AN OVERVIEW OF AUDIOVISUAL TRANSLATION: FOUR

METHODOLOGICAL TURNS IN A MATURE ISPLINE

SUMMARY
Audiovisual translation is different from the translation of written documents because it
includes the audio track along with the visual images. It involves digital technology in the
process of production, distribution, localization and consumption of audiovisual products.
Audiovisual translation is much fresh and interesting topic for the professionals and
researchers. The translation studies is a discipline of which audiovisual translation is considered
as a part. But most scholars claimed that audiovisual translation should be a separate discipline
because of involvement of digital technology in it. But it is difficult to draw a boundary between
audiovisual translation and translation studies, because the professionals working within this
field acknowledge the role of translation in the localization and globalization of films, TV
programs and cartoons. So, audiovisual translation share its status with translation studies and
interpretation The adaptation of the audiovisual texts is done for the target readers, so it is none
but the translator who can well produce the text according to target culture norms. So it involves
both the translators and technical experts. Chaume (2018) has explored the four methodological
turns in audiovisual translation. These methodologies provides researchers with the background
for their study. These four methodological turns in audiovisual translation are the descriptive,
the cultural, the sociological and the cognitive turns.

Before the descriptive translation studies, it was considered that source text creates the
translation constraints in audiovisual translation and the role of agent is important in translation
task. This approach was turned into end when the scholars had started focusing on the target
text. So the first turn in the discipline of audiovisual translation was descriptive translation
studies, in which the focus was shifted from source text to the function of the translated text.
Descriptive translation studies is concerned about the structure and shaping of audiovisual
translation studies i.e. finding norms and recurring patterns in the text. DTS is parallel to
cultural turn because DTS is a methodology and culture is theory. For the researches in DTS, a
corpus based methodology is used. In DTS, three viewpoints can be used; pragmatic viewpoint,
a semiotic viewpoint and an ideological viewpoint.

Then the second turn which is known as the cultural turn was driven from descriptive translation
studies, but this turn was get beyond the description of the pattern of translation. It was
considered the issues of power, ideology, patronage, identity, gender and stereotypes,
censorship and the strategies used in translation at intentional or unintentional level. It was

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founded on the base of descriptive translation studies but it is considered as a major turn in the
field of audiovisual translation. The researches in this turn e are mostly the case studies and
involved the use of corpus in researches.

Then in nineties, due to the rise of new digital culture the focus was shifted from the textual
factors to the social factors in which the role of agencies and audience was of greater
importance. It is because of the sociological turn in translation that the focus of the researchers
and the professionals got shifted towards the role of translator in the exercising the power in
text, adaptation of audiovisual texts and audience. The relation of consumer with the production
has been critically noted. The concepts of empowerment and intervention were focused because
of the dubbing and subtitling by the local people. In previous turns, it was up to the distributors
to decide what to do and what not to do in audiovisual translation but now the fansubbers and
fandubbers have access to the websites and newly released films, cartons and TV programs so
they decide what to dub and what not to dub. Sometimes, amateur subtitlers, focused only on
the communicative nature of dialogue to overcome the linguistic barrier between two
languages, so the subtitling and dubbing by ordinary people always involved unfaithfulness.
The subtitles can also have political agenda as focused in this sociological turn,

In recent years, the process oriented research has gained the attention of researchers so, the last
turn in audiovisual translation is known as cognitive turn. As this is the age of digital culture
and globalization, so this turn is not only limited to the mental processes of the translator but
also the response of target audience is considered in this approach. This approach has turned
the way of research and translation in the field of audiovisual translation. The tools such as Eye
trackers are used to approach the human brain. Eye tracking systems are now heavily used for
both interlingual and intralingual subtitling and dubbing, to compare different types of subtitles
both for sighted, deaf, to analyze minor details in films, to study the reception of amateur
subtitles, to analyze viewers response to the new promising field of accessible filmmaking, to
discover whether the audience is, and to learn and teach audiovisual translation taking into
account cognitive data, and so on. The biometric sensors are used in these eye trackers to
identify the physical traits of the translator and audience.

The main stance of the cognitive studies is to analyze the processes in the translator’s mind and
audience expectations. It involves the critical viewing of the processes which can be
quantitative or qualitative. However nowadays CAN (choice network analysis) has replaced the
method of TAP thinking aloud protocol to compare the translation with the original text. So the
research in the field of audiovisual translation is expanding day by day. However, audiovisual
translation is not much explored yet. A comprehensive history and strong theoretical
background is needed in the field of audiovisual translation.

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