ESFLCW 2007 Saarbrucken 23-25 July, 2007 Chris Taylor University of Trieste The Language of Television Series: a study of predictable patterns.

ESFLCW 2007Saarbrucken 23-25 July, 2007

Chris TaylorUniversity of Trieste

The Language of Television Series: a study of predictable patterns

Talking Points

1. Film language

2. Context and genre

3. Levels of predictability

4. Translation

The language of film A series of experiments conducted in

Trieste over the years has shown that film language differs, often appreciably, from the language of real life (see, for example, Taylor 2005).

It is more stylised, more formal, more explicit, more clearly comprehensible.

Communicating community context (Gregory) the ‘context of situation’, which partially reflects

and partially constructs the functioning of language in conversation;

In the case of film or TV series the CCC is (1) ‘a group of actors simulating a scene in an

artificially produced situation (APS). (2) a film writer communicating a message to a

(largely unknown) audience.

Indeed… “the only reason that characters talk to

each other in television texts is so that the viewer can listen to them; not, as in real conversation, so that they can listen to each other”,

(in this sense there are overlapping contexts of situation)

Genre The APS can also be identified in terms of

genre “a configuration of meanings that are typically

associated with a particular situational configuration of field, tenor and mode” (Halliday & Hasan, 1985)

“typical configurations of the options associated with typical contexts” (Navarro, 2007)

pace Teun van Dijk!

Eggins & Slade Texts of different genres reveal different

lexico-grammatical choices. Thus realization patterns will differ across

genres

Filmese and genre What we know as film genres - western,

spy story, comedy, etc. can be identified, also linguistically, but ‘filmese’ is a cross-genre language variety…

… films have their sub-genres and genrelets.

and it is these genrelets that are of initial

interest in the tracking down of PREDICTABILITY.

E.g., telephone conversations, presentations, mealtime dialogue, bar talk, boy-girl exchanges, etc.

Intertextuality In genrelets such as telephone call

protocols, presentations, service encounters, etc. there is usually little creative language use. The same formulae are used over and over again (obligatory features), with the same cues and the same response mechanisms.

Parallel corpora The study of significant numbers of parallel

texts available from a database of scripts shows up patterns of use, in terms of lexis, style, register and syntax.

Cf. Trieste database – thousands of film and TV scripts and transcripts

Coffin & O’Halloran ‘implicit appraisal in one article in ‘The Sun’

can only be understood by knowing lots of Sun articles.’

E.g. in relation to immigrants

TV series

Similarly understanding and therefore the ability to predict outcomes and dialogue in BONANZA or CORONATION STREET or LAW and ORDER comes from being exposed to them.

This is why they can be so easily mimicked.

Susan Hunston’s semantic sequences

It + BE + adjective + that clause

Eg. It is clear that…..

obvious

likely

etc.

Hunston cont.

These patterns are mainly used in SOME disciplines.

Patterns can be seen in TV series to be used by SOME characters in SOME situations.

The O.C. There is much picking up of each others’

expressions: Are you nervous/excited/worried – You are

nervous/excited/worried – I’m nervous/excited/worried, I’m not nervous/excited/worried, etc.

The Gilmore Girls

132 episodes in 6 series

Desribed in the following terms:

“nice, warm, charming, feisty”

Features a single mother, her elitist parents, her determined daughter, boyfriends etc.

Episodes

Series Two

Marriage on the way

Engagement party

Rethinking

The debutante’s ball

Like mother, like daughter

Love risks

The Gilmore Girls (typical genrelet) CUT TO THE INDEPENDENCE INN [Lorelai walks into the lobby and hands a key to a bellboy.] LORELAI: Oh, here you go. BELLBOY: Thanks. [Lorelai walks to the front desk, where Michel is on the phone and

sorting mail] MICHEL: Independence Inn, Michel speaking. [pause] No, I'm

sorry, we're completely booked. [pause] We have a wedding party here. [pause] No, there is really nothing I can do. [pause] Yes, I'm sure. [pause] Positive. [pause] No, I don't have to look ma'am, I -- [pause] Yes, of course I'll look.

