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PPAAŃŃSSTTWWOOWWAA WWYYŻŻSSZZAA SSZZKKOOŁŁAA ZZAAWWOODDOOWWAA
WW NNOOWWYYMM SSĄĄCCZZUU
IINNSSTTYYTTUUTT JJĘĘZZYYKKÓÓWW OOBBCCYYCCHH
PRACA DYPLOMOWA
TTHHEE AAUUDDIIOOVVIISSUUAALL TTRRAANNSSLLAATTIIOONN OOFF AAMMEERRIICCAANN SSLLAANNGG IINNTTOO
PPOOLLIISSHH BBAASSEEDD OONN TTHHEE MMOOVVIIEE ““PPUULLPP FFIICCTTIIOONN””
autor: Agata Charzewska
kierunek: Filologia
specjalność: Translatoryka
nr albumu: 15391
Promotor: mgr Bogusław Pajda
NOWY SĄCZ 2012
2
Table of contents:
Introduction 3
1. Techniques of audiovisual translation 5
1.1. Audiovisual translation 5
1.2. Dubbing 6
1.2.1. Synchronistic process 8
1.3. Voice-over 9
1.4. Subtitles 11
1.4.1. Operations on language 11
1.4.2. Technical requirements 12
2. Slang 14
2.1. Definition of slang 14
2.1.1. Word formation processes 15
2.2. Techniques of slang translation 16
2.2.1. Omission 17
2.2.2. Searching for the functional equivalent and the closest synonym 17
2.2.3. Description 18
2.2.4. Crib 19
2.2.5. Neologisation 20
2.2.6. Addition 20
2.3. Culture transfer 21
2.3.1. Monikers and proper nouns 21
2.3.2. Vulgarisms 22
2.3.3. Humour and wordplays 23
3. A comparative analysis of selected elements of the original
script and their Polish translations based on the movie “Pulp Fiction” 24
3.1. The language of “Pulp Fiction” 24
3.2. Translation techniques in “Pulp Fiction” 25
3.2.1. Omission 25
3.2.2. Searching for the closest synonym 27
3.2.3. Description 28
3.2.4. Neologisation 29
3.2.5. Addition 31
Conclusions 32
Streszczenie 33
References 34
3
Introduction
Audiovisual translation seems to be an interesting and pleasant task but, on the other
hand, it is extremely difficult because it requires a translator not only to be precise and
linguistically knowledgeable but also creative, flexible and imaginative (Belczyk, 2007: 6). Even
though movies use a kind of literary language, it is supposed to sound natural and more like a
spoken, everyday language, which makes the audio-visual translation complicated and more
complex. “After all, a movie should convincingly show a particular extract of the world (even if
completely fictional), and one of the most important criteria of authenticity of such a
presentation is, undoubtedly, a character’s manner of speech” (Belczyk, 2007: 7).
Chapter 1 presents the techniques of audio-visual translation of slang. Each of them is
useful in a different situation according to a kind of movie. Among those techniques there is
dubbing, which is popular especially in animated movies and consists in post-production work
on replacement of the original text by the translated one and matching it to mouth movements.
Voice-over, which is a term describing a technique based on recording voice by one person to be
heard from the background. It differs from dubbing mainly because the original text is not muted
completely so it leaves the possibility of hearing the real actors’ voices. The most neutral method
is subtitles, as it does not influence the receipt of sounds. However, texts shown on the screen
take up too much attention of the viewers and make it harder for them to concentrate on the
visual aspects of a movie. Moreover, there are many technical requirements to be taken into
consideration which limit the translator’s possibilities. He faces a challenge to choose the best
option and reflect as much original content as possible to provide the viewers with identical
reactions as native speakers of the original text.
Chapter 2 illustrates a specification of audio-visual translation in view of American slang
translated into Polish. It shows the techniques of such translation and examples of their use.
Additionally, methods of culture transfer are discussed, as there are numerous problematic issues
related to transfer of cultural items which have to be explained in a most effective way to let the
viewer understand how it looks like in the original surrounding. A translator has to deal with
such elements as proper nouns, monikers, vulgarisms, humour and wordplays so it is not enough
for him to translate it truthfully with a dictionary in his hand but he has to think about the best
and most suitable equivalent which reflects the director’s and actors’ assumption.
4
Chapter 3 contains a comparative analysis of selected elements of the original script and
their Polish translations. The analysis is based on the movie “Pulp Fiction” filled with very a
controversial script and dialogues, which makes the translator’s job even more absorbing and
challenging at the same time. As for the techniques described in Chapter 2, in this chapter they
are supported by the most suitable examples from the movie. It is shown how it has been
translated, what technique have been used and what it looks like on the screen.
5
Chapter 1: Techniques of audiovisual translation
1.1. Audiovisual translation
Screen translation in comparison to typical translation of written texts is definitely
more complex because it is not only about literal translating of sentences from one language
to another. In the second case, the text just has to be a written reflection of the original one.
Audiovisual translation is done in the case of films and television so a translator must take
the media requirements into consideration, as well as take care not only of the language
aspect but also other substantial elements. An audiovisual translator has to make many
decisions which depend on the relationship between a screen and a text, however, it cannot
be clearly definite what strategy should be used. There are a lot of them and it is very
common that “a necessary evil” must be done to approximate the sense of the conveyed
content.
In fact, it is extremely hard to make a faultless movie translation. This kind of
translation is the transfer of the original sense into another version comprehensible for those
who do not understand it. “A film is nothing else than a place of receipt with a number of
rays which can be accompanied by acoustic vibrations. (...) Therefore, a movie is
meaningless intrinsically but it makes sense what we have to explore and how a movie starts
to make sense in relation to its recipient.” (Odin in Tomaszkiewicz, 2008: 56, translation
mine). Hence, the main aim of a translator is to explain the meaning of the presented content
to the viewers, which sometimes seems to be impossible because there are several problems
to solve, e.g. the transfer of a particular culture to a different one.
Apart from the language aspect, which is undoubtedly the most important part of any
kind of translation, there are significant elements participating in the creation of media and
the relationship between image and text. Among them there is the spoken and the written
word, as well as all types of images such as schemes, graphics, pictograms (logos,
abbreviations, symbols) and finally, a movie screen, sounds and incidental music. All those
aspects form a mixture combined with the audience’s reaction. Moreover, sometimes those
substantial elements are not clear enough for the viewers of a different language and culture
and then additional explanations are required.
6
There are verbal techniques, i.e. dubbing or synchronization, which consist in
recording voices and replacing the original ones with them. Another verbal method is the
one called voice-over, which seems to be an easier and the most practical way to translate a
movie but at the same time it is disliked by most recipients, as it is believed to be unnatural.
There are also written ones such as subtitles – the most popular method – which are texts
displayed at the screen bottom.
Being a kind of art and a source of entertainment or knowledge, motion pictures have
a great influence on our lives. The main objective of audiovisual translation is to make it
easier for a particular language group to reach foreign movies and programmes of a different
culture. The advantages are both-sided for the audience and the producers as well because
the transfer of their audiovisual products facilitates export and commercialization, which
provides larger profits. And that is where a movie translator’s role begins.
The translation technique is a way of translator’s dealing with the concrete elements of a source
text in order to preserve the equivalence of a text in the target language… as distinct from
translation strategy, which determines a translator’s global dealing with a particular text, the
techniques of translation are the individual decisions involving particular text segments, analyzed
in the micro context. (Tomaszkiewicz, 2004: 95, translation mine)
Thus the immediate conclusion coming to mind is that the audiovisual translation is divided
into many essential aspects which have to be carefully considered by a translator who
provides them as a logical entirety. The essential condition of this task is for a translated
version to make the same impression as the original one.
1.2. Dubbing
As for the techniques mentioned above, the first one is dubbing which is the post-
production process consisting in a replacement of the original dialogues with the translated
version recorded by actors. It may seem to be the most pleasant way to understand a movie
in a foreign language because the hearing is the main feature taking part in the assimilation
of a text. Thus, the viewer’s attention can be easily focused on visual aspects such as acting,
composition, scenography and costumes. It lets him make a detailed opinion about a movie
and he does not miss anything when he looks away for a while. This is the ideal method for
children who cannot read and adults with a low level of general education.
7
However, there is one disadvantage – the artificiality of this method. No matter how
good the translation and synchronisation processes are, it is impossible to create a text in a
different language which would fit perfectly a character’s mouth movements. For many
filmgoers this shortcoming is unacceptable but, fortunately, there are other techniques which
will be discussed in the subsequent sections.
Another problem would be the cost of involving more professionals than in the case
of subtitling or voice-over. Besides, it requires an enormous contribution on the part of the
translator who is responsible for many technical measures. First of all, the length of the
translated text must coincide with the length of the original version very precisely. What is
more, he must take mouth opening and closing into consideration and conform it to the
recorded voice which is a process called “lip sync”. To be more specific, it is also very
important to notice the type of mouth opening, i.e. its shape (e.g. rounded shape) as well as
to provide the articulated words in synchronization with a character’s facial expression and
gesticulation.
Because of the above technical requirements, dubbing can be said to be a rough
translation and, according to Teresa Tomaszkiewicz (2008: 108), it is more like adaptation
than actual translation. However, there are many aspects which are independent from a
translator such as the relationship between a “voice giver” and a character such as diction,
accent and even a social group or origin. Curious though it may seem, it sometimes has
application to musicals when an actor has an unsatisfactory singing voice.
To give another example of dubbing application, it is also the re-recording of audio
elements in movies in order to improve the sound and dialogue quality, which is called
Automated Dialogue Replacement or Additional Dialogue Recording. Additionally, dubbing
may be created by the producers of a particular audiovisual product at once to increase the
distribution of films, videos, video games, television series and cartoons in other countries.1
Compared to literary editing, dubbing also allows a translator to recreate the product, which
makes this technique enormously labour-intensive and time-consuming.
1
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1.2.1. Synchronisation process
According to Teresa Tomaszkiewicz (2006: 108), being a key factor of audiovisual
translation, synchronization is the essential process, especially as far as dubbing is
concerned. A translator is forced to use his creative skills because, as mentioned before, this
kind of translation is based not only on the transfer of word-by-word contents but mainly on
sense transfer with taking technical requirements into consideration. Additionally, it is the
viewer who is the determinant of translation quality; thus undeniably, a translator must
deviate from the original version if necessary and focus on the function and the relationship
between audio and video aspects for the sake of the viewer’s reaction. In other words, this
process is the synchronization of the translated version length and the way of articulation
with screen elements. As for the visual dimension, the basic aspects would be the film set
(distant or close) and the character’s position (distant, sideways, backside). These seem to be
other prerequisites but, at the same time, a facility for a translator as there are moments
when a character is less visible. As Gerard-Lois Gauthier writes:
…fortunately, there are rare moments in films, a godsend for a translator, when the lips of a
speaking actor are invisible for some reason. Those moments are immediately used for letting
him speak important things, essential to understand a movie, which was impossible to put in
dialogues earlier because of the synchronization necessity. Moments of a set change also appear
and, unless they connect with another immediate rejoinder, they let him finish a sentence which
failed to be synchronized with a previous shot. (Gauthier in Tomaszkiewicz, 2008: 109,
translation mine)
Synchronization is a priority in professional dubbing and is a criterion to judge its
quality depending on the translation corresponding to lip-synchrony and isochrony, which is
the duration of a character’s utterance. Teresa Tomaszkiewicz (2008: 109) details two ways
of synchronization.
The first one is a synchronization of utterance time, which is another aspect for a
translator to pay attention to, to match a text to an image more precisely. This measure
allows regulating an utterance tempo unless it is a characteristic feature of a figure shown on
the screen, e.g. fast way of speaking. For that matter, a translated version can be shortened if
it is too long. It is practically impossible to make a translation with the same amount of
syllables so a better solution would be to create sentences with fewer syllables and slow the
tempo down than do it conversely. Another trick would be to add short words, elements or
9
connectors, which fill the gaps and provide the text with proper rhythm (e.g. Polish “ach” or
“cóż”).
The second way is the synchronization of sounds based on the differences of
phonetic systems. To elaborate on that it must be said that the phonetic form of equivalent
lexemes is definitely varied so not everything can be synchronized on the phonetic level.
There are major articulatory coefficients: the degree to which the oral cavity is opened (there
are open, half-open, fricative and stop sounds) as well as the extent of the vocal organs’
close-up, i.e. the place of articulation (bilabial, labiodental, etc.).
Several definitions of synchronization will now be provided starting with Luyken
who considered it “the replacement of the original speech by a voice-track which is a
faithful translation of the original speech and which attempts to reproduce the timing,
phrasing and lip movements of the original” (Luyken, 1991: 80). It can also be defined as
“the harmony between the visible articulatory speech movements and the sounds heard”
(Agost in Orero, 2004: 43). Synchronization is generally a process made to synchronize the
translation with the lip movements.
