Nanna Aagaard (NAA) BA Project Report Aarhus BSS Kirstine Dahlgaard (KD) "The Subtitling of Humour" May, Chapter 1: Introduction (NAA, KD)...

Transcription

1 Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction (NAA, KD)... 4 Chapter 2: Subtitling Subtitling as translation (NAA) Norms of subtitling (NAA) Quality in subtitling (KD) Fansubbing (NAA) Chapter 3: Microstrategies Model for translation analysis (NAA, KD) Reduction (NAA) Paraphrase (NAA) Omission (NAA) Addition (NAA) Substitution (NAA) Direct transfer (KD) Equivalence (KD) Direct translation (KD) Oblique translation (KD) Adaptation (KD) Chapter 4: Humour (KD) Classifying humour Cultural humour Linguistic humour Complex humour Translating humour Page 1 of 71

2 Chapter 5: Source Text Analysis (NAA) Chapter 6: Target Text Analyses (KD) Chapter 7: Analysis of Humorous Aspects Cultural humour (KD) "New York Giants" (KD) "Puffy party" (KD) "The Jersey-side" (KD) Linguistic humour "Kanalsensationen" (KD) "San Di-Lame-o-zoo" (KD) "Ant-who-tica" and "Mada-who-ha" (NAA) "Mile High Pastrami" (NAA) "Sprechen Sie English" and "Mi casa is su casa" (NAA) Complex humour "See you later, crocodile" (KD) "I Like to Move It" (NAA) "Hey, a latrine" (KD) Chapter 8: Analysis of Quality Harsh language (NAA) Successful strategic choices in TT2 (KD, NAA) Unsuccessful strategic choices in TT2 (NAA) Content mistakes (NAA) Linguistic mistakes (KD) Neutralisation of humour (NAA) Chapter 9: Conclusion (NAA, KD) Abstract (NAA, KD) Page 2 of 71

3 List of References Appendix 1: Transcription of Madagascar... Appendix 2: Linguistic Mistakes in TT2... Page 3 of 71

4 Chapter 1: Introduction (NAA, KD) Do you know the feeling when all you want to do is throw something at the television, because the subtitles of the film that you are watching are worse than worse and you feel like you could have done it so much better yourself? We do. Subtitling interests us in general because, in our everyday lives, we both notice when a translation in a subtitle differs from what we, personally, would have found to be a more obvious choice. Therefore, we find it interesting to look into the practice of fansubbing, which refers to subtitling carried out by non-professionals. In relation to this project, we find it fascinating to investigate if the quality of professional subtitling is better than that of non-professional subtitling. This might be expected as professional subtitlers possess theoretical knowledge and a skill set that nonprofessional subtitlers are supposed to lack. However, it might be the case that non-professionals, in some instances, have a better understanding of certain aspects and may therefore sometimes be able to produce better translations than professionals. One of the aspects, in which we suspect that a fansubber, i.e. the person carrying out the fansubbing, might provide a qualitatively better translation solution, is that of humour. Therefore, we have chosen to limit our general topic of subtitling by focusing on the subtitling of humour. In relation to the topic of fansubbing, it is a relatively new phenomenon, entailing that literature on the topic is limited. Fansubbing as a subject of research is predominantly concerned with the practice of fans producing subtitles for Japanese animé. In our project, however, the term 'fansubbing' covers the practice of non-professionals producing subtitles for various kinds of film and uploading these to online subtitle fora. This take on fansubbing is practically untouched in academic literature. Consequently, the sources used for this area of the report are not necessarily equally academic in nature as the kind of sources normally used for an academic project report. As an example, one of the sources used to define the term 'fansubbing' in this report has taken his definition from Wikipedia.com. The reason for this is probably a lack of academic literature on the subject, but the author has not commented on the use of Wikipedia.com as a source in his article, and this lack of commentary is academically problematic. Page 4 of 71

5 The aim of this project is to investigate differences between professional subtitling and fansubbing of the film Madagascar with a focus on the translation of humour. In order to fulfil this aim, we have conducted an empirical study based on the following research questions: Which types of humour occur in the selected sequences from Madagascar? Which microstrategies are primarily used in the translation of the selected sequences? Which differences exist between the professional subtitles and the fansubs regarding microstrategies and quality? Chapter 2 deals with different aspects of subtitling. Section 2.1. discusses the nature of subtitling and whether or not it can be categorised as translation. Section 2.2. gives an account of the norms of subtitling, incorporating theory by Jorge Díaz Cintas and Aline Remael (2007) and Jan Ivarsson and Mary Carroll (1998). In section 2.3. it is specified how quality in subtitling can be ensured by following these norms. Here, the weightiest aspect is that of the Code of Good Subtitling Practice developed by Ivarsson and Carroll (1998: ). Section 2.4. concerns the term 'fansubbing', incorporating articles by Dayan Liu (2014) and Fang Wang (2014) and theory by Jorge Díaz Cintas and Pablo Muñoz Sánchez (2006). One of the research questions for the study in this project report concerns which differences exist between the professional subtitles and the fansubs regarding the use of microstrategies. For the purpose of this investigation, we have created a model for analysis of microstrategies using relevant theory by Anne Schjoldager (2008), Henrik Gottlieb (1997) and Cintas and Remael (2007). The selection of microstrategies is based on each strategy's relevance in relation to subtitling. The model for analysis is presented in chapter 3, which also gives an account of each of the strategies included in the model. Another research question for the study in this project report concerns characterisation of the types of humour that occur in the selected sequences from Madagascar. For the purpose of this analysis, we have developed a classification of humour based on relevant theory by Alison Ross (1998), Patrick Zabalbeascoa (2005) and Peter Alan Low (2011). This classification is presented in chapter 4 and defines the characteristics of the categories under which the types of humour in the selected sequences will be analysed to fall. It is worth noting that the literature on humour is extensive and that the classification only contains types of humour directly relevant to this project. Section 4.1. deals with two general terms in relation to classifying humour. Sections 4.2., 4.3., and 4.4. elaborate Page 5 of 71

6 the three main categories in our classification of types of humour. Finally, section 4.5. regards considerations in relation to the translation of humour. In order to achieve a deeper understanding of the translation situation in question, we have carried out a source text analysis of the film as well as target text analyses of both the professional subtitles and the fansubs. Chapter 5 concerns the former, and for the purpose of this analysis, we have implemented relevant components from Schjoldager's Four-point model for translation analysis (2013b) and Checklist for textual analysis (2013a). Chapter 6 consists of a comparative analysis of the target texts implementing relevant components from the aforementioned four-point model. Moreover, in order to be able to analyse the source text and compare this with the two target texts, we have produced a transcription of the spoken language in the sound track and the written elements, e.g. captions and signs, in the film. Concerning the manner of transcription, it has involved a reproduction of sounds and onomatopoeic words, e.g. "ahh", "ooh" and "ROOAAR", as well as a spelling influenced by speech style and pronunciation in the original, e.g. "gonna" rather than "going to" and "c'mon" rather than "come on". In the transcription we have attempted to reproduce the original sound track as precisely as possible, including stuttering and repetitions. In addition, the use of punctuation in the transcription of the source text is subjective in the sense that, for example, exclamation marks are inserted where we thought it fit, and differences in punctuation between the source text and the target texts will not be commented on in the microlevel analyses. Furthermore, the source text has been divided into scenes where a natural break occurs in the story line. In practice, the microlevel analysis has been carried out by identifying the microstrategy or - strategies used for translation in each of the selected sequences. This is done for both the professional subtitles and the fansubs, whereupon the findings are compared. We have selected the sequences for analysis with an overall focus on sequences containing humorous elements. A sequence is delimited by the scope of the humorous unit in question and will, generally, consist of parts of or all of an utterance. Chapter 7 regards the comparative qualitative analyses of humorous elements in the selected sequences from the film. Sections 7.1., 7.2. and 7.3. analyse examples of cultural humour, linguistic humour and complex humour, respectively. Furthermore, one of the research questions for the study in this project report concerns the quality of both the professional subtitles and the fansubs. The quality assessment is carried out by Page 6 of 71

7 investigating whether or not the subtitles in question follow the norms of subtitling. In relation to detection and categorisation of errors, we have used the following thesauri: Retskrivningsordbogen (Dansk Sprognævn n.d.) and Den Danske Ordbog (Det Danske Sprog- og Litteraturselskab n.d.). Chapter 8 concerns the comparative qualitative analyses of differences in quality between the two target texts. The chapter is divided into six sections, each representing a category of analysis related to quality assessment. Chapter 9 sums up the findings from the analyses, mentions points for critique of our own methods and offers alternatives to these methods. Furthermore, the topic of our project report in relation to the findings of our analyses is put into perspective. For reason of convenience, source text will henceforth be referred to as ST and target text will be referred to as TT. In addition, the professional subtitles and the fansubs will be referred to as TT1 and TT2, respectively. Page 7 of 71

8 Chapter 2: Subtitling Audiovisual language transfer, also known as screen translation, can have many forms e.g. dubbing, subtitling and voice-over but this project focuses on the aspects of subtitling. Gottlieb (2008: 206) defines screen translation in general as "the translation of transient polysemiotic texts presented on screen to mass audiences". The terms transient and polysemiotic limit the material to moving pictures and "films and other multi-channel text types", respectively (Gottlieb 2004: 86). Firstly, this chapter discusses the nature of subtitling as translation. Secondly, it gives an account of the norms and conventions of subtitling and thirdly, the quality of subtitling is dealt with. Fourthly, the final section of this chapter concerns the term 'fansubbing'. 2.1 Subtitling as translation (NAA) The nature of subtitling and whether or not it can be categorised as translation has been and is still subject of much debate. For instance, Gottlieb (2008: ) distinguishes two factors that interfere with granting subtitling "the status of 'real' translation"; condensation and shift of language mode. The former entails a reduction of quantitative nature, partly due to the temporal and spatial constraints of subtitling. Regarding the latter, it refers to the shift from speech to writing, which does not necessarily fit the general notion of translation. As mentioned previously, subtitling is part of the general term 'audiovisual language transfer', and Luyken et al. (1991: 153) argue: "( ) most textbook definitions of 'translation' simply do not fit audiovisual Language Transfer". They continue by elaborating on four features where language transfer differs from translation. Firstly, "Language Transfer only affects one element of the entire opus" (Luyken et al. 1991: 153). This means that, out of the audiovisual whole, only the spoken text is affected by being translated into a different language, and, in the case of subtitles, they must interact with all of the other components of the audiovisual whole. Secondly, "[t]he message is altered by Language Transfer", implying that, in order to make sure the target audience understands the original message, it must be adapted accordingly, and the translator must, simultaneously, take into account the constraints of subtitling (Luyken et al. 1991: 154). Thirdly, "[a]udiovisual Language Transfer is shorter than the original", which applies particularly well to the case of subtitling due to its temporal and spatial constraints (Luyken et al. 1991: 154). Fourthly, "[a]udiovisual Language Transfer incorporates an editorial element", meaning that the translator Page 8 of 71

