Abstracts
Abstract
The present article examines two issues in the field of audio description (AD) that so far have received little attention. Research in AD is highly multi- and interdisciplinary, and while semiotics, discourse analysis, narratology and film studies are some of the frameworks that are regularly used to study audio description, few attempts have been made to frame AD within the field of translation studies (TS). The first part of this article, therefore, describes a functionalist approach to audio description, both to strengthen the position of AD within TS and to contribute to a systematization of AD research. In the second part, such a systematic approach is applied to one question deemed “vital” in many national AD guidelines: the audio description of characters. Based on principles from formal narratology, a strategy is developed that allows describers to analyze characters in a structured, general way and to select relevant character information to be included in their descriptions.
Keywords:
- audio description,
- functionalism,
- narratology,
- character description,
- content selection
Résumé
Cet article est consacré à deux problèmes de l’audiodescription (AD) qui ont jusqu’à présent bénéficié de peu d’attention. La recherche menée en AD est essentiellement multi- et interdisciplinaire. Tandis que les études sémiotiques, l’analyse du discours, la narratologie et l’analyse filmique constituent quelques-uns des cadres théoriques régulièrement utilisés pour l’étude de la description audio, très peu de travaux ont été consacrés à la manière dont celle-ci peut s’insérer dans la traductologie. La première partie de cet article décrit une approche fonctionnelle de l’audiodescription, d’abord en vue de renforcer la position de l’AD dans la traductologie, ensuite pour contribuer à systématiser la recherche menée en AD. Dans la deuxième partie, une telle approche systématique est appliquée à une question jugée « vitale » dans de nombreuses directives nationales en matière d’AD, à savoir la description des personnages. À partir des principes de la narratologie formelle, une stratégie est élaborée pour permettre aux descripteurs d’analyser les personnages d’une manière générale et structurée, et de retenir l’information pertinente à insérer dans leur description.
Mots-clés :
- audiodescription,
- fonctionnalisme,
- narratologie,
- description des personnages,
- sélection de contenu
Appendices
Bibliography
- Bal, Mieke (1997). Narratology: An Introduction to the Theory of Narrative. 2nd ed. Toronto, University of Toronto Press.
- Benecke, Bernd (2014). “Character Fixation and Character Description. The Naming and Describing of Characters in Inglourious Basterds.” In A. Maszerowska, A. Matamala and P. Orero, eds. Audio Description: New Perspectives Illustrated. Amsterdam/Philadelphia, John Benjamins, pp. 141-158.
- Benecke, Bernd and Elmar Dosch (2004). Wenn aus Bildern Worte Werden. Durch Audio-Description zum Hörfilm [When pictures become words. Creating audio-films through audio description]. Munich, Baeyerischer Rundfunk.
- Braun, Sabine (2008). “Audiodescription Research: State of the Art and Beyond.” Translation Studies in the New Millennium, 6, pp. 14-30.
- Chiaro, Delia, Christine Heiss and Chiara Bucaria, eds. (2008). Between Text and Image: Updating Research in Screen Translation. Amsterdam/Philadelphia, John Benjamins.
- Daldry, Stephen (2002). The Hours. Paramount Pictures (US) and Miramax Films (worldwide).
- Díaz Cintas, Jorge (2008). “Audiovisual Translation Comes of Age.” In D. Chiaro, C. Heiss and C. Bucaria, eds. Between Text and Image. Updating Research in Screen Translation Amsterdam/Philadelphia, John Benjamins, pp. 1-9.
- Emmott, Catherine (1997). Narrative Comprehension. A Discourse Perspective. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
- Forster, E. M. (1927). Aspects of the Novel. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Company.
- Frazier, Gregory M. (1975). The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman: An All-audio Adaptation of the Teleplay for the Blind and Visually Handicapped. San Francisco State University, unpublished Master’s thesis.
- Fresno, Nazaret (2012). “Experimenting with Characters: An Empirical Approach to the Audio Description of Fictional Characters.” In M. Carroll, P. Orero and A. Remael, eds. Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility at the Crossroads. Amsterdam/Philadelphia, John Benjamins.
