esflcw 2007 saarbrucken 23-25 july, 2007 chris taylor university of trieste the language of...
TRANSCRIPT
ESFLCW 2007Saarbrucken 23-25 July, 2007
Chris TaylorUniversity of Trieste
The Language of Television Series: a study of predictable patterns
Talking Points
1. Film language
2. Context and genre
3. Levels of predictability
4. Translation
The language of film A series of experiments conducted in
Trieste over the years has shown that film language differs, often appreciably, from the language of real life (see, for example, Taylor 2005).
It is more stylised, more formal, more explicit, more clearly comprehensible.
Communicating community context (Gregory) the ‘context of situation’, which partially reflects
and partially constructs the functioning of language in conversation;
In the case of film or TV series the CCC is (1) ‘a group of actors simulating a scene in an
artificially produced situation (APS). (2) a film writer communicating a message to a
(largely unknown) audience.
Indeed… “the only reason that characters talk to
each other in television texts is so that the viewer can listen to them; not, as in real conversation, so that they can listen to each other”,
(in this sense there are overlapping contexts of situation)
Genre The APS can also be identified in terms of
genre “a configuration of meanings that are typically
associated with a particular situational configuration of field, tenor and mode” (Halliday & Hasan, 1985)
“typical configurations of the options associated with typical contexts” (Navarro, 2007)
pace Teun van Dijk!
Eggins & Slade Texts of different genres reveal different
lexico-grammatical choices. Thus realization patterns will differ across
genres
Filmese and genre What we know as film genres - western,
spy story, comedy, etc. can be identified, also linguistically, but ‘filmese’ is a cross-genre language variety…
… films have their sub-genres and genrelets.
and it is these genrelets that are of initial
interest in the tracking down of PREDICTABILITY.
E.g., telephone conversations, presentations, mealtime dialogue, bar talk, boy-girl exchanges, etc.
Intertextuality In genrelets such as telephone call
protocols, presentations, service encounters, etc. there is usually little creative language use. The same formulae are used over and over again (obligatory features), with the same cues and the same response mechanisms.
Parallel corpora The study of significant numbers of parallel
texts available from a database of scripts shows up patterns of use, in terms of lexis, style, register and syntax.
Cf. Trieste database – thousands of film and TV scripts and transcripts
Coffin & O’Halloran ‘implicit appraisal in one article in ‘The Sun’
can only be understood by knowing lots of Sun articles.’
E.g. in relation to immigrants
TV series
Similarly understanding and therefore the ability to predict outcomes and dialogue in BONANZA or CORONATION STREET or LAW and ORDER comes from being exposed to them.
This is why they can be so easily mimicked.
Susan Hunston’s semantic sequences
It + BE + adjective + that clause
Eg. It is clear that…..
obvious
likely
etc.
Hunston cont.
These patterns are mainly used in SOME disciplines.
Patterns can be seen in TV series to be used by SOME characters in SOME situations.
The O.C. There is much picking up of each others’
expressions: Are you nervous/excited/worried – You are
nervous/excited/worried – I’m nervous/excited/worried, I’m not nervous/excited/worried, etc.
The Gilmore Girls
132 episodes in 6 series
Desribed in the following terms:
“nice, warm, charming, feisty”
Features a single mother, her elitist parents, her determined daughter, boyfriends etc.
Episodes
Series Two
Marriage on the way
Engagement party
Rethinking
The debutante’s ball
Like mother, like daughter
Love risks
The Gilmore Girls (typical genrelet) CUT TO THE INDEPENDENCE INN [Lorelai walks into the lobby and hands a key to a bellboy.] LORELAI: Oh, here you go. BELLBOY: Thanks. [Lorelai walks to the front desk, where Michel is on the phone and
sorting mail] MICHEL: Independence Inn, Michel speaking. [pause] No, I'm
sorry, we're completely booked. [pause] We have a wedding party here. [pause] No, there is really nothing I can do. [pause] Yes, I'm sure. [pause] Positive. [pause] No, I don't have to look ma'am, I -- [pause] Yes, of course I'll look.
