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Culturebound problems in subtitlingBirgit NedergaardLarsen

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CULTURE-BOUND PROBLEMS IN SUBTITLING

BirgitNedergaard-Larsen

Abstract

Langu age an d culture are closely interrelated. In subtitling, as in all forms of interlingua l

transfer, this may cause problems in rendering culture-specific or language-spe cific elements. The

author discusses strategies available to the subtitlers confronted with such phenomena in films.

The strategies rang e from verbatim transfer, via culturally neutral explicitation and p araphras e,

to target language adaptation. Four French eature films are analysed with reference to the w ay

extra-lingual culture-specific elements are rendered in Danish subtitles. The author discusses

which factors to consider when deciding on an appropriate strategy. The analysis shows a ten-

dency, possibly norm-go verned, toward retaining the local lavor of

the

film, yet rem aining faithful

to the source language expression whenever possible.

Introduction

One of the most fascinating aspects of films - apart from the fact that they can

be w onderful entertainment - is that they offer unique scope for getting ac quaint-

ed with other cultures. Film isa broad concept of course, covering m any different

types even within the genre of feature films. Some deal with general, universal

themes; psychological problems, relations between people etc. Others are rather

products of the culture from which they arise, thus providing their audience with

a living insight into these cultures. This may cause problems if a film is to be

shown in a different cultural framework. Not that the problems are necessarily

insoluble, but close attention should be paid to their solution.

Such culture-bound problems in subtitling will be discussed here, illustrated

with select examples of problems in subtitling French feature films for broadcast-

ing in Danish and Swedish television.

Following some theoretical reflections on translation and culture, a typological

outline of cross-cultural translation problems will be presented. Thus in the first

round the problems dealt with are not specifically related to subtitling, since

many general translation problems are common to subtitling and other forms of

translation. Next, the problems that are specific for subtitling will be discussed,

both general subtitling problems and culture-bound ones.

After defining the problem types and the factors specifically related to sub-

titling, strategies for solving culture-bound subtitling problems will be discussed.

An analysis of select examples will follow. These examples are limited to


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2 0 8

Perspectives: Studies in Translatoh gy -1993: 2

problems related to extralinguistic

1

culture-bound elements in some recent French

feature films. Here , the employed strategies, possible alternatives and factors that

may influence the choice of strategy in each case will be discussed.

Finally, these problems will be viewed in a larger perspective. This will in-

clude a discussion of which factors could influence the view of cross-cultural

subtitling problems, and which norms may be said to govern the choice of sub-

titling strategy.

Translation and culture

Translation and culture are closely interrelated. Self-evident as it may seem

today, this statement has no deep roots in the history of translation. Not until the

middle of this century was it a recognized fact, and p articularly American sch ol-

ars such as Edward Sapir and later Benjamin Whorf have dealt with translation

and culture. In 1956, Whorf wrote about the relation between language and

thought:

And every language is a vast pattern-system, different from others, in which are culturally

ordained the forms and categories by which the personality not only communicates, but also

analyzes nature, notices or neglects types of relationship and phenomena, channels his

reasoning, and builds the house of his consciousness.

2

Sapir and Whorf pointed out that translation is extremely difficult, especially

when translating from a language and culture distant from your own.

Many attempts have been made by translation theorists to refute the Sapir-

Whorfian thesis about the close interrelation between language and culture. Thus

in the 1960s linguists believed in the so-called principle of universality. Among

them the Frenchman Georges Mounin, who tried to establish the extent of non-u-

niversal elements in language and culture. He reached a very small number, but

did not take into consideration the fact that the informative v alue of such ele-

ments in a tex t is often much greater than that of ordinary more universal words.

He also attempted to make his views plausible in other ways, but in fact, a closer

examination of h is examples tends to prove the Sapir-Whorfian thesis rather than

disprove it.

3

That a connection between language and culture exists should not, however,

lead to the conclusion that translation is impossible as has sometimes been pos-

tulated in translation theory. The point is to understand that this connection

exists, and to find out how to overcome such culturally determined translation

problems.

Many recent scholars of translation are concerned with the relation between


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Birgit Nedergaard-Larsen: Culture-bound problems in subtitling

2 0 9

language and culture. Thus, Hatim & Mason present a theory of translation that

focuses on the cultural context and its decisive importance: Translating (is) a

communicative process which takes place within a social context * They see the

translator as a mediator:

Translators mediate between cultures (including ideologies, moral systems and socio-political

structures), seeking to overcome those incompatibilities which stand in the way of transfer of

meaning . What has value as a sign in one cultural community may be devoid of significance

in another...

3

.

Hatim & Mason delve in many different scientific disciplines that they use to

support their theory. But their main point is that translation is communication a-

cross linguistican d cultural barriers, and that the problems m et with by the trans-

lator lie both within and outside the language.

Als o Mary Snell-Hornby deals with the cultural aspect of translation in Trans-

lation Studies An Integrated Approach from 1988. She distinguishes between

problems that exist

within

a language, and those that lie

outside

i t She refers to

the linguistic aspect as dimension :

Dimension

refers to the linguistic orientation realized in lexical items , stylistic devices and

syntactic structures, and it becomes a translation problem when

multidimensionality

in

linguistic expression is involved.... Thus dimension focuses on internal aspects of language...'

Tho se aspects that lie beyond language are called perspective :

With perspective I mean the viewpoint of the speaker, narrator or reader in terms of culture, at-

titude, time and place; this shifts, for example in parody and satire, and invariably in translation.