[Michel puts the phone down, continues to sort the mail, then picks the phone back up.]

MICHEL: No, I'm sorry, we're completely booked.

Repetition [Rory starts to leave then hugs Lorelai again.] RORY: I love you. LORELAI: I love you. [Rory leaves.] LORELAI: My girl's going to Chilton SOOKIE: Yeah. Rory's going to Chilton! [As Lorelai leaves, Sookie starts a little dance and

begins to sing.] SOOKIE: Rory's going to Chilton! Rory's going to

Chilton! Rory's going to Chilton!

The Gilmore Girls – frequency counts

From watching any TV series one becomes aware, consciously or unconsciously, of certain lietmotifs, repeated patterns, or more than usual frequency patterns.

Food and Beverages frequencies - GilmoreFood & Beverages

Frequency (Coffe & co. excluded)

Episode n. Env.1: Diner Env.2: Inn Env. 3: Dinner

Env. 4: Others Total Total pages

(Font:Verdana 10) 101 13 23 18 21 76 31 102 4 24 \ 9 37 33 103 4 36 26 9 75 32 104 7 52 \ 27 86 32 105 11 \ \ 24 35 31 106 9 17 23 33 82 34 107 15 \ \ 63 78 33 108 \ 35 14 15 64 32 109 \ \ 9 52 61 41 110 26 \ 9 16 51 32 111 12 4 4 20 40 36 112 13 20 \ 37 70 36 113 \ \ \ 22 22 32 114 1 20 11 77 109 38 115 \ 5 9 7 21 31 116 \ 5 16 35 56 32 117 13 \ \ 42 55 33 118 \ 1 30 27 58 37 119 30 30 4 9 73 40 120 12 1 29 10 52 39 121 1 \ \ 34 35 35

Environment 1: Luke’s Diner Environment 2: Independence Inn / Kitchen Environment 3: Gilmore’s house / Friday Night Dinner Environment 4: Others (Lorelai’s house, Doose Market, Stars Hollow, School, etc)

Coffee frequencies - Gilmore“Coffee”

Frequency: Coffee, Espresso, and Decaf Episode n. Frequency Total pages (Font:Verdana 10)

101 10 + 1 31 102 10 +1 33 103 3 32 104 5 32 105 10 31 106 5 34 107 7 33 108 16 32 109 2 41 110 8 32 111 2 36 112 5 36 113 8 32 114 2 38 115 4 31 116 10 32 117 6 33 118 3 37 119 8 40 120 8 39 121 9 35

Statistic Count Frequency ≥ 7 11 out of 21 Frequency ≤ 4 6 out of 21

Cf. British National Corpus - coffee

BNC (100,000,000 words)

Coffee – 6,286 occurrences

Once every 16,000 words.

Gilmore Girls (20 episodes) 150,000 words

Coffee – 160 occurrences

Once every 1,000 words

BNC spoken corpus

BNC spoken corpus (10,000,000 words)

Coffee – 939 occurrences

Once every 10,000 words.

Gilmore Girls (20 episodes) 150,000 words

Coffee – 160 occurrences

Once every 1,000 words

Sign of APSThe figures merely show that the series ‘The Gilmore Girls’ contains a much higher than average use of the word coffee (and other foodstuffs).This confirms an intuitive impression, suggesting that (a) the context governs language use but also (b) that a level of artificiality would seem to be confirmed.The translator must consider whether this context driven usage should be foreignised (left as it is to reflect American youngsters’ habits), or localised in some way (perhaps tempered to local levels of acceptance).

Genre – courtroom scenarios in film

The film ‘A Few Good Men’ (amongst others) was used as a vehicle to investigate the use of courtroom language in a modern film.

External and internal definitions of genre

Verbal interaction in judicial settings

Hearings in courts involve verbal exchanges which in many respects appear to be organised differently from talk in conversation. The distinctive character of talk in judicial settings is a recurrent theme in discussions of court proceedings by sociologists, lawyers, etc.