9 continuously makes choices about whether to add or delete something from the original in order to create the perfect subtitle (Luyken et al. 1991: 155). Despite the features mentioned above, it can still be argued that subtitling is, indeed, a form of translation. Though they all discuss the subject, both Gottlieb (2008), Cintas and Remael (2007) and Munday (2008), among others, continue to refer to subtitling as translation. In addition and concerning the second feature mentioned by Luyken et al., adaptation and altering of the original message is also part of the process of translation proper. Furthermore, the features mentioned above can all be related to the microstrategies for translation by Anne Schjoldager (2008: ); for instance, the third feature mentioned by Luyken et al. relates to the translation strategy condensation and the fourth feature relates to the strategies addition and omission Norms of subtitling (NAA) Gottlieb (2008: 208) defines subtitling as "diamesic translation in polysemiotic media (including films, TV, video and DVD) in the form of one or more lines of written text presented on the screen in sync with the original dialogue". The diamesic nature of the translation entails that it crosses over from speech to writing or vice versa. In addition, Cintas and Remael (2007: 8) argue that subtitling "(...) endeavours to recount the original dialogue of the speakers, as well as the discursive elements that appear in the image (letters, inserts, graffiti, inscriptions, placards, and the like), and the information that is contained on the soundtrack (songs, voices off)". When distinguishing between different types of translation, Bassnett (2014: 7) refers to Roman Jakobsen and mentions intralingual, intersemiotic and interlingual translation. The former involves rewording within the same language, and intersemiotic translation is defined as "interpretation of verbal signs by other, nonverbal sign systems" (Bassnett 2014: 7). The type of subtitling dealt with in this project implements the use of the latter type, namely interlingual translation, which entails a language transfer between two different languages, i.e. from a source language to a target language (Bassnett 2014: 7; Schjoldager 2008: 19). In this connection, Gottlieb (1997: 111; 2008: 210) introduces the term diagonal subtitling, which entails a change of mode, i.e. that a subtitle crosses over from source-language speech to target-language writing". This kind of complex, multimodal translation is characteristic for audio-visual translation, and it is important to refrain from merely translating oral dialogue into written text but instead to perceive both the ST and the TT as whole unities (Fong and Au 2009: 83; Gottlieb 1997: 113). Page 9 of 71

10 Moreover, subtitling is semiotically supplementary or intrasemiotic in the sense that it adds a component of written information that is present alongside the original sound track and visual elements (Gottlieb 2001: 252; Gottlieb 2008: 220; Munday 2008: 184), or as Bassnett (2014: 142) puts it: "...two linguistic systems are in operation simultaneously", i.e. both speech and writing. In the practice of subtitling, some constraints exist that limit the subtitler in his/her possibilities with the subtitles. The most constraining technicalities are those of space and time, and the former entails how many characters a line of subtitles should consist of in order to ensure the readability of the subtitles. As a rule of thumb, one line of subtitles should consist of no more than characters (Ivarsson and Carroll 1998: 100; Cintas and Remael 2007: 23). The latter concerns the number of seconds a subtitle should be visible on the screen in order for the viewers to have sufficient time to read it. In this case, the rule of thumb advises a minimum of one and a half seconds, no matter how short the subtitle, and a maximum of five to six seconds for two full lines of subtitles (Cintas and Remael 2007: 23; Ivarsson and Carroll 1998: 65). Ivarsson and Carroll (1998: 76-77) argue that, in order to make subtitles more readable to the audience, they should be constructed in a way that minimizes eye movement, which can be achieved by separating the subtitles in strategic places. If the subtitles are centred on the screen, the two lines of subtitles should be approximately equally long as opposed to the first line being a full line and the second line only consisting of two words. If the subtitles are 'left-justified', the first of the two lines should be shorter than the second as it will make the distance much shorter for the eye of the reader when shifting from the first to the second line. In relation to this, it is important to note that semantics, grammar and logic must also be taken into consideration when deciding where to separate the lines of the subtitles (Ivarsson and Carroll 1998: 77-78, 90; Luyken et al. 1991: 47). Although a subtitler must attempt to stay as loyal as possible to the original, it is a norm in subtitling to tone down harsh language. One of the reasons for this is that harsh language appears harsher in writing than in speech, i.e. if the effect of the original is to be rendered most loyally, it requires a toning down of harsh language expressions (Lindberg 2000: sec. Eder of frække ord). Throughout the literature, there is general agreement that good subtitling must be unobtrusive (James 2001; Luyken et al. 1991; Mueller 2001) in general, one of the main goals for a subtitler of any film is to produce inconspicuous subtitles. These must correlate closely with the original dialogue and interfere as little as possible with the original audiovisual production and how the Page 10 of 71

11 viewers experience it preferably, they should not realise that the subtitles are there (Gottlieb 2001: 252; Luyken et al. 1991: 29). Most of the abovementioned norms of subtitling are, among many others, compiled in the Code of Good Subtitling Practice (Ivarsson and Carroll 1998: ). For instance, point nine in the compilation by Ivarsson and Carroll concerns the importance of correctness in subtitles, both as regards grammar and language in general Quality in subtitling (KD) Within the field of subtitling, there are many different aspects that should be taken into consideration in order to produce a high quality product. Not only must the subtitles be coherent and cohesive in the target language, they should also be loyal to the original source. As written by Cintas (2001: 207), the following are key elements of what is perceived as good subtitling: "The discursive cohesion and coherence, the numerous attempts at attaining the same impact as the original, the recreation of the different linguistic registers, the implementation of the compensation strategy, the absence of deficiencies or errors, etc.". In the quote above, the importance of following the conventions within the field of subtitling is highlighted. As mentioned, these conventions are gathered in the Code of Good Subtitling Practice (Ivarsson and Carroll 1998: ) and can be used as a set of practical subtitling guidelines concerning linguistics, culture, format etc. Following all the different points will help the subtitler in producing a high quality product. Cintas (2001: ) and Munday (2008: 190) refer to subtitling as a vulnerable form of translation in the sense that spatial and temporal constraints must be taken into account when producing subtitles. In addition, misunderstandings or mistakes are easily noticeable due to the presence of the original dialogue. These factors can lead to a form of self-censorship from the subtitler. This entails the creation of, possibly unidiomatic, English-sounding phrases and constructions focusing on being in close correlation with the original spoken dialogue rather than being idiomatic in the target language (Gottlieb 2001: 249, 252; Gottlieb 2008: 219). An interesting element of audiovisual translation is that the subtitler, with the context in mind, can use the different semiotic modes in his or her translation. Opposite from translators working with monosemiotic translations, subtitlers have the opportunity to use original sound and visuals to Page 11 of 71

12 support their written subtitles. By using this opportunity, the subtitler will be able to combine different semiotic modes in order to express original points by changing the modality of it (Fong and Au 2009: 83). However, when using these shifts in modality, there is also a risk that some aspects from the original will not appear in the translation (Fong and Au 2009: 83). In order to transfer important elements from the ST to the TT, Gottlieb (1997: 89-90) discusses four simultaneous communicative channels that are worth keeping in mind during the translation of audiovisual texts. These are 'the verbal audio channel' (dialogue), 'the non-verbal audio channel' (music/sound effects), 'the verbal visual channel' (captions/written signs) and 'the non-verbal visual channel' (picture composition and flow). Paying attention to these channels can help the subtitler in the making of a suitable translation. As mentioned, subtitles are supposed to function as support for the original ST not stealing attention from it. Although semantic interference is impossible to avoid (Luyken et al. 1991: 29), it should be kept to a minimum so the target audience will get the originally intended experience. Good quality of subtitling can thus be described as being ( ) at its best when the subtitles are not even noticed (Mueller 2001: 147). As is the case for translation in general, correctness in terms of grammar, semantics, idiomaticity etc. is equally important regarding quality in subtitling. However, the ensuring of correctness is complicated by the conventions of subtitling. As mentioned, the subtitler is ascribed temporal and spatial constraints, and, in relation to time, both Luyken et al. (1991: 44) and Ivarsson and Carroll (1998: 65) argue that if the time a subtitle is kept on the screen exceeds the maximum of six seconds, it will result in a rereading of the same subtitle, which can be very disturbing for the viewer. Despite the constraints on space, it is important to use correct language (Ivarsson and Carroll 1998: 107). As well timed subtitles can always be seen on the screen during the dialogue, it is very easy for the viewers to compare the two (Ivarsson and Carroll 1998: 105). If they find errors or strange translations, they can be confused or irritated. This naturally contradicts the principle that subtitles should be "unseen" to the viewer. Therefore, revision is essential in the production of good subtitles (Ivarsson and Carroll 1998: 110). Page 12 of 71

13 2.4. Fansubbing (NAA) Originally, a so called fansub, which is short for 'fan-subtitled' (Liu 2014: 1107; Wang 2014: 1904), referred to "a fan-produced, translated, subtitled version of a Japanese anime programme" (Cintas and Sánchez 2006: 37). Cintas and Sánchez (2006: 44-45) argue, though, that the term covers a much broader spectrum in this day and age for example, Dayan Liu (2014: 1107) defines it as "a version of a foreign film or foreign television program which has been translated by fans (as opposed to an officially licensed translation done by professionals) and subtitled into a language other than that of the original". As a remark, Liu takes his definition from Wikipedia.com which cannot be defined as an academic source. However, this is most likely due to a lack of academic literature on this particular area of fansubbing, as mentioned in the introduction. The conventions of temporal and spatial restraints also apply to fansubbers if they wish to produce good and readable subtitles. However, fansubbers have a certain degree of freedom in the sense that they are not obligated to take into consideration the same norms and restrictions as professional subtitlers, because the fansubbers are not commissioned by anyone. As a result to this, fansubbing is more flexible and creative than traditional subtitling in the sense that fansubbers tend to translate as they, personally, find most suitable (Liu 2014: 1107; Wang 2014: 1904). This can potentially yield more authentic suggestions of translation than those of a professional subtitler especially if the fansubber possesses certain knowledge of culture or language use not necessarily known to a professional subtitler from another (language)culture. However, given the abovementioned freedom or "unrestrictedness" and the fact that many fansubbers are not translating into their own mother tongue, the quality of fansubs is often questionable (Cintas and Sánchez 2006: 45, 46). Furthermore, Cintas (2001: 200) argues that a dialogue list is absolutely necessary in the process of subtitling. Therefore, it is a challenge for the fansubbers that the original script or dialogue list of a film or television programme is not available to them. This entails that they translate the dialogue based on what they hear on the original sound track, which can lead to a wide variety of misinterpretations and mistakes (Liu 2014: 1107; Wang 2014: 1904; Cintas 2001: 200, 207). Page 13 of 71