To achieve this, [the dialogue writer] substitutes the words that do not coincide phonetically with
the screen actors’ lip movements for others that do. Pauses, the start and finish of the utterance,
the openness of the vowel sounds and the presence of bilabials are all taken into account. The
dialogue writer is also responsible for synchronizing the pace of the dubbing actor, at times
through modifications to the text received from the translator. In summary, the dialogue writer is
responsible for synchronization. (Chaves in Orero, 2004: 43)
1.3. Voice-over
Searching further for the techniques of audiovisual translation, it can be found out
that the most popular, especially in Eastern Europe, is voice-over and narration. It consists in
recording a translated version of the original text by one, usually male, person who lends his
voice for every actor shown on the screen. It can be compared to dubbing but the difference
is that there is only one voice artist and the original audio track can be heard in the
background. George-Michael Luyken defines it as
the faithful translation of original speech, approximately synchronous delivery, used only in the
context of monologs such as an interview response or a series of responses from a single
interviewee. The original sound is either reduced entirely or to a low level of audibility. A
common practice is to allow the subsequently reduced so that the translated speech takes over…
10
alternatively if the translation is recorded as part of the original production, it may follow the
original speech exactly (Luyken 1991: 80).
According to Arkadiusz Belczyk (2007: 9), voice-over is something between a
primitive form of dialogue and simultaneous translation. As he says, there are surprisingly
many sympathisers of this method in Poland, which can be caused mainly by habits, as it is
more comfortable in superficial viewing than in the case of subtitles, which force the
audience to look carefully at the screen and pay more attention. Moreover, it is cheaper than
dubbing, thus it is preferred in the case of low budget productions, as well as in television
shows and interviews, as it is the fastest and the least absorbing method of audiovisual
translation.
However, it can be difficult to follow the switch of talkers because there is a single
voice for all utterances which makes it hard to distinguish which line is spoken by whom.
Trying to transfer the whole content into an intelligible translated version, the interpreter
must change intonation to a small extent so the audience can easily match the lines with the
appropriate participant in a dialogue. As far as the audio track is concerned, and as it was
mentioned above, the actors can be heard, thus it allows the viewer to get to know the
actors’ real voices and the original idea of a movie. It may seem to be the advantage of this
technique of translation but on the other hand, it lowers the volume of the original music
which can be seen as a profanation in some measure.
Another absorbing question is translating the text appearing on the screen, such as a
name of a city or a date, which is usually read out by the interpreter but nowadays it tends to
be written in the form of subtitles covering the original ones. Nonetheless, the voice-over
makes an impression of artificiality and discourages viewers in some countries from
choosing a movie translated in that way.
Additionally, there is a variant of this technique called narration which differs
somewhat from voice-over, as it is used mainly in the case of programs dominated by
monologues. However, being truthful translations of the original text and applying
synchronization, they can be said to be very similar. Lip-synch is not taken into account but
there is a synchrony between text and image to provide an illusion of authenticity.
In conclusion, “it is true that voice-over is used in TV news or documentaries in
order to portray the feeling of authenticity of the discourse contents” (Luyken 1991: 80) and
11
it is “one more feature to make audiovisual media a construct of reality, which, in some
extreme cases, seems to be more real than reality” (Orero, 2006: 7).
1.4. Subtitles
There is another, very popular, technique of audiovisual translation to mention and it is
subtitles, which are
textual versions of the dialog in films, television programs and (in recent years) video games,
usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. They can either be a form of written translation of
a dialog in a foreign language or a written rendering of the dialog in the same language, with or
without added information to help viewers who are deaf and hard-of-hearing to follow the dialog,
or people who cannot understand the spoken dialogue or who have accent recognition problems.
2
According to its form, it is easy to conclude that it does not affect the original
delineation of a movie, as it does not handicap the observation of acting whose extremely
important part is actors’ voices. Moreover, it gives a great opportunity to get to know a
foreign language better and absorb new words and phrases so it can be said that this kind of
translation performs an educational function (Belczyk, 2007:8).
Tomaszkiewicz points out the disadvantages of this technique which is making it
more difficult for the viewers to follow the story line as they have to focus their sight on the
subtitles. What is more, they cover some place on the screen, thus it can be said that the
view is limited even though there are many technical requirements to make it plainer.
Additionally, a typical utterance lasts less time than reading it so it is necessary to make it
shorter and, obviously, skip something. Thus, it is the translator who must make the decision
about which information is essential and which can be omitted. Interesting though it may
seem, it has been calculated that 30-40% of the text disappears in such translation.
(Tomaszkiewicz, 2008: 112, 113).
1.4.1. Operations on language
According to Teresa Tomaszkiewicz (2008: 126), the audiovisual translation cannot
be restricted to typical operations made on other types of texts because it is associated with
12
many semiotic relations and other substantial elements such as image, sounds and music.
Audiovisual translation involves not only spoken but written text as well. It can be seen in
the case of a time denotation (especially in feature films where information about time,
names of places and texts visible in the background appear at the bottom of the screen) or
information about an interviewed person or a place where an event happens (as in
commentary programmes). The elements mentioned above influence a translator’s decision
about what is essential to understand the whole and what can be omitted or condensed.
As Tomaszkiewicz (2008: 127) claims, when making those decisions, a translator
refers to redundancy, which is an information overload in an announcement formulated in a
particular code. She distinguishes redundancy towards cognitive knowledge when a
translator omits some information, assuming that “an average viewer has knowledge about
the proceedings of everyday conversations, as well as their high level of ritualising”
(Tomaszkiewicz 2008: 128, translation mine), for example:
- Proszę wejść
- Dzień dobry!
- Dzień dobry! Łatwo trafiłaś? - Trafiłaś bez kłopotu?
Table 1. The process of redundancy (adopted from Tomaszkiewicz 2008: 129)
Furthermore, she distinguishes another form of redundancy that is the fusion of two
sequences into one indicative sentence, as it is shown in the following example:
- Przyjdziesz jutro?
- Nie, mam coś do zrobienia w
domu.
- Nie przyjdę jutro. Mam coś
jeszcze do zrobienia w domu.
Table 2. Fusion of two sequences into one indicative sentence (adopted from Tomaszkiewicz 2008: 133)
1.4.2. Technical requirements
Being a different type of translation from literary or simultaneous translation,
subtitles have specific technical, tidal and spatial requirements which Luyken (in
Tomaszkiewicz, 2008: 113) divides into four categories:
2
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 space where a particular subtitle can be displayed;
 time when a particular subtitle can be displayed;
 sequence in which a particular subtitle appears and disappears;
 graphic display of subtitles.
As Tomaszkiewicz elaborates on these categories, subtitles cannot be longer than
two lines which take two-thirds of the screen width. Depending on the film width, the
amount of characters should total 32-40 (35mm) or 24-27 (16mm).
However, there is another requirement to which subtitles should be adapted, thus the
length of an utterance must be taken into consideration. It has been calculated that the
viewers’ rate of reading averages 150-180 words per minute. It has also been proved that a
viewer has a tendency to read a sequence again if it stays on the screen for longer than 6
seconds. On the other hand, it cannot be shown for less than 1.5 seconds because a viewer
will not be able to notice it.
The third requirement says that a subtitle has to be shown 1/4 of a second earlier than
an utterance is heard. Visual aspects of the subtitles are very important as well but they are
not the translator’s responsibility.
14
Chapter 2: Slang
2.1.Definition of slang
Being one of the most problematic issues of audiovisual translation, slang is an
extremely important information carrier in a movie script. Interesting though it may seem, it
is difficult to give one specific definition because „slang is one of those things that
everybody can recognize but nobody can define” (Roberts in Garcarz, 2007: 57). According
to Widawski (2000: 543), a simplified definition says that slang is a particular kind of
conversational language and an essential element of the present-day reality as well, so it
requires special translators’ attention.
Widawski (2000: 544-548) points out a few mistakes made by translators who try to
deal with slang but not necessarily manage to do it in a correct way. Mistakes from the first
category mentioned by him appear when the original version stays the same while a target
language does not have an equivalent at the linguistic level and the easiest way for a
translator is to leave it as it is in the original version. Other categories are: omission of the
whole, literal translation which does not have a use for slang translation, wild guessing and
forming completely new phrases. Such mistakes cannot appear because as Garcarz (2007:
58) claims, slang and colloquial language are defined as styles, conjugations and registers of
every national language and have a particular aim and functions.
As Bartmiński (in Garcarz, 2007: 60) believes, casual language can be called
somebody’s first language because the first stage of getting to know a particular language is
verbal and only then can someone know various structures of written language. The
vocabulary of such a form of language is said to be peculiar and characteristic for social
groups or professions but, as mentioned above, there is not one clear definition. In order to
show its variance the definition from Encyclopaedia Britannica3
will be provided:
SLANG, unconventional words or phrases that express either something new or something
old in a new way. It is flippant, irreverent, indecorous; it may be indecent or obscene. Its
colourful metaphors are generally directed at respectability, and it is this succinct,
sometimes witty, frequently impertinent social criticism that gives slang its characteristic
flavour. Slang, then, includes not just words but words used in a special way in a certain
social context. The origin of the word slang itself is obscure; it first appeared in print around
15
1800, applied to the speech of disreputable and criminal classes in London. The term,
however, was probably used much earlier.
3
As for the definition, the process of translation itself is complicated as well because
there are numerous word formation processes which must be considered and will be
explained in the following subsections.
2.1.1. Word formation processes
The same word formation processes occur similarly in the case of every national
language in the lexical aspect but it is difficult to define all, both Polish and American, slang
vocabulary as neologisms, as it changes very frequently and the old, unpopular words are
replaced by the newly formed ones (Garcarz, 2007: 94). To draw near the structure of slang
elements they are presented below graphically.
Figure 1. Composition of slang elements: jargon, daglig tale [colloquial language], skældsord [vulgarisms and
swear words], argot [criminal slang], tabuord [taboo words and expressions] and ender [others] (adopted from
Anker-Moller, Jørgensen & Ravn in Garcarz 2007: 95).
3
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According to Garcarz (2007: 96), most frequently, words are formed as a result of
word-formation derivation and attaching new meanings to the words mainly on the basis of
close comparisons, presenting something as a metaphor, and borrowings especially from
American English.
2.2.Techniques of slang translation
As far as slang translation is concerned, a translator has many decisions to make
since it is often difficult to choose an appropriate technique to do it correctly. “The difficulty
in translation or rather conveying words and slang expressions consists in the accurate
connection between slang as a way of unofficial communication and a piece of reality
particularly important for its users” (Szczerbowski in Garcarz, 2007: 148, translation: mine).
Thus, according to Garcarz, the role of translator is to analyse the original and convey the
context, not necessarily the primary meaning. “In slang translations it is not the word which
matters mostly but its communicative function so a translator should, I suppose, try to
propose such equivalents of the original elements which in the culture of the Polish language
will bring equivalent connotations to its receivers” (Kizeweter in Garcarz, 2007: 148,
translation: mine). In order to do it, a translator must take a translation strategy into account,
which means that he has to conform his work to the procedures named above such as media
requirements (Garcarz, 2007: 150). The following quotation defines the importance of those
procedures:
Process categories are designed to answer two basic questions. Which option has the translator
chosen to carry out the translation project, i.e., which method has been chosen? How has the
translator solved the problems that have emerged during the translation process, i.e., which
strategies have been chosen? However, research (or teaching) requirements may make it
important to consider textual micro-units as well, that is to say, how the result of the
translation functions in relation to the corresponding unit in the source text. To do this we need
translation techniques. (Molina & Albir, 2002: 498-499)
There are several techniques which make it easier for a translator to create a correct
translation with the meaning closest to the original version and meeting the mentioned
requirements.
17
2.2.1. Omission
According to Garcarz (2007: 154), omission is the most frequently used method of
audiovisual translation, especially in the case of slang. It consists in making an extremely
important decision by a translator who has to identify with the audience and select the
essential information to make it easy for them to understand the whole content. It can be said
that
audiovisual translations can be analysed on the basis of the relevance theory, which treats
it as ‘mediation’ between the cultures arranged in the process of translation in which the
target text should mirror the complexity of cause and effect communication relationships
between the author of the original and the receivers of the translation located in different
sociocultural realities (Garcarz, 2007: 108, translation: mine).
According to this theory, by omitting some elements in a particular place a translator
should predict whether, and to what extent, the receiver will be able to compensate the
losses of the omitted texts (Garcarz, 2007:155). Sometimes it happens that the complete
slang element is omitted not because of weak translator’s skills but a lack of place for all the
equivalents and it can lead to the removal of its specific beauty like in the following case
(Garcarz, 2007: 156):
Gridlock’d Translation: Magdalena Balcerek
- Fuck, fuck, fuck, I
knew it’s gonna be like
that!