... [Thus] perspective [focuses] on the relationship of the text to external, social and cultural fac-

tors...

7

Culture-bound problems

Culture-bound problems are often mentioned and described, both in literature

on subtitling and on translation in general. When culture-bound elements are dis-

cussed in relation to translation, the term will often refer to the non-linguistic

sphere , to different ph enom ena or events that exist in the source language c ulture.

But, as described above, language itself is often also culture-bound, since we

meet 'culturally specific elements ' in both the language system and in actual

usage.

Vinay and Darbelnet 's Stylistique co mpare e dufrangais et de I'anglais clearly

illustrates the extent of the culture-bound elem ents in translating. The fundamen-

tal idea of the book is the contra stive aspect of translatio n, and culture -boun d

differences are found on many different levels:

On peut envisager des maintenant ce que doit etre cede discipline [la stylistique compared]:

tres vaste, de toute evidence, puisqu'elle s'appuie en premier lieu sur la connaissance de deux


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Perspectives: Studies in Translatology - 1993: 2

structures linguistiques: deux lexiques, deux morp hologies; mais aussi [peut-etre surtout] parce

qu'elle s'appuie sur deux conceptions particulieres de la vie qui informent ces langues ou en

dlcoulent par voie de consequence: deux cultures, deux literatures, deux histories et deux

geographies ...

Culture-bound problems within the language itself are n umerous and extensive.

They may be grammatical categories that exist only in this one language, vo-

cative forms (tu/vous), the use of certain rhetoric, metaphors and idioms. In spok-

en language they may be dialectal or sociolectal speech variants, or the problem

may b e spoken language characterised by an intonation that indicates anger, inter-

rogation, irony etc.

In the present article the extralinguistic culture-bound problems will be dis-

cussed. Not that these problems are necessarily greater then the intralinguistic

problems; on the contrary, perhaps. But it would be too extensive to deal with

both types of problems in detail. There are also certain differences regarding

strategies and possibilities that would present difficulties in a joint description.

In the following, therefore, only extralinguistic problems will be referred to.

These are not, however, limited to certain references to objects, persons or e-

vents.

As mentioned earlier Whorf described how language decides our per-

ception and classification of reality. Vinay and Darbelnet define a metalinguis-

tic element as follows:'

Nous entendons par me'talinguistique l'ensemble des rapports qui unissent les fails sociaux,

culturels et psychologiques aux structures linguistiques.'

Thus,

the ex traliguistic element is present in language - o therwise there would

be no translation problem - and decides among other things which words actually

exist, and how reality is classified. Vinay and Darbelnet mention the division of

the times of the day, words for buildings (with specific p urposes), types of pro-

vision shops, measure and weight, meals, and words that refer to social life or

educational systems.

10

Gau tier gives examples of what he calls culture-bound, documentary elements

in films. Such elements can be geographical, historical, cultural and political: he

mentions architecture, tools, customs and rituals and various objects. Adding to

this he describes how films contain ideological and econom ic messages pertaining

to customs, morals, values, life-style, living standards and industrial systems.

Such culture-bound problem types are mentioned b y a number of authors, and

for the sake of clarification they may be summed up in the following typology.

Far from being exhaustive, this classification gives an idea of the sort of prob-

lems we are discussing:


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212

Perspectives: Studies in Translatology -1993: 2

occur in texts within the same language, for example in texts dealing with the

problems of a particular group of people, or in technical texts, often in need of

some kind of intralingual

12

translation or rewording to be comprehensible for

non-professionals. In textbooks on translation these problems are often mentioned

along with various methods and strategies for solving them. But before we look

at translation methods, we must look more closely into the kind of translation

which is in focus here: Subtitling.

Problems related specifically to subtitling

Subtitling

13

is a special type of language transfer: a written, condensed

translation of a predominantly spoken original.

Subtitling... consists of three interlocking parts of theoretically separate, but in practical terms,

simultaneous activities: the transfer of information from one language to another, an

abbreviation or condensation of the text; the transfer from the spoken to the written language.

The problems that apply to translation in general also, to some degree, apply

to subtitling. B ut the problems are not always of the same score, and in subtitling

there are some additional, media-related problems that must be confronted and

solved.

When dealing with problems in subtitling it is therefore important to

understand that subtitling functions, and should be jud ged , differently from

printed translations. Factors related to the type of translation and to the medium,

will affect the end result:

Table 2

Facto rs in subt i t l ing

determining the scope of translation problems

Translation type

Media-related

factors

transitory (means time/space problems)

condensed

from speech into writing

visuals

soundtrack

feed-back effect

- gestures, facial expressions

- objects, scenery

text (signs)

feed-back effect (dialogue)

-prosody

- dialect etc

- (proper) names

- the order of elements

sound effects


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Birgit Nedergaard-Larsen:Culture boundproblems in subtitling 2 1 3

Translation types

Especially when dealing with culture-bound matters, the condensation found

in subtitles can be a problem. The total dialogue is not transferred 1:1, although

select passages of dialogue may be transferred 1:1 in various parts of the film.

The condensation of subtitles is primarily due to their transitory nature:

- subtitles must be read while the film runs (limited time)

- subtitles must fit on the screen (limited space)

The time factor depends on how fast the audience is expected to read. The

greater the reading speed, the less condensation: the subtitles need no t stay on the

screen for long (allowing time for more subtitles) or more can be expressed in

each subtitle (if the two lines are not already filled out).

