Da dove viene e dove va l’audiodescrizione filmica per i ciechi e gli ipovedenti

*** IT: Dopo aver tracciato le origini accademiche dell'audiodescrizione (AD) filmica per i ciechi e gli ipovedenti se ne mettono in rilievo i temi di maggiore interesse scientifico e si offre una bibliografia ragionata su ognuno dei temi esposti. Si illustrano la natura, le propriet\ue0 e i limiti dell'AD e si presta particolare attenzione al suo ruolo di traduzione intersemiotica. Attraverso esempi tratti da film originali e doppiati si commentano le quattro facce dell'AD che \ue8 definita in base a cosa, come, quanto e quando descrivere per offrire un prodotto completo ed efficace. I temi dell'oggettivit\ue0 della descrizione e quelli relativi alla lingua e dello stile del testo descrittivo sono affrontati a partire dalla posizione delle linee guida oggi presenti sul mercato, e sono illustrati, di nuovo, da una serie di esempi reali. Il contributo si conclude con una rassegna dei risultati ottenuti grazie all'applicazione del tracciamento oculare nella ricerca sull'AD. ***EN: After tracing the academic origins of audio description (AD ) for the blind and the visually impaired, the paper focuses on the most relevant themes regarding AD and provides a critical bibliography on each of the topics under discussion. In particular, the paper discusses the nature, properties and limitations of AD and it pays special attention to its role as a form of intersemiotic translation. Drawing from examples taken from original and dubbed films, the paper comments on the four defining features of AD: what, how, how much and when to describe in order to offer a comprehensive and effective AD. Further aspects that are addressed in the paper are the objectivity of AD as well as its language and style, which are defined based on the existing guidelines and on authentic examples taken from several audio described films. The contribution closes with a review of the results achieved through empirical studies and the application of eye-tracking research

Osservazioni preliminari sul banchetto rituale funerario nel Veneto preromano: acquisizione innovazione e resistenza culturale

This study offers a preliminary analysis of some funerary practices of food consumption which took place in Veneto between the last phase of the late Bronze Age and the third century B.C. A particular emphasis is given to the examination of the cultural innovations which spread in Veneto after the contact with the populations settled in Etruria and Continental Europe. These cultural inputs involved the importation and imitation of foreign vessels employed at the banquet as well as the introduction of specific ritual techniques related to the preparation and distribution of food and beverages. However, I also underline the independence of the Veneti in respect to external cultural imputs and their ability to accomodate all the innovations into their own cultural and ritual framework

Audiovisual dialogue economy in The West Wing

The paper explores how the feel of the West Wing is reproduced through language in the screenplay of A. Sorkin. In particular, it gives a linguistic account of the walk-and-talk technique, a prominent story enhancer that emphasizes the hectic life of characters and functions as a language economy device. The paper also illustrates the most relevant linguistic features used in episode 10 of the series and it reveals that artificiality is preferred to linguistic realism and naturalness. In fact, the type of audiovisual product in question, the limited time available to convey much information, and the need to be pungent and effective do not allow for the natural inconveniences of real interaction to be included in the screenplay

Un nuovo approccio integrato per la valutazione empirica della traduzione audiovisiva

This paper describes the theoretical and methodological foundations of a scientific research project (FRA 2013) funded by the University of Trieste and aimed at studying audiovisual translation in a receptive perspective. Specifically, through a new approach in the field, the project aims to empirically identify what are the real (vs. supposed) advantages and disadvantages of dubbing and subtitling. It also wishes to assess whether these vary when the two methods are used in countries accustomed to one translation method or the other and when they are seen by viewers of different ages (younger vs. older). The project also plans to examine the robustness of the results with respect to the characteristics of audiovisual material by varying its structural and linguistic complexity, and by monitoring the cognitive and emotional processes during film viewing. To do so, it will resort to behavioral questionnaires and sessions of eye movement recording. Using this new approach, the project aims to synergistically combine theoretical and methodological contributions from different disciplines such as translation, linguistics and psychology. This will provide a more comprehensive picture of audiovisual translation reception. The consolidation of the integrated model that we wish to accomplish has the ultimate aim of making it reusable for new applications and in future projects

The practice and the training of text simplification in Italy

This paper reports on a subset of survey data to illustrate the status, the educational and the professional background of the Italian experts in the production of Easy-to-Understand (E2U) content. It opens with a definition of E2U in relation to the established terms Easy-to-Read Language and Plain Language, which are discussed and exemplified through examples in English, and it illustrates the European project EASIT on the implementation of E2U in the audiovisual context. After that, the paper focuses on the Italian situation regarding E2U training and practice as emerged from the answers to a survey of 19 experts. Results show that the Italian situation does not differ substantially from the general European situation as far as the (solid and varied) educational and professional background of the experts is concerned, as well as the still scant training opportunities that are offered and the limited involvement of academia in training. On the other hand, some specificities of the Italian situation do emerge, such as the dominance of theory over practice both in training and on the job, and an unbalanced implementation of E2U content which abounds in the area of education and overlooks other crucial areas of communication. The results of the Italian survey point to the need for more consistent and systematic training as well as to the need for more awareness-rising as far as communicative integration and inclusion through content simplification are concerned.

Into the Language of Museum Audio Descriptions: A Corpus-based Study

The paper portrays a linguistic and textual analysis of a corpus of 18 museum audio descriptions (ADs) (a fairly neglected area of accessibility and audiovisual translation research) in order to pinpoint the salient features of this text type and relate them to current AD literature and guidelines. Results show that scripted and recorded museum AD texts comply with recommendations only partially. They guarantee vivid, imaginative and diverse language as well as substantial text informativity through the combination of high lexical diversity and the extensive use of descriptive adjectives as well as substantial lexical density. In spite of the use of short words, however, museum ADs seem more lexically and syntactically complex than expected, with their use of opaque technical terms, heavy adjectival phrases and long sentences. More systematic and contrastive research will help to (dis)confirm these results, whereas audience reception research will contribute to determine the real degree of usability of these new text types

Introduction

Introduction to journal volum