14 Chapter 3: Microstrategies With relation to the discussion of the nature of subtitling as translation in Chapter 2, this project report is produced under the presumption that subtitling is indeed translation, and, among others, we utilise the translation theory of Anne Schjoldager. Firstly, this chapter briefly touches upon the topic of macrostrategies. Secondly, it gives an account of the microstrategies compiled in the model for translation analysis utilised in this project. Schjoldager (2008: 72) distinguishes between two different macrostrategies or overall methods for translation: a target text oriented macrostrategy and a source text oriented macrostrategy. One of the features to take into consideration, when choosing the overall method of translation, is overtness, i.e. whether or not it is evident that a text is a translation (Schjoldager 2008: 31). The overall method for translation in subtitles is, per definition, always overt, as one must assume that the viewer of a film with subtitles is aware that he/she is reading a translation. Therefore, the question of the choice of macrostrategy is not relevant to this project report Model for translation analysis (NAA, KD) The model for translation analysis below is compiled of selected theory on microstrategies by Schjoldager (2008), Gottlieb (1997) and Cintas and Remael (2007). In the case of this project report, only the microstrategies included in the model are considered relevant for translation in relation to subtitling. Therefore, only the microstrategies in the model are implemented in the forthcoming analyses (cf. Chapters 7 and 8). Page 14 of 71

15 Reduction (NAA) The microstrategy reduction is also referred to as condensation (Schjoldager 2008: 102) but we have chosen to use Gottlieb's (1997: 265) designation reduction. The main function of this strategy is to maintain the ST message but to translate it in a shorter way this can, for instance, be done by making information, that is explicit in the ST, implicit in the TT (Schjoldager 2008: 102). Reduction is widely used in subtitling, and Luyken et. al. (1991: 55) argue that it is partly due to the fact that viewers are not able to read as fast as would be required, if all of the original dialogue were to be rendered in the subtitles. Moreover, Cintas and Remael (2007: 145) add that it is not necessary to translate the full ST because much of the action is already given by the "visual and oral signs and codes of the film". As Cintas and Remael (2007: 64) put it, this allows for an omission of redundant items in the subtitles "often context renewing clauses are retained, whereas context confirming ones are dropped". Page 15 of 71

16 Paraphrase (NAA) The translation strategy used in paraphrasing is rather free and involves a process of rewriting, where the contextual meaning of the ST is retained in the TT but the structure or the content is changed (Schjoldager 2008: ) Omission (NAA) When using the microstrategy omission, a unit of meaning from the ST is left out of or deleted from the TT, for which reason this strategy is also referred to as deletion (Schjoldager 2008: ). With relation to subtitling, one could imagine that, due to the constraints of time and space, omission is a commonly used strategy in this field in fact, Cintas and Remael (2007: 162) call it "unavoidable in subtitling". Page 16 of 71

17 Addition (NAA) As opposed to omission, addition implies that a unit of meaning, which is not a part of the ST content, is added to the TT (Schjoldager 2008: ). It is unlikely that this microstrategy is employed in the subtitling practice due to the aforementioned restraints of time and space. One could imagine, though, that the addition of a semantic unit to the subtitles is necessary in order to explain, for example, cultural differences such as unknown customs or holidays Substitution (NAA) When using substitution as a microstrategy for translation, the content meaning of a ST item is changed in the TT (Schjoldager 2008: 106). Cintas and Remael (2007: 204) argue that substitution is commonly used in subtitling when the limitations on space make it necessary to translate an item into something shorter than its direct equivalent Direct transfer (KD) Direct transfer, also known as congruence (Gottlieb 1997: 265), is a kind of translation that "takes a ST item and leaves it unchanged in the target text" (Schjoldager 2008: 93). One might argue that it is a kind of non-translation due to the fact that exact words are copied directly from the ST into the TT. Page 17 of 71

18 Equivalence (KD) The strategy referred to as equivalence by Gottlieb (1997: 265) is very similar to what Schjoldager (2008: 94-95) describes as calque. When using this strategy, the translator tries to maintain the structure of ST idioms in the TT by using similar target language idioms (Gottlieb 1997: 265). This can lead to unfortunate unidiomatic language use. If the outcome of such a translation is idiomatically correct in the target language, it will fall into the category of direct translation (Schjoldager 2008: 94-95) Direct translation (KD) When using the translation method of direct translation, the ST is translated word for word. The language of the TT is thus very close to that of the ST. Translators using this strategy try to stay loyal to linguistic aspects of the original and will therefore try to find the most similar wording while still writing idiomatically correct in the target language (Schjoldager 2008: 95-96) Oblique translation (KD) Oblique translation, also known as correspondence (Gottlieb 1997: 265), is a method of translation by which the translator tries to transfer the semantic meaning of a ST idiom to the TT by using a different target language idiom that will appear semantically more equivalent to the target audience (Gottlieb 1997: 265). A translator using this strategy is therefore more focussed on the context of the material to be translated than on linguistic similarities (Schjoldager 2008: 97-99). Page 18 of 71

19 Adaptation (KD) The translation strategy adaptation focuses on specific elements in the ST (Schjoldager 2008: ). It is a very creative way of translating because the translator will often change ST elements completely. By using this strategy, it is possible to recreate the original effect in the translated version without preserving the original linguistic characteristics (Schjoldager 2008: ). Page 19 of 71

20 Chapter 4: Humour (KD) The concept of humour is difficult to define. When consulting different English dictionaries, one can find various explanations of the word humour. A common denominator is that humour is closely linked to the word funny. In the Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners (Macmillan Publishers Limited ), humour is defined as "the quality that makes a situation or entertainment funny". Firstly, this chapter provides a classification of humour based on relevant theory by Ross (1998), Zabalbeascoa (2005) and Low (2011). The classification consists of the following categories: cultural humour, linguistic humour and complex humour relying on both verbal and non-verbal cues. Secondly, considerations regarding the translation of humour are given Classifying humour In the literature on humour, many theorists often refer to the concepts of incongruity and superiority (Cintas and Remael 2007: 212; Vandaele 2002: ; Ross 1998: 7-8, 51-60). Incongruity refers to a kind of humour that is characterised by its deviations from whatever norms there might be it is "a contradiction of cognitive schemes" (Cintas and Remael 2007: 212). This is simplified by Ross (1998: 7-8) as the humour being based on a surprising element in a certain context. Superiority, on the other hand, is a kind of 'laughing-at-humour' where the amusement for some is often at the expense of others. This kind of humour has a social function as it can be used to make some seem superior to others (Cintas and Remael 2007: 213, Vandaele 2002: ). In contrast to other classifications, e.g. Ross (1998), the terms incongruity and superiority do not have their own separate categories, as we find that they can be applied to the different other categories below. An example of cultural humour, for instance, can also contain elements of incongruity or superiority. Page 20 of 71

21 4.2. Cultural humour Cultural humour exists in a number of variations and can, in relation to both translator and target audience, be difficult to translate. Low (2011: 67) argues that if the translator does not share the culture referred to, it will be difficult to produce a suitable translation. Likewise, he states that if the target audience of a translation does not have sufficient knowledge of the source culture, its members will not be able to understand a cultural reference. Culturally based humour includes, according to Zabalbeascoa (2005: ), private (in-group) jokes. Such jokes often have culture-specific referents and this will exclude many cultural outsiders from understanding the humour. Thus, the humour will be restricted to specific cultural groups. Such groups can vary in size from an entire nation to small subcultures, and the humour of these 'ingroups' will often be based on religion, history or stereotypes. As a result, understanding of these referents will demand certain insights in the cultures in question, and it can therefore be difficult to evaluate how much the target audience will understand (Cintas and Remael 2007: 221) Linguistic humour Within the extensive field of linguistic humour, there are many categories that could be interesting to look at in connection to subtitle analysis. However, only the most relevant theories have been included. Ross (1998: 11) mentions allusion as an example of linguistic incongruity: "Allusions in humour involve extra-linguistic knowledge, in other words knowledge about the world". In the Merriam- Webster Dictionary (Merriam-Webster, Incorporated 2015) an allusion is defined as "a statement that refers to something without mentioning it directly". With this definition in mind, it makes sense Page 21 of 71

22 when Ross (2011: 11) argues that joke incorporating an allusion will only be understood by an audience with the relevant extra-linguistic knowledge. Using the rules of morphology is another way of applying linguistic humour. Every language has general rules on how to create words using affixes. Speakers of a language instinctively know many of these rules, and this knowledge is something that can be used in the creation of linguistic jokes (Ross 1998: 14-15). Another way of using the English language in the creation of humour is in terms of phonology. According to Ross (1998: 9), homophones refer to words sounding the same though spelled differently. Furthermore, phonology is implicitly a part of the analysis of rhymes, as these can be defined as the "correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words ( )" (Oxford University Press 2015a). When constructing sentences in a language, there are some combinations of words that will appear odd or incongruous (Ross 1998: 30). This is due to both the intra- and extra-linguistic knowledge of the audience. If there are contradictions to what the audience knows, they will be noticed as a kind of non-sense. The term non-sense implies that the sentence in question is still recognisably English Page 22 of 71

23 rather than nonsense (Ross 1998: 30). Because such contradictions are often detected by the audience, they can be quite useful in the making of jokes. Concerning wordplay, there is disagreement as to how to define the term. Whereas Gottlieb (1997) presents a quite narrow definition, other theorists such as Zabalbeascoa (2005: 195) define 'wordplay' as a term covering many kinds of linguistic jokes, for example pun, rhymes, witticism etc. Following this broad definition, we will, in this project report, refer to all use of "play on words" as wordplays unless they can be more specifically classified under one of the aforementioned categories of linguistic humour Complex humour According to Cintas and Remael (2007: ), a joke is not necessarily based on one type of referent only. In audiovisual texts, the visuals can often support verbal jokes, creating a kind of humour that makes use of the possibilities of a multimodal medium (Cintas and Remael 2007: 216). Zabalbeascoa (2005: 195) also mentions this combination of verbal and non-verbal humour. He points out that both the verbal and non-verbal aspects are important for the translation of multimodal texts, because there will always be culturally bound meanings that are not expressed verbally. Instead, such aspects can be expressed through sound and picture, also referred to as aural and visual humour, respectively (Cintas and Remael 2007: ). Page 23 of 71