Much has already been written about these limiting factors and problems re-

lating to subtitling. Here we will simply state that the answer to any translation

problem in subtitling, whether culture-bound or not, will naturally be partly de-

termined by the amount of time and space available. Evidently subtitles do not

leave space for footnotes, long explanations or paraphrases. Sometimes there m ay

not be enough space even for short explanations, and in certain siuations it may

be necessary to omit some elements completely. All this is closely connected

with the choice of subtitling strategy, something that will be discussed below. On

the other hand, the fact that the translation shifts from speech to writing may in

some cases be positive. A written expression has a stronger effect than a cor-

responding spoken expression. Therefore subtitling

should

in some cases be ab-

breviated or toned down in relation to the spoken original, also when factors of

time and space do not come into play.

Media-specific factors

A film is a particularly complex art form. It has both a visual and an acoustic

channel; the image and the soundtrack. Four different types of film sign s

15

can

be isolated:

- verbal acoustic signs (dialogue)

- non-verbal acoustic signs (music, sound effects)

- verbal visual signs (written signs in the image)

- non-verbal visual signs (what is otherwise seen in the image)

Subtitles are verbal visual signs that are added to the original image without

changing the visuals or the soundtrack of the film - apart from the fact that the


9/35

2 1 4 Perspectives: Studies in Translatology -1993: 2

subtitles cover the bottom part of the screen. Precisely because subtitles are ad-

ded, the so-called feed-back effect arises. There is a feed-back effect both from

the visuals and from the soundtrack.

16

The strength of the feed-back effect from

the dialogue depends partly on the audienc e's degree of familiarity with the lan-

guage of the dialogue, partly on how closely this language is related to the lan-

guage of the audience.

Thus, the feed-back effect is due partly to the fact that the subtitles are added

while the original dialogue remains audible, partly to the fact that the visuals may

contain elem ents that supply the dialogue. Cross-cultural translation problems can

be either increased or diminished by the feed-back effect. In some situations the

subtitler will have to depart from an otherwise suitable translation strategy be-

cause of the feed-back effect. At other times the feed-back effect will reduce or

eliminate a translation problem, if for example the institution or object m entioned

is seen on the screen.

This last case illustrates the fact that there is often some degree ofredundancy

in films. This redundancy may arise due to repetitions, which are frequent in

spoken language, especially in spontaneous speech. Adding to this, redundancy

is a result of the complex nature of films. Redundancy can be found in the dia-

logue + visuals (an utterance accompanied by gestures and facial expressions) or

in dialogue + sound (an utterance accompanied by m arked prosody or sound ef-

fects).

In som e cases an utterance will be accompanied by redundancy from both

the visuals and the soundtrack at the same time. This can definitely be a positive

factor, reducing a translation problem, so that in some cases it may be quite ac-

ceptable to omit an item . One might claim that precisely the fact that there are

visuals, images that support the subtitles, can make the subtitling successful as

translation:

A literary translator has

nothing but

words to communicate a message which both in form,

content and reference to time and place is far removed from the reader he believes to be

translating for ... Compared to certain types of literature it is relatively easy to obtain a

succesfu l translation in the visual med ia, precisely due to the constraints they impose - on the

translator as well.

Evaluating subtitles

The above indicates that the translation type and the media-specific factors do

not necessarily increase the translation problem s: some factors may reduce these

problem s. Traditionally, in fact until very recently, it was supposed that subtitling

was a highly defective translation - if the label 'transla tion' was indeed dese rved.


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11/35


- Competence (possible relationships),

which is theoretical, focusing on translation strate gies.

-Norms (required relationships),which is methodical, focusing on the norm s that govern the

choice of translation strategy.

-Performance (actual relationships), which is pragmatic, focusing on an analysis of actual

' translations.

Delabastita points to the lack of systematic analysis of film translations. Often,

too much attention has been paid to the media-specific problems and limita-

tions.

23

Instead, he proposes a more profound analysis, for example along the

lines of Toury's model. In other words, we should deal theoretically with trans-

lation p roblems, suggest possible strategies, analyse specific translations and on

this basis find the implicit or explicit norms that govern the choice of translation

strategy.

In the following, translation strategies for solving culture-bound translation

problem s will be described along with those factors one must take into consider-

ation w hen choosing a strategy. Next, specific subtitling examples containing cul-

ture-bound elements will be analysed. This analysis does not pretend to be an ex -

tensive empirical analysis as proposed by Delabastita. But it w ill provide m aterial

for examining whether certain types of problems tend to lead to certain types of

strategy.

Either/or or both/and

When discussing translation strategies, it must be emphasized that it is not a

matter of the translator choosing one specific strategy to be used throughout the

book or the film. Such an

either/or-at\itad

was seen in classical discussion of

free versus literal translation. In this century this discussion has been continued

as a dispute about equivalence. As you will know, equivalence is a concept

which is widely employed and at the same time highly controversial in translation

theory. In the 1960s the American bible translator E.A . Nida set up a distinction

between

formal equivalence

(close to the source language text - faithful ) and

dynamic equivalence

or

equivalence of effect.

He himself was in favour of this

latter, rather target language-oriented type.

24

Others have operated with whole

series of equivalence types that might be used alternately in one translation pro-

cess,

for example the German scholar Otto Kade.

25

Incidentally, many scholars

have questioned whether it is at all possible to use an exact, mathematical term

like equivalence ( meaning value ) when dealing with something as inexact and

relative as translation. But regardless of whether one employs the term equiva-

lence or not, it is important to establish that a strategy cannot be selected once


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Birgit Nedergaard-Larsen: Culture-bound problems in subtitling 2 1 7

and for all. But we can establish different translation strategies to choose from

in the translation process.

