Subtitling Cookery Programmes from English to Traditional Chinese: Taiwan as a Case Study

Within translation studies, the topic of food and translation is still underresearched and the understanding of subtitling cookery programmes is also very limited. This research hopes to bridge the current research gap, by providing an overview of the classification of food-related texts and their embedded linguistic characteristics, thus expanding the knowledge in regard to this matter. // The research also sets out to understand the nature of two specific linguistic items, sensory language and culture-specific references, as well as the translation strategies used in subtitling them. The methodological foundation of the thesis builds upon the framework of the Toury’s(1995) notion of translation norms, realised by Pedersen’s analytical model. In addition, the framework of product experience is also consulted to help contextualise sensory language and its classification. // The analysis is carried out on a corpus of 480 minutes which includes two cookery programmes and represents two formats: the modern format, Jamie’s 15-Minute Meals (Channel 4, 2012) and the cooking competition format, The Taste (Channel 4, 2014). All sensory language and culture-specific references present in the corpus have been identified and their translation from English into Traditional Chinese analysed from both quantitative and qualitative viewpoints in an attempt to reveal the prevalent translational trends

Studies on Personalized HCI

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Translation, interpreting, cognition

Cognitive aspects of the translation process have become central in Translation and Interpreting Studies in recent years, further establishing the field of Cognitive Translatology. Empirical and interdisciplinary studies investigating translation and interpreting processes promise a hitherto unprecedented predictive and explanatory power. This collection contains such studies which observe behaviour during translation and interpreting. The contributions cover a vast area and investigate behaviour during translation and interpreting – with a focus on training of future professionals, on language processing more generally, on the role of technology in the practice of translation and interpreting, on translation of multimodal media texts, on aspects of ergonomics and usability, on emotions, self-concept and psychological factors, and finally also on revision and post-editing. For the present publication, we selected a number of contributions presented at the Second International Congress on Translation, Interpreting and Cognition hosted by the Tra&Co Lab at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz. Most of the papers in this volume are formulated in a particular constraint-based grammar framework, Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar. The contributions investigate how the lexical and constructional aspects of this theory can be combined to provide an answer to this question across different linguistic sub-theories

The way out of the box

Synopsis: Cognitive aspects of the translation process have become central in Translation and Interpreting Studies in recent years, further establishing the field of Cognitive Translatology. Empirical and interdisciplinary studies investigating translation and interpreting processes promise a hitherto unprecedented predictive and explanatory power. This collection contains such studies which observe behaviour during translation and interpreting. The contributions cover a vast area and investigate behaviour during translation and interpreting – with a focus on training of future professionals, on language processing more generally, on the role of technology in the practice of translation and interpreting, on translation of multimodal media texts, on aspects of ergonomics and usability, on emotions, self-concept and psychological factors, and finally also on revision and post-editing. For the present publication, we selected a number of contributions presented at the Second International Congress on Translation, Interpreting and Cognition hosted by the Tra&Co Lab at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz

Can integrated titles improve the viewing experience? Investigating the impact of subtitling on the reception and enjoyment of film using eye tracking and questionnaire data

Historically a dubbing country, Germany is not well-known for subtitled productions. But while dubbing is predominant in Germany, more and more German viewers prefer original and subtitled versions of their favourite shows and films. Conventional subtitling, however, can be seen as a strong intrusion into the original image that can not only disrupt but also destroy the director’s intended shot composition and focus points. Long eye movements between focus points and subtitles decrease the viewer’s information intake, and especially German audiences, who are often not used to subtitles, seem to prefer to wait for the next subtitle instead of looking back up again. Furthermore, not only the placement, but also the overall design of conventional subtitles can disturb the image composition – for instance titles with a weak contrast, inappropriate typeface or irritating colour system. So should it not, despite the translation process, be possible to preserve both image and sound as far as possible? Especially given today’s numerous artistic and technical possibilities and the huge amount of work that goes into the visual aspects of a film, taking into account not only special effects, but also typefaces, opening credits and text-image compositions. A further development of existing subtitling guidelines would not only express respect towards the original film version but also the translator’s work.   The presented study shows how integrated titles can increase information intake while maintaining the intended image composition and focus points as well as the aesthetics of the shot compositions. During a three-stage experiment, the specifically for this purpose created integrated titles in the documentary “Joining the Dots” by director Pablo Romero-Fresco were analysed with the help of eye movement data from more than 45 participants. Titles were placed based on the gaze behaviour of English native speakers and then rated by German viewers dependant on a German translation. The results show that a reduction of the distance between intended focus points and titles allow the viewers more time to explore the image and connect the titles to the plot. The integrated titles were rated as more aesthetically pleasing and reading durations were shorter than with conventional subtitles. Based on the analysis of graphic design and filmmaking rules as well as conventional subtitling standards, a first workflow and set of placement strategies for integrated titles were created in order to allow a more respectful handling of film material as well as the preservation of the original image composition and typographic film identity

Can integrated titles improve the viewing experience?

Historically a dubbing country, Germany is not well-known for subtitled productions. But while dubbing is predominant in Germany, more and more German viewers prefer original and subtitled versions of their favourite shows and films. Conventional subtitling, however, can be seen as a strong intrusion into the original image that can not only disrupt but also destroy the director’s intended shot composition and focus points. Long eye movements between focus points and subtitles decrease the viewer’s information intake, and especially German audiences, who are often not used to subtitles, seem to prefer to wait for the next subtitle instead of looking back up again. Furthermore, not only the placement, but also the overall design of conventional subtitles can disturb the image composition – for instance titles with a weak contrast, inappropriate typeface or irritating colour system. So should it not, despite the translation process, be possible to preserve both image and sound as far as possible? Especially given today’s numerous artistic and technical possibilities and the huge amount of work that goes into the visual aspects of a film, taking into account not only special effects, but also typefaces, opening credits and text-image compositions. A further development of existing subtitling guidelines would not only express respect towards the original film version but also the translator’s work

Telops for language learning: Japanese language learners’ perceptions of authentic Japanese variety shows and implications for their use in the classroom

Research on the use of leisure-oriented media products in foreign language learning is not a novelty. Building further on insights into the effects of audiovisual input on learners, recent studies have started to explore online learning behaviour. This research employed an exploratory design to examine the perceptions of a Japanese variety show with intralingual text, known as telops, by Japanese Language Learners (JLLs) and native Japanese speakers through a multimodal transcript, eye-tracking technology, questionnaires, and field notes. Two main objectives underlie this study: (1) to gain insights into participants’ multimodal perceptions and attitudes towards the use of such authentic material for language learning, and (2) to gain a better understanding of the distribution of participants’ visual attention between stimuli. Data from 43 JLLs and five native Japanese speakers were analysed. The JLLs were organised into a pre-exchange, exchange and post-exchange group while the native Japanese speakers functioned as the reference group. A thematic analysis was conducted on the open-ended questionnaire responses and Areas Of Interest (AOIs) were grouped to generate fixation data. The themes suggest that all learner groups feel that telops help them link the stimuli in the television programme although some difficulty was experienced with the amount and pace of telops in the pre-exchange and exchange groups. The eye-tracking results show that faces and telops gather the most visual attention from all participant groups. Less clear-cut trends in visual attention are detected when AOIs on telops are grouped according to the degree in which they resemble the corresponding dialogue. This thesis concludes with suggestions as to how such authentic material can complement Japanese language learning