Тема: Transfer of American linguistic and cultural features in audiovisual translation (based on American cartoons)

Due to the dominant position of American cartoons in domestic cinemas, the issue of their adequate translation for the mass audience arises. In the process of translation, two different cultures collide, and the translator faces a double task: not only to prevent semantic, logical and linguistic mistakes, but also to preserve the lingual and cultural features of the original in the translation.
The relevance of our research lies in the fact that studies in the field of audiovisual translation, in particular dubbing of foreign-language animated products, are few and have only begun to appear in recent decades. Cartoon is a relatively young genre of film art, but its sign nature allows us to identify and analyze the culturally specific features of this linguistic and cultural and sociolinguistic phenomenon, known for its age universality, global spread and breadth of impact on the conceptual and linguistic picture of the world of recipients.
The scientific novelty of the study is that this research allows us to contribute to the development of audiovisual translation of cartoons and translation of lingual and cultural features. We have also proposed a classification of linguistic representation of linguistic and cultural information.
The object of this study is linguistic and cultural features in cartoons Madagascar (DreamWorks Pictures), Madagascar: Escape Africa (DreamWorks Pictures), the subject of the research is the features of the transfer of linguistic and cultural features in cartoons Madagascar (DreamWorks Pictures), Madagascar 2: Escape Africa (DreamWorks Pictures).
The goal of this research is to study and describe the features of representation of linguistic and cultural features in the process of audiovisual translation of cartoons.
The above goal determines the formulation and achievements of the following specific objectives:
1. To characterize the concepts of “audiovisual translation”, “linguistic and cultural features”, “cartoons”;
2. To identify the main translation strategies used to transfer linguistic and cultural features in the process of audiovisual translation, to identify translation techniques used.
3. To determine the components of the linguistic units classification containing linguistic and cultural information for its further use in the course of analyzing cartoons;
4. To identify language units with linguistic and cultural component in cartoons;
5. To describe the ways of transfer linguistic and cultural information in cartoons at all linguistic levels in the process of audiovisual translation.
In accordance with the goal and objectives, the main methods of research are: theoretical analysis, continuous sampling method, a comparative and contrastive analysis of practical material, component analysis method, contextual analysis method, method of linguistic and stylistic analysis, method of linguistic and cultural analysis.
The theoretical basis of the study was the scientific works of leading Russian and foreign scientists who consider the following phenomena and concepts significant for this research: animated translation (V.E. Gorshkova, R.A. Matasov), audiovisual translation (A. V. Kozulyaev, K.E. Kostrov, E.D. Malyonova, M.V. Savko, S.L. Yakovleva, H.D. Cintas), cartoon as a culture phenomenon (M.A. Eletskaya, N.G. Krivulya, A.F. Laletina, E.G. Neshkova, M.N. Khramova, M.O. Yunusova), national and cultural specificity of linguistic units (E.F. Arsentieva, E.P. Semyonova), foreignization and domestication (P. Newmark, E. Nida, L. Venuti), translation strategy (N. K. Garbovsky, V.M. Ilyukhin), translation transformation (E. Vulpia), scopos theory (E. Prunch), translation of cultural realities (S. I. Vlakhov, G.D. Tomakhin, S.P. Florin), semiotics (Y.M. Lotman)...
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Audiovisual dubbed translation (AVT) of cartoons at the present stage is a complex and creative process that requires from the translator not only a high level of professionalism, various competencies and background knowledge, but also an understanding of a huge number of AVT factors and extra-linguistic features that affect the quality of the final translation product.
In the theoretical chapter we considered the concept of audiovisual translation (AVT), the specificity of AVT in comparison with other types of translation activities, types of AVT, the meaning and impact of AVT. In addition, we clarified the concept of cartoon, its role in the translation of national-cultural information, the features and functions of cartoon, as well as possible difficulties in working on the translation of audiovisual texts, which are cartoons.
In the first chapter, we studied the translation directions (domestication and foreignization) and the translation techniques characteristic of each of these strategies.
In the practical part of our research, we analyzed the national-cultural features of dubbed translation on the example of Dreamworks Animation's cartoons “Madagascar” and “Madagascar 2: Escape Africa”. These cartoons were considered as a material for identifying in them language units with national-cultural information, which we distributed across all levels of the language system, in accordance with the made classification. Each of the selected culturally marked units was given a translation signaling the use of domestication or foreignization.
A total of 202 culturally specific language units were found. The results of the study showed that domestication was the dominant direction, as about two thirds of all examples were translated using techniques characteristic of this strategy. Among the possible reasons for this choice, we can name age limitations of the children's audience, possible lack of background knowledge of the viewers, unwillingness to “overload” the cartoon with unnecessary cultural information, lack of translation creativity, difference in the structure of the original and target languages, and features of the audiovisual series.
The semantic transfer of linguistic and cultural information in a cartoon in audiovisual translation will be successful if the translator is guided by the principles of skopos theory, but it is inappropriate to consider the balance between domestication and foreignization as the main translation strategies, because everything depends on the specific audiovisual text.
The animated movie “Madagascar” is a great example of quality work of Russian translators and dubbing actors. Not a single original joke was lost in the adaptation into Russian. All puns were also transferred and translated. However, a significant part of culturally significant linguistic elements was adapted to convey the general meaning rather than to preserve the original national-cultural “colouring” of the audiovisual work.
In the course of analysing the originals and translations of cartoons, we found that the most frequently successfully used translation strategy was domestication and contextual substitution, this choice is due to the fact that audiovisual translators tried to bring the viewer closer to the cartoon by adapting it to the audience.
The following techniques have been used to convey intertextual inclusions: from literal translation to contextual substitution. The considered examples have shown that it is the last method that copes with the task best, which allows preserving both semantic and stylistic function of inclusion.
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