The present study addresses the translation of metaphors in dubbed song translation and presents a comparative analysis of eight songs from eight Disney movies along with the Dutch translations of...Show moreThe present study addresses the translation of metaphors in dubbed song translation and presents a comparative analysis of eight songs from eight Disney movies along with the Dutch translations of the dubbed version of these movies. The metaphoric units in the lyrics were analyzed using Steen et al.’s (2010) Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije Universiteit, or MIPVU, a refined and extended version of the Pragglejaz Group’s (2007) Metaphor Identification Procedure, or MIP. After analyzing the songs, it was found that the metaphoric units in the translated songs were mostly deleted or explicitized, and that only a small number of metaphors were transferred from the ST to the TT. The study revealed that the visuals of the movies and the constraints of song translation often limited the translators in their translation of the metaphoric units that occurred in the English songs.Show less
This thesis studied the translation of the Scots dialect according to a model provided by Pinto (2009) for two types of translations: Annemarie Lodewijk’s Dutch translation of Diana Gabaldon’s...Show moreThis thesis studied the translation of the Scots dialect according to a model provided by Pinto (2009) for two types of translations: Annemarie Lodewijk’s Dutch translation of Diana Gabaldon’s novel Outlander (ST1), De Reiziger (TT1), and the Dutch subtitles (TT2) of the Outlander DVD (Starz, 2014-) (ST2), which is the first season of ST1’s adaptation on television. In addition, it was studied how the differences in the procedures adopted by the translators have affected characterisation and character relationships. A final aspect of this thesis’ research is the inclusion of one of the translators’ views and approach to dialect translation. Based on the results of this study, it was found that the main procedure adopted in both translations is the use of only a standard variety of language, followed by omission, and finally the direct import of dialect vocabulary. As a result of the first two procedures, there is a major loss of meaning and characterisation in the translation. However, this loss is compensated in TT1 mostly through the inclusion of dialect vocabulary and in TT2 through other visual and audible means that result from ST2 and TT2 being perceived simultaneously. Finally, it is the translator of TT1’s view that there is no way of including ST dialect in the translation without making the translation incomprehensible. However, second languages in translations can be retained, and depending on the knowledge of the TT audience, the translator is allowed to retain some lexical instances of dialect in the translation.Show less
Subtitlers often find themselves choosing between adhering to subtitling constraints and improving the target audience's understanding of the source material. In other words, they make choices...Show moreSubtitlers often find themselves choosing between adhering to subtitling constraints and improving the target audience's understanding of the source material. In other words, they make choices between condensation and accessibility. This thesis examines how references to political discourse are translated in Netflix's series House of Cards, from English to Dutch. These references were categorized by using a translation taxonomy (Pedersen, 2005/2011). This categorization process demonstrated how the Official Equivalent translation strategy can be problematic, and a tendency to choose (cultural) accessibility over condensation in general.Show less
This BA thesis considers the difficulties of assessing translated song texts, as there are few theories suitable for the assessment of this type of translation. Three Dutch translations from the...Show moreThis BA thesis considers the difficulties of assessing translated song texts, as there are few theories suitable for the assessment of this type of translation. Three Dutch translations from the musical All Shook Up were compared to the original English musical lyrics using Peter Low’s Pentathlon Principle. Based on this Principle, it was concluded that most lines develop problems in several of the categories at once, meaning that there is not one specific category in the Dutch translations that is most problematic. Furthermore, it was concluded that the Pentathlon Principle can be useful in the assessment of existing song translations as it provides a clear understanding of which category is flawed. However, it has not become clear how to properly apply the Pentathlon Principle in practice.Show less
Since the field’s inception, the most common method of translation within philology has been the word-for-word, “literal” method of translation. Word-for-word translations have no regard at all for...Show moreSince the field’s inception, the most common method of translation within philology has been the word-for-word, “literal” method of translation. Word-for-word translations have no regard at all for the stylistic features of the source text, and these are therefore largely lost. For a text which relies heavily on stylistic features, such as poetry, this means that a word-for-word translation can actually be an impediment to a full appreciation of the text. Philology and its translation methods originated in the nineteenth century, but more recently, starting from around the 60s and 70s of the twentieth century, the field of translation studies has given rise to alternative ways of thinking about translation. Translation theory has concerned itself with such matters as how best to maintain stylistic features and which word choice might be the most appropriate given the text as a whole. Thus, it seems that there is an opportunity here for a productive cooperation between philology and translation studies. This thesis summarises translation theory which is relevant to the translation of Old English poetry, and directly demonstrates the relevance of translation theory to philology by putting it into practice in the translation of the Old English poem, Deor.Show less
This thesis identifies a gap in existing research and reflects on the position of translations, comics, graphic novels and classics in the literary canon. By taking Homer's Odyssey as an example,...Show moreThis thesis identifies a gap in existing research and reflects on the position of translations, comics, graphic novels and classics in the literary canon. By taking Homer's Odyssey as an example, this thesis demonstrates both the didactic and the literary quality of the graphic novel, which have been and still are undervalued by academics. Furthermore, this thesis explores the nature of (intersemiotic) translation, by studying the transition from Homer's epic to Gareth Hinds' graphic novel.Show less