- Wiedziałem, że tak będzie!
Table 3. Omission of slang elements (adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 156)
2.2.2. Searching for the functional equivalent and the closest synonym
The audiovisual translation, especially in the case of slang, should provide the
audience with possibly the same reaction, as not only the content is important but also, or
rather mainly, its function. There are plenty of slang expressions in each language so they
can be replaced with the ones in a foreign language. There are many of so-called
equivalents, which makes it easier for a translator to find an appropriate one even though not
all of them fit the context. Thus, it requires a broad knowledge about the cultures both of the
18
first language and the target one. Then, he is able to find the functional equivalent and make
a viewer understand the original author’s idea and react accordingly to his assumption. “That
is how an equivalent of the original slang element proposed by a translator should behave,
so, in respect of the relevance theory, it should play the role of an interlingual sense carrier
at the context level” (Garcarz: 2007: 163, translation mine).
Table 4. Searching for the functional equivalent (adopted from Garcarz, 2007:163)
According to Garcarz (2007: 164), in the example above, the equivalent seems to be
the most functional and as the relevance theory demonstrates, in connection with the image,
that technique generates identical impressions and similar connotations, which would not be
possible in the case of literal translation.
Among the techniques Garcarz (2007: 167) points out, there is also searching for the
closest synonym, which is very similar but the difference is in the accuracy of this method,
as it requires more precise equivalent seeking. It has a use for situations when a full
equivalent for a slang expression is hard to find and the proposal of the closest synonym has
possibly similar communicative functions in the micro context as a full equivalent.
Bruce Almighty Translation: Andrzej Chajewski
- Did that monkey just come
out of your crack man?
- Wylazła ci z kufra?
Table 5. Searching for the closest synonym (adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 168)
2.2.3. Description
As far as the technique of description is concerned, it can be compared to paraphrase
or free translation because it is related to a context without putting emphasis on an original
content. Thus, such a translation is not an exact equivalent of an original version but rather a
transfer of meaning. According to Garcarz (2007: 172), that kind of translation causes some
losses in slang elements present in the original.
Leon Translation: Tomasz Słomkowski
- Get a grip. - Wielkie halo.
19
In the case of slang translation based on that technique, a translator, willing to save the
semantic load of a particular utterance, almost always omits it and changes the rhetorical
component of the whole textual message (e.g.: “they rock and roll”, was translated into
“poszli na całość”), as it happens in the case of using the technique of neutralisation
through explanation…The description technique works only when a translator is sure that
for many reasons, a slang original does not have a functional equivalent in the culture of
the Polish language and to make the micro context clear, the meaning of an original
element cannot be omitted in the target text through the omission technique, complete or
partial. (Garcarz 2007: 173, translation: mine)
Being compared to the strategy of paraphrasing, description consists in the change of
the structure as it is done when an original slang expression is replaced by a whole
expression in a target language and such a process does not change the semantic load of the
text but it only explains and describes the meaning.
True Romance Translation: Piotr Andrzej Majewski
- Now, pretend this is Jayne
Kennedy. And you’re you.
- Wyobraź sobie , że to jest laska z
Playboya, a to jesteś ty.
Table 6. Description (adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 173)
2.2.4. Crib
Crib consists in literal translation of a text which Zauberga calls “indirect transfer”
(1994: 143). As far as slang translation is concerned, that technique is not only used rarely
but, mainly, it is not quite effective and it is useful rather in the case of technical texts more
than artistic ones. Moreover, the method of crib should be used in order to translate single
words, not whole expressions, as it can lead to creating a linguistic calque of the original
ones (Garcarz, 2007: 174).
Jackie Brown Translation: Maksymilian Fogel
- Can’t have my boy running around lookin’ like a
bum on the street.
- Mój kumpel nie może wyglądać jak menel.
Table 7. Crib (adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 175)
However, “literal translation is attainable but mainly at the semantic level” (Garcarz,
2007: 175). Gutt claims that:
20
Semantically and at the clausal level in long sequences crib is practically impossible.
Languages do not have universal signs, whose usage (and in the same number) makes it
possible to create stylistic structures in a foreign language which are always equivalent by
using the technique of literal translation (Gutt in Garcarz, 2007: 176, translation mine).
2.2.5. Neologisation
According to Tomaszkiewicz (2006: 194, translation mine), “being unable to find an
equivalent of a particular expression in a target language, translators create neologisms,
which are sometimes supposed to present a vulgarly comic aspect, but such processes are
not always successful.”
Thus, this technique of slang translation is rather creative than reconstructive and a
translator must make a decision whether it is better to find a substitute appropriate for a
whole broad context or to keep the element of foreign realism, taking the risk that it will not
be understood by the receiver (Garcarz, 2007: 176).
Super Mario Bros. Translation: Tomasz Magier
- You son-of-a-snake!
- Eggsucker!
- Ty sukingadzie!
- Jajosyny!
Table 7. Neologisation (adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 178)
The example above shows how translators must deal with lexical neologism often
because the script gives them no choice, as literal translation would spoil the humoristic
overtone.
2.2.6. Addition
In the case of audiovisual translation of slang, sometimes a translator has to add
some words or expressions absent in the original text. That technique is used especially in
order to transmit vulgar and harmful contents. The process consists in creating additional
contents at the level of semantic value, which heightens the rhetorical function of a word or
a slang expression (Garcarz, 2007: 183).
According to Kizeweter (2005: 149), the technique of addition helps a translator to
complete the original with such elements of a text and make such stylistic processes that the
target text offered to a receiver is clear to understand.
21
Heat Translation: Magdalena Chajewska
- Need a driver, remember the drill? You’re on? - Potrzebujemy kierowcę, pamiętasz jak to się robi,
krótka piłka?
Table 8. Addition (adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 185)
2.3. Culture transfer
Every text belongs to particular times and to a particular culture so it is localised in a
particular socio-cultural environment. This makes it difficult for a translator to transfer the
content from one culture into another, thus there are many differences between them and
they cause an essential translation problem (Tomaszkiewicz, 2006: 152).
It is the translator who should provide a foreign reader with the minimum knowledge
sufficient to open those closed doors which lead to cognition of something unknown to
him…The translator helps the reader by expressing clearly what was default and by
picking such linguistic means which will help to identify the references for which there are
no indirect counterparts in the target language (Lederer in Tomaszkiewicz, 2006: 153,
translation mine).
As it was mentioned above, in the case of audiovisual translation, there are numerous
technical requirements and limits which make it necessary for a translator to shorten a text
by omitting or condensing some elements. On the other hand, the sense of the audiovisual
message is made of the substantial elements, described in the first chapter, so the connection
between all of them makes it easier for a receiver to understand the whole.
However, it can be easier and harder at the same time to understand the semiotic, as
not everything shown on the screen is universal and means the same thing in every country
and for every culture (Tomaszkiewicz, 2006: 153-154). Several problematic aspects of
culture transfer will be provided below.
2.3.1. Monikers and proper nouns
Actually, proper nouns are not supposed to be translated, but there are some
exceptions like in the situations when a name must be transliterated because of the foreign
alphabet or simply, when a name gives a clue about a character’s personality (Garcarz, 2007:
22
187). In order to translate slang monikers, translators very often use a descriptive method to
reflect their particular meaning as it is shown in the examples below.
The Bronx Tale Translation: Marek Lipski
- Eddie Mush;
- JoJo the Whale;
- His name was Jimmy Whispers.
- Tony Clams.
- Edzio Breja;
- Jojo Wieloryb;
- Miał ksywę Jimmy Szept.
- Toni Papla.
Table 9. Monikers and proper nouns (adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 188)
As Garcarz (2007: 188) claims, the translator’s task is to present a world provided in
the original as naturally as possible and in accordance with the original text’s spirit.
2.3.2. Vulgarisms
Vulgarisms were not acceptable in movies even though they were obviously present
in languages. Moreover, the strongest of them used in movies up to 1971 was “hell” and
later on more obscene ones started to be broadcast even on television (Belczyk, 2007: 108).
“What is interesting is that the appearance of vulgarisms has little reflection in movie
translation, which, as a general rule, in comparison to the original linguistic versions, are
rather sanitized. It happens because the deletion of vulgarisms is very often required by the
distributors” (Belczyk, 2007: 108, translation mine).
However, a total lack of vulgarisms in the translations, which are nonetheless present
in the original versions, is unnatural and gives the impression of reality warping. Thus, as it
is not a perfect way of translating such contents and as it is not right to swing from one
extreme to another and attack the audience with completely profane speech, especially
nowadays when children can easily get access to that. In order to strike a balance, it is
probably enough to signal from time to time that a character uses vulgarisms to give the
viewers an idea about his personality or mood e.g. “Fuck, it’s cold” can be replaced by a less
explicit synonym or expression from the neutral register like “Cholera, zimno!”
23
2.3.3. Humour and wordplays
As for humour in the movies, it is mainly situational, so very often a viewer’s
perception can be supported by other elements shown on the screen (Belczyk, 2007: 113).
Usually, it has a universal character and is uniformly received by the viewers from various
cultures even though, obviously, there are some exceptions. Several years ago, not many
people in Poland understood, for instance, the meaning of the American gesture involving
the middle finger pointing upwards. However, comedy can be included also in the
linguistic side: in dialogues, or in humorous and absurd inscriptions shown on the screen…
and then, of course, it requires a transfer in the translation (Belczyk, 2007: 114, translation
mine).
When it comes to translating wordplay, it is often very easy, as most of them have
counterparts in the target language but some of them need to be translated by usage of such
methods as finding out a completely new joke reflecting a situation from the original
version. Notwithstanding, it can be even more difficult when it is connected with what is
happening on the screen because freedom for manoeuvre is narrow, as a joke cannot be
omitted or replaced by another one (Belczyk, 2007: 116).
As far as wordplays are concerned, sometimes it is extremely hard to transfer them
due to their ambiguity, as in the following example:
The World Is Not Enough
- You wouldn’t kill me. You’d miss me.
- I never miss.
- Nie zastrzelisz mnie. To chybiony pomysł.
- Nigdy nie chybiam.
Table 10. Humour and wordplays (adopted from Belczyk, 2007: 116)
24
Chapter 3: A comparative analysis of selected elements of the
original script and their Polish translations based on the movie
“Pulp Fiction”
3. 1. The language of “Pulp Fiction”
“Pulp Fiction” (1994) is an American crime movie directed and written by Quentin
Tarantino, who filled it with eclectic dialogues and humour ironically mixed with violence
and vulgar language.4
The director’s idea of the movie made its plot exaggerated and full of
black humour and, being a mixture of slang utterances and humorous dialogues, is a real
challenge for a translator. The most popular translation of the movie, by Elżbieta Gałązka-
Salomon, happens to be the most suitable one, which, undoubtedly, contributed to the
success of the movie in Poland.
Using slang and numerous insertions of expletives, the characters in the movie cause
the dialogues to be full of humorous wordplays. Due to the fact that their speech is
extremely informal and colloquial, the translator faced a great number of dilemmas and
decisions about using the most effective techniques.
Despite the swearing and expletives, which are easy to replace with their equivalents
in Polish, there are many, seemingly minute, conditions which should be taken into
consideration by the translator because even little changes can influence the register of the
characters’ language and create a different idea about their personalities or features. Thus, a
bad translation can easily distort the actual assumption of the director and consequently,
such a translation is as challenging as it is absorbing (Tomaszkiewicz, 2006: 201).
In other words, a particular character’s determined idiolect takes part in the creation of his
characterisation. If the elements of that idiolect change in the translation, so does the viewer’s
opinion about the character. Of course, other elements of the plot, including non-linguistic ones,
will influence the structuring of the character’s personality but, after all, the receiver of the
translation is devoid, to some extent, of all the data which facilitate the formation of his own
attitude towards the presented characters (Tomaszkiewicz, 2006:201, translation mine)
4
Internet source 4
25
3.2. Translation techniques in “Pulp Fiction”
As it was mentioned above, subtitling translation requires from a translator to choose
what information is essential and what is less important to the extent that it can be omitted or
condensed without making unwanted changes which hinder the sense and course of action
perceived by the audience. In order to do it as effectively as possible, a translator must
consider which technique is the most suitable for a particular slang expression, taking into
consideration other elements, such as the context and the image shown on the screen..
Being full of slang and colloquial language, “Pulp Fiction” must be very carefully
translated not to deprive it of its brilliance. Elżbieta Gałązka-Salomon dealt with this great
challenge and she had to take many techniques into consideration. Thus, she used omission,
synonyms, description, neologisation and addition. The following subsections describe the
use of those techniques in the movie and provide relevant examples.