[Michel puts the phone down, continues to sort the mail, then picks the phone back up.]
MICHEL: No, I'm sorry, we're completely booked.
Repetition [Rory starts to leave then hugs Lorelai again.] RORY: I love you. LORELAI: I love you. [Rory leaves.] LORELAI: My girl's going to Chilton SOOKIE: Yeah. Rory's going to Chilton! [As Lorelai leaves, Sookie starts a little dance and
begins to sing.] SOOKIE: Rory's going to Chilton! Rory's going to
Chilton! Rory's going to Chilton!
The Gilmore Girls – frequency counts
From watching any TV series one becomes aware, consciously or unconsciously, of certain lietmotifs, repeated patterns, or more than usual frequency patterns.
Food and Beverages frequencies - GilmoreFood & Beverages
Frequency (Coffe & co. excluded)
Episode n. Env.1: Diner Env.2: Inn Env. 3: Dinner
Env. 4: Others Total Total pages
(Font:Verdana 10) 101 13 23 18 21 76 31 102 4 24 \ 9 37 33 103 4 36 26 9 75 32 104 7 52 \ 27 86 32 105 11 \ \ 24 35 31 106 9 17 23 33 82 34 107 15 \ \ 63 78 33 108 \ 35 14 15 64 32 109 \ \ 9 52 61 41 110 26 \ 9 16 51 32 111 12 4 4 20 40 36 112 13 20 \ 37 70 36 113 \ \ \ 22 22 32 114 1 20 11 77 109 38 115 \ 5 9 7 21 31 116 \ 5 16 35 56 32 117 13 \ \ 42 55 33 118 \ 1 30 27 58 37 119 30 30 4 9 73 40 120 12 1 29 10 52 39 121 1 \ \ 34 35 35
Environment 1: Luke’s Diner Environment 2: Independence Inn / Kitchen Environment 3: Gilmore’s house / Friday Night Dinner Environment 4: Others (Lorelai’s house, Doose Market, Stars Hollow, School, etc)
Coffee frequencies - Gilmore“Coffee”
Frequency: Coffee, Espresso, and Decaf Episode n. Frequency Total pages (Font:Verdana 10)
101 10 + 1 31 102 10 +1 33 103 3 32 104 5 32 105 10 31 106 5 34 107 7 33 108 16 32 109 2 41 110 8 32 111 2 36 112 5 36 113 8 32 114 2 38 115 4 31 116 10 32 117 6 33 118 3 37 119 8 40 120 8 39 121 9 35
Statistic Count Frequency ≥ 7 11 out of 21 Frequency ≤ 4 6 out of 21
Cf. British National Corpus - coffee
BNC (100,000,000 words)
Coffee – 6,286 occurrences
Once every 16,000 words.
Gilmore Girls (20 episodes) 150,000 words
Coffee – 160 occurrences
Once every 1,000 words
BNC spoken corpus
BNC spoken corpus (10,000,000 words)
Coffee – 939 occurrences
Once every 10,000 words.
Gilmore Girls (20 episodes) 150,000 words
Coffee – 160 occurrences
Once every 1,000 words
Sign of APSThe figures merely show that the series ‘The Gilmore Girls’ contains a much higher than average use of the word coffee (and other foodstuffs).This confirms an intuitive impression, suggesting that (a) the context governs language use but also (b) that a level of artificiality would seem to be confirmed.The translator must consider whether this context driven usage should be foreignised (left as it is to reflect American youngsters’ habits), or localised in some way (perhaps tempered to local levels of acceptance).
Genre – courtroom scenarios in film
The film ‘A Few Good Men’ (amongst others) was used as a vehicle to investigate the use of courtroom language in a modern film.
External and internal definitions of genre
Verbal interaction in judicial settings
Hearings in courts involve verbal exchanges which in many respects appear to be organised differently from talk in conversation. The distinctive character of talk in judicial settings is a recurrent theme in discussions of court proceedings by sociologists, lawyers, etc.
