fitting in terms of isochrony and lip-sync. Using “Řekové a Kartagijci” would be too long, even though it would have the same meaning.
Odveta je naše Death from above
When Bart is telling Herman that he was able to get only balloons with a sign that says, “happy birthday”, Herman says he would rather it said, “death from above”.
In the Czech dubbing, “odveta je naše” is used. According to Urban Dictionary, “death from above” was used to refer to “generally any sort of weapon, be it bombs, live ammo or … anything that rains down upon the earth and causes mass death and devastation”.
The sentence was therefore used as a reference to a real bomb, meaning Herman would rather for it to be killing balloons than just water ones (“Death from above”). The translation used in the Czech dubbing does not keep exactly the same meaning, but the message that Herman wants to win this war is explicit enough.
Je to klasická ukázka válečnického umění It’s a classic Pincer’s movement
Further developing the battlefield strategy, Herman says about one strategy that it is a “classic Pincer’s movement”, which is, according to Oxford English Dictionary a typical war manoeuvre (“Pincer”). Instead of the name of the movement, generalisation
21 explaining it and keeping the meaning was used in the Czech dubbing, making it more understandable for the target audience.
3.3.2.3 Absolute Universalization
In the following three examples, although the references used in the Czech dubbing are not directly bound to Czech culture but rather to German culture, they are assigned to this particular technique as under the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia the German culture became a part of the Czech culture too and at the same time German terms or personalities used in the following transfers are generally known all over the world (because of the Second World War).
Ten strojopis Göringova životopisu ještě Has the large type edition of this month’s
nepřišel? Soldier of Fortune come in yet?
In the Herman’s Military Antiques shop, Grandpa Simpson asks Herman about an edition of Soldier of Fortune magazine, which is an US magazine that “focuses on military, professional soldiers and guns and gear” and it “soon became the voice of the military troops and law enforcement members and [a] spokesman for the [second] amendment” (Soldier of Fortune Magazine). Although there is a Czech and Slovak ATM magazine with a similar focus, it would not speak volumes as the translation used did. It was important to keep the meaning of some military-focused paper and it might have been assumed that Czech audience will be more familiar with Göring to emphasize the topic than with the magazine, whether the original or the Czech/Slovak equivalent.
Since there was no visual representation of the magazine, the feature that needed to be taken into account was mainly isochrony, which fits.
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V boji kalený spodky Wehrmachtu Authentic MATsy underwear
Instead of the magazine (or Göring’s CV in Czech) grandpa Simpson is offered
“authentic MATSy underwear” – “spodky Wehrmachtu” in Czech. “MATS” stands for
“Military Air Transport Service” which is an US inactive unified command and
Wehrmacht was the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany. With the previous reference to Göring it makes more sense to keep the references to Nazi Germany than to change them, as especially at the time of dubbing of the first season to Czech people were even less unfamiliar with American culture and military than they are now. The meaning of offering underwear of some soldiers was kept by this substitution and the synchronisation features as well.
Sieg Heil Meine Junge Hello young American
Keeping the Nazi spirit of Herman, the translators chose the Nazi German type of greeting instead of the original American one. It is a typical example of substitution, where it bears the same meaning but is more expressive for the Czech audience.
3.3.2.4 Omission
Musíte mu odříznout přístupové cesty. The key to Springfield has always been
Elm Street
When Herman says that “the key to Springfield has always been Elm Street” he stabs a dyke in the map he puts on the desk, implying that this street should be blocked.
This visual feature was used in the Czech dubbing and the original sentence was
23 simplified (while keeping the message of the reference) as literal translation would not fit the time slot and would not be so explicit in Czech.
Americká revoluce a trilogie o American Revolution, World War II., Star
hvězdných válkách Wars Trilogy
At the end of the episode, Bart says that there are no good wars except for these three. As Star Wars is much shorter than the Czech translation, some of these terms needed to be omitted. There is more than a one point of view to take for explaining why particularly World War II was omitted. The first one is that World War II was not good for the Czech Republic, so it would not make sense, whereas for America, the winning side it was, as they even prospered from it economically. The second viewpoint is that
Star Wars trilogy was used as a cultural reference to lighten the topic, so keeping this particular reference the Czech audience is familiar with was the priority.