3.2.1. Omission
As Kizeweter (2005: 150) claims, the decision to omit slang elements belongs
mainly to the translator and it is his “limits of decency” which should delimit the
borders of using taboo words. Such attitude should be taken by every translator, as he
must face even moral decisions, which influence the quality of his translation and its
reception. The basic problem in the translation of expletives comes from a translator’s
psychological block, which makes him fear that he might hurt the viewers’ feelings.
What is more, in the case of subtitles the power of such taboo words is strengthened by
the “coefficient of intensity”:
On the other hand, concision or omission of material in subtitles may lead to their losing much
pragmatic effect. However seemingly banal, any elements of context may be important in
creating meaning and maintaining cohesion. The practical problems of time and space on the
screen force decisions on the translator, but the decisions must account for the communicative
intention of their original. (...)This is particularly true of taboo language, especially sexually-
based swear words, which are usually toned down, however, due to the fact that the coefficient
of intensity of expletives would seem to be raised through the greater visibility of the written
mode. The coefficient of intensity is a measure of the force of a lexical item and needs to be
matched in translation. (...) Thus a translator needs to be sensitive to the level of intensity
required in writing to match the verbal ferocity. (Taylor, 2000: 7)
26
In other words, a taboo word that is written seems much stronger to the viewer
then the same word which is only perceived in the spoken form.
However, there are other reasons why a translator omits slang elements from the
original, for instance, because of a lack of a short equivalent that would be popular
among the users of the Polish language (Garcarz, 2007: 158). As far as the example
from “Pulp Fiction” below is concerned, Elżbieta Gałązka-Salomon, used a variant of
omission which neutralizes the level of slang and gives equivalents which are
characteristic for the target language without changing the structure of the original that
much.
Thus, she decided to translate “Whoa, hold your horses” into „Zaraz, powoli”
(Garcarz, 2007: 159), which is rather deprived of its slang character but there was not an
equivalent in Polish to satisfy the director’s assumption and the requirements of audiovisual
translation at the same time.
Figure 2. Pulp Fiction: the translation of “Whoa, hold your horses man, what’s the problem?”
(Adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 157)
27
3.2.2. Searching for the closest synonym
As it was mentioned in the second chapter, searching for the closest synonym is
a technique which is very useful when it is impossible to find an exact semantic
equivalent in the target language.
Figure 3. Pulp Fiction: the translation of “Bring out the Gimp.” (Adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 168)
Even though the word “Gimp” has a few meanings, including “pokraka”,
“kutera” or “kulas”, none of them is a full equivalent in the filmic micro context. Thus,
the translator’s decision to use one of the equivalents is appropriate since “being able
to confront the translation with the image, the viewer will instinctively sense that
“pokraka” has an index meaning rather than a descriptive one” (Garcarz, 2007: 169,
translation mine).
The “Gimp” in the movie is not an old man but an “ultra-fetishistic” male
person wearing a leather uniform and playing the role of a sexual toy for two other
men. Therefore, that technique is an indirect process of non-literal transfer of slang
elements of the original version in order to keep its assumption and the spirit of the
movie (Garcarz, 2007: 169).
28
3.2.3. Description
As far as the technique of descriptive translation is concerned, sometimes it is
better to describe a slang element dependent on culture than deprive it of the cultural
meaning by finding an equivalent which does not express the same meaning in Polish
(Garcarz, 2007: 172)
Referring to the following examples of the “Pulp Fiction” translation, the
method of description perfectly replaced other techniques which would not be
effective. Since the verb “to key” does not have a Polish equivalent, the translator had
to describe it instead of omitting it because it carried essential information (Garcarz,
2007: 174).
Figure 4. Pulp Fiction: the translation of “He fuckin' keyed it.” (Adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 174)
So it happens in the case of the second situation from the movie, where “Can we
make spoons?” had to be translated into a short sentence in the target language. The
translator had to shorten its semantic load because being accurate, she would have had
to come up with the whole definition of the sexual position which the expression refers
to.
29
Figure 5. Pulp Fiction: the translation of “Poor baby. Can we make spoons?” (Adopted from Garcarz, 2007:
174)
3.2.4. Neologisation
In a situation when a close equivalent in Polish of an American slang expression
cannot be found, translators very often try to replace it with a neologism (Garcarz
2007: 177). That is how Elżbieta Gałązka-Salomon dealt with the following
problematic issues of the “Pulp Fiction” translation.
Figure 6. Pulp Fiction: the translation of “Chill the fuck out, Jules, this shit happens.”
(Adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 180)
30
Figure 7. Pulp Fiction: the translation of “Hey man, as far as I know, the motherfucker’s tip-top.”
(Adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 180)
Figure 8. Pulp Fiction: the translation of “Well, let’s not start suckin’ each other’s dicks quite yet.”
(Adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 180)
In the case of the situation shown in Figure 6, a phrasal neologism was used
and it consists in finding or creating a substitute slang element in the target language.
It depends on a translator’s skills of an “artificial” creation of “natural” equivalents for
American slang expressions (Garcarz, 2007: 180).
Another example shows how borrowings are used as the technique of
neologisation. These words are borrowed from the source language and inserted into
the target language in which they do not exist. However, once it was borrowed from
American English, “tip-top” stayed in the Polish slang for good (Garcarz, 2007: 182).
31
As far as Figure 8 is concerned, calques are most rarely used as a process of
neologisation as “it is difficult to copy an original expression by means of native
linguistic elements in accordance with the semantic pattern enforced by a foreign
language” (Garcarz, 2007: 182, translation mine). Wrong calques can lead to the
promotion of incorrect slang expressions by television. The technique of neologisation
is effective only in particular examples, such as those presented above. Moreover, a
translator should not use it only when he has an opportunity to do so and he should
limit his creativity to the level of promotion of neologisms in the target language
(Garcarz, 2007: 182).
3.2.5. Addition
According to what was mentioned in the second chapter, addition is a technique
which is used when the original text must be completed by some elements in the target
language to make it clearer and more understandable for the receiver.
As Garcarz (2007: 185) sees it, “a couple of guys” is partially a slang
expression and partially just a colloquial element of American English whereas
“ziutkowie” definitely belongs to the Polish slang vocabulary, which makes it a
considerable issue why the translator used this technique. However, in connection with
what is shown on the screen, it has to be admitted that the word proposed by her
perfectly reflects the tragicomic character of the scene.
Figure 9. Pulp Fiction: the translation of “You know what you two look like? Like a couple of guys who just
blew off somebody's head.” (Adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 180)
32
Conclusions
As for the audio-visual translation of slang, it is not as easy as it seems because of all the
requirements connected with distribution and censorship. Even though the basic assumption of
such a translation is to evoke the same reaction of the viewers of the translated version as it is
expressed by the audience of the original one, in the case of obscene and slang elements there
exist some kind of unwritten law indicating that a translator or a distributor simply does not want
to do it that way. Because of the presence of auto censorship, audio-visual translation is never a
perfect copy of the original but only its shadow devoid of spice and does not reflect the whole
assumption of the movie makers. Thus, ironically, a translator breaks the rule about being
extremely truthful to the original version, in the name of moral values and censorship.
However, the techniques mentioned above facilitate choosing the best option to make a
movie as natural and similar to the original as possible. Culture differences and characters’
register are sometimes even impossible to transfer and then, a translator faces a great challenge.
It can be said that he recreates the dialogues and the script and sometimes comes up with a
slightly new version of a movie but he has to be very careful in his creation not to profane the
original assumption.
Perhaps, in the near future there will be a perfect solution which is independent on
technical requirements and moral values in order to transfer the whole meaning and content
truthfully. Eventually, if a movie can be translated in a way that has to be limited because of the
elements requiring censorship, it means that the same movie already has such elements and it is
the way it should be. It is rather the access to such materials which should be limited, not the
material itself because it leads to spreading the mendacious presentation of reality and leaves
Poland behind in the seemingly gentle, but rather untrue, cage where a word has to be replaced
by a nicer one even if it does not mean the exact same thing.
33
Streszczenie
Zadaniem tłumacza podejmującego się przekładu audiowizualnego jest oddanie
oryginalnego założenia na tyle precyzyjnie, aby odbiór polskiego widza był możliwie
zbliżony do reakcji widza wersji oryginalnej. Jednocześnie jednak ma on za zadanie nie
tylko przetłumaczyć dokładnie wszystkie treści oryginalnych dialogów, ale również w
sposób kreatywny i elastyczny stworzyć poniekąd nową wersję. Owa wersja musi być
dodatkowo poddana zabiegom, które dostosowują tekst do nieszczęsnych wymagań
technicznych, które znacząco ograniczają pole manewru tłumacza jeśli chodzi o bycie
wiernym w stosunku do tekstu, gdyż niejednokrotnie musi on zostać skrócony,
sparafrazowany lub wzbogacony, nie wspominając o cenzurze. Wymieniona garstka
zabiegów, których jest zdecydowanie więcej, sprawia, że tłumacz staje się jednocześnie
poetą i cenzorem oraz stawia czoła licznym dylematom i decyzjom, by stworzyć
tłumaczenie, które sprosta wszystkim wymogom.
Rozdział pierwszy poświęcony jest formom tłumaczenia, a zatem dubbingowi,
lektorowi i napisom oraz ich charakterystyce. Każda z tych form ma swoje wady i zalety,
dlatego trudno mówić o rozwiązaniu doskonałym. Dubbing uniemożliwia słyszenie
oryginalnych głosów aktorów, co przecież jest nieodzownym elementem służącym do oceny
gry aktorskiej, podczas gdy lektor, pomimo że pozostawia ściszone oryginalne głosy w tle,
wprowadza sztuczną osłonkę utrudniającą odbiór elementów, szczególnie dźwiękowych. Z
kolei napisy wydające się być najbardziej neutralną metodą, zasłaniają sporą część ekranu i
dekoncentrują widza, odciągając jego uwagę od walorów wizualnych.
Rozdział drugi i trzeci obejmuje definicję slangu i techniki tłumaczenia w oparciu o
przykłady z filmów. Tłumaczenie „Pulp Fiction” ukazuje doskonale, jak najlepiej wybrnąć z
trudnych sytuacji, nie rezygnując z wulgaryzmów i nieodzownych, ktoś mógłby powiedzieć
nieprzyzwoitych, elementów filmu niewątpliwie składających się na jego sukces.
Zakończenie pracy dyplomowej jest podsumowaniem aspektów, omówionych we
wcześniejszych rozdziałach. Najmocniej nasuwającym się wnioskiem jest fakt, że
tłumaczenie audiowizualne zaspokajające wszystkie wymagania, zarówno techniczne jak i
językowe, nie istnieje.
34
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35
Internet sources:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubbing_(filmmaking), date of access: June 2012.
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subtitles, date of access: 12 June 2012.
3. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/548055/slang
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulp_Fiction
Movies:
1. Bruce Almighty, USA (2001) – TVP S.A., translation: Maria Stewar,
2. Gridlock’d, USA (1997) – TVP S.A., translation: Magdalena Balcerek,
3. Heat, USA (1995) – TVP S.A., translation: Magdalena Chajewska,
4. Jackie Brown, USA (1997) – TVP S.A., translation: Maksymilian Fogel,
5. Leon, USA (1994) – TVP S.A., translation: Tomasz Słomkowski,
6. Pulp Fiction, USA (1994) – TVP S.A., translation: Elżbieta Gałązka-Salomon,
7. Super Mario Bros., USA (1991) – TVP S.A., translation: Tomasz Magier,
8. The Bronx Tale, USA (1993) – TVP S.A., translation: Marek Lipski,
9. The World Is Not Enough, USA (1999),
10. True Romance, USA (1993) – TVP S.A., translation: Piotr Andrzej Majewski.

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Agata Charzewska - Bachelor's Thesis

  • 1. PPAAŃŃSSTTWWOOWWAA WWYYŻŻSSZZAA SSZZKKOOŁŁAA ZZAAWWOODDOOWWAA WW NNOOWWYYMM SSĄĄCCZZUU IINNSSTTYYTTUUTT JJĘĘZZYYKKÓÓWW OOBBCCYYCCHH PRACA DYPLOMOWA TTHHEE AAUUDDIIOOVVIISSUUAALL TTRRAANNSSLLAATTIIOONN OOFF AAMMEERRIICCAANN SSLLAANNGG IINNTTOO PPOOLLIISSHH BBAASSEEDD OONN TTHHEE MMOOVVIIEE ““PPUULLPP FFIICCTTIIOONN”” autor: Agata Charzewska kierunek: Filologia specjalność: Translatoryka nr albumu: 15391 Promotor: mgr Bogusław Pajda NOWY SĄCZ 2012
  • 2. 2 Table of contents: Introduction 3 1. Techniques of audiovisual translation 5 1.1. Audiovisual translation 5 1.2. Dubbing 6 1.2.1. Synchronistic process 8 1.3. Voice-over 9 1.4. Subtitles 11 1.4.1. Operations on language 11 1.4.2. Technical requirements 12 2. Slang 14 2.1. Definition of slang 14 2.1.1. Word formation processes 15 2.2. Techniques of slang translation 16 2.2.1. Omission 17 2.2.2. Searching for the functional equivalent and the closest synonym 17 2.2.3. Description 18 2.2.4. Crib 19 2.2.5. Neologisation 20 2.2.6. Addition 20 2.3. Culture transfer 21 2.3.1. Monikers and proper nouns 21 2.3.2. Vulgarisms 22 2.3.3. Humour and wordplays 23 3. A comparative analysis of selected elements of the original script and their Polish translations based on the movie “Pulp Fiction” 24 3.1. The language of “Pulp Fiction” 24 3.2. Translation techniques in “Pulp Fiction” 25 3.2.1. Omission 25 3.2.2. Searching for the closest synonym 27 3.2.3. Description 28 3.2.4. Neologisation 29 3.2.5. Addition 31 Conclusions 32 Streszczenie 33 References 34
  • 3. 3 Introduction Audiovisual translation seems to be an interesting and pleasant task but, on the other hand, it is extremely difficult because it requires a translator not only to be precise and linguistically knowledgeable but also creative, flexible and imaginative (Belczyk, 2007: 6). Even though movies use a kind of literary language, it is supposed to sound natural and more like a spoken, everyday language, which makes the audio-visual translation complicated and more complex. “After all, a movie should convincingly show a particular extract of the world (even if completely fictional), and one of the most important criteria of authenticity of such a presentation is, undoubtedly, a character’s manner of speech” (Belczyk, 2007: 7). Chapter 1 presents the techniques of audio-visual translation of slang. Each of them is useful in a different situation according to a kind of movie. Among those techniques there is dubbing, which is popular especially in animated movies and consists in post-production work on replacement of the original text by the translated one and matching it to mouth movements. Voice-over, which is a term describing a technique based on recording voice by one person to be heard from the background. It differs from dubbing mainly because the original text is not muted completely so it leaves the possibility of hearing the real actors’ voices. The most neutral method is subtitles, as it does not influence the receipt of sounds. However, texts shown on the screen take up too much attention of the viewers and make it harder for them to concentrate on the visual aspects of a movie. Moreover, there are many technical requirements to be taken into consideration which limit the translator’s possibilities. He faces a challenge to choose the best option and reflect as much original content as possible to provide the viewers with identical reactions as native speakers of the original text. Chapter 2 illustrates a specification of audio-visual translation in view of American slang translated into Polish. It shows the techniques of such translation and examples of their use. Additionally, methods of culture transfer are discussed, as there are numerous problematic issues related to transfer of cultural items which have to be explained in a most effective way to let the viewer understand how it looks like in the original surrounding. A translator has to deal with such elements as proper nouns, monikers, vulgarisms, humour and wordplays so it is not enough for him to translate it truthfully with a dictionary in his hand but he has to think about the best and most suitable equivalent which reflects the director’s and actors’ assumption.
  • 4. 4 Chapter 3 contains a comparative analysis of selected elements of the original script and their Polish translations. The analysis is based on the movie “Pulp Fiction” filled with very a controversial script and dialogues, which makes the translator’s job even more absorbing and challenging at the same time. As for the techniques described in Chapter 2, in this chapter they are supported by the most suitable examples from the movie. It is shown how it has been translated, what technique have been used and what it looks like on the screen.
  • 5. 5 Chapter 1: Techniques of audiovisual translation 1.1. Audiovisual translation Screen translation in comparison to typical translation of written texts is definitely more complex because it is not only about literal translating of sentences from one language to another. In the second case, the text just has to be a written reflection of the original one. Audiovisual translation is done in the case of films and television so a translator must take the media requirements into consideration, as well as take care not only of the language aspect but also other substantial elements. An audiovisual translator has to make many decisions which depend on the relationship between a screen and a text, however, it cannot be clearly definite what strategy should be used. There are a lot of them and it is very common that “a necessary evil” must be done to approximate the sense of the conveyed content. In fact, it is extremely hard to make a faultless movie translation. This kind of translation is the transfer of the original sense into another version comprehensible for those who do not understand it. “A film is nothing else than a place of receipt with a number of rays which can be accompanied by acoustic vibrations. (...) Therefore, a movie is meaningless intrinsically but it makes sense what we have to explore and how a movie starts to make sense in relation to its recipient.” (Odin in Tomaszkiewicz, 2008: 56, translation mine). Hence, the main aim of a translator is to explain the meaning of the presented content to the viewers, which sometimes seems to be impossible because there are several problems to solve, e.g. the transfer of a particular culture to a different one. Apart from the language aspect, which is undoubtedly the most important part of any kind of translation, there are significant elements participating in the creation of media and the relationship between image and text. Among them there is the spoken and the written word, as well as all types of images such as schemes, graphics, pictograms (logos, abbreviations, symbols) and finally, a movie screen, sounds and incidental music. All those aspects form a mixture combined with the audience’s reaction. Moreover, sometimes those substantial elements are not clear enough for the viewers of a different language and culture and then additional explanations are required.
  • 6. 6 There are verbal techniques, i.e. dubbing or synchronization, which consist in recording voices and replacing the original ones with them. Another verbal method is the one called voice-over, which seems to be an easier and the most practical way to translate a movie but at the same time it is disliked by most recipients, as it is believed to be unnatural. There are also written ones such as subtitles – the most popular method – which are texts displayed at the screen bottom. Being a kind of art and a source of entertainment or knowledge, motion pictures have a great influence on our lives. The main objective of audiovisual translation is to make it easier for a particular language group to reach foreign movies and programmes of a different culture. The advantages are both-sided for the audience and the producers as well because the transfer of their audiovisual products facilitates export and commercialization, which provides larger profits. And that is where a movie translator’s role begins. The translation technique is a way of translator’s dealing with the concrete elements of a source text in order to preserve the equivalence of a text in the target language… as distinct from translation strategy, which determines a translator’s global dealing with a particular text, the techniques of translation are the individual decisions involving particular text segments, analyzed in the micro context. (Tomaszkiewicz, 2004: 95, translation mine) Thus the immediate conclusion coming to mind is that the audiovisual translation is divided into many essential aspects which have to be carefully considered by a translator who provides them as a logical entirety. The essential condition of this task is for a translated version to make the same impression as the original one. 1.2. Dubbing As for the techniques mentioned above, the first one is dubbing which is the post- production process consisting in a replacement of the original dialogues with the translated version recorded by actors. It may seem to be the most pleasant way to understand a movie in a foreign language because the hearing is the main feature taking part in the assimilation of a text. Thus, the viewer’s attention can be easily focused on visual aspects such as acting, composition, scenography and costumes. It lets him make a detailed opinion about a movie and he does not miss anything when he looks away for a while. This is the ideal method for children who cannot read and adults with a low level of general education.
  • 7. 7 However, there is one disadvantage – the artificiality of this method. No matter how good the translation and synchronisation processes are, it is impossible to create a text in a different language which would fit perfectly a character’s mouth movements. For many filmgoers this shortcoming is unacceptable but, fortunately, there are other techniques which will be discussed in the subsequent sections. Another problem would be the cost of involving more professionals than in the case of subtitling or voice-over. Besides, it requires an enormous contribution on the part of the translator who is responsible for many technical measures. First of all, the length of the translated text must coincide with the length of the original version very precisely. What is more, he must take mouth opening and closing into consideration and conform it to the recorded voice which is a process called “lip sync”. To be more specific, it is also very important to notice the type of mouth opening, i.e. its shape (e.g. rounded shape) as well as to provide the articulated words in synchronization with a character’s facial expression and gesticulation. Because of the above technical requirements, dubbing can be said to be a rough translation and, according to Teresa Tomaszkiewicz (2008: 108), it is more like adaptation than actual translation. However, there are many aspects which are independent from a translator such as the relationship between a “voice giver” and a character such as diction, accent and even a social group or origin. Curious though it may seem, it sometimes has application to musicals when an actor has an unsatisfactory singing voice. To give another example of dubbing application, it is also the re-recording of audio elements in movies in order to improve the sound and dialogue quality, which is called Automated Dialogue Replacement or Additional Dialogue Recording. Additionally, dubbing may be created by the producers of a particular audiovisual product at once to increase the distribution of films, videos, video games, television series and cartoons in other countries.1 Compared to literary editing, dubbing also allows a translator to recreate the product, which makes this technique enormously labour-intensive and time-consuming. 1 Internet source 1
  • 8. 8 1.2.1. Synchronisation process According to Teresa Tomaszkiewicz (2006: 108), being a key factor of audiovisual translation, synchronization is the essential process, especially as far as dubbing is concerned. A translator is forced to use his creative skills because, as mentioned before, this kind of translation is based not only on the transfer of word-by-word contents but mainly on sense transfer with taking technical requirements into consideration. Additionally, it is the viewer who is the determinant of translation quality; thus undeniably, a translator must deviate from the original version if necessary and focus on the function and the relationship between audio and video aspects for the sake of the viewer’s reaction. In other words, this process is the synchronization of the translated version length and the way of articulation with screen elements. As for the visual dimension, the basic aspects would be the film set (distant or close) and the character’s position (distant, sideways, backside). These seem to be other prerequisites but, at the same time, a facility for a translator as there are moments when a character is less visible. As Gerard-Lois Gauthier writes: …fortunately, there are rare moments in films, a godsend for a translator, when the lips of a speaking actor are invisible for some reason. Those moments are immediately used for letting him speak important things, essential to understand a movie, which was impossible to put in dialogues earlier because of the synchronization necessity. Moments of a set change also appear and, unless they connect with another immediate rejoinder, they let him finish a sentence which failed to be synchronized with a previous shot. (Gauthier in Tomaszkiewicz, 2008: 109, translation mine) Synchronization is a priority in professional dubbing and is a criterion to judge its quality depending on the translation corresponding to lip-synchrony and isochrony, which is the duration of a character’s utterance. Teresa Tomaszkiewicz (2008: 109) details two ways of synchronization. The first one is a synchronization of utterance time, which is another aspect for a translator to pay attention to, to match a text to an image more precisely. This measure allows regulating an utterance tempo unless it is a characteristic feature of a figure shown on the screen, e.g. fast way of speaking. For that matter, a translated version can be shortened if it is too long. It is practically impossible to make a translation with the same amount of syllables so a better solution would be to create sentences with fewer syllables and slow the tempo down than do it conversely. Another trick would be to add short words, elements or
  • 9. 9 connectors, which fill the gaps and provide the text with proper rhythm (e.g. Polish “ach” or “cóż”). The second way is the synchronization of sounds based on the differences of phonetic systems. To elaborate on that it must be said that the phonetic form of equivalent lexemes is definitely varied so not everything can be synchronized on the phonetic level. There are major articulatory coefficients: the degree to which the oral cavity is opened (there are open, half-open, fricative and stop sounds) as well as the extent of the vocal organs’ close-up, i.e. the place of articulation (bilabial, labiodental, etc.). Several definitions of synchronization will now be provided starting with Luyken who considered it “the replacement of the original speech by a voice-track which is a faithful translation of the original speech and which attempts to reproduce the timing, phrasing and lip movements of the original” (Luyken, 1991: 80). It can also be defined as “the harmony between the visible articulatory speech movements and the sounds heard” (Agost in Orero, 2004: 43). Synchronization is generally a process made to synchronize the translation with the lip movements. To achieve this, [the dialogue writer] substitutes the words that do not coincide phonetically with the screen actors’ lip movements for others that do. Pauses, the start and finish of the utterance, the openness of the vowel sounds and the presence of bilabials are all taken into account. The dialogue writer is also responsible for synchronizing the pace of the dubbing actor, at times through modifications to the text received from the translator. In summary, the dialogue writer is responsible for synchronization. (Chaves in Orero, 2004: 43) 1.3. Voice-over Searching further for the techniques of audiovisual translation, it can be found out that the most popular, especially in Eastern Europe, is voice-over and narration. It consists in recording a translated version of the original text by one, usually male, person who lends his voice for every actor shown on the screen. It can be compared to dubbing but the difference is that there is only one voice artist and the original audio track can be heard in the background. George-Michael Luyken defines it as the faithful translation of original speech, approximately synchronous delivery, used only in the context of monologs such as an interview response or a series of responses from a single interviewee. The original sound is either reduced entirely or to a low level of audibility. A common practice is to allow the subsequently reduced so that the translated speech takes over…
