Film censorship in Franco's Spain: the transforming power of dubbing

Since the invention of cinema, the prominence and significance of the moving image have never been underestimated by the powers-that-be, especially, though not exclusively, in totalitarian states, where foreign films and their translations are, and have been, ideologically controlled in order to avoid any conflict with the socio-cultural values predicated by the rulers of the hosting community. This paper focuses on the dubbing into Spanish of the classical film The Barefoot Contessa (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1954), in which glamorous Ava Gardner plays the role of a voluptuous Spanish flamenco dancer that becomes an international film star in the USA. Hollywood’s appropriation and subsequent representation and internationalisation of Spanish mores and customs, embodied in the film by Ava Gardner and her Spanish family, was diametrically at odds with the values and virtues advocated by the Francoist regime (1939-1975), making this film a battleground for ideological manipulation and forcing the unleashing of a creative remediation process aimed at shrouding any criticism of Spanish interests or customs and cementing traditional values cherished by the regime

Going global against the tide: the translation of Chinese audiovisual productions

With the rapid development of digitization and the emergence of social networks and streaming platforms, audiovisual translation (AVT) has become one of the most prolific expressions of global communication in today’s society, able to overcome linguistic barriers when disseminating culture across the world. While audiovisual productions originally shot in English seem to be able to take full advantage of this situation, China’s domestic programs frequently encounter more challenges to make it overseas. Adopting a primarily translational approach, this paper borrows the concept of “cultural discount,” coined by Hoskins and Mirus (1988), to capture the notion that audiovisual productions are rooted in one culture and, therefore, may have diminished appeal among viewers from other communities. The study holds that the degree of cultural discount audiovisual productions may encounter when exported depends on numerous factors, which are explored through examples of recently localized films and TV series of Chinese origin

Audiovisual Translation in the Foreign Language Classroom. Introduction

Audiovisual translation (AVT) has been hailed by many as one of the most prolific and fast-growing areas of research in the field of Translation Studies and as the quintessential translation practice of the 21st century. This is hardly surprising in a society like ours, saturated with screens and mediated by the constant presence of moving images, as we turn to audiovisual productions for entertainment, to secure information, to carry out our work, to keep in touch with our peers, to learn and to study. As a result of the exponential boom in audiovisual texts and formats over recent decades, today’s language learners are typically very familiar with a range of digital formats that crop up, and indeed they use, in their everyday life for very many different purposes. This exposure, in which social media and interactions are also instrumental, means that language learners are also versed in the interplay of the different codes on which audiovisual material draws in order to construct meaning.Audiovisual translation (AVT) has been hailed by many as one of the most prolific and fast-growing areas of research in the field of Translation Studies and as the quintessential translation practice of the 21st century. This is hardly surprising in a society like ours, saturated with screens and mediated by the constant presence of moving images, as we turn to audiovisual productions for entertainment, to secure information, to carry out our work, to keep in touch with our peers, to learn and to study. As a result of the exponential boom in audiovisual texts and formats over recent decades, today’s language learners are typically very familiar with a range of digital formats that crop up, and indeed they use, in their everyday life for very many different purposes. This exposure, in which social media and interactions are also instrumental, means that language learners are also versed in the interplay of the different codes on which audiovisual material draws in order to construct meaning

The Riches of Hands-on Subtitling in the Foreign Language Classroom

Using subtitles and subtitling as a means of diversifying foreign language teaching and learning has become increasingly popular in recent decades, particularly across Europe, where the European Commission has promoted, among others, the development of projects like ClipFlair, a web-based subtitling platform for foreign language learning (FLL). As part of this boost of research on FLL through subtitling, this empirical study was conducted in mainland China, where the role of subtitling in foreign language classroom has not been widely recognised by scholars. Carried out on seventeen higher education level Chinese L1 students, the experiment studied the effects of performing subtitling activities on English L2 vocabulary acquisition and discovered that doing subtitling tasks from L2 to L1 can result in a significantly better performance in vocabulary acquisition than doing intralingual subtitling activities (L2 to L2) or doing non-subtitling activities.El uso de los subtítulos y de la subtitulación como prácticas didácticas que ayudan a diversificar la enseñanza y aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras ha crecido en popularidad en las últimas décadas, especialmente en Europa, donde la Comisión Europea ha fomentado, entre otros, proyectos como ClipFlair, una plataforma de subtitulado en la nube para el aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras. Enmarcado dentro de este auge investigador, el estudio empírico que aquí se documenta se ha llevado a cabo en China, donde el uso de la subtitulación en el aula de idiomas extranjeros apenas si ha recibido atención por parte de los académicos. El experimento, que ha contado con diecisiete estudiantes de grado y chino como L1, explora el impacto de la subtitulación en la adquisición de vocabulario en inglés (L2). Los resultados demuestran que la práctica activa de subtitular videos interlingüísticamente, de L2 a L1, puede conducir a una mayor adquisición de vocabulario que cuando las tareas se centran en la subtitulación intralingüística (de L2 a L2) o son actividades que no tienen nada que ver con la subtitulación

