Enhancing the pronunciation of problematic English consonants for Spanish learners through intralingual dubbing activities

En esta tesis doctoral se proporciona un estudio sobre el potencial de las actividades de doblaje intralingüístico en la mejora de la pronunciación de fonemas consonánticos problemáticos del inglés para estudiantes españoles, junto con otras consideraciones adicionales, como el grado en que esos fonemas resultan problemáticos para los participantes de la investigación (n=71) y un análisis pormenorizado de sus puntos de vista y opiniones sobre la actividad de doblaje.Para ello, un Grupo Experimental (GE; n=37) y un Grupo Control (GC; n=34) se grabaron en diferentes fases del estudio (GE: fase pre-test, doblajes, y fase post-test; GC: pre-test y post-test) con el fin de obtener datos relevantes y útiles sobre su pronunciación. Todos los datos recopilados han sido analizados con el Statistical Package for Social Sciences, (SPSS; v.25), aplicando el test de Wilcoxon para comparaciones intragrupales, y el U-test de Mann-Whitney para las comparaciones entre grupos. Además, los participantes de la investigación completaron dos cuestionarios para obtener información adicional al respecto.Como conclusión, la pronunciación general del GE mejoró significativamente en la mayoría de los fonemas consonánticos problemáticos durante y después de realizar las actividades de doblaje, mientras que el GC no mostró ninguna mejora significativa en su pronunciación. Además, la mayoría de los participantes del GE mostraron opiniones muy positivas hacia la actividad de doblaje, destacando su valor motivador e innovador en el aprendizaje de lenguas, así como su utilidad para mejorar las habilidades orales.<br /

Dubbing Wordplay in Children’s Programmes from English into Thai

This doctoral research aims to investigate the most prevalent translation techniques adopted by Thai dubbing translators when transferring English-language idioms found in animated films into a lesser-known language such as Thai. To achieve this purpose, the methodological approach combines a quantitative phase, which has the benefit of revealing certain tendencies, with a qualitative phase that investigates the data in greater depth. Wordplay instances can be grouped into two main categories according to their presentation nature: media-based and rhetoric-based. In the case of the media-based category, the types of wordplay instances uncovered in the analysis are audio-verbal, audio-visual-verbal and visual-verbal, while, based in the rhetoric-based category, they are homonymy, homophony, paraphony, hahaphony and allusion types. In an attempt to render ST puns into the TT, the following seven dubbing techniques have been activated by Thai translators: loan, literal translation, explicitation, substitution, recreation, combination and non-translation. Close examination of the data reveals that, despite the translators’ best effort to transfer the semantic ambiguity and humorous effect embedded in the English wordplay into the Thai dialogue, PUN>NON-PUN is the translation outcome with the highest occurrence. This results in the inevitable loss of semantic ambiguity and humour in the TT wordplay, as well as other pedagogical objectives intended by the film’s producers such as a language learning facilitator for young viewers

Empirical studies in translation and discourse (Volume 14)

The present volume seeks to contribute some studies to the subfield of Empirical Translation Studies and thus aid in extending its reach within the field of translation studies and thus in making our discipline more rigorous and fostering a reproducible research culture. The Translation in Transition conference series, across its editions in Copenhagen (2013), Germersheim (2015) and Ghent (2017), has been a major meeting point for scholars working with these aims in mind, and the conference in Barcelona (2019) has continued this tradition of expanding the sub-field of empirical translation studies to other paradigms within translation studies. This book is a collection of selected papers presented at that fourth Translation in Transition conference, held at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona on 19–20 September 2019

Empirical studies in translation and discourse

The present volume seeks to contribute some studies to the subfield of Empirical Translation Studies and thus aid in extending its reach within the field of translation studies and thus in making our discipline more rigorous and fostering a reproducible research culture. The Translation in Transition conference series, across its editions in Copenhagen (2013), Germersheim (2015) and Ghent (2017), has been a major meeting point for scholars working with these aims in mind, and the conference in Barcelona (2019) has continued this tradition of expanding the sub-field of empirical translation studies to other paradigms within translation studies. This book is a collection of selected papers presented at that fourth Translation in Transition conference, held at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona on 19–20 September 2019