3.3.2.5 Creation of a New Cultural Reference
Za války? Spíš za jisté akce v týlu. Well, let me put it this way, next time
Pamatuj si, že z okna autobusu se your teacher tells you to keep your arm
v žádném případě nikdy nehajluje. inside the bus window, you do it.
“Heil” in English means “bless” and was used as a typical manifest of admiration of Adolf Hitler. The same the German culture was used as being bound to
Czech culture in absolute universalization, the same it is used here when creating a new cultural reference.
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Bandolero Kwik-e Mart
When developing the war strategy, Herman says they will hit Nelson “when he leaves the Kwik-e Markt”. Kwik-e Mart is in The Simpsons show a shop owned by Apu, who is of Indian origin. Bandolero is a 1968 western movie with Indians, so Kwik-e
Mart is referenced to as Bandolero based on a presumption that Czech audience will connect that with Apu, while they might not catch Kwik-e Mart. But by this translation, they ignored the visual presence of a paper box with a “Kwik-e Mart” sign, representing the shop, which is confusing. The synchronisation between what is seen and what is heard is missing.
3.3.3 Season 17, Episode 9: “Simpson Christmas Stories”
In “Simpson Christmas Stories” episode, the priest is not able to come to a serving and Mr Flanders wants to take over his role but passes out. Homer stands up and starts telling a story he calls “first Christmas". The second Christmas story comes from grandpa Simpson, as he tells Bart and Lisa about his Christmas during the Second
World War, when his plane crashed and he found himself on a lonely island with Mr
Burns and later also with Santa Claus.
3.3.3.1 Repetition
+ Kamikaze na dvou hodinách! + Kamikazes at two o’clock!
- Já sice po obědě většinou nepiju, ale… - Well I don’t usually drink after lunch
proboha, nebe je plné těch aeroplánů, co but… oh my god the sky is full of that
padají na lodě kind of plane that crashes into the boat
Grandpa Simpson tells a story about his service in the army during the Second
World War and tells a particular story about one air battle with the Japanese when
25 kamikaze attack was approaching. As listed in the Oxford English Dictionary, kamikaze is a Japanese word and a term for a “Japanese aircraft, typically loaded with explosives, which makes a deliberate suicidal crash into an enemy target” and both the source language and the Czech dubbing explain the term, even though it is well known, rather than trying to substitute it with some equivalent (“Kamikaze”). As only grandpa
Simpson’s back is seen while explaining the term, literal translation that fits the time slot of speaking was used in the Czech dubbing.
3.3.3.2 Glosses
Hägar the Horrible Komiks o Hägarovi
Before telling the first Christmas story in the church, Homer complains about the paperboy not delivering Hägar the Horrible, which is an American comic strip. In the
Czech dubbing the reference was simplified while keeping the meaning and the reference explicit as the exact name of the comic strip is not important for the message.
3.3.3.3 Cultural Substitution
Ty ekelhaftní trotle You useless waste of socks
Mr Burns shots down Santa Claus with his sleigh and wants to shoot him when he hits the ground, but grandpa Simpson stops him. “Useless waste of socks” has no fixed meaning but it is clearly an insult. “Ekelhaft” in German means disgusting or hideous, which socks sometimes are and “trotl” is a Czech insult. Purpose of this transfer was primarily to deliver a joke to the Czech audience, not to keep the meaning, as it has no strong reference.
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To není skopčák That ain’t no kraut
When Mr Burn aims at Santa Claus, grandpa Simpson stops him with this comment. This reference might seem to be a literal translation, but “Kraut” is a derogatory reference to a German while “skopčák”, even though also derogatory, has its origin in German soldiers coming down from the hills (“z kopce” in Czech) and, therefore, is bound to and typical for Czech culture.