  • 10. 10 alternatively if the translation is recorded as part of the original production, it may follow the original speech exactly (Luyken 1991: 80). According to Arkadiusz Belczyk (2007: 9), voice-over is something between a primitive form of dialogue and simultaneous translation. As he says, there are surprisingly many sympathisers of this method in Poland, which can be caused mainly by habits, as it is more comfortable in superficial viewing than in the case of subtitles, which force the audience to look carefully at the screen and pay more attention. Moreover, it is cheaper than dubbing, thus it is preferred in the case of low budget productions, as well as in television shows and interviews, as it is the fastest and the least absorbing method of audiovisual translation. However, it can be difficult to follow the switch of talkers because there is a single voice for all utterances which makes it hard to distinguish which line is spoken by whom. Trying to transfer the whole content into an intelligible translated version, the interpreter must change intonation to a small extent so the audience can easily match the lines with the appropriate participant in a dialogue. As far as the audio track is concerned, and as it was mentioned above, the actors can be heard, thus it allows the viewer to get to know the actors’ real voices and the original idea of a movie. It may seem to be the advantage of this technique of translation but on the other hand, it lowers the volume of the original music which can be seen as a profanation in some measure. Another absorbing question is translating the text appearing on the screen, such as a name of a city or a date, which is usually read out by the interpreter but nowadays it tends to be written in the form of subtitles covering the original ones. Nonetheless, the voice-over makes an impression of artificiality and discourages viewers in some countries from choosing a movie translated in that way. Additionally, there is a variant of this technique called narration which differs somewhat from voice-over, as it is used mainly in the case of programs dominated by monologues. However, being truthful translations of the original text and applying synchronization, they can be said to be very similar. Lip-synch is not taken into account but there is a synchrony between text and image to provide an illusion of authenticity. In conclusion, “it is true that voice-over is used in TV news or documentaries in order to portray the feeling of authenticity of the discourse contents” (Luyken 1991: 80) and
  • 11. 11 it is “one more feature to make audiovisual media a construct of reality, which, in some extreme cases, seems to be more real than reality” (Orero, 2006: 7). 1.4. Subtitles There is another, very popular, technique of audiovisual translation to mention and it is subtitles, which are textual versions of the dialog in films, television programs and (in recent years) video games, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. They can either be a form of written translation of a dialog in a foreign language or a written rendering of the dialog in the same language, with or without added information to help viewers who are deaf and hard-of-hearing to follow the dialog, or people who cannot understand the spoken dialogue or who have accent recognition problems. 2 According to its form, it is easy to conclude that it does not affect the original delineation of a movie, as it does not handicap the observation of acting whose extremely important part is actors’ voices. Moreover, it gives a great opportunity to get to know a foreign language better and absorb new words and phrases so it can be said that this kind of translation performs an educational function (Belczyk, 2007:8). Tomaszkiewicz points out the disadvantages of this technique which is making it more difficult for the viewers to follow the story line as they have to focus their sight on the subtitles. What is more, they cover some place on the screen, thus it can be said that the view is limited even though there are many technical requirements to make it plainer. Additionally, a typical utterance lasts less time than reading it so it is necessary to make it shorter and, obviously, skip something. Thus, it is the translator who must make the decision about which information is essential and which can be omitted. Interesting though it may seem, it has been calculated that 30-40% of the text disappears in such translation. (Tomaszkiewicz, 2008: 112, 113). 1.4.1. Operations on language According to Teresa Tomaszkiewicz (2008: 126), the audiovisual translation cannot be restricted to typical operations made on other types of texts because it is associated with
  • 12. 12 many semiotic relations and other substantial elements such as image, sounds and music. Audiovisual translation involves not only spoken but written text as well. It can be seen in the case of a time denotation (especially in feature films where information about time, names of places and texts visible in the background appear at the bottom of the screen) or information about an interviewed person or a place where an event happens (as in commentary programmes). The elements mentioned above influence a translator’s decision about what is essential to understand the whole and what can be omitted or condensed. As Tomaszkiewicz (2008: 127) claims, when making those decisions, a translator refers to redundancy, which is an information overload in an announcement formulated in a particular code. She distinguishes redundancy towards cognitive knowledge when a translator omits some information, assuming that “an average viewer has knowledge about the proceedings of everyday conversations, as well as their high level of ritualising” (Tomaszkiewicz 2008: 128, translation mine), for example: - Proszę wejść - Dzień dobry! - Dzień dobry! Łatwo trafiłaś? - Trafiłaś bez kłopotu? Table 1. The process of redundancy (adopted from Tomaszkiewicz 2008: 129) Furthermore, she distinguishes another form of redundancy that is the fusion of two sequences into one indicative sentence, as it is shown in the following example: - Przyjdziesz jutro? - Nie, mam coś do zrobienia w domu. - Nie przyjdę jutro. Mam coś jeszcze do zrobienia w domu. Table 2. Fusion of two sequences into one indicative sentence (adopted from Tomaszkiewicz 2008: 133) 1.4.2. Technical requirements Being a different type of translation from literary or simultaneous translation, subtitles have specific technical, tidal and spatial requirements which Luyken (in Tomaszkiewicz, 2008: 113) divides into four categories: 2 Internet source 2
  • 13. 13  space where a particular subtitle can be displayed;  time when a particular subtitle can be displayed;  sequence in which a particular subtitle appears and disappears;  graphic display of subtitles. As Tomaszkiewicz elaborates on these categories, subtitles cannot be longer than two lines which take two-thirds of the screen width. Depending on the film width, the amount of characters should total 32-40 (35mm) or 24-27 (16mm). However, there is another requirement to which subtitles should be adapted, thus the length of an utterance must be taken into consideration. It has been calculated that the viewers’ rate of reading averages 150-180 words per minute. It has also been proved that a viewer has a tendency to read a sequence again if it stays on the screen for longer than 6 seconds. On the other hand, it cannot be shown for less than 1.5 seconds because a viewer will not be able to notice it. The third requirement says that a subtitle has to be shown 1/4 of a second earlier than an utterance is heard. Visual aspects of the subtitles are very important as well but they are not the translator’s responsibility.
  • 14. 14 Chapter 2: Slang 2.1.Definition of slang Being one of the most problematic issues of audiovisual translation, slang is an extremely important information carrier in a movie script. Interesting though it may seem, it is difficult to give one specific definition because „slang is one of those things that everybody can recognize but nobody can define” (Roberts in Garcarz, 2007: 57). According to Widawski (2000: 543), a simplified definition says that slang is a particular kind of conversational language and an essential element of the present-day reality as well, so it requires special translators’ attention. Widawski (2000: 544-548) points out a few mistakes made by translators who try to deal with slang but not necessarily manage to do it in a correct way. Mistakes from the first category mentioned by him appear when the original version stays the same while a target language does not have an equivalent at the linguistic level and the easiest way for a translator is to leave it as it is in the original version. Other categories are: omission of the whole, literal translation which does not have a use for slang translation, wild guessing and forming completely new phrases. Such mistakes cannot appear because as Garcarz (2007: 58) claims, slang and colloquial language are defined as styles, conjugations and registers of every national language and have a particular aim and functions. As Bartmiński (in Garcarz, 2007: 60) believes, casual language can be called somebody’s first language because the first stage of getting to know a particular language is verbal and only then can someone know various structures of written language. The vocabulary of such a form of language is said to be peculiar and characteristic for social groups or professions but, as mentioned above, there is not one clear definition. In order to show its variance the definition from Encyclopaedia Britannica3 will be provided: SLANG, unconventional words or phrases that express either something new or something old in a new way. It is flippant, irreverent, indecorous; it may be indecent or obscene. Its colourful metaphors are generally directed at respectability, and it is this succinct, sometimes witty, frequently impertinent social criticism that gives slang its characteristic flavour. Slang, then, includes not just words but words used in a special way in a certain social context. The origin of the word slang itself is obscure; it first appeared in print around
  • 15. 15 1800, applied to the speech of disreputable and criminal classes in London. The term, however, was probably used much earlier. 3 As for the definition, the process of translation itself is complicated as well because there are numerous word formation processes which must be considered and will be explained in the following subsections. 2.1.1. Word formation processes The same word formation processes occur similarly in the case of every national language in the lexical aspect but it is difficult to define all, both Polish and American, slang vocabulary as neologisms, as it changes very frequently and the old, unpopular words are replaced by the newly formed ones (Garcarz, 2007: 94). To draw near the structure of slang elements they are presented below graphically. Figure 1. Composition of slang elements: jargon, daglig tale [colloquial language], skældsord [vulgarisms and swear words], argot [criminal slang], tabuord [taboo words and expressions] and ender [others] (adopted from Anker-Moller, Jørgensen & Ravn in Garcarz 2007: 95). 3 Internet source 3
  • 16. 16 According to Garcarz (2007: 96), most frequently, words are formed as a result of word-formation derivation and attaching new meanings to the words mainly on the basis of close comparisons, presenting something as a metaphor, and borrowings especially from American English. 2.2.Techniques of slang translation As far as slang translation is concerned, a translator has many decisions to make since it is often difficult to choose an appropriate technique to do it correctly. “The difficulty in translation or rather conveying words and slang expressions consists in the accurate connection between slang as a way of unofficial communication and a piece of reality particularly important for its users” (Szczerbowski in Garcarz, 2007: 148, translation: mine). Thus, according to Garcarz, the role of translator is to analyse the original and convey the context, not necessarily the primary meaning. “In slang translations it is not the word which matters mostly but its communicative function so a translator should, I suppose, try to propose such equivalents of the original elements which in the culture of the Polish language will bring equivalent connotations to its receivers” (Kizeweter in Garcarz, 2007: 148, translation: mine). In order to do it, a translator must take a translation strategy into account, which means that he has to conform his work to the procedures named above such as media requirements (Garcarz, 2007: 150). The following quotation defines the importance of those procedures: Process categories are designed to answer two basic questions. Which option has the translator chosen to carry out the translation project, i.e., which method has been chosen? How has the translator solved the problems that have emerged during the translation process, i.e., which strategies have been chosen? However, research (or teaching) requirements may make it important to consider textual micro-units as well, that is to say, how the result of the translation functions in relation to the corresponding unit in the source text. To do this we need translation techniques. (Molina & Albir, 2002: 498-499) There are several techniques which make it easier for a translator to create a correct translation with the meaning closest to the original version and meeting the mentioned requirements.
  • 17. 17 2.2.1. Omission According to Garcarz (2007: 154), omission is the most frequently used method of audiovisual translation, especially in the case of slang. It consists in making an extremely important decision by a translator who has to identify with the audience and select the essential information to make it easy for them to understand the whole content. It can be said that audiovisual translations can be analysed on the basis of the relevance theory, which treats it as ‘mediation’ between the cultures arranged in the process of translation in which the target text should mirror the complexity of cause and effect communication relationships between the author of the original and the receivers of the translation located in different sociocultural realities (Garcarz, 2007: 108, translation: mine). According to this theory, by omitting some elements in a particular place a translator should predict whether, and to what extent, the receiver will be able to compensate the losses of the omitted texts (Garcarz, 2007:155). Sometimes it happens that the complete slang element is omitted not because of weak translator’s skills but a lack of place for all the equivalents and it can lead to the removal of its specific beauty like in the following case (Garcarz, 2007: 156): Gridlock’d Translation: Magdalena Balcerek - Fuck, fuck, fuck, I knew it’s gonna be like that! - Wiedziałem, że tak będzie! Table 3. Omission of slang elements (adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 156) 2.2.2. Searching for the functional equivalent and the closest synonym The audiovisual translation, especially in the case of slang, should provide the audience with possibly the same reaction, as not only the content is important but also, or rather mainly, its function. There are plenty of slang expressions in each language so they can be replaced with the ones in a foreign language. There are many of so-called equivalents, which makes it easier for a translator to find an appropriate one even though not all of them fit the context. Thus, it requires a broad knowledge about the cultures both of the
  • 18. 18 first language and the target one. Then, he is able to find the functional equivalent and make a viewer understand the original author’s idea and react accordingly to his assumption. “That is how an equivalent of the original slang element proposed by a translator should behave, so, in respect of the relevance theory, it should play the role of an interlingual sense carrier at the context level” (Garcarz: 2007: 163, translation mine). Table 4. Searching for the functional equivalent (adopted from Garcarz, 2007:163) According to Garcarz (2007: 164), in the example above, the equivalent seems to be the most functional and as the relevance theory demonstrates, in connection with the image, that technique generates identical impressions and similar connotations, which would not be possible in the case of literal translation. Among the techniques Garcarz (2007: 167) points out, there is also searching for the closest synonym, which is very similar but the difference is in the accuracy of this method, as it requires more precise equivalent seeking. It has a use for situations when a full equivalent for a slang expression is hard to find and the proposal of the closest synonym has possibly similar communicative functions in the micro context as a full equivalent. Bruce Almighty Translation: Andrzej Chajewski - Did that monkey just come out of your crack man? - Wylazła ci z kufra? Table 5. Searching for the closest synonym (adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 168) 2.2.3. Description As far as the technique of description is concerned, it can be compared to paraphrase or free translation because it is related to a context without putting emphasis on an original content. Thus, such a translation is not an exact equivalent of an original version but rather a transfer of meaning. According to Garcarz (2007: 172), that kind of translation causes some losses in slang elements present in the original. Leon Translation: Tomasz Słomkowski - Get a grip. - Wielkie halo.
