Abstract

Abstract: This article deals with the models of colloquial translation into Catalan in the case of the dubbed version (1997), the subtitled version (1997) and the translated script (1998) of Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown (1997). At the core of the article lies the analysis and the comparison of the phonetics, the morphology, the syntax and the lexicon of each Catalan translation, which is contextualized within the linguistic and translation models current at the time. The conclusion is that the three translations make use of different colloquial language models. The translated script constitutes a disruptive model, especially regarding phonetic representation and the Spanish lexicon deployed. The dubbed version follows TV3’s translation and dubbing criteria: on the one hand, its syntax is relatively colloquial (less colloquial than that of the subtitled version, but not so much as the translated script); on the other hand, its morphology is standard and under-exploits the colloquial resources of the target language. The subtitled version is more colloquial than the dubbed one, especially as far as the lexicon is concerned, using far fewer Hispanicisms than the translated script.Key words: literary translation, audio-visual translation, dubbing, subtitling, colloquial Catalan, colloquial translation models, Quentin Tarantino, Jackie Brown.

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of same-language subtitles on the immersion into audiovisual narratives as a function of the viewer’s language (native or foreigner). Students from two universities in Australia and one in Spain were assigned randomly to one of two experimental groups, in which they saw a drama with the original English soundtrack either with same-language English subtitles (n=81) or without subtitles (n=92). The sample included an English native control group, and Mandarin Chinese, Korean, and Spanish groups with English as a foreign language. Participants used post-hoc Likert scales to self-report their presence, transportation to the narrative world, perceived realism, identification with the characters, and enjoyment. The main results showed that subtitles did not significantly reduce these measures of immersion. However, subtitles produced higher transportation, identification with the characters, and perceived realism scores, where the first language of viewers and their viewing habits accounted for most of this variance. Moreover, presence and enjoyment were unaffected by either condition or language. Finally, the main results also revealed that transportation to the narrative world appears to be the most revealing measure of immersion in that it shows the strongest and most consistent correlations, and is a significant predictor of enjoyment.