Translation strategies

Many theo rists have set up translation strategies. Vinay and D arbelnet's seven

strategies are almost classics by now:

1. L'emprant (transference, loan word)

2.

Le caique (imitation)

3. La (reduction litterale (literal translation)

4 . La transposition (change in grammar)

5. La modulation (variation)

6. L'equivaJence (idiomatic equivalence)

7 .

L'adaptation (cultural adaptation)

Wh en dealing with extralinguistic, culture-bound problem s strategies 1, 2, 3

and 6 and 7 are of interest, while number 4 and 5 are particularly concerned with

grammar and syntax.

No. 1, loan or direct transfer of the source language-word, is common with

names of places, institutions and sometimes professional titles and vocative

forms:

Paris, Moulin Rouge, monsieur

are transferred verbatim.

No.

2, imitation, may be a direct transfer, but adapted to target languge, for

example professional titles or institutions:

secre taire d'Etat

-

statssekretcer

(Se-

cretary ofState)Assemblee N ationale

Nationalforsamling (NationalAssemb-

iy)-

No.

3, literal translation, can be used with names of institutions and profes-

sional titles that also exist in target language:

lycee

-

gymnasium (grammar

school) , mditre - advokat (lawyer ) .

No.

6, idiomatic equivalence or situational adaptation, can be used when trans-

lating culture-specific phenomena:

Certificat d'etudes prim aires

Folkeskole-

eksamen (General Certificate ofEducation)

This procedure can also be used

when translating phenomena that may exist in both source language and target

language but are somehow typical of one country:

cyclisme

(French)

cricket

(English) about a typical national sport.

No.7, cultural adaptation, where the idea is to find a recognized cultural paral-

lel: Eg.

laComedie-Frangaise

D et KongeligeTeater (RoyalShakespeareCom-

pany).

These categories, however, are not sufficient for solving all types of cross-cul-

tural translation problems:


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14/35


219

Strategies for culture-bound problems

The above comments serve for setting up the following diagram:

35

Table 3

Translation s trategics for culture-bound problems

Transfer/loan

Direct translation

Expl ica t ion

Paraphase

Adaptation

to TL-culture

Omission

identity/exotism

imitation

situational adaptation

cultural adaptation

la C omddie Francaise >

la Come'die Francaise

secretaire d'Etat -

statssekretar

(Secretary of State)

lycSe -> gymnasium

(grammar school)

HEC - handelsh0jskole

(Business school)

Place Beauvau -> Indenrigsministeriet

(Ministry of the Interior)

la Revolution -> den franske revolution

(the French Revolution)

1 oral

de 1'ENA ->

eksamen i statskundskab

(exam in political science)

agrege d'histoire -

cand.mag. i historie

(M . A. in History)

Rue Saint-Denis -

Halmtorvet (Soho)

Omission

The translation strategies could also be viewed in a somewhat different per-

spective. In fact we are dealing with a range of strategies moving from the totally

target language-culture-oriented to the totally source language-culture-oriented.

Instead of a box-like diagram, which is useful for the sake of clarification, the

strategies could be seen as a continuum from the complete non-translation at the

one end to total adaption at the other one, like this:


15/35


16/35


221

General considerations

Before dealing with specific problems of translating culture-bound elements,

some general considerations should be made:

Table 5

General points to consider (concerning a film or a whole TV pro-

gramme)

Genre

Loyalty

TL-audience's knowledge

fiction

fact etc

SL-author's linguistic expression

SL-author's identity

of language

of culture

of period

Importance of genre

It is often claimed that genre is decisive for the choice of translation strategy.

Visual media can be divided into genres where:

- language is central (satire, comedy, song programmes)

- people are central (portraits, drama, feature films, shows)

- events are central (news, documentaries, sports)

In feature films, the object of analysis in this article, people are central, and

therefore the translation should attach importance to those elements that describe

the speak er's personality.

36

But in many situations one does not get much real help simply by looking at

the genre. Many film s, especially feature film s may contain elements from other

genres, for instance if a person in a film watches news on TV. Besides, the m en-

tioned people are central rule-of-thumb for TV fiction, etc, is by no means a

panacea for solving all culture-based translation problems: In documentaries dia-

lect should be translated neutrally, in fiction, genres dialect, sociolect and speech

variants should be reproduced in some way. But how? And is it always neces-

sary?

Loyalty and expectations of the audience

As mentioned earlier

37

it is a moot point whether the implications of a text, its

subtext, should be made explicit. In N ewmark's opinion what is implied in fiction


17/35


should remain implied in the translation. But there is a great risk that the impli-

cations are not understood at all in the target language-culture, in a different cul-

tural context, although most people will understand them immediately in the

source language-culture. As a translator or subtitler you will therefore have to

estimate the distance between the two languages and cultures, and you will ob-

viously have to decide whether you want to be loyal to the author's exact words

or his intention.

These factors are general, and they should be considered for the subtitling of

the film as a whole. But it does not provide much help in choosing the approp-

riate strategy in each case.