  • 19. 19 In the case of slang translation based on that technique, a translator, willing to save the semantic load of a particular utterance, almost always omits it and changes the rhetorical component of the whole textual message (e.g.: “they rock and roll”, was translated into “poszli na całość”), as it happens in the case of using the technique of neutralisation through explanation…The description technique works only when a translator is sure that for many reasons, a slang original does not have a functional equivalent in the culture of the Polish language and to make the micro context clear, the meaning of an original element cannot be omitted in the target text through the omission technique, complete or partial. (Garcarz 2007: 173, translation: mine) Being compared to the strategy of paraphrasing, description consists in the change of the structure as it is done when an original slang expression is replaced by a whole expression in a target language and such a process does not change the semantic load of the text but it only explains and describes the meaning. True Romance Translation: Piotr Andrzej Majewski - Now, pretend this is Jayne Kennedy. And you’re you. - Wyobraź sobie , że to jest laska z Playboya, a to jesteś ty. Table 6. Description (adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 173) 2.2.4. Crib Crib consists in literal translation of a text which Zauberga calls “indirect transfer” (1994: 143). As far as slang translation is concerned, that technique is not only used rarely but, mainly, it is not quite effective and it is useful rather in the case of technical texts more than artistic ones. Moreover, the method of crib should be used in order to translate single words, not whole expressions, as it can lead to creating a linguistic calque of the original ones (Garcarz, 2007: 174). Jackie Brown Translation: Maksymilian Fogel - Can’t have my boy running around lookin’ like a bum on the street. - Mój kumpel nie może wyglądać jak menel. Table 7. Crib (adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 175) However, “literal translation is attainable but mainly at the semantic level” (Garcarz, 2007: 175). Gutt claims that:
  • 20. 20 Semantically and at the clausal level in long sequences crib is practically impossible. Languages do not have universal signs, whose usage (and in the same number) makes it possible to create stylistic structures in a foreign language which are always equivalent by using the technique of literal translation (Gutt in Garcarz, 2007: 176, translation mine). 2.2.5. Neologisation According to Tomaszkiewicz (2006: 194, translation mine), “being unable to find an equivalent of a particular expression in a target language, translators create neologisms, which are sometimes supposed to present a vulgarly comic aspect, but such processes are not always successful.” Thus, this technique of slang translation is rather creative than reconstructive and a translator must make a decision whether it is better to find a substitute appropriate for a whole broad context or to keep the element of foreign realism, taking the risk that it will not be understood by the receiver (Garcarz, 2007: 176). Super Mario Bros. Translation: Tomasz Magier - You son-of-a-snake! - Eggsucker! - Ty sukingadzie! - Jajosyny! Table 7. Neologisation (adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 178) The example above shows how translators must deal with lexical neologism often because the script gives them no choice, as literal translation would spoil the humoristic overtone. 2.2.6. Addition In the case of audiovisual translation of slang, sometimes a translator has to add some words or expressions absent in the original text. That technique is used especially in order to transmit vulgar and harmful contents. The process consists in creating additional contents at the level of semantic value, which heightens the rhetorical function of a word or a slang expression (Garcarz, 2007: 183). According to Kizeweter (2005: 149), the technique of addition helps a translator to complete the original with such elements of a text and make such stylistic processes that the target text offered to a receiver is clear to understand.
  • 21. 21 Heat Translation: Magdalena Chajewska - Need a driver, remember the drill? You’re on? - Potrzebujemy kierowcę, pamiętasz jak to się robi, krótka piłka? Table 8. Addition (adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 185) 2.3. Culture transfer Every text belongs to particular times and to a particular culture so it is localised in a particular socio-cultural environment. This makes it difficult for a translator to transfer the content from one culture into another, thus there are many differences between them and they cause an essential translation problem (Tomaszkiewicz, 2006: 152). It is the translator who should provide a foreign reader with the minimum knowledge sufficient to open those closed doors which lead to cognition of something unknown to him…The translator helps the reader by expressing clearly what was default and by picking such linguistic means which will help to identify the references for which there are no indirect counterparts in the target language (Lederer in Tomaszkiewicz, 2006: 153, translation mine). As it was mentioned above, in the case of audiovisual translation, there are numerous technical requirements and limits which make it necessary for a translator to shorten a text by omitting or condensing some elements. On the other hand, the sense of the audiovisual message is made of the substantial elements, described in the first chapter, so the connection between all of them makes it easier for a receiver to understand the whole. However, it can be easier and harder at the same time to understand the semiotic, as not everything shown on the screen is universal and means the same thing in every country and for every culture (Tomaszkiewicz, 2006: 153-154). Several problematic aspects of culture transfer will be provided below. 2.3.1. Monikers and proper nouns Actually, proper nouns are not supposed to be translated, but there are some exceptions like in the situations when a name must be transliterated because of the foreign alphabet or simply, when a name gives a clue about a character’s personality (Garcarz, 2007:
  • 22. 22 187). In order to translate slang monikers, translators very often use a descriptive method to reflect their particular meaning as it is shown in the examples below. The Bronx Tale Translation: Marek Lipski - Eddie Mush; - JoJo the Whale; - His name was Jimmy Whispers. - Tony Clams. - Edzio Breja; - Jojo Wieloryb; - Miał ksywę Jimmy Szept. - Toni Papla. Table 9. Monikers and proper nouns (adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 188) As Garcarz (2007: 188) claims, the translator’s task is to present a world provided in the original as naturally as possible and in accordance with the original text’s spirit. 2.3.2. Vulgarisms Vulgarisms were not acceptable in movies even though they were obviously present in languages. Moreover, the strongest of them used in movies up to 1971 was “hell” and later on more obscene ones started to be broadcast even on television (Belczyk, 2007: 108). “What is interesting is that the appearance of vulgarisms has little reflection in movie translation, which, as a general rule, in comparison to the original linguistic versions, are rather sanitized. It happens because the deletion of vulgarisms is very often required by the distributors” (Belczyk, 2007: 108, translation mine). However, a total lack of vulgarisms in the translations, which are nonetheless present in the original versions, is unnatural and gives the impression of reality warping. Thus, as it is not a perfect way of translating such contents and as it is not right to swing from one extreme to another and attack the audience with completely profane speech, especially nowadays when children can easily get access to that. In order to strike a balance, it is probably enough to signal from time to time that a character uses vulgarisms to give the viewers an idea about his personality or mood e.g. “Fuck, it’s cold” can be replaced by a less explicit synonym or expression from the neutral register like “Cholera, zimno!”
  • 23. 23 2.3.3. Humour and wordplays As for humour in the movies, it is mainly situational, so very often a viewer’s perception can be supported by other elements shown on the screen (Belczyk, 2007: 113). Usually, it has a universal character and is uniformly received by the viewers from various cultures even though, obviously, there are some exceptions. Several years ago, not many people in Poland understood, for instance, the meaning of the American gesture involving the middle finger pointing upwards. However, comedy can be included also in the linguistic side: in dialogues, or in humorous and absurd inscriptions shown on the screen… and then, of course, it requires a transfer in the translation (Belczyk, 2007: 114, translation mine). When it comes to translating wordplay, it is often very easy, as most of them have counterparts in the target language but some of them need to be translated by usage of such methods as finding out a completely new joke reflecting a situation from the original version. Notwithstanding, it can be even more difficult when it is connected with what is happening on the screen because freedom for manoeuvre is narrow, as a joke cannot be omitted or replaced by another one (Belczyk, 2007: 116). As far as wordplays are concerned, sometimes it is extremely hard to transfer them due to their ambiguity, as in the following example: The World Is Not Enough - You wouldn’t kill me. You’d miss me. - I never miss. - Nie zastrzelisz mnie. To chybiony pomysł. - Nigdy nie chybiam. Table 10. Humour and wordplays (adopted from Belczyk, 2007: 116)
  • 24. 24 Chapter 3: A comparative analysis of selected elements of the original script and their Polish translations based on the movie “Pulp Fiction” 3. 1. The language of “Pulp Fiction” “Pulp Fiction” (1994) is an American crime movie directed and written by Quentin Tarantino, who filled it with eclectic dialogues and humour ironically mixed with violence and vulgar language.4 The director’s idea of the movie made its plot exaggerated and full of black humour and, being a mixture of slang utterances and humorous dialogues, is a real challenge for a translator. The most popular translation of the movie, by Elżbieta Gałązka- Salomon, happens to be the most suitable one, which, undoubtedly, contributed to the success of the movie in Poland. Using slang and numerous insertions of expletives, the characters in the movie cause the dialogues to be full of humorous wordplays. Due to the fact that their speech is extremely informal and colloquial, the translator faced a great number of dilemmas and decisions about using the most effective techniques. Despite the swearing and expletives, which are easy to replace with their equivalents in Polish, there are many, seemingly minute, conditions which should be taken into consideration by the translator because even little changes can influence the register of the characters’ language and create a different idea about their personalities or features. Thus, a bad translation can easily distort the actual assumption of the director and consequently, such a translation is as challenging as it is absorbing (Tomaszkiewicz, 2006: 201). In other words, a particular character’s determined idiolect takes part in the creation of his characterisation. If the elements of that idiolect change in the translation, so does the viewer’s opinion about the character. Of course, other elements of the plot, including non-linguistic ones, will influence the structuring of the character’s personality but, after all, the receiver of the translation is devoid, to some extent, of all the data which facilitate the formation of his own attitude towards the presented characters (Tomaszkiewicz, 2006:201, translation mine) 4 Internet source 4
  • 25. 25 3.2. Translation techniques in “Pulp Fiction” As it was mentioned above, subtitling translation requires from a translator to choose what information is essential and what is less important to the extent that it can be omitted or condensed without making unwanted changes which hinder the sense and course of action perceived by the audience. In order to do it as effectively as possible, a translator must consider which technique is the most suitable for a particular slang expression, taking into consideration other elements, such as the context and the image shown on the screen.. Being full of slang and colloquial language, “Pulp Fiction” must be very carefully translated not to deprive it of its brilliance. Elżbieta Gałązka-Salomon dealt with this great challenge and she had to take many techniques into consideration. Thus, she used omission, synonyms, description, neologisation and addition. The following subsections describe the use of those techniques in the movie and provide relevant examples. 3.2.1. Omission As Kizeweter (2005: 150) claims, the decision to omit slang elements belongs mainly to the translator and it is his “limits of decency” which should delimit the borders of using taboo words. Such attitude should be taken by every translator, as he must face even moral decisions, which influence the quality of his translation and its reception. The basic problem in the translation of expletives comes from a translator’s psychological block, which makes him fear that he might hurt the viewers’ feelings. What is more, in the case of subtitles the power of such taboo words is strengthened by the “coefficient of intensity”: On the other hand, concision or omission of material in subtitles may lead to their losing much pragmatic effect. However seemingly banal, any elements of context may be important in creating meaning and maintaining cohesion. The practical problems of time and space on the screen force decisions on the translator, but the decisions must account for the communicative intention of their original. (...)This is particularly true of taboo language, especially sexually- based swear words, which are usually toned down, however, due to the fact that the coefficient of intensity of expletives would seem to be raised through the greater visibility of the written mode. The coefficient of intensity is a measure of the force of a lexical item and needs to be matched in translation. (...) Thus a translator needs to be sensitive to the level of intensity required in writing to match the verbal ferocity. (Taylor, 2000: 7)
  • 26. 26 In other words, a taboo word that is written seems much stronger to the viewer then the same word which is only perceived in the spoken form. However, there are other reasons why a translator omits slang elements from the original, for instance, because of a lack of a short equivalent that would be popular among the users of the Polish language (Garcarz, 2007: 158). As far as the example from “Pulp Fiction” below is concerned, Elżbieta Gałązka-Salomon, used a variant of omission which neutralizes the level of slang and gives equivalents which are characteristic for the target language without changing the structure of the original that much. Thus, she decided to translate “Whoa, hold your horses” into „Zaraz, powoli” (Garcarz, 2007: 159), which is rather deprived of its slang character but there was not an equivalent in Polish to satisfy the director’s assumption and the requirements of audiovisual translation at the same time. Figure 2. Pulp Fiction: the translation of “Whoa, hold your horses man, what’s the problem?” (Adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 157)
  • 27. 27 3.2.2. Searching for the closest synonym As it was mentioned in the second chapter, searching for the closest synonym is a technique which is very useful when it is impossible to find an exact semantic equivalent in the target language. Figure 3. Pulp Fiction: the translation of “Bring out the Gimp.” (Adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 168) Even though the word “Gimp” has a few meanings, including “pokraka”, “kutera” or “kulas”, none of them is a full equivalent in the filmic micro context. Thus, the translator’s decision to use one of the equivalents is appropriate since “being able to confront the translation with the image, the viewer will instinctively sense that “pokraka” has an index meaning rather than a descriptive one” (Garcarz, 2007: 169, translation mine). The “Gimp” in the movie is not an old man but an “ultra-fetishistic” male person wearing a leather uniform and playing the role of a sexual toy for two other men. Therefore, that technique is an indirect process of non-literal transfer of slang elements of the original version in order to keep its assumption and the spirit of the movie (Garcarz, 2007: 169).