24 As a remark, none of the examples are commented upon in this chapter as they will all be thoroughly analysed in chapters 7 and 8, respectively Translating humour When translating humour it is important to bear in mind that humour is always closely connected to the context in which it is used. As expressed by Cintas and Remael (2007: 214), "humour does not function in isolation". Furthermore, Cintas and Remael (2007: 216) argue that co-text, sociocultural, linguistic and personal contexts are all important and should never be ignored in the attempt of implementing humour. Cintas and Remael (2007: 214) present the translation of humour as a process. The first step of the process is trying to interpret the ST humour. Next, the translator must try to evaluate how the target audience will understand different elements of the text. Finally, the translator will use the previous analytical considerations to rephrase the humour to produce a good result. The process mentioned above presupposes that the translator possesses certain skills of translating humour. Of course, a translator of humour should, like any other translator, have an excellent understanding of the languages in question and their use, but a developed sense of humour is also important in order to translate humorous material successfully. Vandaele (2002: 153) argues that skills of translation are not as important as talent when translating humour and thus cannot be taught and learned. According to him, the translator must not only have a developed sense of humour he must also have the talent to produce and re-produce humour. Page 24 of 71

25 Chapter 5: Source Text Analysis (NAA) The analysis in this chapter is based on relevant components from Schjoldager's Four-point Model for Translation Analysis (2013b) and Checklist for Textual Analysis (2013a). The following consists of an analysis of the communicative situation and communicative purpose, the genre and the register of the ST. Regarding the communicative situation, the sender of the ST is Dreamworks Animation and the receivers are mainly children and the "young at heart". Possession of sufficient understanding of the English language is a precondition, though, in order for the receivers to derive value from the entertainment of the film. The medium through which the ST is presented is the audiovisual channel of a DVD-film. More exact, the DVD-film Madagascar from 2005, produced by Dreamworks Animation, headquartered in Glendale, California in the United States. The communicative purpose covers the motive for the production of the ST and the intended language functions in the ST. Concerning the former, the motive behind a film production will always partly be for the producers, i.e. Dreamworks Animation, to make a profit. Another reason for the making of Madagascar (2005) is to produce a piece of entertainment for children and the "young at heart" to enjoy. With regard to the language functions, it is difficult to define a predominant language function intended by the sender, because the ST is composed of dialogue rather than being a literary text, for which the Checklist for Textual Analysis (Schjoldager 2013a) was originally intended. With respect to genre, Madagascar (2005) is an animation comedy film, and, like most films in this genre, the story is easy to follow and the humour is mainly directed at children, which means that it is easy to understand. The animation comedy universe in this film consists in four animals living in a zoo, talking, wandering around and basically behaving like humans. Each of the main characters has specific traits that make him/her funny Marty has his speech style and "fresh" expressions, Alex has his naive pompousness, Melman has his hypochondria and Gloria has her attitude and accent. Register encompasses field, tenor and mode. Firstly, the field of the ST is a fictive universe due to the fact that it contains talking animals that walk around on two legs and are friends despite natural instincts. The story in general investigates what happens when animals brought up in a zoo Page 25 of 71

26 suddenly have to survive in "the wild". It results in some very entertaining instances as they encounter the challenges of their so called "natural environment". Overall, the language of this field is simple, because it must be understandable for children. However, the characters all have different dialects or accents to make the language more lively and humorous. Marty, for example, speaks what we would characterise as "New-Yorker slang", and Gloria has an accent that we would call "ghetto". Secondly, concerning tenor, it is difficult to categorise the relationship between the sender, i.e. Dreamworks Animation, and the receivers because it is an indirect relationship. Indirect in the sense that Dreamworks Animation is only evident in the captions "From the makers of Shrek and Shark Tale" on the cover of the DVD and in the initial presentation of the producer in the beginning of the film. Thus, the relationship is primarily based on which films Dreamworks Animation have previously produced and whether or not the audience liked these. Lastly, the mode is oral, because the ST consists of dialogue between characters in an animated film. The level of formality depends on the character speaking and the relationships between the characters involved in the conversation. However, the language used in Madagascar (2005) is, in general, very informal it includes everyday language and colloquial expressions. For example make it fresh, for cryin' out loud, crackalackin', I'll hit the sack and that ain't gonna fly. Moreover, the characters have nicknames for each other, for instance babycakes, Ally-Al and fuzzbucket, and everyone is called by this name or by his/her first name, which is also characteristic of informal language. Page 26 of 71

27 Chapter 6: Target Text Analyses (KD) As was the case in Chapter 5, the analysis in this chapter is also based on relevant components from Schjoldager's Four-point Model for Translation Analysis (2013b). The analysis will compare similarities and differences between the professional subtitles and the fansubs. The points for analysis dealt with are presentation of the translation, availability, categorisation of the translation, professionalism, commissioner, intended receivers and interesting aspects of this particular translation. The first point for analysis is the presentation of the respective subtitles. In TT1, the subtitler is presented at the end of the film. His name, Hans Kristian Bang, is presented along with the subtitler for the song in the film, Trine Dansgaard, and the subtitling company, Sun Studio, in separate Danish credits following the original film credits. This way of presenting a subtitler follows the norms of subtitling, though the subtitler is often presented in the final subtitle, not in separate credits. According to Ivarsson and Carroll (1998: 158), the subtitler should either be presented in the beginning or the end of the film. In the case of TT2, the presentation has been made quite differently in comparison to TT1 as the subtitlers are presented both places. This is not good subtitling practice. In the beginning of the fansubs, it says "oversat af demon og Pantomania" and in the end it says "Text och Översättning: TEAM SWELite". Because TT2 is a fansubbed translation, it is extremely difficult to say who the subtitler is. When looking at opensubtitles.org, which is the page, to which the fansubs were uploaded, there are many different usernames listed as uploaders of the subtitles used for this project. The original source is thus not easily realisable. An interesting detail here is, however, that in the film, one of the presented sources of the subtitles is Swedish. This is interesting because a few of the subtitles in TT2 are written in Swedish instead of Danish. This might suggest that the original fansubs were produced by a Dane and later revised by a Swede. Concerning availability, TT1 is an integral part of the DVD and can be chosen from the menu of the DVD if the viewer wishes to watch the movie with Danish subtitles. TT2, on the other hand, is available on the website opensubtitles.org after it has been uploaded by, presumably, the fansubber. After downloading the TT2 subtitles, the viewer can then add them to the film. However, the fansubs cannot be added to the official DVD-version. Instead they can be added to downloaded movies. Page 27 of 71

28 With respect to categorisation of the translation, both target texts are examples of mixed-media translation due to the fact that subtitling is a diagonal type of translation. Like all subtitling, both TT1 and TT2 are cases of overt translations as they appear on the screen along with their equivalent ST elements (Schjoldager 2008: 31; Gottlieb 1997: 108). When both ST and TT appear continuously, it becomes obvious to any viewer that there is a translation present. Both target texts are examples of 'general-language' translations (Schjoldager 2008: 35) as they are neither literary nor special-language translations but are rather characterised by spoken language including slang and dialects. The most predominant dialects are from New York, which is the geographical location for the first part of the film and also the location where the main characters were brought up. When it comes to professionalism, TT1 is clearly more professional than TT2 as TT1 follows the conventions of good subtitling. Moreover, TT2 is, to a wide extent, dominated by misspellings which can prove to be very disturbing for the audience. Thus, only TT1 can be categorised as a professional translation. Regarding the commissioning of the translations (Schjoldager 2008: 160), it is very different for the two target texts. For TT1, Dreamworks Animation can be said to be the commissioner because the subtitles have been made on their behalf. However, one could argue that Dreamworks Animation is the initiator (Schjoldager 2008: 160) and that the subtitling company hired to do the subtitling is the commissioner. This is because the final product (the TT) is done by one individual employee of the company and because this employee has probably been assigned the translation job from higher powers of the company not directly from Dreamworks Animation. In the case of TT2, the commissioner is, with the assumption that no one has given orders to make the subtitles, the fansubber him-/herself. This discussion also includes the question of sender. The sender of TT1 can be said to be Dreamworks Animation because the subtitles are part of the final product, i.e. the Danish subtitled version of the original film. The sender of TT2 is, as mentioned, the fansubber him-/herself and the production has probably been done privately without the involvement of a company. Concerning the intended receivers, they are partly the same for both target texts. The intended receivers for TT1 are Danish children who are old enough to read, but receivers can also include an older audience who are "young at heart". Common for the receivers is that they have Danish as their mother tongue or understand Danish very well. Another important characteristic of the intended receivers is their insufficient understanding of the English language, which makes it difficult to Page 28 of 71

29 watch English films without Danish subtitles. Likewise, the intended receivers of TT2 are also people who need subtitles as support to understanding English films. However, children are not as much included in the group of intended receivers for TT2 as for TT1. This is because TT2 can be used alongside downloaded movies. None or very few children download movies and this is why the age of the target audience of TT2 is somewhat higher than that of TT1. Furthermore, the function of the subtitles also relates to insufficient understanding of English. Both target texts function as tools for people with insufficient understanding of the English language. These people will, by the use of subtitles, be able to understand all of the dialogue from the film. In relation to the subtitling of the film Madagascar (2005), it is particularly interesting how humorous aspects are translated. Not only is it very interesting in connection to this project it is also one of the problem areas when subtitling a film like Madagascar (2005) because much of the humour relies on cues that might not be known to the target audience. The target audience is thus to be kept in mind by the subtitler at all times during the translation process. Page 29 of 71

30 Chapter 7: Analysis of Humorous Aspects This chapter consists of an analysis of the humorous elements in selected sequences from Madagascar (2005). The theory on microstrategies and humour dealt with in chapters 3 and 4, respectively, will be implemented in order to carry out the analysis. The sequences are divided into three different categories based on the predominant type of humour as identified through the analysis of each sequence. These categories are as follows: cultural humour, linguistic humour and complex humour Cultural humour (KD) Within the film, there are several very culture-specific cues. These are mostly references to New York in different ways, which makes sense as the main characters have their home in Central Park Zoo and thus are "citizens" of New York City. Common for this kind of cultural reference is that the humour will only be understood by people with relevant cultural knowledge "New York Giants" (KD) The first example is contextually placed at the point where King Julien and the lemurs meet the four animals from New York for the first time. King Julien is referring to the four animals as the New York Giants because they are big and from New York. To people with even the slightest knowledge of American football, the name 'New York Giants' has some very different connotations, because it is also the name of a famous football team. This clear reference is funny because the character saying it has no idea that he is making a reference but just creates an expression based on what he knows. People unaware of the existence of the New York Giants will not notice this reference at all but only perceive it simply as a phrase in the film. In TT1, the subtitler has chosen to use direct translation whereas the fansubber has chosen paraphrasing in TT2. By using these strategies, none of the subtitlers has maintained the cultural reference. If they had wished to do so, direct transfer would have been useful. It might be the case that the subtitlers themselves have not understood the reference, but it is also a possibility that they Page 30 of 71