Specific considerations

Several factors must be taken into consideration when you are dealing with a

specific translation problem:

Table 6

Specific points to consider:

Function

Possible connotations

TL-audience (supposition)

Visuals /sounds

(redundacy/feed-back effect)

Speech - writing

(intensified effect)

Media-related limitations

description of characters

creation of ambience (local colour etc)

relevance for plot

necessary for comprehension

unnecessary for comprehension

will immediately comprehend

will need an explanation

- will not understand

- will easily misunderstand

promote comprehension (redundancy)

present a separate problem

in case of 1:1 representation

if euphemisms are indiscriminately explified

lack of space

lack of time

Function

The first point to consider is the function of an element. Does it describe a

character, create ambience, or is it directly relevant to the plot? Where a charac-


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Birgit Nedergaard-Larsen:

Culture bound

problems in subtitling 2 2 3

ter has already been amply described by means of other elements, this could be

an argum ent for leaving out the element altogether if time and space are limited

and comprehension not adversely affected. However, if the culture-bound element

is important for the plot structure, it should obviously not be omitted, and it may

be necessary to explicitate.

Connotations

Conn otations - secondary m eanings or associations of particular n ames, events

etc. - are often specific to one culture and present a special problem. In many

cases such connotations are vital for comprehension, but it is often difficult to in-

clude them in a subtitle. The subtitler w ill have to judg e whether the exp licitation

of such culture-related connotations is important for the description of a char-

acter, the plot structure or the understanding of the context.

Audience

In general, each element will have to be considered individually as to w hether

it will easily be understood by the target language-audience or if there is a need

to explicify. Th is cannot be decided once and for all according to an estimate

of the distance between the two languages and cultures. Certain culture-bound

elements will be generally known abroad (for instance

Sorbonne)

and can be

transferred directly. Others will presumably be unknown (such as

HEQ

and

should be made explicit or paraphrased, as they may otherwise confuse the

audience.

The media-specific aspect

Finally the media-specific aspect should be taken into consideration. Is there

a case of redundancy? Even if the culture-bound element cannot be understood

in isolation, the meaning of it may appear from the context. It may be evident in

the situation, there may be redundancy in the dialogue, or there may be a positive

feed-back effect, rendering further explanations superfluous.

Judging chosen strategies

Thus, when choosing or judging strategies, both general and specific points

must be considered.

In fact, many of these considerations and choices are probably made intuitively


19/35


by the subtitler. But it may still be useful to clarify what to consider when faced

with different problems, which can be of great help when analysing existing sub -

titles. If the rendering of dialogue representing a particular culture-bound problem

is successful, it may be because the subtitler - consciously or intuitively - has

chosen a good strategy. Conversely, when faced w ith a rende ring which does not

seem optimal it is easier to find the parametres that should have been taken into

account by the subtitler. I will discuss this in detail below.

Analysis of specific exam ples

An analysis of some specific exam ples will give an impression of how culture-

bound elements in feature films can be translated. In the following, some exam-

ples,found in four French films, are examined.

38

Prior to the detailed an alysis of

specific examples some general comments on these four films - all recent French

feature films - are require d.

Most examples are taken from

L'homme de pouvoir

from 1985. The film is

set in contemporary Paris and the protagonist is a politician, a former minister

who belongs to th e bourgeoisie. There are several referenc es to the Algerian War,

for obvious reasons much m ore familiar to the French than to a D anish audience.

As a supplement, examples have been taken from

Mon oncle d'Amerique

(1980),

Le 4eme pouvoir

(1985) and

Le dernier metro

(1980). Of these, the first two

films take place in the present time. The last film takes place in 1942 in Paris

during the German occupation, but as World War II is a favourite topic both in

films and novels, the period should not cause Danish viewers much trouble. The

examples have been arranged according to the choice of strategy, so that each

strategy is illustrated with one or more typical examples.

Transfer (identity/exotism)

Example 1 (Mon oncle d'Amerique)

Dialo gue: Janine Gam ier, nee a Paris le 13 Janvier 1948 dans le vingtieme arrondissement.

Subtitle: Janine Gam ier, f0dt 13.1.1948 // i 20.arrondissement,Paris.

[Janine Gamier, bom 13.1.1948 in the 20th arrondissement,Paris).

Problem type: geography (Parisian arrondissement). Only this one word has

been directly transferred. Vingtieme is obviously translated to

20 .

The indication

of the arrondissement is part of the characterisation of the person and her social

class. The characterisation is quite explicit in this example where a narrator de-

scribes the protagonists' background. Genre-wise the style is similar to a docu-


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2 2 5

mentary portrait in this part of the film, but the three main characters

ar e

fictit-

ious.

The difference between growing up in, for instance, the 16th and the 20th ar-

rondissement is probably not evident to most Danes, unless it is in some way

made explicit. In this case, the feed-back effect compensates for the immediate

lack of un derstanding. We see a backyard and the mother working at her sewing

machine. We are told that the father works in a factory and that they are com-

munists, so the working-class background is obvious even if you do not know

that the 20th arrondissement is a working- class neighbourhood. The chosen so-

lution has the advantage of retaining a certain local colour.

Alternative strategies

'Exploitation' (for example working-class neighbourhood in Paris). This

strategy lacks local colour and is unnecessary because of the feed-back effect

Example 2 (Le dernier metro)

Dialogue: Nadine Marsac, elle est a mon avis le meilleur 61eve du

Cours Simon.

Subtitle: Nadine Mar sac, den bedste // elev fra

Cours Simon.

[Nadine Mar sac the best student at

Cours Simon)

Problem type: cultural life (name of drama school). The name of the school,

the fact that the person - a young actress, and a subsidiary character in the film -

is from precisely this school, is part of her characterisation. Also, it adds local

colour. It is not relevant for the plot.

