Chapter 12
The impact of AVT mode on audience reception
Each mode of Audiovisual Translation (AVT) requires a slightly alternate approach. Whether a given audiovisual material is translated by the means of subtitling, dubbing or voice over often results in a very different translation of the same Source Text (ST), which is not surprising taking into consideration various technical constraints and translation tendencies typical of a given AVT mode. At the same time, audiences approach a given AV material with a prior set of expectations, which often include AVT mode preferences. Moreover, viewers’ prior knowledge and fluency in Source Culture (SC) affects their perception of the end translation. According to Marchant et al. (2009: 154), “the overt visual attention detected by an eye-tracker gives us a window on internal systems” what, in turn, may be crucial for translators to improve their performance. The presented article is an attempt to show how audience really watches AV materials and how various modes of AVT affect viewers’ reception of a given production. The main objective of the paper is to answer the question: How a mode of AVT affects audience’s reception of humorous audiovisual materials deeply rooted in Source Culture? The analysis is based on the research involving eye-tracking devices conducted in May-July 2016 in Warsaw (Poland), during which the participants were asked to watch five short fragments of various humorous American productions deeply rooted in American culture (animated tv series: The Simpsons and South Park; animated feature film: Madagascar; tv series with actors: Gilmore Girls).
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Audience reception and perception
- 3.Watching and remembering
- 3.1AV materials and AVT
- 3.2Skopos and referential humor
- 4.Experiment design
- 4.1Device
- 4.2Participants
- 4.3Procedure
- 4.4Stimuli and analysis
- 5.Analysis
- 5.1Stimulus I (Gilmore Girls I)
- 5.1.1Eye-tracking data
- 5.1.2Feedback results
- 5.2Stimulus II (South Park): Polish fansubs versus original and English subtitles
- 5.2.1Eye-tracking data
- 5.2.2Feedback results
- 5.3Stimulus III (Madagascar): Dubbing versus Polish fansubs and the original
- 5.3.1Eye-tracking data
- 5.3.2Feedback results
- 6.Conclusions
-
Notes
-
References
References (59)
References
Alasuutari, Pertti (ed). 1999. Rethinking the Media Audience. London: Sage.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Antonioni, Rachele, and Delia Chiaro. 2008. “The Perception of Dubbing by Italian Audiences.” In Audiovisual Translation, ed. by Gunilla Anderman, and Jorge Díaz Cintas, 97–114. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Baranauskienė, Reda, and Laura Pociūtė. 2012. “Challenges of Humour Translation in Fiction.” Jaunųjų mokslininkų darbai 3 (36): 48–53. [URL] (accessed May 3, 2017).
Bartlett, Frederic Charles. 1932. Remembering: A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
BeGaze Manual (2011) Version 3.0. SensoMotoric Instruments.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Biederman, Irving, Robert J. Mezzanotte, and Jan C. Rabinowitz. 1982. “Scene Perception: Detecting and Judging Objects Undergoing Relational Violations.” Cognitive Psychology 14: 143–177.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bogucki, Łukasz. 2009. “Amateur Subtitling on the Internet.” In Audiovisual Translation. Language Transfer on Screen, ed. by Jorge Díaz Cintas, and Gunilla Anderman, 49–57. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bridgeman, Bruce, Derek Hendry, and Lawrence Stark. 1975. “Failure to Detect Displacements of the Visual World During Saccadic Eye Movements.” Vision Research 15: 719–722.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bucaria, Chiara, and Delia Chiaro. 2007. “End User Perception of Screen Translation: The Case of Italian Dubbing.” Tradterm 13 (1): 91–118.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Caimi, Annamaria. 2006. “Audiovisual Translation and Language Learning: The Promotion of Intralingual Subtitles.” The Journal of Specialised Translation 6 (July 2006). [URL] (accessed May 24, 2017).
