Abstract
This study aims to shed light on the role multilingualism plays in Alfred Hitchcock’s films, by examining the different solutions adopted by Italian audiovisual translators to cope with the multilingual situations represented. The comparative analysis carried out between the original versions of the thirteen multilingual films directed by Hitchcock and their Italian dubbed versions has identified three different macro-strategies: first of all, the neutralisation of the different languages present in the original version via dubbing the entire film into Italian. Secondly, the preservation of the different lingua-cultural identities through a combination of dubbing with other screen translation modalities such as contextual translation, and interpretation performed by one the film’s characters. Finally, a third strategy is the quantitative reduction of the multilingual situations present in the original version of the film, with all the inevitable consequences that this may have on viewers’ suspension of linguistic disbelief.
Highlights
This study aims to shed light on the role multilingualism plays in Alfred Hitchcock’s films by analysing the different solutions envisaged by the Italian translators to cope with the multilingual situations represented
From his early sound films shot in the 1930s, before moving on to Hollywood, to the end of the 1960s, when he directed Torn Curtain, Hitchcock resorted to multilingualism and played with languages on several occasions, with different intentions
This study has explored the role multilingualism plays in Alfred Hitchcock’s work, focusing on the implications it has in the construction of the distinctive feature of his films: suspense
Summary
This study aims to shed light on the role multilingualism plays in Alfred Hitchcock’s films by analysing the different solutions envisaged by the Italian translators to cope with the multilingual situations represented. From his early sound films shot in the 1930s, before moving on to Hollywood, to the end of the 1960s, when he directed Torn Curtain (one of his most well-structured multilingual films), Hitchcock resorted to multilingualism and played with languages on several occasions, with different intentions. The term ‘multilingual’ in relation to Hitchcock’s work refers to those stories which have an international setting and characters from various parts of the globe, supposedly speaking different languages In other words, these films portray multilingual situations in which a primary language is present along with one or more secondary languages. Italian subtitled translations of Hitchcock’s films are available on the DVDs, along with the dubbed versions, but we discuss one of them only: the Italian subtitling of a film made in the 1930s
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