Nikdy jsem nekouřil trávu I wish I tried reefer
Reefer is a cigarette with marihuana, for which there is no Czech equivalent, so the substitution for simply “tráva” (weed) was used and the meaning was well kept.
Grotesky Physical comedy
When baby Jesus (Bart) is crying and Joseph (Homer) is trying to comfort him, he hurts himself a few times and that makes baby Jesus laugh. Joseph utters that the baby likes physical comedy, which is in American culture a comedy with features of violence that is funny. Grotesque has a bit different features in Czech culture, but it is similarly ridiculous and funny, so instead of enforcing a literal translation, substitution for a similar genre more familiar to Czech audience and more fitting into Czech culture was used.
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Šéfe, mně se to nezdá košer zabíjet Gee, chef, I feel pretty bad trying to take
nemluvňátko out a baby
The king sends the army to kill baby Jesus but one of the soldiers does not agree with it and says that he “feels pretty bad” about it. Although the word of Jewish origin
“kosher” stands for right or good food, it is overall used to refer to several right or good features such as behaviour. After numerous Jewish references in this episode, the translators used the word “kosher” to make a similar stress on the bad nature of killing a baby as it has in the source language.
To si odskáčete šikmooký divoši You’ll pay for that, you haiku-spouting
savages
When the Japanese shoot down Cyrus in his plane, grandpa Simpson promises a revenge to the “haiku-spouting savages”. As Oxford English Dictionary states, Haiku is
“a form of Japanese verse …usually consisting of 17 syllables…” (“Haiku”).
“Šikmooký” is a much more general term and “haiku-spouting” specifically refers to
Japanese only. Even though the reference to “haiku” might be known among the younger part of the Czech audience, the translators used the word “šikmooký” as people in the Czech Republic refer by this term to Asians in a politically incorrect manner.
Therefore, using it as a joke serves the same purpose as “haiku-spouting” in the source language.
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Hergot Damn it!
Mr Burns hits Santa and he falls off the sleigh saying, in the source language,
“damn it”. In the Czech dubbing he says “hergot”, which would be an absolutely fitting swear-word, if there was not for the previously mentioned reference to “kraut/skopčák”.
As “hergot” is of German origin (Herr Gott meaning in English “oh God”), it does not very well fit into Santa’s character, especially after they literally say he is not a German.
3.3.3.4 Omission
Takže to byla jenom kachna They put his halo on a duck
Trik starý jako lidstvo samo The oldest trick in the book
In the first of the Christmas stories the soldiers and the king arrive to a duck with a halo over its head which they thought would be the baby Jesus. The king says that putting a halo on a duck is the oldest trick in the book, meaning Bible. The reference to
Bible by mentioning “the book” and the “halo” is completely omitted in the Czech dubbing and substituted only with a joke keeping the reference to a duck (the word
“kachna” stands also for “fraud” in Czech), as the duck is visually present in the episode.
3.3.4 Season 29, Episode 12: “Homer is Where the Art Isn’t”
The last episode analysed in this thesis deals with an investigation of a stolen painting from the Springfield’s Art Museum. A private investigator is called in to reveal who committed the crime. There are three suspects and two of them are Mr. Burns and
Homer. The episode covers many cultural topics, such as art, sports, food and drinks, queer terms or movies and TV shows.
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3.3.4.1 Repetition
Joan Miro Joan Miro
Picasso Picasso
Goya Goya
Dalí Dalí
Cézanne Cézanne
Edward Hopper Edward Hopper
Steve Martin Steve Martin
In this episode there are a number of references to artists. These personalities’ names were not substituted for target culture equivalent personalities, as the translators assumed the audience will either be familiar with them or because there was a visual representation of the reference, such as The Poetess painting by Joan Miro.
3.3.4.2 Literal Translation
Poetka The Poetess
As The Poetess is a name of Joan Miro’s painting, the translators decided not to change it but only translate it to Czech.
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3.3.4.3 Glosses
Skvělá trefa pane Burnsi, na prastaré Nice shot, Mr Burns. You’re a natural in
kratochvíle máte talent the ancient art of skeet.
