An Approach to Audio-Visual Translation and the Film Industry in Spain and Latin America

Abstract

This paper investigates the little-known origins of audio-visual translation (AVT) modes, with particular attention to the Spanish-speaking world, focusing on Argentina and Spain, from silent films and intertitles, to multiple language versions (made in Hollywood and Joinville), to dubbing and subtitling. It also explores some potential factors involved in the election and implementation of specific AVT modes in the different Spanish-speaking Latin-American countries, and in Argentina in particular. Exploring and describing them will help determine the social, cultural, commercial and linguistic implications of the election of a given AVT mode and a specific language model for Latin-American countries. Also, drawing on the opinions and experience of audio-visual translators and viewers, the paper analyses the consequences of establishing a specific linguistic variation for the distribution of audio-visual productions in the Spanish-speaking market (the so-called ‘neutral Spanish’), and the levels of social acceptance thereof in the region.