(Atkinson and Drew, 1979)

Features of examination Turn order

type of turn - pre-allocated - A-B, A-B Interruption

legitimate from counsel Illegitimate from public

Objections Overlaps

Restart Pauses

special strategiesNB the court procedures and associated language are different in

different cultures cf. America/Italy

A Few Good Men Call the first/next witness We call… I’ve got some questions for… No more/further questions? (I’ve) no more questions. The witness is excused. You may step down. Can you explain… How could you…. What happened then? Do you think/feel/intend…. Answer the question You don’t have to answer that. All rise You are charged with… Court adjourned till… Objection – Sustained - Overruled

A Few Good Men

See you in court!

But what happens in translation?

Let’s go back to the beginning:

Film language is more stylised, more formal, more explicit, more clearly comprehensible.

Comparison Romero (2006) compared spoken Spanish

from a corpus of oral Castellan with (a) a Spanish soap opera (b) the English language version of

‘Friends’ (c) the dubbed Spanish version of ‘Friends’

Friends (English) Friends (Spanish)

Siete Vidas (Spanish sitcom)

CREA(Colloquial convers.)

12345678

HeyHiHello MorningGood morningHi there

Hola

Buenos días

HolaQué talBuenos díasQué hayQué pasaHombreBuenas

Hola Qué talBuenos díasQué hayQué pasaHombreBuenasMuy buenas

1234567891011

How are you/yaHow are you doing How are things goingHow’s life?How’s it goingHow are we todayWhat’s up?(Are) you all right(Are) you OKHow you holding up

Qué talCómo estás

Qué hayCómo te vaCómo va eso

Qué talCómo estásQué pasaQué hayCómo te va

Qué hay de nuevoCómo lo llevasCómo andasCómo estamos

Qué talCómo estásQué pasaQué hayCómo te va

Qué hay de nuevoCómo lo llevasCómo andasCómo estamosQué (te) cuentas

16 7 16 18

It’s more stylised, it’s more formal, it’s easier to understand….

…and for these reasons it too is more predictable.

Prdictable shifts in translation ‘The O.C.’ What about kick off carnival, you’re still the

social chair. La festa dell’inizio dell’anno, devi organizzarla. I don’t understand the mind of chicks like

Summer. Le ragazzine come Summer non le capisco. Seth already has a partner La partner ce l’ha già. (Information structure changes to accommodate

Italian youth talk, see Berruto)

(Adam’s Rib) Would your honour please instruct counselor to

refrain from these sly and feminine hints to the jury?

Vostro Onore, inviti la difesa a non fare insinuazioni femminili per influenzare la giuria.

(Italian uses requests, exploiting the respectful subjunctive form)

Translation memory

At times the predictability is so pronounced that an element of translation memory technique, technologically aided or otherwise, could prove useful.

At least the predictability factor should be taken into account in order to save time and particularly to ensure consistency.

Without translation memory tools cross cultural shifts can result in

inconsistency.

What is involved here is “the configuration of semantic resources that the members of the culture associate with a situation type”

(Halliday, 1978)

Suspect

Raise your right hand, please. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

Alzi la mano destra per favore. Giura di dire la verità, tutta la verità e nient’altro che la verità, in nome di Dio?

A Few Good Men

Would you raise your right hand, please. Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you will give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

Vuole alzare la mano destra per favore. Giura solennemente che la sua testimonianza sarà la verità, tutta la verità e null’altro che la verità e così Dio l’aiuti?

Philadelphia

Place your left hand on the Bible. Raise your right hand. Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

Metta la mano sinistra sulla Bibbia. Alzi la mano destra. Giura di dire tutta la verità e nient’altro che la verità, così Dio l’assista?

So… translation memory techniques might be

useful, in order (1) to create consistency in simulated

situations across cultures; (2) to present a coherent message to the

foreign langauge audience.

Degrees of predictability and translation

Different levels of predictability need to be dealt with in different ways.

