Offensive and taboo words are becoming more common in audiovisual texts. Consequently, a translator or subtitler is faced with the complexities of transferring this type of language into the target...Show moreOffensive and taboo words are becoming more common in audiovisual texts. Consequently, a translator or subtitler is faced with the complexities of transferring this type of language into the target text. This study is a qualitative and quantitative analysis of offensive and taboo words, their function, and the transfer of these components to the Dutch subtitles of Inglourious Basterds (2009) and Django Unchained (2012). An adapted version of Avila-Cabrera’s (2015a) taxonomy, who differentiates between offensive and taboo words, is used in this study. Pinker (2007) and Dynel’s (2012) typologies of function is used for the classification of function. The results show a frequent use of offensive and taboo words in both movies. There were significant differences in the offensive and taboo words found in the source texts and the target texts. For example, Inglourious Basterds contained offensive words comprised of references to diseases, whereas this was not the case in the source text. However, there were no significant differences in the subtitling of offensive and taboo words between the both movies. Overall, the results suggest that other reasons besides the harshness of the written offensive/taboo words, played a significant role in the translation choices made. Taboo words had more plot-pertinent functions than offensive words, and were therefore retained more often. Also, temporal and spatial constraints and the availability of certain offensive and taboo words in the target language affected the subtitling. In conclusion, the subtitling of offensive and taboo words might not always meet the viewers’ expectations and those of traditional translation, however, there are certain linguistic and cultural justifications associated with the subtitling’s choices.Show less
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
This dissertation investigated the occurrence of linguistic stereotypes regarding gender in the Japanese animated movie Kimi no Na Wa (君の名は) compared to the English dubbed-translated movie Your...Show moreThis dissertation investigated the occurrence of linguistic stereotypes regarding gender in the Japanese animated movie Kimi no Na Wa (君の名は) compared to the English dubbed-translated movie Your Name. The Japanese audio script functioned as the source text (ST) and the script of the English dub as the target text (TT). Based on previous research of Spiridon (2014), Okamoto (1995), and Lakoff (1973; 2004), stereotypically gendered language was listed for both the ST and the TT. This study researched whether the TT favoured transferring Japanese gender markers (foreignization), conforming to English gender stereotypes (domestication), or omitting ST gender markers (neutralization) as a translation strategy. Based on results from earlier studies (Inoue (2003), González Vera (2012), De Marco (2006), Pettit (2005)) and considering the role of dubbing constraints, it was hypothesized that neutralization would be the favoured option in Your Name and that few new gender markers would be introduced in the TT. The data analysis consisted of an ST analysis to determine the gender markers in the ST, a TT analysis to determine which translation strategies were applied in the rendering of the ST markers, and a TT analysis to determine whether any new gender markers had been introduced in the TT. The translation procedures of Vinay & Darbelnet (1995) were used to establish how the gendered items had been rendered in the TT. The results suggest that the hypothesis is confirmed, since only 32 out of 386 gender markers were rendered in the TT and 197 were newly introduced, which shows that neutralization was indeed the favoured translation type in the TT. Thereby, sentence-final particles were mostly represented in the ST versus hedging language in the TT. Some possibilities for future research include replicating this study for the subtitled script and investigating the characters’ pitch.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 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 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 paper investigates Barack Obama’s style of speech. First of all, the purpose is to examine how Obama’s conceptual metaphors and other distinct style markers in his speeches frame himself and...Show moreThis paper investigates Barack Obama’s style of speech. First of all, the purpose is to examine how Obama’s conceptual metaphors and other distinct style markers in his speeches frame himself and his views in terms of the three rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos and logos. Second, it is intended to test whether the given style markers undergo any change or remain consistent over the period of his presidency. A quick review of his first and the last State of the Union Address reveals that his most recent speech makes use of humour and informal expressions like phrasal words and colloquialisms in contrast to the serious tone and official language of the first address. The methodology employed in this paper consists of the stylistic checklist by Leech & Short (2007), the Metaphor Identification Procedure (Pragglejaz Group 2007) and the Conceptual Metaphor Theory by Lakoff and Johnson (1980). The theoretical framework applied is based on the concepts of canons of rhetoric, metaphor and metaphor in politics as well as framing. An analysis using the above-mentioned theories and framework reveals how Obama frames himself, Americans as people, and how he structures the American realities of life in terms of three rhetorical appeals.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 investigates the use of WAR and JOURNEY metaphors in male and female cancer patient narratives. The narratives were analyzed to see whether the use of these metaphors could reveal a...Show moreThis thesis investigates the use of WAR and JOURNEY metaphors in male and female cancer patient narratives. The narratives were analyzed to see whether the use of these metaphors could reveal a difference in the way men and women experience illness. The metaphors were analyzed to see whether they were used in a positive/negative or empowering/disempowering way. The results of the study revealed that both men and women used JOURNEY metaphors more frequently than WAR metaphors to describe illness experience. Overall, relatively speaking, men used WAR and JOURNEY metaphors as frequently as women to describe illness experience. However, the female narratives were generally longer than the male narratives, which caused women to use more metaphors absolutely speaking. Positive and empowering WAR and JOURNEY metaphors were used most frequently in the narratives to describe illness experience for both men and women. Contrary to findings of previous research, the results revealed that both men and women use WAR metaphors more frequently in a positive and empowering way than in a negative and disempowering way to describe illness experience. The results of this study contribute to existing research and also provide new findings in this topic area. The findings of the research could benefit both patients and healthcare professionals and create an awareness of the differences between men and women in the way they experience illness in relation to metaphor use.Show less
