Style as a translatable dimension of language: the applicability of the translation of style in animated films

This thesis investigates how variational style is used in animated films, and whether this feature of language can withstand the process of translation. Variational style can explain instances of language varieties that appear in modern animated films, which implies a conscious design that confers various semiotic layers to the audiovisual text. We consider the case of four films that have been translated into Catalan and Spanish, and include instances of style with vernaculars in the source and target languages. Shrek 2 (2004), Shark Tale (2004), Madagascar (2005) and Cars (2006) present an opportunity to investigate how style supports the narrative in the original and dubbed versions. To this end, we apply a stylistic analysis to the four films in all three language versions to uncover how this dimension of language interacts. The corpus analysis addresses the local meanings of variation, which are established in relation to the space the variety plays in the narrative. Ultimately, we seek to determine whether the original style has been reproduced in the target texts.

Furthermore, we seek to account for the acceptability of these translations by examining the current visibility of language variation in audiovisual media in English, Catalan and Spanish, and determining the extent to which speakers of each language are exposed to variation, and possibly style. Translation is also used to explore the possibilities that are available when transferring style between two languages by means of dubbing. In this context, we highlight the ethical perspective. To further address the acceptability of these translations, the final chapter consists of an empirical study into the perceptions that native audiences have of selected characters. Overall, we are able to conclude that the translation of style is a resource that has been exploited successfully for some of the characters of the corpus, and that it is a feature that can be further applied to similar fantasy films. We nevertheless acknowledge the importance of the genre, fantasy and animation, in creating a desirable situation where distance from reality allows for variation to create meanings that are distinct from their social context, which is the key to their translatability.