The investigator comes to visit Mr Burns in his mansion interrupting him while skeet shooting. “Art of skeet” might also be a reference to being cunning, aiming to accuse Mr Burns of stealing the painting easily with this ability. In the Czech dubbing no such message between the lines is hidden and the translation is even generalising the activity, using only “prastaré kratochvíle” as a general term for spending free time by an activity not so common, but omitting the particular sport. On the other hand, there is the visual element of Mr Burns shooting, so mentioning the exact sport is not that necessary and, therefore, the translation sufficiently keeps the meaning of Mr Burns’ way of spending free time.
Dnes máme, co dům dal, pane Manačeku. More Frito Pie, Mr Manacek?
Marge invites Mr Manacek for dinner at the Simpsons’ house and she serves him
Frito Pie. Frito Pie is an American dish based on corn crisps, ground beef with chili and with cheese. Additionally, more ingredients may be included, dependant on the family or region or food available and various alternatives are possible. As there is no Frito Pie or its equivalent in the Czech cuisine, or at least not so explicit a common phrase for a quick homemade meal made with at-hand ingredients typical for Czech families was used in the Czech dubbing, covering the message suitably.
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Doutník Tiparillos
Bart says he is going to tell Mr Manacek everything he knows about Homer for one of those Tiparillos he is smoking. Tiparillo is a popular type of a cigar in America.
Since it is not so well-known among the Czech audience as for example Cohiba cigars are, the generalized translation for a cigar (doutník) was used, as it is sufficient to deliver the message.
Táta od rodiny se dal na moderní umění? A blue-collar Joe suddenly likes modern
art?
Surprised by Homer’s interest in art, Mr Manacek refers to him as to a “blue- collar Joe”. Blue-collar workers are in English manual workers. Although the literal translation to Czech “modré límečky” bears the same meaning and is used, the majority of Czech audience might not be familiar with this term and it would not fit the time slot of speaking so it was, therefore, translated to refer to a middle-class man with a wife and children.
3.3.4.4 Absolute Universalization
Je z teleshoppingu. I got it at Brookstone.
Mr Manacek suddenly has a glass of wine in his hand and Mr Burns asks him if he has brought it with himself. Mr Manacek replies that it is inflatable, and that he has got it from Brookstone. Brookstone is an American shop with new smart inventions and gifts, which first worked through mail orders and later a chain of stores was built
(Brookstone). Such gadgets are commonly sold through teleshopping in the Czech
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Republic or probably used to be more in the past, but the reference to teleshopping is more fitting in terms of delivering the message than mentioning some Czech store would be, as there is no such popular and widely spread shop with gadgets in the Czech
Republic. At the same time, teleshopping is not typical only for Czech Republic but all over the world, which is a feature typical for absolute universalization, but not for cultural substitution which might seem as an option when identifying the technique used.
3.3.4.5 Cultural Substitution
Já nejsem jako tihle inteleguáni kolem, I’m not like these brainy tote bags over
mám rád bůček, bojový umění a komedie s here, I like my crusts filled, my martial arts
předtočeným smíchem mixed and my movies fully Sandler-ed
A tote bag is an insult standing for example for a pretentious or annoying person that is extensively interested in some field, while not really being truly clever. This explanation is probably the most fitting in the given context, given that Homer is referring to art lovers protesting against the closing of the Springfield Art Museum.
Czech dubbing used the word “inteleguáni” to substitute it, while even though it is not a fixed expression it is easy to understand what is meant by it.
“Crusts filled” refer to pizza crust that is filled with, most commonly, cheese and is typical in America. For stressing the reference, “bůček” as a typical Czech meal that middle-class men usually like was used. Even though mixed martial arts are a particular type of martial arts, the literal translation would be too long and the one used is sufficient.
“Fully Sandler-ed movies” is a straight reference to comedies starring Adam
Sandler and even though they are very well known among Czech audience it would be
33 difficult to transfer it and fit it again in terms of isochrony and lip-sync. Although comedies with a laugh as if there was an audience watching it and laughing with the viewer are typical for American sitcoms rather than for Czech movies or sitcoms, it represents the quality of the entertainment as well as for some people movies with
Adam Sandler.