NEOCONS AND THEOCONS: FUNDAMENTALISM VERSUS DEMOCRACY

El  fundamentalismo  tecnocrático  (neocons) y el fundamentalismo  teocrático (teocons) son dos manifestaciones del pensamiento político muy restrictivas de la democracia. El primero tiene mayor incidencia en el campo de la economía y el segundo en el ámbito de la religión, pero ambos implican un fuerte desafío para el Estado democrático. Este artículo trata de la conjunción más o menos formal entre ambos fundamentalismos, que se manif iesta y actúa incluso a nivel global como reacción muy conservadora contra las principales exigencias del laicismo civil y de las políticas de progreso. Sostiene el autor que la respuesta a estos nuevos funda- mentalismos, igual que a todos los viejos dogmatismos, no es, en modo alguno, el relativismo, sino el pensamiento crítico y autocrítico. Se trata de avanzar, con esta actitud crítica, en la construcción de nuevas formulaciones democráticas dotadas de una fundamentación más sólida en términos de legitimidad ética y legitimación social.Technocratic fundamentalism (neocons) and theocratic fundamentalism (teocons) are two manifestations of political thought very restrictive of democracy. The f irst one has a higher incidence in the f ield of economy and the second one in that of the religion, but both imply a strong challenge for the democratic State. This article deals with the more or less formal conjunction between both kinds of fundamentalism, that appears and acts, even at a global level, as a very conservative reaction against the main demands of civic laicism and of progressive policies. The author maintains that the answer to these new fundamentalisms, like to the old dogmatisms, is not at all the relativism, but the critical and auto critical thought. The point is to advance, with this critical attitude, in the construction of new democratic formulations, provided with a more strong fundament in terms of ethical legitimacy and social legitimation

Subtitlers on the Cloud: The Use of Professional Web-based Systems in Subtitling Practice and Training

The bourgeoning and rapid evolution of cloud-based applications has triggered profound transformations in the audiovisual translation (AVT) mediascape. By drawing attention to the major changes that webbased ecosystems have introduced in localisation workflows, we set out to outline ways in which these new technological advances can be embedded in the AVT classroom. Along these lines, the present study sets out to explore the potential benefits of cloud platforms in AVT training curricula by exploring ways in which this technology can be exploited in subtitling training. An analysis of current subtitling practices and tools, localisation workflows, and in-demand skills in the AVT industry will be followed by an experience-based account on the use of cloud-based platforms in subtitler training environments to simulate and carry out a wide range of tasks. Our study pivots around the idea that cloud subtitling might prove useful to bridge the technological gap between academic institutions and the profession as well as to enhance the distance-learning provision of practice-oriented training in subtitling

Introduction: latest advancements in audiovisual translation education

The consumption of audiovisual content, from the more traditional animations, documentaries, movies, and TV shows to the more recent online user-generated content found on social media platforms, including video games, has grown exponentially over the last few decades. The omnipresence of screens in society has led to transformations in audiences’ watching habits, now impatient to enjoy their programmes as soon as possible and inclined to binge watch. Recent technological advances in the production of specialist audiovisual translation (AVT) software and web-based applications have paved the way for further changes and enhancements in the ways professionals localise audiovisual content and in the nature of the services provided. This special issue sheds light on the current teaching and learning practices, methodologies and issues encountered by translator trainers specialised in AVT, with particular emphasis on pedagogical innovation, media accessibility, and translation technology