- Gambier, Yves (2003). “Screen Transadaptation: Perception and Reception.” The Translator, 9, 2, pp. 171-189.
- Greimas, Algirdas Julien (1966). Sémantique structurale. Paris, Presses universitaires de France.
- Herman, David (2002). Story Logic: Problems and Possibilities of Narrative. Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press.
- Herman, Luc and Bart Vervaeck (2005). Handbook of Narrative Analysis. Lincoln and London, University of Nebraska Press.
- Igareda, Paula (2011). “The Audio Description of Emotions and Gestures in Spanish-spoken films.” In A. Serban, A. Matamala and J.-M. Lavaur, eds. Audiovisual Translation in Close-up: Practical and Theoretical Approaches. Bern, Peter Lang, pp. 223-238.
- Kenny, Dorothy (1998). “Equivalence.” In M. Baker, ed. Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. Abingdon, Routledge.
- Kress, Gunther and Theo Van Leeuwen (2006). Reading Images. The Grammar of Visual Design. Abingdon, Routledge.
- Kruger, Jan-Louis (2010). “Audio Narration: Re-narrativising Film.” Perspectives: Studies in Translatology, 18,3, pp. 231-249.
- Margolin, Uri (2007). “Character.” In D. Herman, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Narrative. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
- Mazur, Iwona (2014). “Gestures and Facial Expressions in Audio Description.” In A. Maszerowska, A. Matamala and P. Orero, eds. Audio Description: New Perspectives Illustrated. Amsterdam/Philadelphia, John Benjamins, pp. 179-198.
- Nord, Christiane (1991). Text Analysis in Translation: Theory, Methodology and Didactic Application of a Model for Translation-oriented Text Analysis. Amsterdam and Atlanta, Rodopi.
- Nord, Christiane (1997). Translating as a Purposeful Activity. Functionalist Approaches Explained. Manchester, St. Jerome.
- Piety, Philip J. (2004). “The Language System of Audio Description: An Investigation as a Discursive Process.” Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 98, 8, pp. 453-468.
- Pym, Anthony. (2009). “Natural and Directional Equivalence in Theories of Translation.” In Y. Gambier and L. van Doorslaer, eds. The Metalanguage of Translation. Amsterdam/Philadelphia, John Benjamins, pp. 81-104.
- Remael, Aline and Gert Vercauteren (2007). “Audio Describing the Exposition Phase of Films. Teaching Students What to Choose.” Trans, 2, pp. 73-93.
- Reviers, Nina and Gert Vercauteren (2013). The Basics of Audio Description: An Introductory Workshop. Berlin.
- Rimmon-Kenan, Shlomith (1983). Narrative Fiction. London and New York, Routledge.
- Sonali, Rai, Joan Greening and Leen Petré (2010). A Comparative Study of Audio Description Guidelines Prevalent in Different Countries. London, RNIB.
- Vercauteren, Gert (2011). “The Use of Contextual Frames for Content Selection in AD.” Presentation delivered on 15 October at the Points of View in Language and Culture Conference, Krakow.
- Vercauteren, Gert (2012). “A Narratological Approach to Content Selection in Audio Description. Towards a Strategy for the Description of Narratological Time.” MonTI, 4, pp. 207-231.
- Vercauteren, Gert and Pilar Orero (2013). “Describing Facial Expressions: Much More Than Meets the Eye.” Quaderns, 20, pp. 187-199.
- Vercauteren, Gert and Aline Remael (2014). “Spatio-temporal Settings.” In A. Maszerowska, A. Matamala and P. Orero, eds. Audio Description: New Perspectives Illustrated. Amsterdam/Philadelphia, John Benjamins, pp. 61-80.
- Yeung, Jessica (2007). “Audio Description in the Chinese World.” In J. Díaz Cintas, P. Orero and A. Remael, eds. Media for All. Subtitling for the Deaf, Audio Description, and Sign Language. Amsterdam and New York, Rodopi, pp. 231-244.