The name

Cours Simon

will not mean anything to the Danish audience. How-

ever, it appears from the context that it must be a drama school, so there is no

immediate need for an explanation. But the fact that it is a school of particular

fame, founded and directed by Rene Simon from la Come'die-Francaise in 1925,

will not be conveyed in any way to the Danes. So, certain connotations are lost


'Explication' (for instance: Nadine Marsac, best student at the renowned

Cours Simon). This solution is probably too long, and in any case a bit

portentous in style compared to the matter-of-fact original.

There are many other examples of 'identity' where names are given without

any kind of adaptation. This is the case with most names of towns, streets,

theatres, night-clubs etc. For example

La Joconde

(night-club),

Grand Guignol

and

Theatre Hebertot

in

Le dernier metro,

and

Pare Monceau

(name of a park ).


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2 2 6


carrefour

Messine-Haussmann

(names of two streets: avenue de Messine and

Boulevard Haussmann) in

Le 4eme pouvoir.

In these cases, as well as in many

others, the name is transferred verbatim, and what the name refers to is

self-

evident So there is no reason for a closer examination of such examples.

Transfer (imitation)

Example 3 (L'homme de pouvoir)

Dialogue: Tu domes un coup de pied dans la buvette de

I'Assemblie Nationale,

il en tombe

cinquante.

Subtitle: Pr0v baren i Nationalforsamlingen. IIDer er mindst 50.

[Try the bar at the

National Assembly.

There a re at least 50.]

Problem type: name of parliament. Typical example of 'imitation* of concep-

tions or institutions that exist in Denmark, but have a different nam e. The exam -

ple has no great importance for characterisation or plot, but ob viously add s a cer-

tain amount of local colour.


'Identity'

(L'Assemblee Nationale),

'explicitation' (the French parliament) or

'Cultural adaptation'

(Parliament

for

L'Assem blee Nationale)

or

The Parliament

Refreshment Room

for the whole expression

la buvette de I'Assemblee N ationale).

L'Assemblee Nationale

(identity) is rather exotic. An imitation has the advantage

of retaining local colour w ithout seeming unduly exo tic.

The French parliament

is an unnecessary explicitation. The two last solutions are, as all cultural

adaptations, easily comprehensible but nevertheless highly questionable.

39


Dialogue: N'est-ce pas, monseiur le

secretaired Etat?

Subtitle: Ddce sandt, hr. Statssekretsr? (Isn't it, Mr State Secretary?)

Problem type: politics (administrative title). The problem in this exam ple lies

in the fact that a

s ecretaire d'Etat

in France is a minister of a lower rank than

a

ministre.

When the protagonist uses

m onsieur le secretaire d'Etat

it is probably

meant as a politely disguised impertinence, and it tells us something about the

relation between these two persons. Later in the film the same person is titulated

mon sieur le ministre

by one of his less reticent fellow party mem bers. S o, certain

connotations are lost on the Danish audience, but the cool, restrained relationship

between the two persons is evident from the context; partly from the whole situ-

ation, partly from the dialogue, and partly from the visuals that show us their


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2 2 8



'Identity'

(Fleury-Merogis).

Most foreigners would not understand what this

item of information was about.

Example 8 (Le 4eme pouvoir)

Dialogue: Est-ce pour assurer l'avenir de ce contrat que la France foumit des armes au FLNRS,

c'est-a-dire a la rebellion?

Subtitle: Ger Frankrike

geriltarOrelsen FLNRS

vapen for at sakra kontraktet?

[Is France supplying the guerilla movement FUV/JSwiih weapons to safeguard the

contract?]

Problem typ e: Politics (political mov ement). Very few Danes (or Swedes) will

immediately understand what this refers to. Here an 'explicitation* plus a 'trans -

fer' is used. This strategy is only applicable when time and space allows. It has

the advantage of providing an explanation while retaining the local colour. One

might object to the lack of idiomaticity, but in this case, where the name is di-

rectly relevant to the plot, it is a good solution. Also it permits the omission of

the last part of the sentence.


'Identity'

(FLRNS).

The meaning would most likely be lost on Scandinavians.


Dialogue: Lui pourtant, il estiest aI'Ecole Alsaciennejusqu'au bachot.

Subtitle: Han gik ellers selv i privatskole, II til nan blev student

[He went to a private school himself, right up to his A-Ievels.]

Problem type: name of a school with certain connotations. Another example

of an 'explicitation' that goes from the culturally specific to the general level.

The example is part of a characterisation; it was definitely not just any old school

the protagonist went to. The special connotations of I'Ecole Alsacienne are not

really conveyed, but

privatskole

does give associations of privilege, also in

Danish. The example demonstrates that both the denotation of the element and

the connotations of it can present problems.


'Identity'

{I'Ecole Alsacienne).

The connotations w ould probably be lost, and

many people may not even understand that the name refers to a school.


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Birgit Nedergaard-Larsen: Culture-bound problems in subtitling 2 2 9


Dialog ue: A partir de quinze heures, vous avez plusieurs rendez-vous rue de Bellechasse.

Subtitle: Fra kl. 15 // flere m0der i ministerieL

[From 3 pm several meetings at the Ministry.]

Problem type: street name referring to a ministry. The whole sequence is in fact

part of a characterisation because we are given information related to the profes-

sional functions of the protagonist. The street name itself does not mean anything

for either chacterisation or plot, but it gives local colour. The example demon-

strates the way names of streets or buildings are often used to indicate the insti-

tution which is housed there. Even if we do the same in Danish

(Christiansborg

for

Folketinget)

such references can be difficult to understand for foreigners.

