EITHNE O'CONNELL Introduction

Translation studies is a field of research that has developed exponen- tially over the last two decades. During that time, screen translation has slowly emerged as a relatively new area, clearly deserving of attention, not least because of its increasingly important role in the dissemination of popular culture through the audiovisual media. The focus of research work conducted in screen translation has gradually shifted from the vague arti- cles of the early days on such topics as the 'impossibility' of achieving successful dubbing to some more discerning contemporary output that highlights the relevance of screen translation not just to translation and literary studies but also to cross-cultural, film/television/multimedia and communication studies as well.

For many years, the considerable emphasis in screen translation litera- ture on studio work environments and technical equipment and con- straints has drawn attention to the many external influences brought to bear on the translator. It has also served to alert others in the broader field of translation studies to the sometimes obscure but nonetheless powerful roles played by commissioners, editors and publicists in the translation industry.

In recent times, central debates in translation studies, such as those concerning the merits of abusive translation strategies (Lewis, 1985) or domesticating or foreignising approaches to translation (Venuti, 1995), have not left screen translation untouched. Indeed, it can be argued that subtitling, by virtue of its preservation of the source language soundtrack, is a quintessentially foreignising type of translation (Danan, 1991). Nornes

(1999) has shown how fans of Japanese animation series have taken up writing and exchanging abusive subtitles amongst themselves, via the Internet, thus presenting a challenge to the anodyne output of mainstream commercial audiovisual interests. Moreover, some screen translation writing, which addresses agendas at work within the audiovisual industry

Screen Translation 121 (such as political, commercial or language planning), has contributed to

intercultural and media studies by highlighting the inappropriateness of (non-native speaker) audiences' traditional acceptance of dubbed and

subtitled dialogue as verbatim renderings of the source language script (Ganz-Blattler, 1994; O'Connell, 2002).

With the expansion in recent years of the travel, tourism, information technology and audiovisual sectors, ordinary citizens are coming into contact, often on a daily basis, with television programmes, films, videos, CD-ROMs and DVDs, many of which originated in other cultures and languages. This is only possible because of screen translation. But how long has screen translation been practised? How is it achieved? What equipment

and training is required? What changes and challenges arise from new technology? What makes a good screen translator? Who evaluates screen

translation? What commercial and political agendas underpin the selection and translation of material for the screen? What are the financial, cultural and linguistic implications of the expanding use of translated audiovisual

material in individual countries and in general? To what extent can we expect the mediated material we view to reflect the source texts upon which it is based? In what ways can screen translation methods be used to

deliberately alter or censor audiovisual material? These are just some of the questions that arise in relation to the theory and practice of screen translation; each of them is worthy of investigation.

In this chapter it is only possible to address some of these questions rather briefly. However, it is to be hoped that this overview will encourage further reading on specific aspects of the subject of screen translation. The

priority here is simply to clarify key concepts and terminology relating to screen translation, to outline the main forms of screen translation com- monly practised and to identify the factors that influence the choice of any particular method in a given situation. In this context, it is important to be

mindful of the tensions that exist between screen translation as both an enabling and a constraining form of language transfer.

EITHNE O'CONNELL Introduction