Chang, Mei Y., and Raymond S. Dean. 2011. “Selective Attention.” In Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development, ed. by Sam Goldstein, and Jack A. Naglieri, 1300–1301. New York: Springer.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Chelazzi, Leonardo, Andrea Perlato, Elisa Santandrea, and Chiara Della Libera. 2013. “Rewards Teach Visual Selective Attention.” Vision Research 85 (7): 58–72.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Chen, Hui, and Brad Wyble. 2015. “Amnesia for Object Attributes: Failure to Report Attended Information That Had Just Reached Conscious Awareness.” Psychological Science 26: 203–210.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Chen, Hui, Garrett Swan, and Brad Wyble. 2015. “Prolonged Focal Attention Without Binding: Tracking a Ball for Half a Minute Without Remembering Its Color.” Cognition 147: 144–148.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Denton, John, and Debora Ciampi. 2012. “A New Development in Audiovisual Translation Studies: Focus on Target Audience Perception.” LEA – Lingue e letterature d’Oriente e d’Occidente 1 (1): 399–422.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Di Giovanni, Elena. 2016. “Reception Studies in Audiovisual Translation Research: The Case of Subtitling at Film Festivals.” trans-kom 9 (1): 58–78. [URL] (accessed May 24, 2017).
Duchowski, Andrew. 2007. Eye Tracking Methodology: Theory and Practice. London: Springer-Verlag.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
D’Ydewalle, Géry, and Ingrid Gielen. 1992. “Attention Allocation with Overlapping Sound, Image, and Text.” In Eye Movements and Visual Cognition: Scene Perception and Reading, ed. by Keith Rayner, 415–427. New York: Springer.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
D’Ydewalle, Géry, and Wim De Bruycker. 2007. “Eye Movements of Children and Adults While Reading Television Subtitles.” European Psychologist 12 (3): 196–205.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Gáll, Laura Karolina. 2008. “Translating Humor across Cultures: Verbal Humor in Animated Films.” The Round Table. Partium Journal of English Studies 1 (1): 1–11.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Gambier, Yves. 2009. “Perception and Reception of Audiovisual Translation: Implications and Challenges.” In The Sustainability of The Translation Field. The 12th International Conference of Translation, ed. by Hasuria Che Omar, Haslina Haroon, and Aniswal Abd. Ghani, 40–57. Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Translators Association.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Gambier, Yves. 2016. “Rapid and Radical Changes in Translation and Translation Studies”. International Journal of Communication 10: 887–906.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Garcia, Ignacio. 2009. “Beyond Translation Memory: Computers and the Professional Translator”. The Journal of Specialised Translation 12.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Grimes, John. 1996. “On the Failure to Detect Changes in Scenes Across Saccades”. In Vancouver studies in cognitive science, Vol. 5. Perception, ed. by K. A. Akins, 89–109. New York: Oxford University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hasson, Uri, Ohad Landesman, Barbara Knappmeyer, Ignacio Vallines, Nava Rubin, and David J. Heeger. 2008. “Neurocinematics: The Neuroscience of Film.” Projections 2 (1): 1–26. [URL] (accessed May 3, 2017).
Holmqvist, Kenneth, Marcus Nystrom, Richard Andersson, Richard Dewhurst, Halszka Jarodzka, and Joost Van De Weijer. 2011. Eye Tracking: A Comprehensive Guide to Methods and Measures. Oxford University Press.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Jensema, Carl J., Sameh El Sharkawy, Ramalinga Sarma Danturthi, Robert Burch, and David Hsu. 2000. “Eye Movement Patterns of Captioned TV Viewers.” American Annals of the Deaf 145 (3): 275–285.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Karamitroglou, Fotios. 1998. “A Proposed Set of Subtitling Standards in Europe.” Translation Journal 2 (2): 1–15.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Klein, Raymond M., Alan Kingstone, and Amanda Pontefract. 1992. “Orienting of Visual Attention.” In Eye Movements and Visual Cognition: Scene Perception and Reading, ed. by Keith Rayner, 46–65. New York: Springer.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kovačič, Irena. 1995. “Reception of Subtitles: The Non-Existent Ideal Viewer.” Translatio 14 (3–4): 376–383.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kruger, Jan Louis, Agnieszka Szarkowska, and Izabela Krejtz. 2015. “Subtitles on the Moving Image: An Overview of Eye-Tracking Studies.” Refractory: A Journal of Entertainment Media. [URL].