This thesis reports on a small-scale online self-completion survey on the opinions on subtitling conventions by Dutch viewers in order to investigate the growing dissatisfaction among Dutch viewers...Show moreThis thesis reports on a small-scale online self-completion survey on the opinions on subtitling conventions by Dutch viewers in order to investigate the growing dissatisfaction among Dutch viewers while watching subtitled television. The intuitions of Dutch lay viewers were compared to the opinions of scholars and professionals. A better understanding of lay perception of subtitling could assist in providing translations that satisfy both lay and professional evaluators. The theory suggested that while guidelines exist for subtitling, there is an increasing amount of people who are concerned about the quality of subtitling. Aside from acknowledging other causes for dissatisfaction, this self-completion survey focused on the possibility that outdated guidelines could be a cause for growing dissatisfaction. The results from the survey remained open to interpretation as the opinions of the participants on the samples presented to them were varied. However, the results do suggest that while the existence of a subtitling standard is appreciated for the sake of consistency and predictability, some specific examples of audiovisual material might benefit from deviating from the prescribed standard. Yet, the data did not provide a conclusive answer on how to implement any changes, and suggested that the changes suggested in this thesis would provide both solutions and problems for a nearly equal number of people.Show less
This MA thesis is a theoretical discussion of the issues that need to be considered by a translator faced with the challenge of translating Connie Palmen’s Jij zegt het into English. This Dutch...Show moreThis MA thesis is a theoretical discussion of the issues that need to be considered by a translator faced with the challenge of translating Connie Palmen’s Jij zegt het into English. This Dutch novel tells the tragic story of the relationship between Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath, and is narrated by Hughes himself. One of the greatest challenges for the translator is that they would be required to transpose Palmen’s words back into the language Hughes wrote in. The reception of an English translation of this novel will be influenced by the translator’s decisions regarding the use of style and their manner of demonstrating the novel’s indebtedness to other texts.Show less
The main aim of this thesis was to establish whether strong reactions such as ‘Oskar would never say that!’ and ‘That’s just plain wrong!’ to the official Dutch translation of the novel Extremely...Show moreThe main aim of this thesis was to establish whether strong reactions such as ‘Oskar would never say that!’ and ‘That’s just plain wrong!’ to the official Dutch translation of the novel Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (Foer, 2005) could be caused by a loss of style in the translation. In order to measure the retention of style in the translation, a translation quality assessment tool that focusses solely on style was needed. However, such a tool did not exist. Instead it was opted to adapt a translation method that prioritises style. Such a method was found in Bovelander’s 2015 style-centred translation approach. The Bovelander method includes a thorough stylistic analysis followed by the selection of translation procedures that should be used to retain style (a greenlist) as well as a listing of procedures that should be avoided because they would cause a loss of style (a blacklist). These procedures are pivotal in the adapted Bovelander method: a comparative reading of the source text and target text that reveals which procedures were used during the translation process. If blacklisted procedures occur considerably more often than greenlisted procedures, then there is a loss of style. The adapted Bovelander method suggested a severe loss of style in the Dutch translation of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (Foer, 2005), which might indeed explain the strong reactions to the translation voiced by a number of translation students.Show less
This thesis examines the persuasive differences between U.S. President Barack Obama’s war speech on ISIL (2014) and former President George W. Bush’s war speech on Iraq (2003). Obama and Bush Jr....Show moreThis thesis examines the persuasive differences between U.S. President Barack Obama’s war speech on ISIL (2014) and former President George W. Bush’s war speech on Iraq (2003). Obama and Bush Jr. both made use of various language strategies to influence the audience’s perception of their speech. Because Obama needed to gain much more public approval in 2014 than Bush Jr. did in 2003, it is expected that Obama’s speech contains much more persuasive strategies than Bush Jr.’s speech. The stylistic and linguistic analysis in this thesis, however, show that this is not the case. Obama does not make more use of persuasive strategies than Bush Jr. does, but focuses on different strategies instead.Show less
Since the era of the Enlightenment, the future has often been seen as something which is foreseeable and can be planned but, nowadays, the issue of planning is more related to a dystopian future...Show moreSince the era of the Enlightenment, the future has often been seen as something which is foreseeable and can be planned but, nowadays, the issue of planning is more related to a dystopian future than to a utopian one. This thesis examines the current method of future study – scenario planning – and analyses two recent future studies of Dutch retail carried out by two retail industry associations, HBD in 2007 and NRW in 2011. The emphasis is on their discourse in which ‘drastic changes’, ‘trends’ and ‘scenarios’ are important words and phrases. The results of the stylistic analysis indicate that HBD and NRW worry a lot about the future. The formulated scenarios in their future studies nevertheless act as resolutions in a complex policy situation. Although the two retail organisations share their criticism of the national retail policy and their experience of a more market driven retail sector, there remain substantial differences between them in that HBD pursues the use of a professional economic register whereas NRW puts emphasis on marketing language.Show less
