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Article published In: Babel
Vol. 68:1 (2022) ► pp.1–23

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Going global against the tide

The translation of Chinese audiovisual productions

 | University College London
 | Huazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhan
Published online: 15 February 2022
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.00255.dia
Abstract
With the rapid development of digitization and the emergence of social networks and streaming platforms, audiovisual translation (AVT) has become one of the most prolific expressions of global communication in today’s society, able to overcome linguistic barriers when disseminating culture across the world. While audiovisual productions originally shot in English seem to be able to take full advantage of this situation, China’s domestic programs frequently encounter more challenges to make it overseas. Adopting a primarily translational approach, this paper borrows the concept of “cultural discount,” coined by Hoskins, Colin, and Rolf Mirus. 1988. “Reasons for the U.S. Dominance of the International Trade in Television Programmes.” Media, Culture and Society 101: 499–515. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, to capture the notion that audiovisual productions are rooted in one culture and, therefore, may have diminished appeal among viewers from other communities. The study holds that the degree of cultural discount audiovisual productions may encounter when exported depends on numerous factors, which are explored through examples of recently localized films and TV series of Chinese origin.
Résumé
Grâce au développement rapide du numérique et à l’émergence des réseaux sociaux et des plateformes de diffusion en continu (streaming), la traduction audiovisuelle (TAV) s’est hissée à l’avant-plan de la communication internationale de notre société actuelle, puisqu’elle permet de surmonter les barrières linguistiques lors de la diffusion de la culture à travers le monde. Alors que les productions audiovisuelles tournées en anglais semblent tirer pleinement parti de cette situation, les programmes nationaux chinois rencontrent souvent plus de difficultés à s’imposer à l’étranger. En adoptant une approche essentiellement traductionnelle, cet article emprunte le concept de « réduction culturelle », de Hoskins, Colin, and Rolf Mirus. 1988. “Reasons for the U.S. Dominance of the International Trade in Television Programmes.” Media, Culture and Society 101: 499–515. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, pour rendre compte de la notion selon laquelle les productions audiovisuelles sont ancrées dans une culture et peuvent donc présenter un intérêt moindre pour les téléspectateurs d’autres communautés. L’étude montre que le degré de réduction culturelle imposée aux productions audiovisuelles exportées dépend de nombreux facteurs, explorés à travers des exemples de films et de séries télévisées d’origine chinoise récemment localisés.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Eyeing the global market
  • 3.Cultural discount
    • 3.1Cultural discount and audiovisual translation
  • 4.Norms
    • 4.1Preliminary norms
    • 4.2Initial norm or global translation strategy
    • 4.3Matricial norms
  • 5.Conclusion
  • References
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