This BA thesis is a quantitative research on the micro- and macrostrategies used in the Dutch and Flemish song translations of the movie Tangled (2010) to determine whether the translators were...Show moreThis BA thesis is a quantitative research on the micro- and macrostrategies used in the Dutch and Flemish song translations of the movie Tangled (2010) to determine whether the translators were more source-oriented or target-oriented. Quantitative research based on Schjoldager‘s et.al (2008) theory of micro- and macrostrategies has been done on three songs. It was determined that the Dutch translator was more target-oriented, while the Flemish translator was more source-oriented. Furthermore, it was determined that further research should be done on other Dutch and Flemish song translations to give a conclusively give an answer to the question whether this is a general statement about Dutch and Flemish song translators.Show less
There exists a significant amount of research on translation strategies regarding the subtitling of humour and wordplay. However, the translation of eggcorns, malapropisms, and other types of...Show moreThere exists a significant amount of research on translation strategies regarding the subtitling of humour and wordplay. However, the translation of eggcorns, malapropisms, and other types of linguistic blunders have been largely ignored. This thesis attempts to fill this research gap by investigating the translation strategies used for linguistic blunders, or ‘Rickyisms’, in the Dutch subtitles of the Netflix mockumentary Trailer Park Boys. The strategies omission, literal translation, and retention, which occur in taxonomies of existing research were identified. A high rate of omission (64.4%) indicates a significant loss of Rickyisms and humour for the following reasons: no suitable Dutch equivalent (21.5%), temporal/spatial restrictions (15.4%), and grammatical errors (33.8%). Additionally, an overlap between temporal/spatial restrictions and grammatical errors (13.8%) and some omissions which are unjustified (15.4%) were identified. A new two-phase model for the strategies where the Rickyism is retained has been developed. Phase one pertains to the translation of the phrase as if it were correct and phase two pertains to the translation of the error. This resulted in the categories Literal-Literal (58.3%), Literal-Substitution (13.9%), and Substitution-Substitution (27.8%). This first strategy seems to be the preferred one when the linguistic properties of the source and target language permit it. Substitution in phase two includes numerous different shifts in terms of type of error.Show less
In subtitles, swear words are often toned down, neutralized or omitted because of spatio- temporal constraints. This thesis analyzes how the offensive language is subtitled in season one of The IT...Show moreIn subtitles, swear words are often toned down, neutralized or omitted because of spatio- temporal constraints. This thesis analyzes how the offensive language is subtitled in season one of The IT Crowd by using an adapted version of translation strategies for offensive language taken from Ávila-Cabrera’s In An Account of the Subtitling of Offensive and Taboo Language in Tarantino’s Screenplays. For large part of the offensive language in The IT Crowd, substitution has been used, which means swear words are indeed often neutralized, but not necessarily omitted or toned down. In 2016, Ofcom published an article in which they used their own categorization of offensive language, and rated taboo words ‘mild’, ‘medium’, ‘strong’ and ‘strongest’. Participants of their research indicated that context was essential to them in assessing the acceptability of any potentially offensive language on television, but to what extent context could have an influence on the offensiveness of taboo words was never clarified. By using an online survey, it was assessed that context is indeed an important factor in deciding how offensive a taboo word is, as words placed in sentences with an aggressive tone were deemed to be much more offensive that those same taboo words placed in a humoristic setting.Show less
The Dutch television programme Langs de Oevers van de Yangtze (“Alongside the Yangtze Shores”; 2016) was a great success in the Netherlands with a million viewers weekly and a nomination for two...Show moreThe Dutch television programme Langs de Oevers van de Yangtze (“Alongside the Yangtze Shores”; 2016) was a great success in the Netherlands with a million viewers weekly and a nomination for two Dutch television awards (Lips, 2018). The programme concerns Chinese modern lifestyle and it is spoken in both Dutch and Chinese, the latter being subtitled in Dutch. Since this programme has a focus on Chinese culture, it is relevant for the audience to have a full grasp of the meaning of the Extralinguistic Cultural References (ECRs). Preliminary academic research has shown a gap in the study of both written and subtitled translation of ECRs from Chinese into a Germanic language. The aim of this research is therefore to investigate which translation strategies were used for the translation of cultural references in the subtitles of Langs de Oevers van de Yangtze. All the ECRs in the program have been categorized based on the taxonomy of ECRs provided by Nedergaard-Larsen (1993) and the translation strategy for each ECR has been determined according to Pedersen’s taxonomy for ECRs in subtitles (2011). The results showed that for the categories geography, society and culture, most of the used translation strategies are source-oriented, whereas for the history category both source-oriented strategies and target-oriented strategies are used the same number of times. For the categories society and culture the most used strategy is direct translation. Direct translation is also the most used strategy in the category history along with the translation strategy generalization. For the category geography, the most used translation strategy is retention. In addition, the results showed that the subtitler also uses the Dutch commentary as a strategy in translating ECRs.Show less
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the novel which Lewis Carroll initially wrote for Alice Liddell, was published in 1865 and became one of the most iconic children’s books of all time. It has been...Show moreAlice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the novel which Lewis Carroll initially wrote for Alice Liddell, was published in 1865 and became one of the most iconic children’s books of all time. It has been translated and retranslated many times into many languages, including Dutch. This thesis will explore the differences and similarities of the translation of puns in two translations of AiW into Dutch, namely the first complete one by Kossmann & Reedijk (1947) and a recent one by Matsier (2016). Puns are described by Low (59) as a kind of wordplay that exploits the ambiguity of a specific language, usually with humorous intent. Although retranslations of puns in AiW in other languages have been discussed, there has not been a case study on Dutch retranslations of AiW. This thesis aims to assess what translation methods the translators used to deal with the difficulties of translating puns and what differences and similarities there are between the two translations. The discussion will also focus on whether the translations meet Weaver’s criteria for maintaining the dual nature of AiW and Low’s criteria for retaining the same type of humor in translation. The puns in the ST have been identified using Nash’s (1985) categorization of puns and the translator’s used methods have been identified using Delebastita’s (1997) typology of translation methods for puns. The types of puns in the ST and their TT counterparts have been analyzed, and the translation methods have been determined. After presenting both an overview of the methods and types of puns used in both translations, the analysis concludes with an in-depth analysis of several puns. The types of puns in the ST and TTs have been compared to see whether they have stayed true to the distribution of types of puns in the ST. The hypotheses are that both translators will have tried to translate each pun into a pun or other humoristic element in Dutch, that the older translation follows the ST more closely, and that the more recent translation is more adapted to be read by children.Show less
