MACMILLAN (Re)Creating Language Identities in Animated Films: Dubbing Linguistic Variation (Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting)

This book describes the dubbing process of English-language animated films produced by US companies in the 21st century, exploring how linguistic variation and multilingualism are used to create characters and identities and examining how Italian dubbing professionals deal with this linguistic characterisation. The analysis carried out relies on a diverse range of research tools: text analysis, corpus study and personal communications with dubbing practitioners. The book describes the dubbing workflow and dubbing strategies in Italy and seeks to identify recurrent patterns and therefore norms, as well as stereotypes or creativity in the way multilingualism and linguistic variation are tackled. It will be of interest to students and scholars of translation, linguistic variation, film and media. Review “This is a robust and thoroughly-researched academic study that successfully brings together two fascinating areas of knowledge: dubbing and animation. In this tour de force, the author not only offers a detailed overview of the dubbing industry and its various stakeholders but she also unravels the intricacies and mysteries of this professional practice through the investigation of a large corpus of films. Interdisciplinary in its approach, engaging and elegantly written, this monograph is a most welcome addition to the growing literature of translation studies.” -- Jorge Díaz-Cintas, Centre for Translation Studies (CenTraS), University College London, UK  “By urging closer attention to the transfer of identities in audiovisual translation, Vincenza Minutella makes an inspiring and challenging contribution to our field. This resourceful book delves into the functions of language variation in order to depict identities, understand stereotypes and construe personalities in English-language animated films, and judiciously examines how these stereotypes have been carried over through dubbing. This thought-provoking contribution to the literature of audiovisual translation will become a valuable tool to understand the secrets of this dynamic and popular profession.” --Frederic Chaume, Universitat Jaume I, Spain From the Back Cover This book investigates how language identities are created and represented in animated films, and how they are tackled by dubbing professionals in Italy. The author describes how language variation and varieties contribute to building the language identities of characters in several popular Anglo-American animated films, and analyses how these linguistic characterisations are transposed into Italian. Drawing on a corpus of 30 films produced by Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, 20th Century Fox and Sony, the book examines linguistic norms, conventions and stereotypes and highlights issues of creativity in translation. It is the first book in English entirely devoted to the translation of animated feature films, and it will be of interest to students and scholars of translation, linguistic variation, film and media. Vincenza Minutella is a researcher and Aggregate Professor in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and Modern Cultures at the University of Turin, Italy.  About the Author Vincenza Minutella is a Research Fellow and Lecturer of English Language and Translation in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and Modern Cultures at the University of Torino, Italy.