Later in the same film

Place Beauveau

is used to indicate the M inistry of the

Interior. Here, the function is also made explicit rather than just using a name

which means nothing to a Danish audience. In this case the explicitation is quite

necessary, because the element is relevant to the plot.


'Identity'

{rue de Bellechasse).

There is a risk that the target langu age-

audience will not understand what the name refers to.

'Transfer/explicitation'

(the Ministry in rue de Bellechasse ).

This may well be

a better solution because both comprehension and local colour are included. But

it is ruled out by the time and space factors.

Paraphrase

Example 1 1 (L'homme de pouvoir)

Dialogue: On n'est pas a Voral de VENA.

Subtitle: Vi er ikke // lil eksamen i statskundskab.

[This is not an

oral exam in political science].

Problem type: Acronym for an educational institution with special status in

France. Solution: A paraphrase containing an explicitation. This means a certain

loss both of information (the connotations of ENA) and of local colour. The part-

icular name ENA is not relevant to the plot, but it adds some local colour. It

could be relevant to the characterisation, in that we may assume that the speaker

went to the ENA or that the person he speaks to teaches there, but we are not

told this directly.


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230 Perspectives:StudiesinTranslatology 1993: 2


'Identity'

(oral exam at ENA).

The situation would probably be clear; that the

speaker is angry at his advisor because he feels that he is being treated like an

immature student at an exam. But what ENA is, and stands fo r, would not come

across.

'Explicitation' of the acronym (exam at the Ecole Nationale de 1'Administra-

tion).This solution appears somewhat long-winded, and the connotations are still

not clarified.


Dialogue: Us veulent qu'apres ce soir-ci vous ne poussiez plus vbus presenter a la moindre

Election. MSme comme conseiller municipal

au fin fond de la Creuse.

Subtitle : Man 0 nsker, at De fra nu af ikke // kan opstille til nogen form for valg. Dcke engan g

som byradsmedlem i

en fjern afkrog.

[You are not to run for any election again. Not even for the town council

in the

remotest backwater.]

Problem type: geographical name (an area in F rance). Here,

la Creuse

is used

as an example of something really rural, far from the capital. The example is di-

rectly relevant to the plot. It is important that the audience understands exactly

what is meant. Hence the 'explicitating paraphrase'.


'Transfer'

(deep down in la Creuse).

It would not really mean anything to a

Danish audience. They might not understand that the name was used as a meta-

phor for the provinces in general and might think that it was especially in

la

Creuse

he would not be considered for election.

Situational adaptation


Dialogue: Lycee. Ecole Normale Supfiriore.Agriged histoire.Professeur dans un lycee parisien.

Subtitle: Cand.mag. i historic. IIUnderviser pa gymnasium i Paris.

(M.A.

in

History.

Teaches at a Parisian grammar school.)

Problem type: university degrees. The example characterises a person. It is an

efficient solution, where a French university degree is replaced by a similar and

well-known Danish title. But perhaps efficiency is attained at the cost of credi-

bility. Time is very limited in this passage, where the dialogue is very fast and

frequent cuts require consideration.


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Birgit Nedergaard-Larsen: Cu lture-bound problems in subtitling 2 3 1


Dialogue: Ecole libre. Action catbolique. Certificat d'etudes primaires.

Sub title: Aktiv i katolsk bevaegelse.Folkeskole-eksamen.

[Active in the Catholic movement. General Certificate of Education.]

Problem type: name of an exam. The example characterises a person, and the

problem is parallel to the one in example 13.

Cultural adaptation

Example 15 (Le dernier metro)

Dialogue: Des re'pe'titrices comme vous cherchez, vous en trouverez tant que vous en voulez...rue

Saint-Denis.

Subt itle: Den hjaelp De er ude efter, skaffer De Dem le t... //. .. p5Halmtorvet.

[The help you need, you'll easily find ... // in Soho]

Problem type: street name with certain connotations. This strategy is very

efficient, since most Danes will immediately understand what they are talking

about. Th e dialogue characterises the p ersons, it tells us something about the rela-

tionship between the speakers, but the French setting is unmistakeable. Th us, the

Soho type solution , as all cultural adaptations, creates a credibility problem.


'Transfer' (in

rue

Saint-Denis).

Th ere is a risk that Danes will not get the right

associations. There is no help in the visual side, but the situation itself might

point in the right direction.

'Transfer' plus 'explicitation'

(with the girls in rue Saint-Denis).

The local

colour is preserved and the audience gets an explanation. But this solution is too

verbose.

'Explicitation' of function

(red-light district).

This does not leave any doubt

either, and credibility is preserved. But it is devoid of local colour.

Omission


Dialogue: J'ai pris des renseignemens au RG .

Subti tle: Jeg har skaffet oplysninger.

[I have procured information.]

Problem type: name of a register (Renseignements Ge'ne'raux). It has been

omitted for lack of space. It is not important for plot or characterisation, but adds

a certain local colour.


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Birgit Nedergaard-Larsen:

Culture bound

problems in subtitling

2 3 3

Expectations of audience comprehension

The 'id entity ', 'imitation' and 'direct transfer' strategies are used especially

when one does not expect the target language-audience to require an explanation.

Conversely, 'explicitation', 'paraphrase' or 'adaptation' are used in most

40

situa-

tions when the target language-audience requires an explanation.