Všechno, co miluju na jednom místě – Everything I love in one place – beer,
pivo, hambáče, záchody, obraz, dárce hotdog, bathroom, painting, daughter
At the end of the episode, Homer and Lisa walk in the halls of the new built stadium and he feels happy, saying there is everything he loves in one place. When he mentions hotdogs, they are passing by a fast food that has a picture of hamburger over it, which might be the reason why Czech translators substituted hotdog with hamburger
(“hambáč”), even though hotdog is a commonly used term in Czech, too. Leaving hotdog there might look like an incorrect translation and the synchronisation of visual and audio representation would be broken.
3.3.4.6 Omission
+Tohle je teplé pivo +This is warm beer
- To je Homerova železná zásoba, má ji - That’s an ‘07 Michelob, Homer was
tam schovanou pro případ války saving it for a special occasion
Mr Manacek drinks from a bottle he took from a cabinet with alcohol and says it is just warm beer. Marge argues that it is an ‘07 Michelob, which is a straight reference to an American brand producing beer. In the Czech dubbing, this reference which sounds like Michelob is something special for Homer is completely omitted and a part
34 of the meaning of the message is changed, keeping only the message that Homer will be disappointed that Mr Manacek opened the bottle.
+ Který myslíte, že máme rok? + What year do you think it is?
- Kdo už 30 let nestárne - Hey, who’s the shamus here?
Lisa replies to the reference to blue-collar workers with a comment on its rather old-fashioned spirit and Mr Manacek defends himself by reminding her that he is the one who asks the questions, as shamus is a term for a private detective. In the Czech version, this reference is completely omitted, as a literal translation or substitution of it would be too long and would not fit in terms of isochrony.
Máme tu moc nóbl restaurací Too many poke restaurants
The protestants in front of the museum decide to move on to another protest, this time against “poke restaurants”, which there is a full street of during the particular shot.
Although there is this visual display of “poke” signs, the translators decided to use
“nóbl” instead, as poke restaurants, even though at present beginning to appear among other new types of restaurants spreading in the Czech Republic, they are still not yet well known among Czech audience. Poke is nonetheless not a term for a luxurious restaurant, but it is a Hawaiian dish consisting of (usually) rice, vegetables and raw fish.
Also, given the short word poke, there was not much space for using the source language term and explaining it.
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Mami, Lízo, soukromý čmuchale Mom, Lisa, 1970’s horndog
A horndog is a term used for a man with strong sexual desires. Bart calls inspector Manacek a horndog based on his previous attempts to seduce Marge. This reference is completely changed and ignored in the dubbing, even though some possibly fitting terms with same or similar meaning (for example Casanova) exist but would be too short to substitute the reference altogether with the year to fit and follow lip-sync and isochrony.
3.3.4.7 Creation of a New Cultural Reference
Hej Colombo, nebal moji mámu Hey front pockets, quit hitting on my mom
Mr Manacek, the investigator, tries to flirt with Marge and Bart wants him to quit it. He wears a coat with big front pockets and Bart is ridiculing it. Detectives or investigators in various movies or series often wear coats of this style, it is a stereotypical representation of a detective in an American as well as in a British setting
(for example Inspector Gadget, Sherlock Holmes or the mentioned Colombo). Literal translation would not be understandable for the Czech audience, so probably the most known male detective’s name among Czech audience was used to substitute it, making the comment clear.
3.4 Analysis Conclusion
The following table shows the frequency of techniques of transferring cultural references. Only techniques represented in at least one of the analysed episodes are included.
