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SÁNCHEZ-MOMPEÁN, SOFÍA. THE PROSODY OF DUBBED
SPEECH. BEYOND THE CHARACTER’S WORDS. CHAM, SWITZERLAND,
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN, 2020, 250 PP., ISBN 978-3-030-35520-3
The Prosody of Dubbed Speech. Beyond the Character’s Words is
undoubtedly an essential research monograph for scholars and practitioners
that work in audiovisual translation (AVT) and dubbing in particular. It is written
in flowing prose and is a very compelling read. Indeed, it offers a holistic
analysis of an underexplored topic: the prosody of the language of dubbing.
Dubbing is one of the most common modes of revoicing, so research has
recently flourished in areas such as user reception (Matamala, 2017; Perego
et al., 2018; Di Giovanni, 2018), eye-tracking (Romero-Fresco, 2020),
censorship (Zanotti, 2016; Martínez Sierra, 2017; Díaz Cintas, 2018),
multilingualism (De Higes-Andino, 2014; Zabalbeascoa and Voellmer, 2014;
Dore, 2019), and fandubbing (Chaume, 2013; Baños, 2019a), among others.
The prosody of dubbed speech, however, called for well-planned and
methodologically strong studies as other researchers such as Pavesi (2013),
Pérez-González (2014) and Bruti and Zanotti (2017) had already pointed out.
Hence the need for this book.
The book boasts a systematic research framework that combines two
disciplines, AVT and Linguistics, or, more specifically and as the author herself
highlights, dubbing and prosody. This constructive integration of disciplines
results in interesting insights into the non-verbal features that complement and
characterise the verbal content of dubbed speech. To yield such insights, the
book addresses three main questions throughout four chapters: what the main
features of dubbing are at the prosodic level, whether the characters’ attitude
is conveyed by the prosody of dubbed speech, and to what extent dubbed
prosody is (un)natural. The four chapters are accompanied by a very engaging
introduction and a neat and comprehensive conclusion that make for gripping
reading.
In Chapter 1, “Introduction: Unhiding the Art”, the research framework
of dubbing is reviewed carefully by referencing some of the most
representative researchers in dubbing studies. The chapter emphasises the
research opportunities on the prosodic features of dubbing. This introduction
reveals one of the key aspects of Sánchez-Mompeán’s research: the fact that
the prosodic level of speech gathers not only universal but also language-
specific features of language (Hirst et al., 2001). Such traits can be classified,
according to the author’s proposal, into five prosodic correlates: intonation,
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loudness, tempo, rhythmicality and speech tension, which, in turn, will be
discussed in the following chapters.
Chapter 2, “Dubbing and Prosody at the Interface”, discusses the
implications of prosody for the language of dubbing. The chapter begins with
an in-depth description of the dubbing process, including the different steps
and agents involved in this professional practice. To continue with “the
shackles” of dubbing, its main characteristics are presented, always focusing
on their direct correlation with prosody. These features are synchronisation,
the artificial language of dubbing or dubbese, voice talent characterisations,
intertextuality, and humour. All of these are fundamental not only for linguistic
translation but also for voice actors, since the five features are closely linked
to and dependent on prosody. A thorough overview of dubbing is offered by
incorporating a systematic review of its history since the first dubbed musical
film in 1929, Rio Rita (Luther Reed, 1929). A concise and inspiring reference
to the recent concept of accessible filmmaking is also made to foreground its
benefits for pre-synchronisation dubbing. The second section of chapter 2 is
devoted to the characteristics of prosody, presented in descending order
considering their closeness to linguistic content. These are intonation,
loudness, tempo, rhythmicality, and speech tension. Finally, the intersection
between the characteristics of dubbing and those of prosody are explored to
posit that prosody needs to be accounted for in the process of dubbing. It
affects not only the acting performance but also the ultimate translation and
representation of paralinguistic features. This is accomplished by comparing
the prosody of dubbed and natural speech, analysing characters’ attitudes
transmitted by their speech, and discussing the (un)naturalness of dubbed
prosody.
Chapter 3, “Prosodically Speaking in Dubbing”, constitutes the core of
the book by empirically illustrating the ideas presented in the previous
sections. The author proposes a model of analysis that accounts for the
features of dubbed prosody, their attitudinal behaviour and their
(un)naturalness, by considering the semiotic and multimodal features of
audiovisual content. The proposal consists of a descriptive corpus-based
analysis encompassing source and target texts in which comparisons are
established and certain tendencies are identified focusing on the five traits of
prosody introduced in previous chapters. The bilingual parallel corpus
comprises 12 episodes of the popular North-American sitcom How I Met Your
Mother (Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, 2005–2014). The corpus includes
720 selected utterances, 360 in English and 360 in Spanish. Certain features
therein are identified as recurrent and thus contribute to giving the prosodic
level of dubbese a particular dis(similarity) to spontaneous speech. Results
are meticulously explained in terms of dubbed intonation, loudness, tempo,
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rhythmicality and tension, and the author fleshes out the recurring patterns
found in such aspects. The level of agreement, certainty and intensity
identified in both the source and the target texts when conveying attitudinal
meaning is also described. Chapter 3 closes with a discussion on the
naturalness of dubbed prosody, which is placed Halfway along the continuum
of linguistic expression proposed by Baños and Chaume (2009), with written
text at one end of the pole and oral at the other. This paves the way for
discussing the concept of dubbitis: the characteristic melody of dubbed
renditions, as defined by the author, as opposed to dubbese or the language
of dubbing.
