Relating visual images to subtitle translation in Finding Nemo: A multi-semiotic interplay

Authors

  • Yuping Chen the University of Sydney
  • Wei Wang the University of Sydney

Keywords:

subtitle translation, English animation films

Abstract

Focusing on the role of semiotic interplay in subtitling, this paper draws upon Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) -informed multimodality and semiotic translation to address the subtitle translation in Finding Nemo. In so doing, the subtitle translation is analysed at Kress and van Leeuwen’s three metafunctional levels with a view to relating dynamic visual images to subtitle translation, while previous studies only consider interrelations between static images and isolated filmic units. This paper examines the types and functions of semiotic interplay, and the concrete influence that such interplay brings to bear on subtitle translation. This study finds that there are six types of semiotic interplay, operating at three metafunctional levels, which perform different functions to facilitate the subtitling process and which exert different impacts on subtitle translation.


Author Biographies

  • Yuping Chen, the University of Sydney
    Ms. Yuping Chen is a PhD candidate in School of Languages and Cultures, the University of Sydney. Her research interests include translation studies, discourse analysis and second language acquisition.
  • Wei Wang, the University of Sydney
    Dr. Wei Wang is Senior Lecturer in Translation Studies at the University of Sydney. His primary research interests are in the areas of discourse studies and translation studies. He is the author of Genre across Languages and Cultures (VDM, 2007). His publications appear in Discourse Studies, Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, T & I Review, Journal of Multicultural Discourse and other international academic journals. He also published book chapters with Continuum, Benjamins, the University of Michigan Press, Mouton, and Wiley-Blackwell.

Downloads

Published

2016-04-07

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 1 (2016): Translation & Interpreting

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).