Tradurre per il doppiaggio: La trasposizione linguistica dell'audiovisivo. Teoria e pratica di un'arte imperfetta by Mario Paolinelli, Eleonora Di Fortunato

Abstract

MLR, I01.3, 2oo6 871 novels have much in common? Is there only one well-defined crisis in Italy at the end of the First World War? Is that crisis (or are those crises) specific to that period? In Giudicetti's opinion, Moravia, Pirandello, and Svevo do express a distinctive crisis (their characters are lost in aworld where no certainty is left, and only a plurality of points of view is possible); Borgese, he adds, is beyond that: his characters 'sono immersi in una crisi personale profonda [... .]ma, per l'appunto, i libri di narrativa di Borgese offrono una replica alla crisi' (p. i6). According to Giudicetti, Borgese has a consistent philosophical view of the world, a spiritual answer that supersedes the multiplicity of possible answers (pp. 223-25). Giudicetti's thesis iswell argued. I still wonder whether a plurality of points of view is necessarily the manifestation of a crisis, and have the impression that Borgese was after all a spiritual seeker, rather than a firm believer. But words such as crisis, belief, and religion have several, sometimes contradictory, meanings; and further discussion is needed to clarify them in aBorgesian context. Borgese was a proud man, exceedingly self-confident, and difficult to deal with; his obstinate feud with Benedetto Croce lasted for forty years, left him few friends, and was ultimately fruitless. He was, on the other hand, a fascinating and thought provoking writer. By examining some of his best texts, and analysing their most effective passages, Giudicetti shows once again how rewarding it is to read his books. UNIVERSITYOFEXETER LUcIANO PARISI Tradurre per il doppiaggio: la trasposizione linguistica dell'audiovisivo. Teoria epratica di un'arte imperfetta. By MARIO PAOLINELLI and ELEONORA Di FORTUNATO. Milan: Hoepli. 2005. i63 pp. E19. ISBN 88-203-3385-6. Tradurre per il doppiaggio explains the translation strategies and the linguistic issues involved in the dubbing process. Divided into four chapters and three appendices (an Italian contract for dubbing workers, a section on legal guidelines for standard wages, and an open letter to film authors), this study is concerned with diverse aspects of translation studies and Italian culture while introducing the form of translation called 'adaptation', a term which includes all the procedures involved in translating audiovisual scripts for the purpose of dubbing them. The first chapter contextualizes the development of dubbing in Italy, clarifies the terminology and the functional roles of those involved in the process ('translator adaptor', dialogist, actor-dubber); it situates 'adaptation' within translation studies and analyses the impact of dubbing on Italian culture. The authors demonstrate how Hollywood 'majors' not only imposed dubbing internationally, but also how arbitrarily they justify their refusal to dub audiovisuals into English. Tradurre per il doppiaggio deals with this key issue, supporting the authors' position with statistical data, provided by external bodies that record figures on the international circulation of audiovisual materials. From this perspective, the current, unilateralist approach to dubbing has contributed to a problematic stasis in European film industries; whereas translation is amediation, the refusal of 'adaptation' has paradoxically become a socio-cultural barrier. The case study presented in the second chapter, 'La pratica dell'adattamento', explains translation strategies in use. Its effective description allows a straightfor ward comparison between the source text, Tarantino's Yackie Brown (I997) and the target text 'adapted' by Paolinelli. The authors explain how 'adaptations' reinforce the visual and aesthetic effects of the projected scene in contrast to subtitling. Thus, compared to the constraints of text translation, 'adaptation' must respect even more parameters-lip and body synchrony, delivery timing, and acting-so as not to under mine the visual effects. Moving from the individual case study to the broader context, 872 Reviews the third chapter, 'La situazione del doppiaggio', focuses on professional issues of dubbing within the Italian context. This analysis could also interest scholars of film studies. While describing the current situation as discouraging but slowly improving, this section discusses how legal issues concerned with the profession have been re cently resolved or directed towards a solution. The grey area of translator-adaptor's copyrights is clarified while providing information on wages, contract clauses, and acts defending intellectual labour. The last chapter effectively deals with dubbing as...