31 have considered how different microstrategies would affect the experience for the target audience. If the target audience were to be presented with this reference through the use of direct transfer and was unaware of its meaning, the audience would wonder about it. This risk of uncertainty is avoided using the strategies above. Furthermore, if there are people in the target audience who understand the reference they will most likely understand it no matter if it is included in the subtitles or not "Puffy party" (KD) In order to understand the second example, one must know the celebrity rapper P. Diddy who is also known under the name Puff Daddy. He is a man with a reputation of hosting wild parties (Fox News 2002) and thereof comes the name Puffy party. Here the 'in-group' of people understanding the reference is likely to mainly include people with an interest in gossip and celebrities, whereas many others without these interests might not be aware of the meaning of a Puffy party even though they are also American. In this example, there is disagreement between the two target texts on what microstrategy is most suitable for the translation. In TT1, direct transfer has been used, for which reason knowledge of who Puff Daddy is seems to be expected of the audience. In TT2, adaptation has been used to create the translation abefest. This way, it is no longer an issue whether or not the audience knows about Puff Daddy. The meaning is well maintained and, furthermore, the subtitler adds a humorous aspect due to the fact that the translation exchanges the cultural reference with an expression including the word abe, which is Danish for 'monkey'. The word abefest normally has nothing to do with animals, but when used in a context where all the characters are animals, it becomes funny. Page 31 of 71

32 "The Jersey-side" (KD) The final example is different from the previous ones in the sense that it is an example of culturespecific humour rather than only being a cultural reference. In the film, the Jersey-side is used as a term for "the bad side". This exemplifies the 'private jokes' presented by Zabalbeascoa. In New York, it is a joke that the neighbour state New Jersey is not as good as New York though people from New Jersey might consider themselves New Yorkers. This is the joke Alex uses when he talks about the Jersey-side. Because the joke relies on a stereotype, this joke will probably not work well for a Jersey audience. Direct translation has been used in TT1, which again presupposes that the target audience will know the stereotypical clash of New York and New Jersey. For TT2, the strategy oblique translation has been used with the result den forkerte side which is Danish for 'the wrong side'. As in the example with the New York Giants, the subtitler avoids much of the target group speculation by using this strategy and leaving out the problematic referent. However, by doing this the humour is not maintained Linguistic humour In the case of linguistic humour, the translation process can be especially challenging, as the subtitler is continuously presented with the choice of transferring the linguistic structure into the target language, possibly at the expense of humour, or creating linguistic humour adapted to the target language. The analyses of the following seven sequences investigate the translation choices relating to microstrategies and linguistic humour made in TT1 and TT2. In addition, other types of humour will be mentioned but the predominant type, concerning all seven sequences, is that of linguistic humour. Page 32 of 71

33 "Kanalsensationen" (KD) The first example is interesting in terms of translating incongruous humour. Grand Central Station will be easily understood among Americans or anyone else with some knowledge of New York. When translating it, however, the target audience must be taken into consideration. In TT1, the subtitler has chosen the microstrategy direct transfer. This could either indicate an assumption that the target audience knows what the Grand Central Station is or that it is irrelevant whether they know it or not, as it is not particularly important for the situation. In this case, it is likely to be the latter as the intended target group of TT1 mainly consists of Danish children who will probably not know much about New York. In TT2, Grand Central Station is translated into Centralstaionen. Assuming that the subtitler has made a spelling error here and that the translation was supposed to be Centralstationen, the subtitler has used the strategy of direct translation. However, the word 'centralstation' does not function particularly well for a Danish audience as there is no station in Denmark with this name. Taking this aspect into consideration, the applied microstrategy is closer to that of equivalence than direct translation. Though 'centralstation' does not have a clear reference in Danish, it will most likely not cause any problems of understanding for the audience. As an alternative to the microstrategies applied in the two target texts, the subtitlers could have used adaptation in order to give the Danish audience an experience more similar to that of the original audience. Using adaptation, a word like 'hovedbanegården' would probably have had the intended effect on the Danish audience. The next difficulty of the example is the translation of my aunt's constipation. Because of the rhyme, this is interesting and very difficult for a subtitler to create a decent translation for. In the ST it is included because it is funny that Alex questions whether the announcement in the train is something that makes perfect sense or something that is incongruous in the context. My aunt's constipation is completely unexpected because it would never be said over the subway speakers. My aunt's constipation and Grand Central Station can seem similar in terms of phonology due to the Page 33 of 71

34 rhyme of Central Station and constipation. In TT1, my aunt's constipation has been translated into the phrase tante entrer stadion. Using the word tante, which is the Danish word for 'aunt', there is still an aunt involved but, otherwise, the translation does not include any meaning from the ST or makes much sense on its own. This is not a problem when the original phrase is also completely out of context. Then the translation can be done rather freely without changing the meaning for the audience. On the other hand, it can be a problem that the translation does not include a rhyme, as this is part of the humour. It seems like an attempt has been made to create a rhyme but it has not been with great success as stadion does not rhyme with the English station. In TT2, the whole phrase my aunt's constipation has been translated into the word kanalsensationen. This is an example of substitution, as the translator has changed both the semantic and linguistic aspects of the ST. The word 'kanalsensation' is not a word in Danish (Dansk Sprognævn n.d.) but a self-made compound which can, like constipation, associate to an intestine because of the Danish word kanal, if understood in a specific way. However, this shared connotation is a vague reason for the translation especially when looking at the last part of the Danish translation, sensationen, which has nothing to do with constipation. In spite of the somewhat questionable semantic meaning of the translation in TT2, the fansubber has, unlike the subtitler of TT1, managed to create a rhyme in his/her translation. The humour of this example can be described as both language based humour and incongruous humour as it contains both a rhyme of words and incongruity. The fansubber has used the strategy of substitution and created a rhyme. Though it might be possible to find a semantically more suitable alternative to kanalsensation, the humour has been preserved in TT2, whereas the joke is not really working in the non-rhyming translation of TT "San Di-Lame-o-zoo" (KD) Page 34 of 71

35 In the second sequence, there is a number of interesting elements in relation to this project. The first interesting aspect for analysis is how the expression San Di-lame-o Zoo has been translated in the two target texts. In TT1, the subtitler has chosen the strategy of adaptation and translated the expression into San Die-knap-så-go Zoo, in which the structure from the ST has been retained. Furthermore, the subtitler has tried to transfer the meaning of the ST element as both structure and meaning are important for the humour in this case. Though the microstrategy is categorised as adaptation, it should be noted that the example is not typical for adaptation due to the rather creative ST element. In the want of a more suitable microstrategy for cases like this, the microstrategy has, in this example, been analysed as adaptation as this is the most suiting of the present strategies. In the ST, lame has been exchanged with the middle syllable of the word '(San) Diego'. In TT1, the syllable has not been exchanged. Instead, a few words have been inserted inside the actual word. The inserted words create a similar effect as in the ST but do not function as well as the original, because the word in the TT has more syllables than the word 'San Diego'. In TT2, the same expression is translated into San Dilamme zoo using the strategy of direct translation. The subtitler has translated very closely to the ST by translating the word lame. This, however, does not seem to be a particularly good idea, because the humour of the original is lost in the translation. Dilamme neither makes much sense in Danish nor has the same linguistic play on the word 'San Diego'. The next interesting aspect of the example above is the translation of the sentence Hey, we got this great open plan thing let the animals run wild. This is interesting due to the ways the two target texts differ. In TT1, it has become Vi har en fin plan. Dyrene skal løbe frit omkring. For this translation, the strategy of reduction has been applied. The meaning of the whole sentence is maintained even though some words are omitted. An open plan, for example, has a different meaning than that of plan, but because the part about the animals running wild is included in the translation, the meaning of an open plan is still maintained. In TT2, the sentence has been translated into hey! Vi har en stor plantage, which illustrates the use of the microstrategy equivalence. The meaning is changed completely into something that is out of context. Moreover, the punctuation does not follow Danish standards in this case. Because of the quotation in the dialogue, a colon and quotation marks should be applied in TT2 like it has been done in TT1. Page 35 of 71

36 "Ant-who-tica" and "Mada-who-ha" (NAA) Concerning the third and fourth sequences, they are both interesting linguistic cases in the sense that the original does not consist of "normal" words to be translated but instead of a very creative and colloquial uttering. The expression arises when one is presented with an unfamiliar word, and it is an alternative way of asking 'what does that mean?' or 'can you repeat that?'. These two sequences are examples of wordplay. Regarding TT1 in the third sequence, Marty's expression is rendered using the microstrategy adaptation as the professional subtitler has recreated the effect of the original creative expression in Danish. Like the middle syllable in Antarctica is replaced by who in the original, the middle syllable in Antarktis is replaced by the questioning element hvad for noget in TT1. In the fourth sequence, the last two syllables in Madagascar are replaced by who-ha in the original, and the effect of this structure is maintained in TT1 by replacing the last two syllables in Madagascar with the questioning element hvis ar. With relation to the translation in TT2, the microstrategy used in the third sequence is also that of adaptation as the translation recreates the effect of the original expression by rendering the questioning element who with a' hva' for noget. In the fourth sequence, the strategy used for the translation in TT2 is, to some extent, that of direct transfer the two last syllables in Madagascar are replaced by whoa, which is very similar to who-ha in the original. The effect of the original is somewhat rendered through the use of this strategy because Madawhoa? signals an uncertainty as to Page 36 of 71

37 what has been said and also has a relatively questioning element in whoa. However, the success of the translation in TT1 is greater than that of TT2 due to the recreation of the original effect through the retention of the original structure and the implementation of an idiomatic, questioning element "Mile High Pastrami" (NAA) Regarding the fifth sequence, the strategy used for the translations in TT1 and TT2 is adaptation both target texts try to recreate the same effect as the original without being concerned with linguistic characteristics. The original has certain similarities with the translation in TT1 as pastrami on rye and bolle med guf both associate with something edible and from the deli in the sky and ned fra himlen both concern the sky. The original on the fly and på vild flugt i en ruf in TT1 both associate with some kind of movement. One could argue, though, that the idiom 'on the fly' does not quite correspond to 'vild flugt i en ruf', because the former concerns doing something in passing or in the air and the latter associates with fast and frantic flight (Det Danske Sprog- og Litteraturselskab n.d.; Oxford University Press 2015). However, the effect of the original is maintained most successfully in TT1, partly because the subtitler has chosen to make a rhyme of guf and ruf corresponding to the rhymes in the original of high, rye, fly and sky. The effect of the original is also maintained in the translation in TT2 in the sense that it uses the word høj in correspondence with mile high in the original and the phrase jeg flyver som en ørn på vinger, associating with something flying in the air. However, the fansubber has not gone to the effort of integrating a rhyme in the translation, which has a negative effect on the overall impression of quality in this exact subtitle. Furthermore, the wording of the first sentence in TT2 Jeg føler mig så høj is, arguably, not intended for an audience of children due to the strong associations with euphoriants. But, as mentioned, TT2 is most likely working with an older target group than TT1, and, with this in mind, it may as well be a perfect rendering of the feeling Alex expresses in his monologue. Page 37 of 71

