Abstract
One of the main questions addressed by multimodality research—the main conceptual framework for analysing audiovisual texts—is how the different modes of audiovisual texts combined—visual, verbal, aural—create supplementary meaning in texts, over and above the meanings conveyed by the individual constituents. Ensuring that this multimodal interaction or multimodal cohesion remains intact is a key challenge in the practice of audiovisual translation (AVT), and particularly in Audio Description (AD) for the blind and visually impaired. The present article therefore studies the functioning of multimodal cohesion in audio-described texts by analysing the types of interaction between descriptive units and sound effects in a selection of Dutch audio-described films and series. The article begins with a detailed description of the methodology which is based on multimodal transcription and concludes with an overview of the types of multimodal cohesive relations identified.
Highlights
Multimodality—the principle that texts convey meaning through the combination of verbal, visual and aural–semiotic modes—intrinsically sits at the core of any study of Audiovisual Translation (AVT)
The multimodal transcription model for Audio Description (AD) developed above has provided a solid basis for analysing three audio-described fragments selected from the Dutch AD corpus
The aim of the analysis is to identify more clearly how sound and AD work together to facilitate thecreation of cohesion in AD and those lexico-grammatical features that can be used to support this cohesion
Summary
Multimodality—the principle that texts convey meaning through the combination of verbal, visual and aural–semiotic modes—intrinsically sits at the core of any study of Audiovisual Translation (AVT). When audio-describing audiovisual texts, relevant links between the visual mode and sounds—be it music, sound effects or voice timbre—are to be recreated or compensated for in the audio-described version in order to maintain the text’s overall cohesive strength and to ensure that the narrative structure remains intact (Braun, 2011; Zabalbeascoa, 2008). The way this “multimodal cohesion”, following Van Leeuwen’s terminology, functions in audiovisual texts and their translations is complex and research has not yet revealed the full potential and understanding of this meaning-making instrument. The section offers a summary of the findings of the PhD project, focusing on the types of multimodal cohesion identified and the role of sound in them
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