(Atkinson and Drew, 1979)
Features of examination Turn order
type of turn - pre-allocated - A-B, A-B Interruption
legitimate from counsel Illegitimate from public
Objections Overlaps
Restart Pauses
special strategiesNB the court procedures and associated language are different in
different cultures cf. America/Italy
A Few Good Men Call the first/next witness We call… I’ve got some questions for… No more/further questions? (I’ve) no more questions. The witness is excused. You may step down. Can you explain… How could you…. What happened then? Do you think/feel/intend…. Answer the question You don’t have to answer that. All rise You are charged with… Court adjourned till… Objection – Sustained - Overruled
A Few Good Men
See you in court!
But what happens in translation?
Let’s go back to the beginning:
Film language is more stylised, more formal, more explicit, more clearly comprehensible.
Comparison Romero (2006) compared spoken Spanish
from a corpus of oral Castellan with (a) a Spanish soap opera (b) the English language version of
‘Friends’ (c) the dubbed Spanish version of ‘Friends’
Friends (English) Friends (Spanish)
Siete Vidas (Spanish sitcom)
CREA(Colloquial convers.)
12345678
HeyHiHello MorningGood morningHi there
Hola
Buenos días
HolaQué talBuenos díasQué hayQué pasaHombreBuenas
Hola Qué talBuenos díasQué hayQué pasaHombreBuenasMuy buenas
1234567891011
How are you/yaHow are you doing How are things goingHow’s life?How’s it goingHow are we todayWhat’s up?(Are) you all right(Are) you OKHow you holding up
Qué talCómo estás
Qué hayCómo te vaCómo va eso
Qué talCómo estásQué pasaQué hayCómo te va
Qué hay de nuevoCómo lo llevasCómo andasCómo estamos
Qué talCómo estásQué pasaQué hayCómo te va
Qué hay de nuevoCómo lo llevasCómo andasCómo estamosQué (te) cuentas
16 7 16 18
It’s more stylised, it’s more formal, it’s easier to understand….
…and for these reasons it too is more predictable.
Prdictable shifts in translation ‘The O.C.’ What about kick off carnival, you’re still the
social chair. La festa dell’inizio dell’anno, devi organizzarla. I don’t understand the mind of chicks like
Summer. Le ragazzine come Summer non le capisco. Seth already has a partner La partner ce l’ha già. (Information structure changes to accommodate
Italian youth talk, see Berruto)
(Adam’s Rib) Would your honour please instruct counselor to
refrain from these sly and feminine hints to the jury?
Vostro Onore, inviti la difesa a non fare insinuazioni femminili per influenzare la giuria.
(Italian uses requests, exploiting the respectful subjunctive form)
Translation memory
At times the predictability is so pronounced that an element of translation memory technique, technologically aided or otherwise, could prove useful.
At least the predictability factor should be taken into account in order to save time and particularly to ensure consistency.
Without translation memory tools cross cultural shifts can result in
inconsistency.
What is involved here is “the configuration of semantic resources that the members of the culture associate with a situation type”
(Halliday, 1978)
Suspect
Raise your right hand, please. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Alzi la mano destra per favore. Giura di dire la verità, tutta la verità e nient’altro che la verità, in nome di Dio?
A Few Good Men
Would you raise your right hand, please. Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you will give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Vuole alzare la mano destra per favore. Giura solennemente che la sua testimonianza sarà la verità, tutta la verità e null’altro che la verità e così Dio l’aiuti?
Philadelphia
Place your left hand on the Bible. Raise your right hand. Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Metta la mano sinistra sulla Bibbia. Alzi la mano destra. Giura di dire tutta la verità e nient’altro che la verità, così Dio l’assista?
So… translation memory techniques might be
useful, in order (1) to create consistency in simulated
situations across cultures; (2) to present a coherent message to the
foreign langauge audience.
Degrees of predictability and translation
Different levels of predictability need to be dealt with in different ways.