38 Concerning the humorous aspect of this sequence, the humour can be characterised as falling under the concept of incongruity, because it contains deviations from the norms. The wording in the original is rather interesting and can be categorised as non-sense, as it makes no immediate sense but is still recognisably English. This non-sense sentence is a deviation from what can be expected to be heard in a normal speech setting. The humour is maintained most successfully in TT1, because it is equally weirdly worded as the original and therefore also contains an incongruity or deviation from the norms. In contrast, the translation in TT2 makes more sense, which makes it easier to understand but also, arguably, less funny in this context "Sprechen Sie English" and "Mi casa is su casa" (NAA) The sixth and seventh sequences are both cases of code switching (Laroussi 2011: 9) in the sense that the ST mixes English and German in the former and English and Spanish in the latter. In the sixth sequence, both the professional subtitler and the fansubber have used the microstrategy direct transfer for 'sprechen Sie', making both TT1 and TT2 a mixture of Danish and German. The strategy of direct translation is used for both translations; from English to Danish in TT1, i.e. the rendering of English as engelsk, and from English to German in TT2, i.e. the rendering of English as englisch. Presumably, the professional subtitler has been in possession of a dialogue list providing the information that the English in the original is meant as the English designation of the English language, i.e. 'English'. The fansubber has not been in possession of a dialogue list and has therefore had to rely solely on the audio, and the English designation of the English language, i.e. 'English', sounds remarkably like the German designation of the English language, i.e. 'Englisch', which it is also rendered as in TT2. In TT1, Marty's answer to the Skipper's question is translated using the microstrategy adaptation in the sense that the effect of the original is recreated. In the TT, Page 38 of 71

39 the German verb sprechen is inflected the way a Danish verb would be in the same context, e.g. 'jeg taler', ending with an -r. This rendering of I sprechen as Jeg sprecher is a very creative solution and not a typical example of adaptation. In contrast, the strategy used in TT2 is that of direct transfer of the word sprechen, which, in addition, is not spelled with an initial capital letter in German. The professional subtitler as well as the fansubber have been aware of the grammatical norm in German of spelling the pronoun 'you' with an initial capital letter when using its polite form. The fansubber, however, has not been aware that languages are also spelled with an initial capital letter in German, i.e. englisch should have been spelled Englisch. In the case of the seventh sequence, the professional subtitler has used a blend of the microstrategies direct transfer and direct translation Mi casa and su casa are transferred directly into the TT, and is is directly translated into er, rendering the peculiarity of mixing two languages together. In TT2, however, the fansubber has used the strategy direct translation, translating both the Spanish words and the English word directly into Danish. The translation is idiomatically correct but the effect of mixing two languages together is lost in TT2. With relation to the humour in these examples, it can be categorised as being language dependent as the humorous element in the sequence lies in the use of code-switching. Contextually, regarding the sixth sequence, the situation arises because the penguins from Central Park Zoo are trying to escape by digging their way out. Slightly overestimating their own digging powers, they emerge through the grass in Marty's pen, expecting to have reached another continent, which is why Skipper asks Marty if he speaks English. The question is composed of the English words You, quadruped and English and the German words sprechen and Sie. The choice of German as the second language is quite peculiar, because the penguins are trying to dig to Antarctica perhaps they are of the notion that the language spoken in Antarctica is German, or perhaps German is the only other language Skipper speaks, however partially. This partial mastering of a language is an additional humorous element in this example, as it is a stereotype that Americans normally only master English. If they do have limited knowledge of another language or sayings in this language, they merely fill in English words where their knowledge is inadequate, which is exactly the case in these two sequences. Page 39 of 71

40 7.3. Complex humour Due to the fact that our empiricism consists of the film Madagascar (2005), the nature of our selected sequences is audiovisual, which implies a certain complexity in all of the selected examples in the sense that the visual and aural aspects of the sequences exist alongside the linguistic element of the spoken lines. With that being said, the previous sequences have been analysed with a focus on the linguistic elements, because this aspect is the weightiest in those cases. The following five sequences are cases where either the visual, the aural or both play a significant role, alongside the linguistic elements, in the understanding of the sequence "See you later, crocodile" (KD) Concerning the first sequence, it is particularly interesting in regards to humour. It is a brilliant example of how different types of humour can be combined in the creation of one very complex type. The example combines linguistic and aural humour but it also illustrates the concepts of incongruity and superiority. The first aspect to be dealt with is the utterance See you later, crocodile. This example of humour can be described using both the terms incongruity and allusion it breaks the norms of a specific English saying. Hearing the three words 'see you later', anyone with the slightest knowledge of English, or just of this well-known saying, will expect the continuation to be the word 'alligator'. Using the rhyming wordplay between 'later' and 'alligator' thus becomes a norm. Firstly, using crocodile is not just odd because it breaks the norm, it also does not rhyme with later. Secondly, it is funny because the words 'alligator' and 'crocodile' are very close in meaning. Because the sequence includes different aspects of humour and at the same time is closely connected to knowledge of English sayings, it is very difficult to translate the joke into another language. This difficulty is reflected in both target texts, in which neither of the subtitlers has tried to translate the joke. Instead, they have used the strategy direct translation resulting in the Page 40 of 71

41 translations Vi ses, krokodille and Ses senere, krokodiller. Even though the original joke has not been translated in the target texts, the subtitlers should still consider the context of the joke. In the film, the characters Maurice and King Julien are waving goodbye to more than one animal. Therefore, TT2 seems more suitable for the visuals than TT1, because only the fansubber has translated the noun crocodile into a plural form. The rest of the example can be categorised as a completely different kind of humour. In the film, it is quite rare that humour within the category of superiority is used, but here it is. Throughout the film, this kind of humour is mostly used by the character King Julien, whose predominant feature is arrogance. Therefore, he continuously uses humour that will make him feel superior to others. In this sequence, he acts and speaks in a very demeaning way to his "assistant", Maurice. An explanation of why this kind of humour is not dominant for the film could be that the target group has been considered during the production of the script. Instead of using humour with the goal of superiority for all of the characters, the use of it has been limited, mainly, to one character which is generally portrayed as being both arrogant and ignorant. A final interesting aspect of the sequence is King Julien's accent, which falls into the category of aural humour (Cintas and Remael 2007: ). He speaks with an accent that is very different from all the other characters. Like everyone else, he speaks English but he does not have an American accent. Instead, he speaks with an Indian accent. This is funny due to the fact that Madagascar has nothing to do with India and also strange because he is the only one in the whole film that speaks with this accent. Aural humour is combined with verbal jokes of different kinds multiple times through the film and these combinations result in complex jokes, as illustrated by this sequence. Page 41 of 71

42 "I Like to Move It" (NAA) Cintas and Remael (2007: ) investigate the translation of songs in subtitling, or, more specifically, the processes of deciding what to translate and how to do it. In the case of the second example, the professional subtitler has chosen to translate the entire song, whereas the fansubber has only chosen to translate the verse. Concerning the reason behind the choice of the professional subtitler, one could argue, that the entire song needs to be translated because the intended receivers or target group are children, who might not understand what the song is about without the help of the subtitles (Cintas and Remael 2007: 208). However, if the fansubber is working with a slightly older intended audience, one could argue, that it is only necessary to translate the verse and not the chorus of the song (Cintas and Remael 2007: 208). Firstly, the chorus is rather simple and easily understood, especially in correlation with the visual action on screen, and secondly, the lyrics do not contribute essentially to the story. Cintas and Remael (2007: 209) argue, though, that if a song "suggests somebody's mood", it may be relevant to translate it, which speaks in favour of the choice of the professional subtitler, because the song is a very strong indicator for the mood and philosophy of life of King Julien and the lemurs in general. When translating a song, the translator must, among other things, consider the relative importance of content and rhythm (Cintas and Remael 2007: 211). As mentioned, the chorus is not translated in Page 42 of 71

43 TT2, which is an example of the use of the microstrategy omission. Concerning the content of the translation of the chorus in TT1, the strategy used is that of oblique translation because the professional subtitler has focused on rendering the meaning of the original rather than translating it word for word. The content of the translation of the verse in TT1 is practically identical with that of the original, and the translation is a clear example of direct translation only the rendering of the word move in the original as ryste in the TT is questionable. One could argue, that 'bevæge' would be a more direct translation of move, but this detail does not disturb the general impression of the subtitles. In contrast, the original content is only partially rendered in TT2 and the strategy used is predominantly that of paraphrase as the meaning is maintained but the structure and the wording differ from that of the original. The rhythm of a song is also important when considering how to translate lyrics; "Subtitles that respect the rhythm of a song are easier to read because of the parallelism or synchrony between words and soundtrack" (Cintas and Remael (2007:211). The rhythm of the verse in TT1 matches the one in the original, and this is, for instance, obtained through the professional subtitler's use of the microstrategy omission. Some words in the Danish translation have been omitted to make the sentences "fit", i.e. to retain the rhythm, e.g. the definite article the in line three is not translated in TT1. With regard to the translation of the verse in TT2, the rhythm of the original is not rendered at all. This may be due to the use of paraphrase as the predominant strategy as it then requires more creativity to recreate a corresponding rhythm to the original. Concerning the rhythm in the translation of the chorus in TT1, it is maintained successfully through the use of oblique translation Page 43 of 71

