What is Screen Translation?
What is Screen Translation?
Screen translation is currently the preferred term used for translation of a wide variety of audiovisual texts displayed on one kind of screen or another. While it is normally associated with the subtitling and lip-synch dubbing of audiovisual material for television and cinema, its range is actu- ally much greater, covering as it does the translation of television programmes, films, videos, CD-ROMs, DVDs, operas and plays. ' Other terms sometimes used include media translation, language versioning and audiovisual translation, although the first of these could also cover print media or radio, while the latter also covers, for example, simultaneous interpreting of films at film festivals. Revoicing is the superordinate term used to describe the various means of rendering a translated voice track,
namely lip-synch dubbing, voice-over, narration and free commentary (Luyken et al., 1991: 71), while subtitling and surtitling describe the main
means used to render the voice track in written form. Revoicing
In screen translation circles, dubbing is generally taken to refer specifi- cally to the preparation and recording of the target language voice track. But the strict meaning of the term dubbing is simply the laying down of a voice
A Companion to Translation Studies
track, not necessarily a translated version. On the question of lip-synch dubbing, Whitman-Linsen (1992: 57) distinguishes between:
• pre-synchronisation, e.g. using the prerecorded music/lyrics of Broadway musicals on the soundtrack of filmed versions; • direct synchronisation, e.g. when voice and picture are recorded simultaneously; • post-synchronisation, which is the most common dubbing procedure and involves the recording/addition of sound after the visual images have been shot.
Voice-over is often used to translate monologues or interviews. It is rela- tively inexpensive and so may be an option for low-budget commercial videos (Mailhac, 1998: 207-223). The technique was widely used in former Communist countries as a cheap alternative to dubbing feature films. The
translation is not subject to the same strict constraints that apply to lip-sync dubbing. It is usual for voice-over to retain the original voice, allowing the viewer a few seconds at the beginning to register it before the sound level is reduced so that the original merely provides a backdrop to the translated version. Often the voice-over actor is a native speaker of the source language with a pronounced accent in the target language, which adds authenticity to the translation.
Narration is 'basically an extended voice-over' (Luyken et al., 1991: 80). The source language narrator to be revoiced may be either on-screen or off- screen. If the narrator is on screen, it is important to synchronise the transla- tion with the original. If not, matching the sequence in which information is delivered with the visual information presented is the priority. Luyken observes that the only difference between a voice-over and narration is likely to be linguistic: the original narrative will probably have been prepared in advance and be more formal in tone and grammatical structure than the typical conversational language of the voice-over. De Linde and Kay (1999: 2) have pointed out that the narrated message may be summa- rised, whereas the voiced-over message tends to be of similar duration to the original.
Free commentary, unlike the other three kinds of revoicing, does not attempt to reproduce the original spoken text faithfully (Luyken 1991: 82). The purpose of the commentary is to adapt the original programme to the new target language audience. While the drafting of the text may be time- consuming, the recording of a free commentary is usually quicker and cheaper than other types of revoicing. Commentary and narration are most commonly used for children's programmes, documentaries and promo-
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tional videos (de Linde & Kay, 1999: 2). Different forms of revoicing may also be used within a single audiovisual production.