Chapter 4, “Translating Beyond Words”, centres on prosodic features
and how they work across different cultures and languages. The author posits
that translators must be aware of the need to re-direct translation decisions
towards the most appropriate linguistic selection and prosodic rendition in
order to convey meaning in the most efficient way. This is closely linked to the
discussion presented in Chapter 5, “Pitch Perfect”, which delves into audience
reception and how viewers resort to what is known as suspension of
(prosodic) disbelief (Romero-Fresco, 2020). Although reception studies seem
necessary to support such discussion empirically, the author presents a well-
supported reflection on the processes that the audience activate to achieve
the necessary balance of the (un)natural features of dubbing and enjoy
dubbed products. Heterogeneous conventions across countries are also
discussed, as well as the importance of incorporating artistic and prosodic
aspects of dubbing into curricula. The chapter brings voice talents to the fore
by analysing the statements made by ten dubbing actors in a questionnaire.
The actors provide insights into their experience in dubbing performance
including aspects such as dubbing practices in the studio, required skills, and
actors’ attitudes towards the intricacies of dubbing.
This monograph sheds light on how the prosody of dubbed speech
complements the linguistic content of utterances. This work contributes
towards raising awareness of how prosody works across different languages
and cultures, and how it should be factored into reproducing meaning and its
implications in dubbed products. Performances transcend words, and, as
such, practitioners, including any stakeholders involved in the dubbing
process such as translators or voice actors, have to be aware of prosody and
its importance. This also makes it essential for researchers to continue
exploring the (un)naturalness of dubbed speech at the prosodic level,
including descriptive but also empirical research, with the latter extending to
reception studies. The model of analysis offered by Sánchez-Mompeán
seems to be an enriching research tool to investigate how prosody works in
dubbing and how prosody could be enhanced in the future. The empirical
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results open up new research avenues, and the detailed bibliography
compiled by the author will surely help readers undertake future research in
this field. The much-needed study of prosody in dubbing makes this a one-of-
a-kind, must-read book. This is an essential reference for practitioners,
researchers and students interested in the intricacies of the language of
dubbing and its particular prosody.
R
EFERENCES
Baños, R. (2019). Fandubbing across time and space: From dubbing ‘by fans
for fans’ to cyberdubbing. In I. Ranzato & S. Zanotti (Eds.), Reassessing
dubbing: Historical approaches and current trends (pp. 145-168). John
Benjamins.
Baños-Piñero, R., & Chaume, F. (2009). Prefabricated orality: A challenge in
audiovisual translation. InTRAlinea, Special Issue: The Translation of
Dialects in Multimedia.
http://www.intralinea.org/specials/article/Prefabricated_Orality.
Bruti, S., & Zanotti, S. (2017). Exploring the sensory dimension of translated
films: An analysis of The King’s Speech. Palimpsestes, 30, 154-177.
https://doi.org/10.4000/palimpsestes.2488
Chaume, F. (2013). Panorámica de la investigación en traducción para el
doblaje. Trans: Revista de Traductología, 17, 13-34.
https://doi.org/10.24310/TRANS.2013.v0i17.3225
De Higes-Andino, I. (2014). The translation of multilingual films: Modes,
strategies, constraints and manipulation in the Spanish translations of
It’s a Free World…
Linguistica Antverpiensia, 13, 21-231.
https://doi.org/10.52034/lanstts.v13i.47
Di Giovanni, E. (2018). Dubbing, perception and reception. In E. Di Giovanni
& Y. Gambier (Eds.), Reception studies and audiovisual translation (pp.
159-178). John Benjamins.
Díaz Cintas, J. (2018). Film censorship in Franco’s Spain: The transforming
power of dubbing. Perspectives: Studies in Translatology, 27(2), 182-
200. https://doi.org/10.1080/0907676X.2017.1420669
Dore, M. (2019). Multilingual humour in audiovisual translation: Modern family
dubbed in Italian. The European Journal of Humour Research, 7(1), 52-
70. https://doi.org/10.7592/EJHR2019.7.1.dore2
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Hirst, D., Di Cristo, A., & Nishinuma, Y. (2001). Prosodic parameters of
French: A cross-language approach. Contrastive Studies of Japanese
and Other Languages Series, 7-20.
https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/52463564.pdf
Martínez Sierra, J. J. (2017). Dealing with the N-word in dubbing and subtitling
Django Desencadenado: A case of self-censorship? Ideas, 3(3), 39-56.
https://p3.usal.edu.ar/index.php/ideas/article/view/4280
Matamala, A., Perego, E., & Bottiroli, S. (2017). Dubbing versus subtitling yet
again? An empirical study on user comprehension and preferences in
Spain. Babel, 63(3), 423-441. https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.63.3.07mat
Pavesi, M. (2013). This and That in the language of film dubbing: A corpus-
based analysis. Meta: Translator’s Journal, 58(1), 103-133.
https://doi.org/10.7202/1023812ar
Perego, E., Del Missier, F., & Stragà M. (2018). Dubbing vs. subtitling:
Complexity matters. Target: International Journal of Translation
Studies, 30(1), 13-157.
https://benjamins.com/online/target/articles/target.16083.per
Pérez-González, L. (2014). Audiovisual translation: Theories, methods and
issues. Routledge.
Romero-Fresco, P. (2020). The dubbing effect: An eye-tracking study on how
viewers make dubbing work. The Journal of Specialised Translation,
33, 17-40. https://jostrans.org/issue33/art_romero.pdf
Zabalbeascoa, P., & Voellmer, E. (2014). Accounting for multilingual films in
translation studies: Intratextual translation in dubbing. In D. Abend
(Ed.), Media and translation: An interdisciplinary approach (pp. 25-52).
Bloomsbury Academic.
Zanotti, S. (2016). Images of youth on screen: Manipulative translation
strategies in the dubbing of American teen films. Altre Modernità, 2,
144-165. https://doi.org/10.13130/2035-7680/6853
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AURA MEJÍAS-CLIMENT]
