The translation of wordplay has been a well-discussed topic in the field of Translation Studies for years; for some it is an issue of “irresistible interest” (Newmark, 1978), for others not much...Show moreThe translation of wordplay has been a well-discussed topic in the field of Translation Studies for years; for some it is an issue of “irresistible interest” (Newmark, 1978), for others not much more than a plain example of untranslatability, given the complications that inevitably arise when translating language that relies on the structural characteristics of the source text. This thesis set out to explore how this problem is approached in the subtitling of sitcoms, by analyzing the Dutch subtitles for wordplay passages in the American TV show Friends. In order to determine which translation methods were applied, this analysis used Delabastita’s model of wordplay translation methods (1993), which is originally designed for literary translation – this thesis therefore also aimed to investigate if this model is applicable to audiovisual translation and identified several of its shortcomings. Moreover, this study examined if restrictions specific to the medium of subtitling affect the (un)translatability of wordplay in sitcoms, pointing out that the visual context and the sitcom’s laugh track can be particularly restrictive factors. In general, the results of this study indicated that puns can be translated (i.e. a ST pun becomes a TT pun) in most cases but with a loss of translation quality and humoristic value as a possible consequence. Therefore, this study concluded that Delabastita’s model cannot be used for analyzing the translatability of puns in sitcoms without taking translation quality and humor into account.Show less
In my thesis I analyzed the Dutch subtitles of the puns and wordplay in Duck Soup and several examples from other Marx Brothers movies. I used two different criteria to examine the Dutch subtitles....Show moreIn my thesis I analyzed the Dutch subtitles of the puns and wordplay in Duck Soup and several examples from other Marx Brothers movies. I used two different criteria to examine the Dutch subtitles. The first was: does the subtitler manage to come up with a translation that remains true to the absurdism of the Marx Brothers’ humor, to the characters, and to the time in which the movies were made? The second was based on Dimitris Asimakoulas’s ‘ideal translation’: a translation that remains faithful to all aspects of the General Theory of Verbal Humor. What my analysis has shown, on the basis of the two above-mentioned criteria, is that the subtitler frequently managed to come up with a translation that retained the absurdism of the humor and remained faithful to the time in which the movies were made, but that the subtitles do not remain faithful to the individual characterizations. Furthermore, in this thesis I also argued that a successful translation does not have to remain faithful to all elements of the General Theory of Verbal Humor. My thesis question “What makes for the ‘best’ translation of the puns and wordplay in the Marx Brothers movies, considering they rely heavily on puns and wordplay” can thus be answered as follows: a successful translation does not have to be a literal translation of the puns and wordplay or remain faithful to the aspects of the General Theory of Verbal Humor, but it should remain faithful to the characteristic absurdism of the Marx Brothers’ humor, to the time in which the movies were made, and to the personality of the characters.Show less
