Subtitling Francophone World Cinema: Narratives of Identity, Alterity and Power in Audiovisual Translation

Leveridge, Francesca (2023) Subtitling Francophone World Cinema: Narratives of Identity, Alterity and Power in Audiovisual Translation. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.

[thumbnail of LEVERIDGE THESIS 2023.1 v1.pdf] PDF (Thesis - as examined) - Repository staff only - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader
Download (4MB)
[thumbnail of LEVERIDGE THESIS 2023.1 v2.pdf]
Preview
PDF (Thesis for reader access - any sensitive & copyright infringing material removed) - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader
Available under Licence Creative Commons Attribution.
Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

Cinematic representations of multilingualism raise questions about communication and mutual understanding not only between characters in films but also between films and their audiences, for whom it is typically necessary to facilitate access to foreign dialogues through different forms of translation. Where languages are pitted against one another, however, or juxtaposed in ways that serve to reveal and explore tensions and hierarchies between different linguistic, cultural and social groups, translation becomes entangled in issues of identity, alterity and power. This thesis untangles and explores these complex interactions between languages and translation as they arise in the practice of subtitling. Specifically, it asks questions about how subtitling can play an active part in the shaping of identity by mediating differences between the local, the national and the global, and how subtitles intersect with the relations of power that exist between different cultures. In turn, the thesis exposes the semiotic and narrative dynamics that subtitles add to films and considers the implications of these findings for the ways we think of audiovisual translation and of its relationship with creative processes and accessibility practices.

These questions are considered in the context of multilingualism, not only because issues of language, identity and power relations are inextricably involved in discussions thereof, but because multilingualism is an increasingly common experience for many subtitlers and film audiences alike. This is particularly true of francophone world cinema, from whose corpus the thesis analyses six films across three case studies: Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis (Dany Boon 2008), L’esquive (Abdellatif Kechiche 2003), Inch’Allah dimanche (Yamina Benguigui 2001), Dheepan (Jacques Audiard 2015), Le grand voyage (Ismaël Ferroukhi 2004) and Exils (Tony Gatlif 2004). Methodologically, the thesis combines semiotic, narrative, and linguistic analysis of the subtitled audiovisual texts, drawing on a range of perspectives within Audiovisual Translation Studies, Postcolonial Translation Studies, Film Studies, French and Francophone Studies and Cultural Studies.

Item Type: Thesis (University of Nottingham only) (PhD)
Supervisors: Mével, Pierre-Alexis
Ridon, Jean-Xavier
Keywords: subtitling; multilingualism; francophone; cinéma-monde; postcolonialism; hybridity; audiovisual translation
Subjects: P Language and literature > P Philology. Linguistics
P Language and literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1993 Motion pictures
Faculties/Schools: UK Campuses > Faculty of Arts > School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies
Item ID: 76512
Depositing User: Leveridge, Francesca
Date Deposited: 21 Dec 2023 11:59
Last Modified: 14 Feb 2024 09:10
URI: https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/76512

Actions (Archive Staff Only)

Edit View Edit View