44 the professional subtitler has carried out the translation with a view to retaining the rhythm rather than translating the original words directly. A direct translation could be "Jeg kan lide at bevæge den, bevæge den", which does not fit the original rhythm. Concerning the humorous aspect of this sequence, it can be categorised as being complex as it is a blend of the visual image of King Julien dancing entertainingly and the aural element of him singing a song, that linguistically corresponds to the dancing, with his rather peculiar accent. The song in itself is not particularly humorous one could even argue that it is a questionable choice to incorporate it in a film intended for children, as it contains references to girls moving their body in a "sassy" way. These rather inappropriate undertones seem insignificant, though, when the song is combined with a lemur dancing around being silly, singing weirdly to and with his lemur subjects "Hey, a latrine" (KD) Concerning the third sequence, it is one among many in the fansubs that shows how wrong a translation can be. In TT1, latrine this is translated into latrin, which is an example of idiomatically correct direct translation but could, however, be unknown to the target audience. 'Latrine' is another term for a communal toilet, especially in camps or barracks (Oxford University Press 2015a). To include this information in a translation, using the Danish equivalent 'latrin' is the obvious choice. However, 'latrin' is not a common word in Danish, so when taking the quite young target audience into consideration, it might have been better to use 'toilet' instead. An argument against using this alternative solution is that the audience of the ST is the same age as the target audience and thus has the same understanding of rare words. In relation to TT2, a completely different translation is found. Here, the fansubber has translated a latrine into Med toget. It is uncertain what the subtitler has thought in this case, but a guess could be that he has misheard what has been said in the film. Med toget means 'with the train' and this might be what the subtitler has heard instead of 'a latrine'. As mentioned, this could be an indication that the fansubber has had no dialogue list available to him during the translation. When considering the Page 44 of 71

45 context in which 'latrine' is being said, a train has nothing to do with it. It should also be possible for the subtitler to visually see that there is a hole in the ground and no train whatsoever. The humour in this sequence is based on the incongruity of verbal and non-verbal cues. In the sequence, Marty sees his friend Melman lying in a square hole with flowers and a gravestone. These things are clear signs of a funeral, but when Marty approaches, he applauds Melman for the outdoor plumbing. Because it is so obvious that the situation has nothing to do with latrines or plumbing, it is funny that Marty speaks of it as such. The humour can thus also be categorised as complex due to the combination and ironic incongruity of verbal and non-verbal humour. Page 45 of 71

46 Chapter 8: Analysis of Quality As mentioned, the quality of subtitling is dependent on the degree to which the subtitler follows the norms of subtitling. This chapter consists of analyses of differences in quality between TT1 and TT2 carried out on the basis of the theory on norms and quality in subtitling dealt with in chapter 2. The analyses are separated into five categories relating to quality, namely those of harsh language, successful strategic choices in TT2, unsuccessful strategic choices in TT2, content mistakes, linguistic mistakes and neutralising humour Harsh language (NAA) As mentioned, it is a norm of good subtitling practice to tone down harsh language. Multiple examples of this practice are evident throughout the film and, as the following analysis will show, this norm is followed in the professional subtitles but not in the fansubs. In the first example, filthy monkey is translated into grimrian in TT1 through the use of the microstrategy oblique translation. The semantic meaning of the original is rendered in TT1 with an equivalent expression that is more idiomatic and suiting to the context than a direct translation into 'beskidte abe' would have been. However, the translation into skide abe in TT2 is, exactly, an example of the use of direct translation, though it would have been more correct to render filthy as 'beskidt'. In addition, the translation in TT2 does not follow the norms of good subtitling practice because the word skide falls under the category of harsh language, resembling the words 'rotten' or 'sodding' in English. Page 46 of 71

47 This sequence is interesting because the translation in TT2, arguably, works better than the one in TT1. Hoover Dam, in the original, is an intelligent and humorous way of swearing without really swearing; the pronunciation of Dam resembles that of damn to a great extent. This is a case of the use of phonology to create humour Dam and damn are homophone words, as they are spelt differently but pronounced the same. The use of the microstrategy direct translation in TT1, translating Hoover Dam into Hoover-dæmningen, does not render the swearing-characteristics or the humorous use of homophone sounds in the original. In contrast, the oblique translation into Fandens også in TT2 honours the swearing-characteristics of Hoover Dam. However, the expression fandens også, resembling that of 'damn it' in English, can be categorised as harsh language and therefore this translation falls outside the norms of good subtitling practice. The strategy used in both TT1 and TT2 in the third example is that of reduction as the meaning of the original is maintained and the translations only take up 32 and 34 characters, respectively, as opposed to 46 in the original. Concerning the norms of good subtitling practice, the translation choice in this example resembles that of the first sequence the translation in TT2 does not qualify as a good subtitle, due to the use of the word skide, which, as mentioned, can be characterised as harsh language. Page 47 of 71

48 Regarding the fourth sequence, the microstrategy used in both TT1 and TT2 is that of oblique translation because the meaning of the original Dagnabbit is rendered, but not directly translated a direct equivalent of the expression does not exist in Danish. The expression Sørens også in TT1 is not as harsh as Fandens også in TT2 and therefore renders the meaning of the original better Marty is not angry that he missed the train, just relatively annoyed. In addition, and as mentioned, the use of the expression fandens falls outside the norms of good subtitling practice because it resembles the expression 'damn it', which can be characterised as harsh language. With respect to the last example, the microstrategy direct translation is used in both TT1 and TT2 both are translated practically word for word but are still idiomatic in Danish. The rendering of butt as rumpen in TT1 matches the level of harshness perfectly. In contrast, the translation of butt into røven in TT2 is a mismatch because the latter resembles harsher words such as 'ass' or 'arse'. On that basis, the translation in TT2 does not fall within the norms of good subtitling practice Successful strategic choices in TT2 (KD, NAA) This section concerns cases in which the fansubber has given, arguably, more successful translation solutions than those of the professional subtitler. In the first example, there are several aspects to analyse, but here the focus will be on the expression Ziploc-fresh. The expression covers the "freshness" of food after it has been contained in a closed Page 48 of 71

49 bag of the brand Ziploc. Though Ziploc bags can be purchased in Denmark too, it is probable that more American than Danish children are familiar with the brand name Ziploc. In TT1, the subtitler has chosen the strategy of direct translation and written Ziploc-frisk. Even if this reference is not understood by the target audience, the meaning of the ST item is maintained, as the Ziploc reference only adds meaning to the context and does not change anything. Regarding TT2, the strategy of adaptation has been used. The subtitler has, in this case, taken the reference to one product and replaced it with another. This is, likely, because he does not think the target audience will understand the original reference but instead will understand the Mentos reference to "freshness". Though Mentos and Ziploc are nothing alike in function or product type, the translation succeeds in the creation of a humorous reference. Another humorous aspect in this sequence is the word freshalicious. This word is a fine illustration of how the rules of morphology within a language can be used to create linguistic humour. In this case, the suffix '-licious', and a binding 'a', has been added to the word 'fresh'. The suffix '-licious' is a combined form originating from the word 'delicious' and is used to express that something or someone is delightful or attractive (Oxford University Press 2015a). In this example, it is used as a way to make the "freshness" even better. In TT1, the subtitler has tried to transfer the morphological humour through direct translation. Freshalicious thus becomes friskalistisk using the Danish suffix '-istisk' (Det Danske Sprog- og Litteraturselskab n.d.) and 'al' which is used as a binder. The suffix '- istisk' does not carry the same meaning as the English '-licious' but does, however, work in the recreation of the humour. In TT2, the fansubber has used the strategy of paraphrase and translated freshalicious into Over, mega frisk i dag. Using this strategy has not changed the meaning of the ST element but has, however, not been useful in the translation of the morphological joke. In the second example, the subtitler of TT1 has been semantically loyal to the ST by replacing the American D.D.S, which is short for Doctor of Dental Surgery, with the Danish academic title of a dentist Cand.odont. through the use of the microstrategy adaptation. Cand.odont., however, will not Page 49 of 71

50 make sense to a young audience as it is mainly used in academic contexts. With relation to TT2, the subtitler has also used adaptation for the translation of D.D.S. Unlike TT1, the translation has not only been adapted regarding language but also regarding the target group. The more common word tandlæge is used in this case, ensuring that everyone will be able to understand what is meant. Concerning the third sequence, both subtitlers have used the strategy direct translation to translate decade again with very different results. Both decennium and årti carry the meaning of 'decade', but årti is less formal than decennium which is rarely used. This also makes årti more suitable for a younger audience. In the fourth example, paraphrasing has been used in the translation of prance and skip around like a magical pixie horse resulting in the translation tosse rundt som en skør krikke. In TT2, the same ST element has been translated using the strategy direct translation with the result hoppe og té dig som en magisk lille pony. The original element is quite creative and funny and also works in Danish as illustrated in TT2. However, the spoken dialogue is rather fast in the film, which suggests that there is limited reading time for the target audience. Therefore, it makes sense that the subtitler in TT1 has chosen to condense what is said in the original. The meaning has, to a wide extent, been Page 50 of 71

51 maintained, but the subtitle has lost the humorous wording after being reduced, which will probably change the effect for the TT audience compared to that for the ST audience. The fifth example illustrates how the understanding of colloquial language can sometimes be better for a fansubber than for someone with a professional background. The subtitler has, in TT1, translated Now, this is more like it into Se, det er en anden snak, whereas the subtitler in TT2 has written Se det er noget der rykker. Both have used paraphrasing, resulting in two different expressions that function well in Danish, if one can ignore the grammar mistakes in TT2. However, if looking at the context, the translation in TT2 might work best. The character Skipper tends to use slang in his speech, and this suggests that the translation of his utterances should also use colloquial language in order to mirror the character most adequately. As mentioned, the presence of the original dialogue in audiovisual translation can have an effect on how a subtitler chooses to translate a ST item, which was earlier referred to as self-censorship. If a question is answered with a "negative" answer in the original, it is disturbing to the viewer, watching the film with subtitles, if this is translated into a "positive" answer in the subtitles, even though the construction requiring a "positive" answer might be more idiomatic in the target language. Concerning the sixth sequence, the translation of the question in TT1 is an example of the use of the microstrategy paraphrase. The content of the original is changed in the sense that don't like is rendered as hader which has a higher level of severity. The strategy used for the translation of the question in TT2 is direct translation as the original is translated word-for-word with an Page 51 of 71

52 idiomatic outcome. The translation in TT1 requires a "negative" answer if the meaning of the original is to be maintained, whereas the translation in TT2 requires a "positive" answer. With respect to idiomaticity and in relation to the original, the translation in TT2 is more idiomatic than the one in TT1. In general, when asking someone what they think of a present they have just been given, one would not, normally, ask whether or not they hated it, but whether or not they liked it. The case of TT1 is therefore an excellent example of the aforementioned self-censorship, creating a rather unidiomatic solution in order to maintain synchronisation between ST and TT. In the seventh example, the rendering of You all right as Fedt gjort in TT2 is a case of paraphrase, as the content is changed but the contextual meaning is retained. The rendering of the same expression in TT1 is an example of direct translation. Fedt gjort suits the aforementioned speech style of Marty better than Du er sej in TT1. Du er sej is an expression mainly used by younger children, which is why Fedt gjort matches Marty's slang-influenced speech style to a greater extent. The same is the case for the eighth and ninth example, where the fansubber has succeeded in using paraphrase to create more suiting expressions, matching the speech style of the speaker better than those created by the professional subtitler. Page 52 of 71