Consider the strategies of

NEUTRALISATION

LOCALISATION

FOREIGNISATION

Predictability cline

High predictability (neutralise)

Medium predictability (localise)

Low predictability (foreignise)

Il Commissario Montalbano - caffèMichela: (bevendo il caffè) Mhm! Sì! Mimì: (guardando Montalbano

versare il caffè) Ce n’è magari pe’mmea?

CM: .. Mi è venuto voglia di una bella granatina di caffè

Fazio: Ho portato il… Donna: (beve l’ultimo sorso di caffè)

Montalbano - pasta con broccoli CM: Sto mangiando la pasta con

broccoli, chi è che rompe… Livia: Chi ti ha preparato la pasta con

broccoli? Scommetto Adelina?... Sabato mattina prendo l’aereo e vengo giù.

CM: Sabato? Livia: Sì, sarò a Vigato per l’ora di pranzo. CM: Ah, benissimo..ma, sei sicura? Livia: Sicurissima. Ho già fatto il biglietto… Vai a

buttare quella pasta nella spazzatura!

Montalbano – spigole etc. C- Dunque oggi c’ho pe’ vossia un risotto a nevuro di siccia

ch’è megghio’ e na cassata. M- Per me va bene, per lei? B- Anche per me va bene. M- Aggiudicato. C- Ah, per secondo carissimo dottore Montalbano ci sono

delle spigole freschissime pescate stanotte oppure… M- No, per me va bene le spigole senza oppure, per lei? B- Anche per me va bene. M- Aggiudicato.

Neutralisation(1) Caffè = coffee

(2) Pasta con broccoli = pasta with broccoli

(3) Spaghetti con sugo di ricci, risotto a nevuro di siccia, na cassata, spigole freschissime pescate stanotte, ‘spaghetti’, ‘rice’, ‘cake’, ‘fish’.

Localisation1) Caffè must be rendered more English, ironically through the

use of explicit markers – cappucino, espresso, latte, etc. – depending on which of these is considered the most universal.

(2) Pasta con broccoli may be changed to something more recognisably Italian such as ‘spaghetti bolognese’ or ‘lasagne’. It depends on whether it can be seen.

(3) Spaghetti con sugo di ricci, risotto a nevuro di siccia, na cassata, spigole freschissime pescate stanotte, can be changed to recognisable English/American dishes – ‘spaghetti with meatballs’, ‘sausages’, ‘ice cream’, ‘snapper’.

Foreignisation(1) Caffè remains – its meaning is known and is

always straight ‘espresso’.

(2) Pasta con broccoli is a leitmotif of the series and can be left as it is.

(3) Spaghetti con sugo di ricci, risotto a nevuro di siccia, na cassata, spigole freschissime pescate stanotte, can be left and simply understood as Italian dishes.

Conclusion 1 The APS created for film produces a kind of

language that is already more predictable than spontaneous discourse in that it is ‘more stylised, more formal, more explicit, more clearly comprehensible.’

Conclusion 2 The translation of this ‘filmese’ can often

create an even greater degree of predictability, both in translation choices and in decisions relating to morpho-syntactic construction in the translator’s mother tongue.

Conclusion 3WHERE THE TEXT IS HIGHLY PREDICTABLE

there is a place in film translation (in the broadest sense), in subtitling but also in dubbing, for the

judicious use of some kind of translation memory tool (eg, Atril’s Dejà vu).

Although this would require very careful editing it could save a lot of time and provide much needed

consistency

Conclusion 4WHERE TEXTS ARE NOT VERY PREDICTABLE

translation choices may lie between foreignisation, localisation and standardisation.

The choice will depend on such factors as the ‘prestige’ of the film or given audience tastes.

Conclusion 5WHERE TEXTS ARE GOVERNED BY CULTURAL

MORES

predictability can be largely discounted, firstly in the patterns of the source language, and particularly

in translation.Here the translator is on his/her own in gauging to

what extent the audience is attuned to the mind set of the source text culture.

Conclusion 6 Practically all films (or TV series, or

documentaries, or advertisements, or cartoons…) will contain stretches covered by conclusions 1, 2 or 3. The special skill of the translator lies also in identifying these stretches and treating them accordingly.