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Technique/Episode S01E05 S17E09 S29E12 Repetition 1 1 7 Literal Translation 0 0 1 Glosses 4 1 4 Absolute Universalization 3 0 1 Cultural Substitution 0 7 2 Omission 2 1 4 Creation of a New CR 2 0 1 Table 1, Frequency of Techniques in Analysed Episodes
The only technique where a conclusion regarding the development of techniques and their frequency might seemingly be done is “Repetition”, where the technique is most frequent in the last episode analysed. However, the highest number of repetitions is in the seventeenth episode from the twenty-ninth series, where the episode’s plot is focused on a theft of a painting having a number of references to artists. Therefore, to this as well as to the other techniques and episodes, the conclusion is that it rather depends on the particular episode and its content than in which year the transfer was made, in other words, that from this particular analysis of chosen episodes no conclusion connected to development of techniques used throughout time can be driven.
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4 Conclusion
This thesis aimed to examine the way cultural references are transferred from the source language (English) to the dubbing in the target language (Czech). As dubbing is a specific form of audiovisual translation with various features that are different to subtitling or other forms of audiovisual translation, these specifics were taken into account during the analysis.
The theoretical part dealt with history of dubbing both abroad and in the Czech
Republic (such as in television production). The comparison of dubbing to the other types of audiovisual translation was made for a better understanding of the challenges dubbing poses. In the comparison, main features of each form were discussed and advantages and disadvantages of each of them mentioned. Mainly, dubbing deals with lip-synchronisation, isochrony, synchronisation of what is seen and what is heard and the quality of the voice-talents, as even a good actor does not always have the ability to become a good voice-talent.
Apart from the overview of dubbing and other audiovisual types of translation, strategies and issues in dubbing were examined. When translating, there are some strategies translators can use to make the job easier such as substitution, borrowing or omission. Moreover, there are particular techniques to follow when translating specifically cultural references. Each strategy and technique were introduced for a better picture in what case it is used. Issues in dubbing mentioned are closely related to the different challenges dubbing encounters.
The practical part of this thesis drew an overview of the basic plot, characters and characteristics of the sitcom The Simpsons itself. It briefly introduced the main topics and the nuclear family the sitcom mainly focuses on. For example, it mentioned
38 the main traits of the characters which are helpful for understanding jokes or behaviour of the characters in the analysed dialogues.
Specifics of dubbing of The Simpsons in particular were mentioned too, as it is an animated show targeting a wide spectrum of audience and there are features typical for American (or Anglophone) culture, which might not be familiar to majority of the
Czech audience (or audience of other nationality).
The majority of the practical part was dealing with the analysis of the transfer of cultural references in the Czech dubbing of the show. The analysis was done for three episodes of The Simpsons, from first, seventeenth and twenty-ninth season to also examine if during the years of translating and dubbing the show, there has been any development in the strategies and the translation.
The analysis explained the meanings of the original references and the possible reasons for the Czech translations used and whether there were some factors influencing these choices and if so, what the factors were. In vast majority of the cases, the meaning of the message in the original track (source language) was kept in the target language, however, in most cases it was substituted for some, for the Czech audience, more familiar term or other item, for example “Frito pie”, “Poke restaurants” or “Sandler-ed movies” were substituted for some general terms not referring to any particular subject.
In some cases, there were some references omitted either due to the message for the target audience (such as omitting World War Second in the context of good wars in the fifth episode of the first season) or due to some other reasons, such as isochrony (for example “martial arts mixed” was generalized to “bojová umění”).
This thesis expected to find that nowadays, cultural references are less substituted than they were when The Simpsons begun to be broadcasted. Although there are some examples where this development might be demonstrated, such as substituting
39
“MATSy underwear” with “spodky Wehrmachtu” in the first analysed episode from the first season, while no such substitution is present in the other episodes, there is not enough evidence in this analysis to draw such a conclusion and prove the hypothesis right. Rather, the techniques used depend on the particular episode and its content.
Even though the hypothesis was not proved right, the analysis showed the way cultural references are transferred in the Czech dubbing of The Simpsons and it provided an explanation for each transfer of the cultural reference mentioned. From the point of view of audiovisual translation, some of the issues dubbing is facing, some strategies used in dubbing and the effort to keep the meaning of the source language message was demonstrated through the analysed episodes.
