Evidence of Explicitation in Subtitling

Author: Elisa Perego, Department of Linguistics, University of Pavia
Purpose: This paper aims to thoroughly examine the intricate process of explicitation in subtitling and to propose a comprehensive working model for categorizing various types of explicitation that can be observed in subtitled translations.

What is Subtitling?: Subtitling is a method that involves translating spoken dialogue and other verbal content into written text, which is then displayed typically at the bottom of the screen for viewers. This practice originated in Europe in 1929, evolving from the inter-titles that were once commonplace in silent films.
- Subtitling is often preferred over dubbing due to its cost-effectiveness, which has led to its widespread adoption in various film and television industries around the world.
- Subtitling can be classified into two main types:
  - Inter-lingual subtitling: This type occurs when the source and target languages are different, making it necessary to translate the spoken text across language boundaries.
  - Intra-lingual subtitling: This type occurs when the source and target languages are the same, often used for clarity or accessibility purposes such as aiding the hearing impaired.

Polysemiotic Nature: The subtitling process is inherently polysemiotic, meaning it engages multiple modes of communication including auditory (sound) and visual (textual) channels, which must be harmonized to convey the intended message effectively.

Phases of Subtitling: The subtitling process involves several critical phases:
- Diamesic Transfer: This phase involves the conversion of spoken text into its written form. One challenge during this transfer is the potential loss of prosodic features, such as tone and inflection, which can diminish the expressiveness of the dialogue.
- Translation: This is the phase concerned with converting the source language into the target language while striving for the closest possible meanings; this often necessitates adaptation to maintain cultural relevance and clarity.
- Reduction: Subtitling must adhere to strict time and space constraints, which often requires the reduction of dialogue to fit within these limits while still conveying the essential meaning and intent of the original text.

Nature: Explicitation refers to the clarity and elaboration of messages communicated through translation; it can occur independently of translation, serving to enhance understanding for the viewer.
Types of Secondary Information: Explicitation can be categorized as follows:
- Framing: Providing necessary background information that is crucial for audience understanding.
- Linguistically induced: Choices made in the subtitling process that are determined by the structure of the language itself.
- Personal: Involves socio-linguistic elements and speech patterns that reflect the speaker’s identity and cultural context.

Explicitation often leads to target texts that exhibit greater explicitness compared to their source texts, allowing for enhanced viewer comprehension.
Explicitation Hypothesis: This hypothesis posits that explicitation is associated with redundancy in the translation process, which can sometimes inadvertently clarify or emphasize certain concepts.

Four Types Identified by Klaudy:
- Obligatory Explicitation: This occurs due to structural differences between languages, necessitating additional information in the target text.
- Optional Explicitation: Based on stylistic preferences, this type is influenced by personal choices made by the translator.
- Pragmatic Explicitation: Involves filling cultural gaps that may exist between the source and target audiences to enhance comprehension.
- Translation-inherent Explicitation: This type arises from the intrinsic nature of the translation process itself, independently of linguistic differences.

Objective: The primary goal of this research is to investigate whether and how explicitation manifests in the subtitling of Hungarian films that are translated into Italian subtitles. This research seeks to uncover patterns and practices of explicitation as they relate to this specific linguistic pairing.
Corpus Description: The study will involve a detailed analysis of dialogues and their corresponding subtitles, aiming to identify distinct instances of explicitation in line with parameters already defined in the framework of the research.

Addition: Involves including new elements in the target text that were not present in the source text, possibly for context or clarity.
Specification: Using more precise language to convey specific meanings, which might help in clarifying ambiguous references found in the source text.
Cultural Explicitation: Represents additions made based on cultural context, aiming to make dialogue more relatable to the target audience.
Channel-based Explicitation: Adaptations made necessary due to changes from one semiotic channel (e.g., auditory) to another (e.g., visual text).
Reduction-based Explicitation: Using explicit information gained through the reduction of dialogue in subtitling while still retaining core meanings.

Explicitation is a crucial component of the subtitling process, as it helps to mitigate the loss of information that can occur due to language differences and the constraints of text space on screens.
By providing additional context and clarifying ambiguous aspects of dialogue, explicitation enhances viewer comprehension and ultimately enriches the overall viewing experience.
Ongoing research is necessary to deepen the understanding of how explicitation interacts with reduction in subtitling and to study its effects on viewer comprehension and engagement with the content.