equivalence of english - vietnamese translation for subtitles of sume documentary films = nghiên cứu tương đương dịch thuật anh – việt trên phụ đề của một số phim tài liệu

iv TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I- INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale .1 Aims of the study Scope and method of the study .2 Organization of the study PART II-DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW Film and subtitle translation 1.1 Definition of translation 1.2 Translation of dramas/films 1.3 Subtitle translation 1.4 Subtitle Quality 10 Terminology and translation of terminology 11 2.1 Definition and features 11 2.2 Terminology in translation 12 Baker’s approach to equivalence .13 3.1 Equivalence and equivalence at word level 13 3.2 Problems of non-equivalence and strategy .15 CHAPTER II: TRANSLATION AND SUBTITLING OF THE SELECTED SERIES .19 Synopsis of the series “Swam loggers” .19 Linguistic features in the relationship with subtitles translation 20 Problems of non-equivalence 22 Strategy to deal with non-equivalence 24 4.1 Different equivalence to a source word as a method of subtitles shortening 24 v 4.2 Equivalence of logging machines and equipments 29 4.3 Equivalence of logging activities and environment 32 Concluding remarks 34 PART III: CONCLUSION .36 Addressed issues and some applications .36 Suggestions for further study 37 REFERENCES 38 APPENDIX I Qnet instruction to subtitle translate I Sample of “Swam loggers” scripts V Sample of “Swam logger” subtitles XXXVIII PART I- INTRODUCTION Rationale Translation is recently considered a language skill – the fifth macro skill It requires certain level of language acquisition and no one ever classifies translation into such levels as elementary, intermediate or advanced Translation studies have also been a controversial topic since this subject was raised in methodology Each translation method is suitable for each purpose Newmark (1991) defines five purposes of translation in his book “About translation” as: Help nations, groups, individuals understand and make peace among one another Help bring the knowledge to learners Help cultures to be understood and mediated Help translate the world‟s great works of art Help in teaching/learning a language He also mentions the overlap between the purposes which is a regular phenomenon These purposes also lead to the different strategies which are skills and tactics more than a theory withdrawn from some activities Besides, as the world becomes closer, the exchange flow becomes more fluent, the cultural purpose of translation also becomes more significant One of the most efficient means of culture exchange is via motion pictures and television programs Bringing inter-lingual motion pictures and television programs to viewers in different nations and cultures draws the world closer, and this can be done in many ways It can be mentioned here voice-over, which is the voice of one narrator reading the translated scripts all over the film; another way is dubbing, which is the replacement of original voices by the target language voices; last but not least it is subtitling, in which the text appears on the screen along with dialogue of the film This last mode of translation is the focus of the research to be presented in this paper In Vietnam, although it is a new concept, recently and widely introduced via internet, subtitles are largely approached by youngsters and becoming more and more popular The subtitling industry in Vietnam seems to be underdeveloped, with not many specialized companies It is hoped that this research will make a small but critical contribution to the development of new theoretical foundation of subtitling in Vietnam Aims of the study The study aims at equivalence in translation, especially equivalence for terminology in the series of documentary film: “Swam loggers” broadcasted on Discovery Channel in association with Vietnamese Cable Television The study also focuses on how the translators transfer terminology from source text to target text while maintaining the cultural aspects and accurate function of the phrases using Discovery Channel series program as a case More specifically, this study will seek to answer the research question: "How equivalence in translation between English and Vietnamese is achieved through the Vietnamese subtitling of the documentary series “Swamp loggers” shown on Discovery Channel in association with Vietnamese Cable Television?" Scope and method of the study The study focuses mainly on equivalence for terminology achieved in the subtitles of the documentary series “Swam loggers” The evaluation of equivalence will be based on the approach suggested by Baker (1992) using a list of the two texts: the source text and the translated version The data were collected from throughout the scripts of the series and the subtitles broadcasted on Discovery Channel in association with Vietnamese Cable Television The data analysis is based on the equivalence illuminated from the sorted out scripts and the subtitles The study is confined to the analysis of equivalence at word level Organization of the study The study consists of three parts: Part I is the Introduction which describes the reasons for the choice of the topic, the aims, the scope, method and organization of the study Part II is the Development, which consists of two chapters Chapter I provides the literature review of translation, terminology and equivalence; Chapter II gives the synopsis as well as subtitling of the selected series; the problems of non-equivalence and subtitlers‟ strategies to deal with those problems Part III is the Conclusion and suggestion for further study PART II-DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW Film and subtitle translation 1.1 Definition of translation Although translation is a variedly defined concept that has caused vigorous debate along its development history, there still exists agreement among the scholars whose opinions are discussed here Catford (1965) considers translation is the replacement of textual material in one language (source language) by equivalent textual material in other language (target language) Along the line, Hartman & Stock (1972:713) define translation as the replacement of a representation of a text in one language by a representation of another equivalent in a second language From a more detailed point of view, Nida & Taber (1974) argue that translation consists of reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style All of the listed authors agree that equivalence is the key to translation Finding the closet equivalence while maintaining “style” and “meaning” as authentic as possible determines the authenticity of the translation in grammar, culture, comprehension, and message content To have a deeper investigation into equivalence, film subtitles translation will be discussed in this research paper 1.2 Translation of dramas/films Newmark (1988, as cited in Ton, 2001) argues that when a film is transferred from the source language to the target language culture, it is usually no longer a translation, but an adaptation It is convenient for the translators of other forms of text, especially fiction, to be able to explain puns or ambiguities or cultural references, to transcribe the words for the sake of local nuances Translators of drama have discomfort in having dramatic text, with emphasis on verbs, rather than that of more descriptive and explanatory Therefore a translation of a drama must be concise – it must not be an over-translation From the connection point of view, Mbom (1988, Joseph, 2005) asserts that: “The play when performed no longer belongs to the author alone It is the collective product of four creators: the author, the producer, the actors and the audience.” The fourth creator is the one who holds the key for whether the work of all three others becomes a success or a failure However, the connection to the audience does not go directly from the producers but through mediators, who is the translator/interpreter Therefore it can be said that films translation reflects a linkage of three essential participants: Message originators (characters in films) Message mediators (translators or interpreters) Message receivers (persons for whom the message is intended indirectly through film vision Ton (2001) gives the process of film/drama translation: Figure 1: Model by Ton (2001) Slightly different from dramas, in which all voices normally belong to the characters, in documentary films one other type of voice - the host voice is added Host voice tells the story, formally explains what is going on in the film Similar to written speech to be read out loud, words by host voice reduce the rhythm of action and give a standard of formality to the language full of slangs, idioms and street vocabulary Beside, documentaries, especially reality shows, have a tendency to stress on action and situation more than characters and their performance Dramas send the messages largely via characters while documentaries have both characters/the narrators as message originators Therefore, the model suggested by Ton (2001) can be adapted as follows: Ton (2001) also asserts three prospects of a good drama translation including meaning, register and style Meaning of the original text, rather than the words should be translated the full attention to implication, tone, innuendo, hidden reference On the other hands, register requires translator to “distinguish between formal or fixed expressions and personal expressions, in which writer or speaker sets the tone” (Ton, 2001) As for style, she asserts that the style of the original where characters are the heart of any conversation should be kept intact These criteria are identified to form a strong background supporting idioms translation in dramas, which, therefore, is not necessary for the subtitles translation, especially terminology translation to follow exactly How the difference is expressed and what criteria subtitles translation follows will be discussed in the next part 1.3 Subtitle translation These days, films and TV programs in multiple languages are easier to access thanks to many kinds of translation such as voice-over, dubbing, and subtitling Among these methods, subtitling recently tends to be more favorable due to many advantages it offers Subtitles, according to Baker, M (Ed.) (1998) are “transcriptions of film or TV dialogue, presented simultaneously on the screen.” She also highlights the “authenticity” gained in subtitles, which includes the real voice quality and intonation of the actors Later, Poel, M., & Ydewalle, G (2011:261) agree that subtitles with the original soundtrack “give the two more advantages of subtitles as the channel of information: the pictorial information, and the translation of the text in the subtitles.” Therefore, Jan Ivarsson (1992) (as cited in James, 2001:151) stresses on the “vulnerable position” which subtitler is in because the original text is available for the message receivers to double check if it is not a faulty translation The following table demonstrates a section of English film scripts translated and made into Vietnamese subtitles: Video Time 01:00:00:26 Voicer Host VO Scripts Few weapons on the 21st century battlefield are as effective as the modern sniper Subtitle time code 1: 10:00:01.15 10:00:04.09 Subtitles Rất vũ khí trận địa kỷ 21 2: 10:00:04.13 10:00:07.03 hiệu lính bắn tỉa đại 01:00:06:12 Parker VO/OC On any battlefield a professional sniper's got the capability to change the tide of that battle 3: 10:00:07.07 10:00:08.09 Trên trận địa, 4: 10:00:08.13 10:00:12.13 lính bắn tỉa chun nghiệp thay đổi trận 01:00:11:24 Host VO Now fielded by every branch of the 5: 10:00:12.17 10:00:15.21 U.S Armed Forces from the Army to the Marines, Coast Guard and Navy, these elite warriors continue 6: 10:00:16.00 10:00:19.03 to prove their value in modern conflicts 7: 10:00:19.07 10:00:23.16 Có mặt ngành Lực lượng Vũ trang Hoa Kỳ, từ Quân đội, Thuỷ quân, Bảo vệ Bờ biển, Hải quân, họ chứng tỏ giá trị trận địa đại 01:00:22:28 Merowski VO/OC Figure 2: Example of Subtitles No shot is the same shot, so you have to be prepared for every shot 8: 10:00:23.20 10:00:28.17 Khơng có phát đạn giống nhau, phải chuẩn bị cho cú bắn Ree (2010) ... development of new theoretical foundation of subtitling in Vietnam Aims of the study The study aims at equivalence in translation, especially equivalence for terminology in the series of documentary. .. different - Differences in physical or interpersonal perspective - Differences in expressive meaning - Differences in form - Differences in frequency and purpose of using specific forms - The use of. .. Channel in association with Vietnamese Cable Television?" Scope and method of the study The study focuses mainly on equivalence for terminology achieved in the subtitles of the documentary series “Swam