53 As mentioned, it is a sign of good quality when the presence of the subtitles is not noticed. In relation to the tenth sequence, this is obtained most successfully in TT2. In this case, the visual aspect of the sequence is important because the line to be translated Well of course, we're going to throw poo at him is an answer to a question that is not intelligible to the audience but consists of gesticulations and sounds by another monkey. As the original is an answer to a question, the structure of the translation in TT1 Så kaster vi naturligvis bæ på ham does not really fit. It functions more as a continuation of the previous uttering, which disturbs the impression of and draws attention to the subtitles. In contrast, the structure of the translation in TT2 Selvfølgelig skal vi smide lort på ham matches that of an answer to a question, which makes the subtitles invisible to a greater extent. In the case of the eleventh example, the structure of the translation in TT1 is probably created in order to render the severity of the original expression knocks me out with the Danish expression 'at gå ud som et lys'. However, the structure sounds rather unnatural in a speech setting in comparison to the more idiomatic translation in TT2, i.e. Jeg bliver så træt af at sove. This solution does not render the original expression to the same extent as the one in TT1, but it still renders the humorous aspect in becoming tired from sleeping and, moreover, it is more natural-sounding in a speech setting. Page 53 of 71

54 Concerning the twelfth example, the structure of the translation in TT1 is similar to the one in the previous example and also similarly unnatural-sounding in a context of speech. Again, the structure of the direct translation into Hvor der er musik, er der mennesker in TT2 is more idiomatic and natural-sounding in a speech context than the one into Musik, så er der også mennesker in TT1. With regard to the last example, the microstrategy used in both TT1 and TT2 is that of oblique translation the message of the original is maintained in the target texts but is not translated wordfor-word. In addition, the rhyme zone and alone is rendered in sted and fred in TT1, which is also a sign of good quality in subtitling. The original rhyme is not rendered in TT2, but the choice of words resembles that of the original to a greater extent than is the case in TT1. The rendering of in the zone as ruller in TT2 is more contextually equivalent than that of svæver in TT1. As mentioned, Marty's speech style is a significant part of the humorous aspect of his character, and therefore the humour is maintained to a greater extent in TT2 due to the use of the more slang-influenced ruller Unsuccessful strategic choices in TT2 (NAA) Although the examples above argue that there are cases where the fansubber has created an, arguably, more successful translation solution, there are also multiple cases where the fansubber has provided some rather infelicitous solutions. Four of these cases will be elaborated below. Page 54 of 71

55 With respect to the first sequence, the translation in TT2 is carried out through the use of the microstrategy direct transfer but with a grammatical adaptation. The word shush in the original is directly transferred into the TT but the ending is adapted so as to make it a grammatically correct past tense-ending in Danish. This is a rather creative solution, as the word shush only exists in Danish to the extent that it is somewhat similar to the hushing sound shh. Regarding the translation in TT1, it is an example of direct translation as the original is translated word-for-word into an idiomatic sentence in the TT. This solution is more linguistically correct than the one in TT2 as the latter incorporates a non-existing Danish word where an idiomatic equivalent exists in the target language. Concerning the second example, there is a mismatch in TT2 between the question asked and the answer given if the meaning of the original were to be rendered in TT2, the idiomatic answer to the question would be a "positive" one, i.e. ja, instead of the "negative" one given. With relation to the third sequence, the translation of You into Du in TT2 is contextually infelicitous. The English word 'you' can mean both du and I in Danish and in this context, a Page 55 of 71

56 translation into I would have been more sensible, as Mort is speaking to all the lemurs and not just one. In the fourth example, the infelicitous rendering of It's the man in the original as Det er ham in TT2 may be due to a lack of knowledge or awareness by the fansubber that the man can be used as a slang expression for policemen in English Content mistakes (NAA) This category deals with cases where the fansubber has, for whichever reason, made a mistake concerning content. As the renderings in TT2 in the following sequences are all examples of content mistakes rather than strategic choices, an analysis on the basis of identification of the applied microstrategies is not possible. With respect to the first example, the translation in TT2 can be characterised as a content mistake, as the meaning of the original is misunderstood. Contextually, the penguins have hijacked a cargo ship to head for Antarctica, and the caption informs the viewer of the whereabouts of the penguins in relation to the location of the four animals from New York. Geographically, Antarctica is located, roughly, 2500 miles south of Madagascar. The subtitler of TT1 has chosen to transfer the number from the on-screen caption directly, but as miles are longer than kilometres, the rendering is incorrect. The translation in TT2 is an example of a content mistake, as the fansubber has, probably, misunderstood the on-screen caption. Although neither of the translation solutions are correct, the rendering in TT2 will seem more confusing to the viewer than the one in TT1 due to the visual difference between the numbers 250 and Page 56 of 71

57 Concerning the second, third and fourth sequence, one could argue that the solutions given in TT2 are examples of the strategy omission, as much of the original is left out of the translation. However, these translation solutions are rather to be categorised as content mistakes. The theory on omission entails that a unit of meaning is deleted from the ST. Regarding the second sequence, the original spoken line makes up one coherent unit of meaning, and as the rendering in TT2 has left out an important part of the ST as regards content, it cannot be analysed as omission. With respect to the third sequence, the ST consists of two units of meaning, i.e. Marty, your black and white stripes they cancel each other out and You're nothing. The rendering of Dine sorte og hvide striber is a direct translation of the initial part of the first unit of meaning and the deletion of the second unit of meaning can be analysed as omission as the meaning of the entire sequence can be rendered without it. This, however, is not the case in TT2, as only part of the first unit of meaning is translated, resulting in a solution that carries no immediate meaning. The fourth sequence is also composed of two units of meaning While you were asleep, we simply took you to our little corner of heaven and Welcome to Madagascar. The second unit of meaning is translated directly into Velkommen til Madagascar in TT2, which would have recreated the effect of Page 57 of 71

58 the original, to some extent, had it been the only unit in the TT. However, the first unit of meaning in the ST is, partially, translated into Mens i sov, with the comma indicating that it was the intention of the fansubber to continue the sentence. The rest of the unit is, for unknown reasons, not translated, leaving the sentence unfinished, which makes no sense as regards content Linguistic mistakes (KD) Throughout the fansubs, a number of linguistic mistakes has been made. These mistakes have been divided into ten categories and compiled in the diagram below, illustrating the quantity of each category. The categories are as follows: spelling, colloquial language, word division, initial capital, Danish pronouns, apostrophe, double word, Swedish, grammar and miscellaneous. The most problematic categories are, as it can be seen in the model, spelling, colloquial language, word division and grammar. Spelling and grammar mistakes do not need much explanation since these do simply not follow the written conventions of the Danish language. The same applies for word division. The subtitler has often written two words instead of one, for example pizza manden instead of pizzamanden. This is an English tendency for especially compound nouns, which are mostly written in one word in Danish. In opposition to this, the subtitler has also had problems with Danish words that should be two words but in TT2 have been written in one word, for example idag instead of i dag. The category named colloquial language does not refer to all colloquial expressions but only to those that do not follow the conventions of written language. Examples of such errors are li' and year! instead of lide and ja (cf. Appendix 2). Concerning the category initial capital, it refers to errors where initial capitals have been used incorrectly, for example in the cases of Lyder Uhygiejnisk and Jul, Påske og Halloween. The category Danish pronouns refers to the translation of 'his', which can be both 'sin' and 'hans in Danish. There is a difference, however, in the grammatical use of the two pronouns. In Danish, 'sin' is used when the possessor of something is the subject or the implicit subject in a sentence (Det Danske Sprog- og Litteraturselskab n.d.). An example of incorrect use of 'hans' is Hr. Alex slikkede hans ven. Page 58 of 71

59 Apostrophe is a category that includes cases where an apostrophe has been used to mark a genitive. In Danish the genitive is created by adding an -s ending to the word. As an exception, an apostrophe is added to words already ending with -s but always after the last letter. An example of this type of mistake is Hvorfor kan vi ikke bare låne noget at Marty's ild?. The category Double word covers the cases where the subtitler has written an expression or word twice. These errors are probably due to the subtitler not paying attention or proofreading, but are yet mistakes that should not be there. Swedish is an interesting category that differs from the others in the sense that it covers cases where parts of the language in the subtitles are suddenly changed into Swedish, for example Här är vi. An explanation for this code switching might be that both a Dane and a Swede have been involved in the subtitling process. The last category, miscellaneous, includes the linguistic errors that did not belong in either of the other categories. This category mostly includes typing errors and unidiomatic expressions. Examples of such are Jeg har hørt de har hvide sletter i Connecticut and Jeg er bare end um, bare end um løve. To draw a conclusion from the diagram, the quantity of mistakes is a strong indicator of poor quality in TT2. Many of the errors could have been avoided if the finished subtitles had been Page 59 of 71

60 revised, and, according to the theory on subtitling, revision should always be a part of the subtitling process. Subtitles full of linguistic mistakes cannot be defined as quality subtitles and this argues strongly against the professionalism of the fansubber Neutralisation of humour (NAA) As mentioned, one of the key elements in producing quality subtitles is to remain loyal to the original. Madagascar (2005) is a comedy and, thus, the retention of humour in the subtitles is an important indicator of quality. Throughout the film, several examples of neutralisation of humour in the subtitles occur and in the following, three of these sequences are commented on. It is common for all the examples that the content of the original is rendered rather precisely, but on the expense of humour. Regarding the first example, 'spaying' and 'neutering' means castration, so the translation into kastrere in TT1 is an example of direct translation. The translation into fodre in TT2 is an example of the use of substitution, because the content meaning of the original ST is changed in the TT. There is no immediate reason for the use of this strategy, which could indicate that the fansubber has either not been able to hear what was being said in the original or did not know the meaning of the words. This could, arguably, be another example of the importance of a dialogue list. However, the structure of the translation in TT2 matches the structure of the original better. The notion of please is rendered in Vær søde at (vær venlige at or husk venligst på, at would have stood as a more idiomatic translation, though, but the structural meaning is still maintained) and the double negation don't forget to never is rendered in huske på, at i aldrig må glemme (in Danish, though, the plural form of 'you' is in capital (Det Danske Sprog- og Litteraturselskab n.d.). Normally, retention of the original structure is an example of the use of the microstrategy equivalence, which results in unidiomatic translation solutions. The theory states that if the use of equivalence results in an Page 60 of 71