The Localisation of Video Games

The present thesis is a study of the translation of video games with a particular emphasis on the Spanish-English language pair, although other languages are brought into play when they offer a clearer illustration of a particular point in the discussion. On the one hand, it offers a descriptive analysis of the video game industry understood as a global phenomenon in entertainment, with the aim of understanding the norms governing present game development and publishing practices. On the other hand, it discusses particular translation issues that seem to be unique to these entertainment products due to their multichannel and polysemiotic nature, in which verbal and nonverbal signs are intimately interconnected in search of maximum game interactivity. Although this research positions itself within the theoretical framework of Descriptive Translation Studies, it actually goes beyond the mere accounting of current processes to propose changes whenever professional practice seems to be unable to rid itself of old unsatisfactory habits. Of a multidisciplinary nature, the present thesis is greatly informed by various areas of knowledge such as audiovisual translation, software localisation, computer assisted translation and translation memory tools, comparative literature, and video game production and marketing, amongst others. The conclusions are an initial breakthrough in terms of research into this new area, challenging some of the basic tenets current in translation studies thanks to its multidisciplinary approach, and its solid grounding on current game localisation industry practice. The results can be useful in order to boost professional quality and to promote the training of translators in video game localisation in higher education centres.Open Acces

Creating a method for video game subtitle analysis and presenting a demonstrative case study on Trine 2’s Finnish subtitles

In this study, I set out to create a method for video game subtitle analysis that could benefit translation studies, especially the study of video game subtitling. I demonstrate the use of my method by conducting a case study on the video game Trine 2’s Finnish subtitles in comparison to the English original subtitles. Much of the popularity of video games can be credited to their translations, as having been translated to multiple different languages has enabled them to be marketed all around the world. However, little research on video games is done by translation studies, even though video games have become a globally popular pastime in the past few decades. I chose this topic for my study as I believed it could benefit the field of translation studies by bringing a new research topic and a practical method of research into the attention of a larger audience. The study begins by presenting background information on both subtitling and video games, as they are the essential factors of this study. Then, the study introduces the theoretical background on which the new analysing method is based on, which is by the works of Díaz-Cintas and Remael Audiovisual Translation: Subtitling (2014) and Mangiron Subtitling in game localisation: A descriptive study (2012). Linguistic subtitle analysis by Diaz-Cintas and Remael (2014) and video game subtitling conventions by Mangiron (2012) are combined into a new analysing method for video game subtitles. The method consists of two main categories; linguistic analysis components and video game subtitling attributes. There are three linguistic analysis components: text reduction, linguistic cohesion and coherence in subtitling and segmentation and line breaks; and five video game subtitling attributes: subtitle length and duration, font: size, type colour, and background, character identification, sound effects and emotions, reduction and segmentation. The method is introduced on its own, and then demonstrated in use in the case study on Trine 2’s Finnish subtitles. The case study on Trine 2 successfully demonstrated the use of my method for video game subtitle analysis. The Finnish subtitles were compared to the English originals by using the new method, and the analysis provided much results. The case study proved that this method could be used by translation studies to study video game subtitles and lay the foundation for future work in video game translation studies

Worldbuilding Voices in the Soundscapes of Role-Playing Video Games

Role-playing video games are designed to immerse their players in virtual worlds. In order to create these worlds, certain worldbuilding processes need to be followed to create a coherent, consistent, and organic space that feels authentic for the player. This thesis explores the role of voices within soundscapes that engage with these worldbuilding processes. Voices are examined in various case studies to explore their implementation and effectiveness when building an authentic game world in the, often lore-heavy, worlds of role-playing video games. I propose that the worldbuilding processes which incorporate voices take place across two fundamental areas: environmental worldbuilding, and worldbuilding characterisations. Environmental worldbuilding is the building of features such as climate, terrain, and location which integrate people and culture. Worldbuilding characterisations are the formation of character-based identifiers that the player can engage with, possibly leading to a reflection of self between player and character. To involve the player in these complex environments, the game world must effectively ‘build’ itself through a combination of gameplay, visuals, and soundscape. An adaptive soundscape can build this organic game world by engaging with the player’s actions, and the agency of their playable character. I identify how voices are implemented within the soundscape to engage with the player’s physical and narrative position in a game world. I demonstrate how voices highlight player actions in order to immerse and engage them within an organic-seeming role-playing game-world, through techniques including the identification of voice as language-based-meaning, and vocalisations that act as communicators of emotion. Alongside several shorter case studies, the following role-playing games are analysed in detail: NieR: Automata (Dev. PlatinumGames, 2017, Comp. Keiichi Okabe) Transistor (Dev. Supergiant Games, 2014, Comp. Darren Korb) Divinity: Original Sin II (Dev. Larian Studios, 2017, Comp. Borislav Slavov) Final Fantasy XV (Dev. Square Enix Business Division 2, 2016, Comp. Yoko Shimomura) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (Dev. CD Projekt Red, 2015, Comp. Marcin Przybyłowicz