Exploring the translation of animated films

quantifying audiences’ perception of characters that speak in different varieties of English, Spanish and Catalan

Authors

  • Laia Darder University of Sheffield

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jrds.v1i2.25251

Keywords:

Reception, audiences, Audiovisual Translation, Questionnaire Design

Abstract

The visibility of language variation in films has become a challenge to translation for dubbing, and the need arises to understand how the process of translating variation can influence the product in significant ways. By carrying out a quantitative study, we answered questions such as whether the practice is acceptable amongst audiences, or whether some language choices alter the perception of certain characters. We measured the perception of ten opposed personality traits amongst native audiences in English, Spanish and Catalan using a Semantic Differential Scale, and assessed the global impression of characters that had been translated with and without the use of varieties. The results show that characters overall are perceived the same way across languages regardless of whether they use varieties in or outside the mainstream, and conclude that this tool can be used to quantify and compare the same characters across languages.

Author Biography

  • Laia Darder, University of Sheffield

    Dr Laia Darder holds a Licenciature in Catalan Philology from the Universitat de les Illes Balears (Spain) and a BA in Hispanic Studies with Catalan Philology from the University of Sheffield (UK). She obtained her PhD from the University of Sheffield in 2013, where she was employed as a part-time tutor, both for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. Dr Laia Darder has also taught at Brown University (USA) and has regularly held workshops and lectures at the University of Sheffield and the University of Leeds as part of the MA in Screen Translation. She is currently a research fellow at the GRALing (Research Group in Linguistic Analysis) at the Universitat de les Illes Balears. She also works as a translator and interpreter and has extensive experience in multimedia translation for arts festivals. Her thesis explores the Spanish and Catalan translations of four animated films and assesses the implications of translation choices on the audience using statistical analysis of collected data, together with a qualitative stylistic analysis. Dr Laia Darder’s research takes into account the sociolinguistic and cultural issues connected to the translation of language varieties and their use in audiovisual media. She has presented her research at several international conferences.

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Published

2015-07-24

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Darder, L. (2015). Exploring the translation of animated films: quantifying audiences’ perception of characters that speak in different varieties of English, Spanish and Catalan. Journal of Research Design and Statistics in Linguistics and Communication Science, 1(2), 147-168. https://doi.org/10.1558/jrds.v1i2.25251

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