This thesis compares the standard use of intralingual subtitling in the Netherlands with the dominant form of intralingual subtitling, or impact captioning, in Asian countries such as Japan, Korea,...Show moreThis thesis compares the standard use of intralingual subtitling in the Netherlands with the dominant form of intralingual subtitling, or impact captioning, in Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, and China: so called open caption telop (OCT). These open captions differ greatly from the subtitles we are used to seeing in the Netherlands, and are more so used to emphasize and create impact, rather than the subtitles in the Netherlands for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, strong accents or dialects, or as a learning tool for foreign language speakers. Research into the effects of OCT on a non-Asian, western audience has rarely been done, which makes it all the more important to gather some insight into this phenomenon. This thesis attempts to do so by conducting a small research into the thoughts of Dutch viewers on Asian-style open caption telop. Three short clips of popular Dutch entertainment programs had OCT added edited into them and were shown to a group of 40 respondents, both male and female and of various ages. They were then asked to fill in a short questionnaire, and some were asked to elaborate on their answers. The results of this research were used to determine whether the Dutch viewer public appreciates the forms and functions of OCT and whether this type of subtitling could, in theory, be implemented in Dutch television programs.Show less
The purpose of this thesis is to discern whether Dutch gamers and non-gamers want to play games in Dutch and if so, what they think of existing translations. In order to investigate the research...Show moreThe purpose of this thesis is to discern whether Dutch gamers and non-gamers want to play games in Dutch and if so, what they think of existing translations. In order to investigate the research question, an online survey was created and distributed amongst a Dutch sample audience consisting of five different types of gamers, including non-gamers; questions involved the subject’s opinions on several areas of videogame translation and localisation, with a focus on subtitling and dubbing. My hypothesis was that the target group would be willing to play more games if a higher number of them were translated into Dutch in the first place, or if current videogame translations were improved upon in some way. Only the first part of the hypothesis turned out to be false.Show less
This study concerns the possible influence of Christian culture on Islamic metaphorical language. In order to reveal whether or not such Christian influence is indeed apparent in the metaphorical...Show moreThis study concerns the possible influence of Christian culture on Islamic metaphorical language. In order to reveal whether or not such Christian influence is indeed apparent in the metaphorical language of Dutch Muslims, the responses of Dutch Islamic teenagers to principal Christian metaphors referring to God, which were applied to Allah, were analysed. The main research question was the following: How do Dutch Islamic teenagers respond to principal Christian metaphors referring to God applied to Allah? The selected principal Christian metaphors referring to God were the following: GOD IS A MASTER, GOD IS A KING, GOD IS A JUDGE, GOD IS A FATHER and GOD IS A HUSBAND. The analysis showed that the Islamic participants in this study only accepted the metaphors which also occur in the Quran, i.e. GOD IS A MASTER and GOD IS A JUDGE. The metaphor GOD IS A KING also occurs both in the Bible and the Quran, but this metaphor received mixed reactions, as some participants thought it was too ‘earthly’ to be appropriate when referring to Allah. The exclusively Christian metaphors were rejected by all the Islamic participants in this study. This rejection was based on the notion that these metaphors were too ‘earthly’ to be appropriate when referring to Allah as well. Thus, no Christian influence on the Islamic metaphorical language was detected in this research. Moreover, based the results in this study, the conclusion is that Christians and Muslims perceive and understand their deity in different terms: God the Father and God the Husband are exclusively Christian.Show less
The stylistic conditions for language switching in the lyrics of pop songs were examined in a corpus of Eurovision Song Contest entries. This phenomenon was examined in the lyrics of songs...Show moreThe stylistic conditions for language switching in the lyrics of pop songs were examined in a corpus of Eurovision Song Contest entries. This phenomenon was examined in the lyrics of songs performed in a language other than English, but which involved one or multiple language switches to English. A corpus of song lyrics was analysed on various stylistics aspects on a textual level, i.e semantics and pragmatics. The analysis sought to show which content/language/context factors contribute to these language switches in songs. Songs that involve language switches to English are found in great numbers in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC); almost 120 out of nearly 1300 entries in the contest from the last sixty years feature some sort of switch to English lyrics, which is a fair number for a corpus. This thesis will explore language switching in ESC songs throughout time.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
This thesis investigates the conceptual metaphors use of four (former) prominent American politicians in representing their worldviews. A review of the research regarding this topic shows that...Show moreThis thesis investigates the conceptual metaphors use of four (former) prominent American politicians in representing their worldviews. A review of the research regarding this topic shows that Democrats and Republicans arguably apply different cognitive models to structure their worldview via the use of metaphorical language. In thesis I will illustrate that each politician has his style regarding his metaphorical language-use. Although Democrats and Republicans show dissimilarities in their metaphorical language, the language of both Democrats and Republicans primarily represent the shared worldview of American exceptionalism.Show less