  • 28. 28 3.2.3. Description As far as the technique of descriptive translation is concerned, sometimes it is better to describe a slang element dependent on culture than deprive it of the cultural meaning by finding an equivalent which does not express the same meaning in Polish (Garcarz, 2007: 172) Referring to the following examples of the “Pulp Fiction” translation, the method of description perfectly replaced other techniques which would not be effective. Since the verb “to key” does not have a Polish equivalent, the translator had to describe it instead of omitting it because it carried essential information (Garcarz, 2007: 174). Figure 4. Pulp Fiction: the translation of “He fuckin' keyed it.” (Adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 174) So it happens in the case of the second situation from the movie, where “Can we make spoons?” had to be translated into a short sentence in the target language. The translator had to shorten its semantic load because being accurate, she would have had to come up with the whole definition of the sexual position which the expression refers to.
  • 29. 29 Figure 5. Pulp Fiction: the translation of “Poor baby. Can we make spoons?” (Adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 174) 3.2.4. Neologisation In a situation when a close equivalent in Polish of an American slang expression cannot be found, translators very often try to replace it with a neologism (Garcarz 2007: 177). That is how Elżbieta Gałązka-Salomon dealt with the following problematic issues of the “Pulp Fiction” translation. Figure 6. Pulp Fiction: the translation of “Chill the fuck out, Jules, this shit happens.” (Adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 180)
  • 30. 30 Figure 7. Pulp Fiction: the translation of “Hey man, as far as I know, the motherfucker’s tip-top.” (Adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 180) Figure 8. Pulp Fiction: the translation of “Well, let’s not start suckin’ each other’s dicks quite yet.” (Adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 180) In the case of the situation shown in Figure 6, a phrasal neologism was used and it consists in finding or creating a substitute slang element in the target language. It depends on a translator’s skills of an “artificial” creation of “natural” equivalents for American slang expressions (Garcarz, 2007: 180). Another example shows how borrowings are used as the technique of neologisation. These words are borrowed from the source language and inserted into the target language in which they do not exist. However, once it was borrowed from American English, “tip-top” stayed in the Polish slang for good (Garcarz, 2007: 182).
  • 31. 31 As far as Figure 8 is concerned, calques are most rarely used as a process of neologisation as “it is difficult to copy an original expression by means of native linguistic elements in accordance with the semantic pattern enforced by a foreign language” (Garcarz, 2007: 182, translation mine). Wrong calques can lead to the promotion of incorrect slang expressions by television. The technique of neologisation is effective only in particular examples, such as those presented above. Moreover, a translator should not use it only when he has an opportunity to do so and he should limit his creativity to the level of promotion of neologisms in the target language (Garcarz, 2007: 182). 3.2.5. Addition According to what was mentioned in the second chapter, addition is a technique which is used when the original text must be completed by some elements in the target language to make it clearer and more understandable for the receiver. As Garcarz (2007: 185) sees it, “a couple of guys” is partially a slang expression and partially just a colloquial element of American English whereas “ziutkowie” definitely belongs to the Polish slang vocabulary, which makes it a considerable issue why the translator used this technique. However, in connection with what is shown on the screen, it has to be admitted that the word proposed by her perfectly reflects the tragicomic character of the scene. Figure 9. Pulp Fiction: the translation of “You know what you two look like? Like a couple of guys who just blew off somebody's head.” (Adopted from Garcarz, 2007: 180)
  • 32. 32 Conclusions As for the audio-visual translation of slang, it is not as easy as it seems because of all the requirements connected with distribution and censorship. Even though the basic assumption of such a translation is to evoke the same reaction of the viewers of the translated version as it is expressed by the audience of the original one, in the case of obscene and slang elements there exist some kind of unwritten law indicating that a translator or a distributor simply does not want to do it that way. Because of the presence of auto censorship, audio-visual translation is never a perfect copy of the original but only its shadow devoid of spice and does not reflect the whole assumption of the movie makers. Thus, ironically, a translator breaks the rule about being extremely truthful to the original version, in the name of moral values and censorship. However, the techniques mentioned above facilitate choosing the best option to make a movie as natural and similar to the original as possible. Culture differences and characters’ register are sometimes even impossible to transfer and then, a translator faces a great challenge. It can be said that he recreates the dialogues and the script and sometimes comes up with a slightly new version of a movie but he has to be very careful in his creation not to profane the original assumption. Perhaps, in the near future there will be a perfect solution which is independent on technical requirements and moral values in order to transfer the whole meaning and content truthfully. Eventually, if a movie can be translated in a way that has to be limited because of the elements requiring censorship, it means that the same movie already has such elements and it is the way it should be. It is rather the access to such materials which should be limited, not the material itself because it leads to spreading the mendacious presentation of reality and leaves Poland behind in the seemingly gentle, but rather untrue, cage where a word has to be replaced by a nicer one even if it does not mean the exact same thing.
  • 33. 33 Streszczenie Zadaniem tłumacza podejmującego się przekładu audiowizualnego jest oddanie oryginalnego założenia na tyle precyzyjnie, aby odbiór polskiego widza był możliwie zbliżony do reakcji widza wersji oryginalnej. Jednocześnie jednak ma on za zadanie nie tylko przetłumaczyć dokładnie wszystkie treści oryginalnych dialogów, ale również w sposób kreatywny i elastyczny stworzyć poniekąd nową wersję. Owa wersja musi być dodatkowo poddana zabiegom, które dostosowują tekst do nieszczęsnych wymagań technicznych, które znacząco ograniczają pole manewru tłumacza jeśli chodzi o bycie wiernym w stosunku do tekstu, gdyż niejednokrotnie musi on zostać skrócony, sparafrazowany lub wzbogacony, nie wspominając o cenzurze. Wymieniona garstka zabiegów, których jest zdecydowanie więcej, sprawia, że tłumacz staje się jednocześnie poetą i cenzorem oraz stawia czoła licznym dylematom i decyzjom, by stworzyć tłumaczenie, które sprosta wszystkim wymogom. Rozdział pierwszy poświęcony jest formom tłumaczenia, a zatem dubbingowi, lektorowi i napisom oraz ich charakterystyce. Każda z tych form ma swoje wady i zalety, dlatego trudno mówić o rozwiązaniu doskonałym. Dubbing uniemożliwia słyszenie oryginalnych głosów aktorów, co przecież jest nieodzownym elementem służącym do oceny gry aktorskiej, podczas gdy lektor, pomimo że pozostawia ściszone oryginalne głosy w tle, wprowadza sztuczną osłonkę utrudniającą odbiór elementów, szczególnie dźwiękowych. Z kolei napisy wydające się być najbardziej neutralną metodą, zasłaniają sporą część ekranu i dekoncentrują widza, odciągając jego uwagę od walorów wizualnych. Rozdział drugi i trzeci obejmuje definicję slangu i techniki tłumaczenia w oparciu o przykłady z filmów. Tłumaczenie „Pulp Fiction” ukazuje doskonale, jak najlepiej wybrnąć z trudnych sytuacji, nie rezygnując z wulgaryzmów i nieodzownych, ktoś mógłby powiedzieć nieprzyzwoitych, elementów filmu niewątpliwie składających się na jego sukces. Zakończenie pracy dyplomowej jest podsumowaniem aspektów, omówionych we wcześniejszych rozdziałach. Najmocniej nasuwającym się wnioskiem jest fakt, że tłumaczenie audiowizualne zaspokajające wszystkie wymagania, zarówno techniczne jak i językowe, nie istnieje.
  • 34. 34 References 1. Agost Rosa, Traducción y doblaje: palabras, voces e imagines, Ariel, Barcelona, 1999. 2. Anker-Moller, S., P.-S., Jørgensen & T., Ravn, Slangordbogi, Porvoo, 2001. 3. Bartmiński Jerzy, “Styl potoczny”, Encyklopedia kultury polskiej XX wieku, Vol. II, Lublin, 1993. 4. Belczyk Arkadiusz, Tłumaczenie filmów, Dla szkoły, Wilkowice, 2007. 5. Garcarz Michał, Przekład slangu w filmie, Tertium, Kraków, 2007. 6. Garcia Maria and Chaves Jose, La traducción cinematográfica: el doblaje, Huelva: Univesidad de Huelva, 2000. 7. Gauthier Gerard-Louis, “La traduction au cinema: necessite et trahison.” La Revue du cinema, 1981. 8. Gutt Ernst-August, Translation and Relavance: Cognition and Context, Manchester/Boston, 2000. 9. Kizeweter Magdalena, “Translating the Controversial: Tabboo Vocabulary Relating to the Human Body and its Functions in Translations of English Literary Texts into Polish”, in Anglica: Tendencies in Literature, Culture and Language, red. A. Weseliński & J. Wełna, Warszawa, 2005. 10. Lederer Marianne, La traduction aujourd’hui. Le modele interpretative. Paris: Hachette, 1994. 11. Luyken George-Michael, Thomas Herbst, Jo Langham Brown, Helen Reid and Hermans Spinhof, Overcoming Barriers in Television, Manchester: The European Intitute for the Media, 1991. 12. Molina Lucía et Albir Amparo Hurtado, "Translation Techniques Revisited: A Dynamic and Functionalist Approach", Meta : journal des traducteurs / Meta: Translators' Journal, vol. 47, n° 4, 2002. 13. Odin Roger, “Problemes de pertinence en semiologie du cinema”. W. Borbe T., Semiotics Unfolding . Proceedings of the Second Congress of the International Association for Semiotic Studies, Berlin, New York, Amsterdam: Mouton Publishers, 1979. 14. Pilar Orero, Topics in Audiovisual Translation, John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2004. 15. Pilar Orero, Audiovisual Translation Scenarios: Conference Proceedings, MuTra, 2006. 16. Szczerbowski, T., “Slang a przekład”, [w:] Z problemów przekładu i stosunków międzyjęzykowych, red T. Żeberek & T. Borucki, Kraków, 1998. 17. Taylor Christopher, "The Subtitling of Film; reaching another community", in E. Ventola (ed.), Discourse and Community; Doing Functional Linguistics, Gunter Narr Verlag, Tübingen, 2000 18. Tomaszkiewicz Teresa, Terminologia tłumaczenia, Poznań: Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM, 2004. 19. Tomaszkiewicz Teresa, Przekład audiowizualny, PWN, Warszawa 2006. 20. Widawski Maciej, Przekładając nieprzekładalne..., Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego, 2000. 21. Zauberga Ieva, “Pragmatic Aspects of the Translation of Slang and Four-Letter Words”, 1994.
  • 35. 35 Internet sources: 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubbing_(filmmaking), date of access: June 2012. 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subtitles, date of access: 12 June 2012. 3. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/548055/slang 4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulp_Fiction Movies: 1. Bruce Almighty, USA (2001) – TVP S.A., translation: Maria Stewar, 2. Gridlock’d, USA (1997) – TVP S.A., translation: Magdalena Balcerek, 3. Heat, USA (1995) – TVP S.A., translation: Magdalena Chajewska, 4. Jackie Brown, USA (1997) – TVP S.A., translation: Maksymilian Fogel, 5. Leon, USA (1994) – TVP S.A., translation: Tomasz Słomkowski, 6. Pulp Fiction, USA (1994) – TVP S.A., translation: Elżbieta Gałązka-Salomon, 7. Super Mario Bros., USA (1991) – TVP S.A., translation: Tomasz Magier, 8. The Bronx Tale, USA (1993) – TVP S.A., translation: Marek Lipski, 9. The World Is Not Enough, USA (1999), 10. True Romance, USA (1993) – TVP S.A., translation: Piotr Andrzej Majewski.