Loftus, Elizabeth F. 1997. “Crating False Memories.” Scientific American, September 277 (3): 70–75.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Marchant, Paul, David Raybould, Tony Renshaw, and Richard Stevens. 2009. “Are You Seeing What I’m Seeing? An Eye-Tracking Evaluation of Dynamic Scenes.” Digital Creativity 20 (3): 153–163.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Nord, Chistiane. 1997. Translation as a Purposeful Activity. Manchester, UK: St. Jerome.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Nord, Christiane. 2016. “Skopos and (Un)certainty: How Functional Translators Deal with Doubt.” Meta: Translators’ Journal 61 (1): 29–41.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Nornes, Abé Mark. 1999. “For an Abusive Subtitling.” In FILM QUART 52 (3): 17–34.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Orrego-Carmona, David. 2016. “A Reception Study on Non-Professional Subtitling: Do Audiences Notice Any Difference?” Across Languages and Cultures 17 (2): 163–181.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Perego, Elisa. 2016. “History, Development, Challenges and Opportunities of Empirical Research in Audiovisual Translation.” Across Languages and Cultures 17 (2): 155–162.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pérez-González, Luis. 2012. “Amateur Subtitling as Immaterial Labour in the Digital Media Culture: An Emerging Paradigm of Civic Engagement.” Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies 19 (2): 157–175.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Phillips, William A. 1974. “On the Distinction Between Sensory Storage and Short-Term Visual Memory.” Perception and Psychophysics 16: 283–290.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Potter, Mary C. 1976. “Short-Term Conceptual Memory for Pictures.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory 2: 509–522.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Reinke, Uwe. 2008. “State of the Art in Translation Memory Technology.” Language Technologies for a Multilingual Europe 3 (1): 27–48.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Roediger, Henry L. III, and Kathleen B. McDermott. 1995. “Creating False Memories: Remembering Words Not Presented in Lists.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 21: 804.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ruddock, Andy. 2001. Understanding Audiences. London: Sage Publications.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Sajna, Mateusz. 2013. “Amateur Subtitling – Selected Problems and Solutions.” Translation in Transition, ed. by Viktorija Bilić et al., 1–18. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Schankin, Andrea, Katharina Bergmann, Anna-Lena Schubert, and Dirk Hagemann. 2016. “The Allocation of Attention in Change Detection and Change Blindness.” Journal of Psychophysiology 13.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Schrøder, Kim, Kirsten Drotner, Stephen Kline, and Catherine Murray. 2003. Researching Audiences. London: Arnold.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Sperling, George. 1960. “The Information Available in Brief Visual Presentations.” Psychological Monographs 74: 1–29.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Szarkowska, Agnieszka. 2009. “The Audiovisual Landscape in Poland at the Dawn of the 21st Century.” Foreign Language Movies – Dubbing vs. Subtitling, ed. by Angelika Goldstein, and Biljana Golubović, 185–201. Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovač.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Szarkowska, Agnieszka, Izabela Krejtz, Krzysztof Krejtz, and Andrew Duchowski. 2013. “Harnessing the Potential of Eye-Tracking for Media Accessibility.” In Translation Studies and Eye-Tracking Analysis, ed. by Sambor Grucza, Monika Pluzycka, and Justyna Alnajjar. Bern: Peter Lang.![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Vandeale, Jeroen. 2010. “Humor in Translation.” In Handbook of Translation Studies, ed. by Yves Gambier, and Luc van Doorslaer, Volume 1: 147–152. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cited by (2)
Cited by two other publications
Al-Zgoul, Omair & Saleh Al-Salman
2022.
Fansubbers’ Subtitling Strategies of Swear Words from English into Arabic in the Bad Boys Movies.
Open Cultural Studies 6:1
► pp. 199 ff.
![DOI logo](//benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 27 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.