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5 Bibliography
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6 Resume (English)
The aim of this thesis is to examine and analyse the transfer of cultural references from the source language (English) track of The Simpsons show to the target language (Czech) dubbing. Three different episodes of the series are analysed, while the choice of the episodes is made based on the number of cultural references present.
Moreover, the episodes selected were chosen from the first, the seventeenth and the twenty-ninth seasons in order to demonstrate a development in the translation and dubbing process if there should be any.
The theoretical part of the thesis deals with the history of dubbing, mainly globally and partially in the Czech Republic and therefore gives a sufficient overview of the development of this audiovisual type of translation. Further, the theoretical part focuses on the comparison of dubbing and other types of audiovisual translation, such as voice-over or subtitles. This comparison serves to demonstrate the specific demanding features of dubbing as many obstacles and challenges are a part of the complex process of creating the dubbing and it is necessary to keep them in mind.
Connected to this topic there is a subchapter that deals with strategies of dubbing which do not eliminate these demanding features, but they certainly help translators to overcome the obstacles and meet the requirements. At the end of the theoretical part, there are particular issues which dubbing faces mentioned, for example already mentioned cultural references (tightly connected to the specific country), selection of voice-talents or specific requirements of dubbing.
The practical part briefly discusses the specific areas of dubbing The Simpsons show, such as American centred references (or the American culture itself, as the show presents and satirizes a typical American family and American city) or accents that in
44 the source language culture distinguish the nationality or social class, while in Czech culture such vast and defining representation is not present. Next, there is a brief overview of the show’s plot and the main characters and topics in the series are introduced. Majority of the practical part, therefore, focuses on the analysis itself, where the transfer of cultural references and techniques for transferring them in the selected episodes of the series is examined and it explains their meaning in both the source and the target language.
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7 Resumé (Czech)
Účelem této práce je prozkoumat a zanalyzovat převod kulturních referencí, z originálního, anglického znění seriálu Simpsonovi do českého dabingového znění.
Zdrojem analýzy jsou 3 různé epizody tohoto seriálu, vybrané na základě počtu kulturních referencí obsažených v daných epizodách. Epizody byly navíc vybrány z první, sedmnácté a dvacáté deváté série, a to z toho důvodu, aby byl vidět případný vývoj ve stylu překladu a dabování.
Teoretická část práce se zabývá historií dabingu ve světě a částečně i v České republice a poskytuje tak dostatečnou představu o vývoji tohoto typu překladu. Dále se teoretická část práce věnuje srovnání dabingu s dalšími formami audiovizuálního překladu jako jsou voice-over nebo titulky. Toto srovnání slouží jako demonstrace specifické náročnosti dabingu, kdy při tomto druhu audiovizuálního překladu vstupuje do tvůrčího procesu několik prvků a překážek, které je při tvorbě či analýze nutné mít v paměti. S tím souvisí podkapitola, která se věnuje strategiím v dabingu užívaným, které tyto překážky či náročné požadavky sice neeliminují, ale přináší ulehčení v rozhodování překladatelů. Na závěr teoretické části jsou zmíněny konkrétní problémy, kterým dabing čelí, jako jsou například již zmiňované kulturní reference úzce vázané k dané kultuře, výběr hlasových talentů či požadavky které by měl kvalitní dabing splňovat.
Praktická část se krátce věnuje specifickým oblastem dabingu seriálu
Simpsonovi, například již zmíněným kulturním referencím, které podtrhují a satirují klasickou americkou rodinu a americké městečko, nebo například přízvukům, které v originálním znění vypovídají o národnosti či například sociální vrstvě společnosti, kdy v České republice se tak rozsáhlé a definující zastoupení neobjevuje. V praktické části
46 je dále krátce charakterizován děj seriálu a jsou zde představeny hlavní postavy a témata, kterým se seriál věnuje. Hlavní část praktické sekce je však věnována samotné analýze převodů kulturních referencí a technik užitých při převodu těchto referencí ve vybraných epizodách seriálu a rozebírá a vysvětluje jejich význam jak v původním, tak v českém znění.
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