Consider the strategies of
NEUTRALISATION
LOCALISATION
FOREIGNISATION
Predictability cline
High predictability (neutralise)
Medium predictability (localise)
Low predictability (foreignise)
Il Commissario Montalbano - caffèMichela: (bevendo il caffè) Mhm! Sì! Mimì: (guardando Montalbano
versare il caffè) Ce n’è magari pe’mmea?
CM: .. Mi è venuto voglia di una bella granatina di caffè
Fazio: Ho portato il… Donna: (beve l’ultimo sorso di caffè)
Montalbano - pasta con broccoli CM: Sto mangiando la pasta con
broccoli, chi è che rompe… Livia: Chi ti ha preparato la pasta con
broccoli? Scommetto Adelina?... Sabato mattina prendo l’aereo e vengo giù.
CM: Sabato? Livia: Sì, sarò a Vigato per l’ora di pranzo. CM: Ah, benissimo..ma, sei sicura? Livia: Sicurissima. Ho già fatto il biglietto… Vai a
buttare quella pasta nella spazzatura!
Montalbano – spigole etc. C- Dunque oggi c’ho pe’ vossia un risotto a nevuro di siccia
ch’è megghio’ e na cassata. M- Per me va bene, per lei? B- Anche per me va bene. M- Aggiudicato. C- Ah, per secondo carissimo dottore Montalbano ci sono
delle spigole freschissime pescate stanotte oppure… M- No, per me va bene le spigole senza oppure, per lei? B- Anche per me va bene. M- Aggiudicato.
Neutralisation(1) Caffè = coffee
(2) Pasta con broccoli = pasta with broccoli
(3) Spaghetti con sugo di ricci, risotto a nevuro di siccia, na cassata, spigole freschissime pescate stanotte, ‘spaghetti’, ‘rice’, ‘cake’, ‘fish’.
Localisation1) Caffè must be rendered more English, ironically through the
use of explicit markers – cappucino, espresso, latte, etc. – depending on which of these is considered the most universal.
(2) Pasta con broccoli may be changed to something more recognisably Italian such as ‘spaghetti bolognese’ or ‘lasagne’. It depends on whether it can be seen.
(3) Spaghetti con sugo di ricci, risotto a nevuro di siccia, na cassata, spigole freschissime pescate stanotte, can be changed to recognisable English/American dishes – ‘spaghetti with meatballs’, ‘sausages’, ‘ice cream’, ‘snapper’.
Foreignisation(1) Caffè remains – its meaning is known and is
always straight ‘espresso’.
(2) Pasta con broccoli is a leitmotif of the series and can be left as it is.
(3) Spaghetti con sugo di ricci, risotto a nevuro di siccia, na cassata, spigole freschissime pescate stanotte, can be left and simply understood as Italian dishes.
Conclusion 1 The APS created for film produces a kind of
language that is already more predictable than spontaneous discourse in that it is ‘more stylised, more formal, more explicit, more clearly comprehensible.’
Conclusion 2 The translation of this ‘filmese’ can often
create an even greater degree of predictability, both in translation choices and in decisions relating to morpho-syntactic construction in the translator’s mother tongue.
Conclusion 3WHERE THE TEXT IS HIGHLY PREDICTABLE
there is a place in film translation (in the broadest sense), in subtitling but also in dubbing, for the
judicious use of some kind of translation memory tool (eg, Atril’s Dejà vu).
Although this would require very careful editing it could save a lot of time and provide much needed
consistency
Conclusion 4WHERE TEXTS ARE NOT VERY PREDICTABLE
translation choices may lie between foreignisation, localisation and standardisation.
The choice will depend on such factors as the ‘prestige’ of the film or given audience tastes.
Conclusion 5WHERE TEXTS ARE GOVERNED BY CULTURAL
MORES
predictability can be largely discounted, firstly in the patterns of the source language, and particularly
in translation.Here the translator is on his/her own in gauging to
what extent the audience is attuned to the mind set of the source text culture.
Conclusion 6 Practically all films (or TV series, or
documentaries, or advertisements, or cartoons…) will contain stretches covered by conclusions 1, 2 or 3. The special skill of the translator lies also in identifying these stretches and treating them accordingly.