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Article published In: Journal of Language and Politics
Vol. 18:1 (2019) ► pp.131–153

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False equality in election advertisements

The use of multilingualism and subtitles

ORCiD logo with link | Bar-Ilan University
Published online: 29 January 2019
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.18022.kar
Abstract
Studies have covered a variety of aspects related to the translation of political texts and propaganda. However, little has been written about the role that heterolingualism and translation can play in the original versions of these very texts. This article investigates a case in which multilingualism in propaganda was employed to reflect and comment on multilingualism and diversity in the political reality. It analyzes two highly controversial televised election advertisements from the Israeli 2013 campaign and their use of both Hebrew and Arabic in speech and in interlingual and intralingual subtitles. The analysis shows that code-switching and subtitles can play a role in conveying the political message and in masking it at the same time. It also suggests that the political use of heterolingualism and translation in the propaganda itself should be more profoundly explored.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The propaganda commercials
  • 3.Heterolingualism and code-switching
  • 4.Translational procedures used in the advertisements and their general reception
    • 4.1Heterolingualism: A marked choice
    • 4.2Use of subtitles
    • 4.3Parody, satire, performative contradiction – through translation and musical adaptation
  • 5.The legal procedure: An explicit discussion
    • 5.1The decision of the central elections committee
    • 5.2Petitions submitted to the Israeli high court
    • 5.3The respondent’s petition (By the elections committee)
    • 5.4The verdict of the High Court of Justice
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
  • Legal documentation
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Legal documentation
Strong Israel, petition 236/13, January 9, 2013.
Association for Civil Rights in Israel, petition 245/13, January 11, 2013.
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