Languages, Literatures, & Cultures
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2254
Browse
2 results
Search Results
Item In the Margins: Representations of Otherness in Subtitled French Films(2008-05-05) Turek, Sheila; Eades, Caroline; French Language and Literature; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Translation involves integration of a multitude of disciplines and perspectives from which to compare two or more cultures. When translation is extended to film dialogue, in subtitling, the target language viewer unfamiliar with the source language must rely upon the subtitles to access the film's dialogue provided within the space of the verbal exchange, and often the subtitles offer an altered version of the dialogue, particularly given the time and space constraints of the medium. Subtitling, a unique form of translation, not only involves interlingual transfer but also intersemiotic transfer from a spoken dialogue to a written text. This work examines the linguistic treatment of three marginalized groups--homosexuals, women, and foreigners--as expressed in subtitles. In many instances, translation of certain elements in the films, such as forms of address and general referential language, change the meaning for the TL viewer. Cultural references present in the oral dialogue often get omitted or modified in the subtitles, altering the TL viewer's perception of the narrative and characters. These differently rendered translations have connotative qualities that are often differ significantly from the oral dialogue. In many cases, epithets and grammatically gendered language in the SL dialogue get diluted or omitted in the TL subtitles; likewise, power relationships expressed through use of forms of address, such as titles or tutoiement and vouvoiement, cannot be adequately conveyed, and the TL viewer is excluded from this nuanced form of discourse. Cultural references providing supplemental information, including non-dialogic text, are not always rendered in the subtitles, depriving the TL viewer of additional layers of meaning. In dual-language films featuring foreigners, nuances expressed by code switching and code mixing cannot be completely represented in the subtitles. Close analysis of subtitles within the framework of the sociolinguistic and cultural interpretations of the resultant TL dialogue reveals a great deal about the transmission and reception of cultural ideas and has not been addressed to this extent from this perspective. It is to be hoped that this study will inspire interest in further explorations of this nature and contribute to the ever-growing corpus of research in subtitling studies.Item CINEMA ET MYTHES DANS L'ESPACE FRANCOPHONE: LES REPRESENTATIONS DES FIGURES HISTORIQUES DANS LES FILMS D'AFRIQUE NOIRE ET DES ANTILLES.(2005-05-19) Petnkeu, Zacharie Nzepa; Julien , Eileen; French Language and Literature; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Beginning with a contextual characterization of the concepts of 'tragedy' and 'hero', this dissertation examines the various ways black filmmakers represent historical and political leaders of Francophone sub Saharan Africa and the Caribbean in their narratives. Eight movies are analyzed, including six from Africa -- David Achkar's Allah Tantou (1991), Med Hondo's Sarraounia (1986), Dani Kouyate's Keita. The Heritage of the Griot (1995), Raoul Peck's Lumumba. Death of a Prophet (1992), Cheick Oumar Sissoko's Guimba. The Tyrant (1995), Ousmane Sembene's Emitaï (1971) -- and two from the Caribbean -- Charles Najman's Royal Bonbon (2002) and Isaac Julien's Frantz Fanon: Black Skin White Mask (1996). The study explores the use of cinematic techniques overlaid by cultural codes to suggest on the one hand either a deep sense of anti-heroism on the part of some leaders or the exaltation of others' heroism, and on the other, the attitudes of female heroines in their oppressive environment. In this respect, the analysis draws upon theoretical works of semioticians and structuralists such as Christian Metz, Jurij Lotman, Claude Levi-Strauss and Roland Barthes. It also focuses on film aesthetics as a way of addressing the meaning of tragedy in relation to the contextual components of these movies as well as the ideological positions of the filmmakers considered to be representatives of the voices of the margins. The work of Fanon, Césaire, Memmi, Luce Irigaray, Assia Djebar, Ella Shohat and other post-colonial or feminist theoreticians is used to highlight the analysis. In sum, this study is meant to reflect the awareness of oppressive forces and ideologies at work in contemporary political and social arenas in Africa and its Diaspora. It also brings to light men and women's responsibilities for challenging and standing up to such forces.