Media-related factors

There were not many exam ples of the feed-back effect affecting the choice of

strategy. The most obvious is example 1. In the two examples of 'om ission' (16

and 17) there was a certain redun danc y, so that the m eaning came across in spite

of the omissions.

Lack of time and space, which are the factors most frequently mentioned in

relation to subtitling, were, on the whole, of minor importance. In two cases an

element was omitted (16 and 17) but without loss of meaning, and in one case

(10) the optimal strategy was opted out to save time.

Based on the above it seems that it would be difficult to give exact guidelines

for the selection of strategies. It appears that in each case the specific factors

must be weighed against one another, resulting in a flexible, ad hoc subtitling

practice. But there are some other points to consider in relation to the various

strategies.

Subtitles must be idiomatic ('explicitation')

When choosing a subtitling strategy it must be borne in mind that subtitles

should preferably be idiomatic, since they represent oral statements, although they

appear as written text segments. This presents something of a problem in the case

of explicitation, especially combined with a direct representation of the culture-

bound element. This is seen in example 11

(FLNRS

-

guerillarorelsen

FLNRS).

It appears somewhat heavy and leamer-language-like. In this case the information

was directly relevant to the plot, which speaks in favour of this choice of

strategy. But explicitation should be avoided in cases where it is merely a matter

of preserving local colour.

Another problem regarding explicitation is the feed-back effect from the

soundtrack. Often the audience will understand proper names even if they are not

very familiar with source language. But generally, if an explanation is required,

this should be given higher priority than any problems with the feed-back effect.


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2 3 6

Perspectives : Studies in Translatolo gy -1993: 2

(ascribed to the individual translator) and what is norm-governed (that is fol-

lowing a particular pattern). Among norm-governed factors he mentions genre

(text type), special target language-target group considerations and the open

versus closed nature of the target language-culture towards other cultures.

As described above, there is a certain amount of scope for free variations in

the estimate of the explanations required by the target group. In many situations

subtitlers w ill probably make more or less similar judgem ents, but there will also

be cases of dissimilarity.

Regarding the tendency only to explicify or paraphrase when there is a need

for it one would imagine that this tendency exists in Denmark (or Sweden) re-

gardless of which country/culture the film com es from. There would probably b e

differences in the distribution of the various strategies, but this is due to the fact

that some languages/cultures are more foreign to Danes than others and therefore

need more exploitations. But naturally, a documentation of this assumption

would demand an extensive empirical study.

Another equally interesting aspect would be the study of strategies chosen in

other cou ntries. Are there substantial differences between the large dubbing coun-

tries and the small subtitling countries? Or are there differences within the group

of subtitling countries?

All this is related to the open/closed nature of the target language-culture

towards other cultures. The choices that are made according to this openness or

closedness towards others are probably not made consciously, but presumably in

accordance with the norms that count in other areas of one's culture. This con-

nection to other systems is a central point in the theory of polysystems put for-

ward by the Manipulation School :

Thus our orientation implies that the study of film translation - and any other form of trans-

lation - is necessarily part of the larger project of the analysis of the polysystem of culture

as a whole. '

Thus,

the preference for using 'identity' or 'imitation' in order to retain some

local colour, when this does not give rise to problems of comprehension, might

well be norm-governed and valid in other parts of our culture. But it may also

be caused by the feed-back effect, and by a tendency (also possibly norm-gov-

erned) to avoid changes, particularly of names, in relation to the dialogue. But

a comparison with strategies in dealing with similar culture-bound elements in

e.g. literary translations would be necessary for establishing whether this

tendency is more marked in film subtitling.


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2 3 8


audio-visual translation even reduce the problems.

There are a series of strategies available to the subtitler for solving extralin-

guistic culture-bound translation problems, ranging from verbatim transfer of

source language elements via culturally neutral exploitations or paraphrases to

target language adaptation. There are a number of factors to consider before se-

lecting a strategy, or evaluating the strategies that have been followed, intuitively

or con sciously, in actual subtitlings of films.

First there are some general points to consider related to the film as a whole,

regarding g enre, loyalty towards the original and what to expect of its new audi-

ence. Subsequently, and especially, there are specific po ints to consider regarding

the various problem s related to the function of the culture-bound element, its

connotations, the audience's expected ability to comprehend, as well as media-

specific factors such as redundancy and feed-back effect.

The analysis of specific exam ples showed a tendency, possibly norm-governed,

to retain the local colour of the film and to remain faithful to the source language

when this did not cause problems of comprehension. But a strategy must definite-

ly be selected in each individual case. It must be particularly borne in mind that

the subtitles should sound right , since they represen t spoken language. The

result m ust be credible. This makes the use of very target language-specific con-

cepts, especially names, problematic.

To sum up, it can be concluded from the above, that, generally speaking, it is

feasible to transfer culture-bound elements from French feature films in such a

way that they are made accessible to a Scandinavian audience.

Notes

1.

Problems referring to the surrounding reality (as compared to intralinguistic or language-related

problem s, that arise due to differences in language systems and usage). This w ill be discussed on

the following pages.

2. Benjamin Whorf 1956: 252.

3. See Mounin 1963Les Problems therique de la traduction,analysed in Pedersen 1987: 83-86.

4. Hatim & Mason 1990: 3.

5. Hatim & M ason 1990: 223.

6. Snell-Hornby 1988: 52.

7 .

Snell-Hornby 1988: 52.

8. Vinay & Darbelnet 1977: 20.

9. Vinay & Darbelnet 1977: 259.

10. Vinay & Darbelnet 1977: 261-265.

11 . Gautier 1981: 111-112.


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