ACADEMIC RESEARCH IN MODERN SCIENCE
International scientific-online conference
77
SUBTITLING VS. DUBBING TRANSLATION
CHALLENGES IN AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA
Alimova Khilola Rustamovna
Senior Lecturer, Interfaculty Department of English,
Faculty of Foreign Philology, National University of Uzbekistan
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15302936
Abstract
. This paper describes the features of audiovisual translation, as
well as: translation problems in audiovisual media
Keywords
: audiovisual translation, dubbing, subtitles, translation errors,
translation quality.
Translation of various texts has always been in demand, as international
relations with various countries are becoming more and more relevant every
day. Recently, audiovisual translation has become popular, namely, translation
of feature films. Nowadays, it is quite common to find a professional translation
of a feature film that meets all the language standards. However, this type of
translation is still often carried out by non-professional translators.
For many years, cinematography has been the focus of attention of
scientists from various fields of scientific knowledge. Their opinions converge on
one thing: “Like any form of art, cinema has its own specific language, the
elements of which are heterogeneous, but together form a harmonious whole,
actualizing themselves in a specific cinematographic work” [3].
The task of translation is to establish equivalence relations between the
source and target texts so that both texts have the same meaning and perform
the same function. To evaluate translation as a result of activity, it is necessary
to use the translation correspondence model, which was identified by the team
of authors D.M. Buzadzhi, V.V. Gusev, V.K. Lanchikov in their work “A New Look
at the Classification of Translation Errors” [1]. According to this model, it is
possible to identify the categories and causes of typical translation errors and
create methods for their “prevention”. This model is the correspondence of
analogies of certain parts of the original to certain parts of the translation. This
correspondence can be at three levels. The first is pragmatic. Equivalence at this
level is the most important, since it is associated with such communication
factors as communicative intention, attitude towards the addressee. If there is
no equivalence at this level, then the translation cannot be considered a full-
fledged “substitute” for the original. However, pragmatic equivalence can be
achieved at another, semantic level. This equivalence implies that pragmatic
equivalence is achieved while preserving the semantic structure of the original.
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Translation can be pragmatically equivalent at the syntactic level. In this case,
equivalence is achieved while preserving the syntactic structure of the original.
But sometimes a pragmatically equivalent translation may not be
equivalent to the original at the semantic and syntactic levels. In such cases, it is
often necessary to resort to changes at both levels. An example of such a case is
the phrase wet-painted – painted, where there is a clear departure from the
semantics and syntax of the original.
When assessing the quality of a translation, one should proceed from the
adequacy criterion, which implies an analysis of the text from the point of view
of its successful perception in the host culture. In addition, when assessing the
quality of a translation, one should proceed from the adequacy criterion, which,
unlike the equivalence criterion, which implies establishing semantic and
stylistic accuracy to the original, implies an analysis of the text from the point of
view of its successful perception in the host culture. Based on this, we can
highlight the main requirements of adequacy: firstly, the translation must
comply with the language norms accepted in the host culture, secondly, the
translation must be aimed at the same target audience and convey the
communicative effect of the original. The peculiarities of audiovisual translation,
as opposed to other types of text, are various specific aspects of the object of this
type of translation - audiovisual text. The transmission of verbal and non-verbal
information in this type of text is simultaneously carried out in acoustic and
visual directions, and the linguistic aspect ceases to play a decisive role.
In the translation of a feature film, a number of features can be noted.
However, the text when translated from English into Russian tends to increase
in volume, and the time of its sounding is limited by the time of the original.
Therefore, phrases must be formulated more compactly, using the compression
technique.
Films with subtitles can serve as material for studying a foreign language,
thereby also performing an educational function [2]. According to D.M. Buzadzhi
et al., the first group of errors includes violations in the transmission of meaning,
which are associated with the denotative content of the text - semantic errors.
An example of this group of errors is: "I'm just saying you gotta look like a plastic
surgeon's wife (“Я хочу, чтоб ты выглядела как жена”; "Men sizni xotinga
o'xshatishingizni xohlayman)"
In the translation, the translator unmotivatedly omits part of the utterance.
In IT, it is about the wife of a plastic surgeon, but in the translation only "wife" is
ACADEMIC RESEARCH IN MODERN SCIENCE
International scientific-online conference
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heard. This example is a gross semantic error, which leads to an inaccuracy of
meaning (whose wife?).
Or another example: "Did you trip over something? There was a skateboard
there, or... All right. This is lidocaine. Don't think about it (Ты наверно
споткнулся, может там скейтборд лежал или…Ладно, я введу кокаин, не
думай об этом; — Qoqilib qolgandirsiz, balki u yerda skeytbord yotgandir yoki...
Mayli, kokain yuboraman, bu haqda o‘ylamang)"
In the translator changes the meaning of the word: instead of lidocaine,
cocaine appeared in the translation. However, from the context and the video
sequence, it becomes clear that this is a medical preparation, not drugs (the hero
injured his leg and is injected with painkillers).
A translator, working with an audiovisual text for translation, must perform
the necessary adaptation. This adaptation must occur at different levels so that
the translation text replaces the original text, thereby creating the illusion that
the audiovisual text was originally created in the original language. However,
even a professional translator can make various mistakes when translating
these texts. Despite all the peculiarities of translating a feature film, it is
important for a translator to preserve the original idea, make the film
understandable for a new viewer, present the characters in the same form, that
is, try to recreate the text of the original work by means of another language.
References:
1. A New Look at the Classification of Translation Errors / D. M. Buzadzhi, V. V.
Gusev, V. K. Lanchikov. – M., 2023.
2. Kozulyaev A. V. Audiovisual polysemantic translation as a special form of
translation activity //www.russiantranslators.ru/about/editorial
3. Karaeva A. Translation of films as a separate type of translation // Bulletin of
the Moscow State Linguistic University. Series "Linguistics". - 2022. - Issue 2. - P.
140-149.
