To translate or not to translate dialects in subtitling? The case of Pif’s La mafia uccide solo d’estate

Autori

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54103/2035-7680/19186

Parole chiave:

Audiovisual translation; subtitling; dialects; Mafia; identity

Abstract

The difficulty of translating dialects has been extensively studied over the years, firstly by scholars who focused on the (un)translatability of dialects in literature, and more recently by an increasing number of academics who have been investigating the issue within the field of audiovisual translation, both in dubbing and in subtitling. This study aims to analyse the strategies used in subtitling to translate into English the Sicilian dialect spoken in the Italian film La mafia uccide solo d’estate, directed by Pif in 2013. In this film, the use of dialect is not simply a tool to indicate the geographical origins of the characters, but it is exploited to construe their identity. Indeed, language variation is a device used purposefully to distinguish the ‘good’ characters from the ‘bad’ ones, and, as such, it is a means of identification. The results of the analysis will also be compared to those of previous studies conducted in this research area. Finally, the paper will attempt to provide some potential solutions that might be adopted in the subtitling of similar products, based on previous studies performed by the author on the original dialogues of some Hollywood films.

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Biografia autore

Ilaria Parini, Università degli Studi di Torino

Ilaria Parini is researcher in English language and translation at the University of Turin, Italy. She graduated in Translation from the University of Bologna at Forlì and holds a PhD in English Linguistics and Translation from the University of Milan. She is the author of the book Italian American Gangsterspeak (2013), has published about 30 articles in books and journals, mainly on the translation of varieties connoted from a geographical and social perspective, and has presented papers at numerous international conferences. Her research interests include audiovisual translation, translation of non-standard varieties and manipulation and censorship in translation.

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Pubblicato

2022-11-30

Come citare

Parini, Ilaria. 2022. «To Translate or Not to Translate Dialects in Subtitling? The Case of Pif’s La Mafia Uccide Solo d’estate». Altre Modernità, n. 28 (novembre):385-403. https://doi.org/10.54103/2035-7680/19186.

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Sezione

Fuori verbale Entre mamparas Aparté Off the Record