Translating a text into another language is a process mostly known in the area of literature. At the same time (even though often disregarded in this connection), translation is a central part of filmmaking. Since the emergence of sound films in the 1930s, screen translation (that is, subtitling, dubbing and voice-over) has become a tradition in Europe. In Germany, dubbing has been the universalized means of defying language barriers in the field of movie and television ever since. However, it is commonly believed that translated movies and television series lack certain features as compared to their original. Disapproval of dubbed movies and television shows has become quite frequent in Germany, not necessarily among linguists and/or multilingual people exclusively. In the case of dubbed sitcoms which originate in the United States, it is safe to say that the German audience repeatedly stumbles upon scenes that are entirely incomprehensible and, even more perplexing, end in the laugh track which is typically inserted in US situation comedies. Clearly, the source text contains a joke that has been lost in translation. But what are the reasons for such ineffective adaptations? Is it the fact that the original jokes include a culturespecific term that is only understandable in the source language or is simply the translators’ carelessness to blame? Research in media, humor and translation studies reveals that wordplays2 are a universal phenomenon which is generally considered untranslatable.
In this paper, I argue that the German dubbed versions of US American sitcoms lose a great deal of their humor since language jokes, particularly puns, are rarely successfully translated. The dubbed versions include a remarkably large number of literal translations and even direct copies of English words which not only are no longer funny, but are also incomprehensible in the target language. Unfortunately, it seems to be the case that no research on English puns and their German dubbed translations has been conducted to date. Therefore, I will examine how English puns are adapted in the corresponding German translations. For this study, I will analyze the popular US television series How I Met Your Mother, which ran in the United States from 2005 to 2014 and is well-known for its jokes and frequent use of puns.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Contrasting English Puns and Their German Translations
2.1 Previous Studies on Pun Translation in Dubbed Television
2.2 Defining Puns
2.3 Classification of Puns
2.4 Translation of Puns
2.4.1 Problems Involved in Pun Translation
2.4.2 Humor Translation
2.4.3 A Note on Television Translation
3 Puns Lost in Translation: A Case Study of the Puns in How I Met Your Mother
3.1 Material
3.2 Method
3.3 Results
3.3.1 Linguistic Classification
3.3.2 Translation Modes
3.3.3 Successful Pun Translations
3.3.4 Unsuccessful Pun Translations
3.4 Discussion
4 Conclusion
5 Bibliography
5.1 Corpora
5.2 Secondary literature
5.3 Electronic Resources
Research Objectives and Themes
This study investigates the challenges of translating English puns into German within the context of dubbed US American sitcoms, specifically using "How I Met Your Mother" as a case study. The primary research objective is to examine why so many language-based jokes are lost during the dubbing process and to determine whether these losses are due to linguistic constraints or translator shortcomings.
- Contrastive analysis of English puns and their German dubbed counterparts.
- Categorization of pun types based on lexical, phonological, and graphemic structures.
- Evaluation of translation techniques according to models by Delabastita and Low.
- Analysis of successful vs. unsuccessful pun adaptations to identify key translation challenges.
- Assessment of the role of "loose-fit" vs. "tight-fit" language features in pun translatability.
Excerpt from the Book
3.2 Method
For this investigation, I watched all 72 episodes in the English language and listed all puns chronologically as they appeared throughout the three seasons. By way of this successive analysis, I encountered 155 English homophones, near-homophones, and homonyms. I then scanned the German dubbed versions for the corresponding translations of the source text puns and transcribed these as well (see appendix).
The original puns were first classified into homonymic, homophonic, and near-homophonic puns and, at the same time, into horizontal and vertical wordplays (consider table 6, section 3.3.1). In the next step, I assigned each pun adaptation the type of translation that was used and reordered the data on the basis of the applied translation technique (see table 7, section 3.3.2). Based on this list of English puns and their German translations, I divided the adaptations into successful and unsuccessful translations. A successful translation denotes an upheld wordplay (or wordplay-related rhetorical device) that is understandable to the German audience, while giving them the chance to be amused or entertained.
In order not to forejudge the translators, I first give an overview of the successful adaptations, that is, their linguistic distribution, translation techniques, and models, illustrated by several examples (see section 3.3.3). Considerably more attention, however, is given to the unsuccessful adaptations. Here, the source text puns are analyzed in terms of their linguistic features and methods of translation as well, exemplified by various examples (including instances of all three pun types, both vertical and horizontal, respectively). In addition, the original wordplays are examined for punning terms involving any of the central translation difficulties in order to discuss whether the loss of the pun is justified (for instance, due to a culture-specific punning term or visual restraints) or whether the target text non-pun can actually be ascribed to the translators’ carelessness. In the latter case, alternative translation suggestions are given. Finally, all English puns as well as their effective and ineffective adaptations are contrasted with each other to reveal whether certain pun types turn out to be easier or more difficult to translate into German. A thorough discussion of the translatability of puns in dubbing will conclude this study.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: Introduces the topic of pun translation in dubbed sitcoms, highlighting the phenomenon of lost humor and stating the research focus on "How I Met Your Mother".
2 Contrasting English Puns and Their German Translations: Discusses theoretical foundations, including definitions and classifications of puns, as well as specific translation strategies and challenges in dubbing.
3 Puns Lost in Translation: A Case Study of the Puns in How I Met Your Mother: Presents the methodology and detailed results of the analysis, classifying the data into successful and unsuccessful adaptations, and concludes with a discussion of translatability.
4 Conclusion: Summarizes the key findings, noting that the majority of puns are lost, often due to linguistic differences, and suggests improvements for the dubbing process.
5 Bibliography: Lists the academic literature, corpora, and electronic resources used throughout the study.
Keywords
pun, wordplay, translation studies, dubbing, sitcom, How I Met Your Mother, linguistic classification, homonymy, homophony, near-homophony, humor translation, screen translation, contrastive linguistics, untranslatability, translation strategies.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this research?
The research examines the translation of English puns into German within the dubbed versions of the US sitcom "How I Met Your Mother".
What are the primary themes addressed in the work?
The study focuses on linguistics, humor theory, and the technical challenges inherent in television dubbing, specifically addressing why puns are frequently lost in translation.
What is the main research question or goal?
The goal is to determine the reasons for ineffective pun translations, categorizing them into linguistic constraints or potential translator error, and assessing whether puns are inherently untranslatable.
Which scientific methods were employed?
The author conducted a contrastive analysis by transcribing all 155 puns from three seasons of the series, classifying them by type (e.g., homonymy, homophony) and translation technique, and then evaluating the success of their German adaptations.
What topics are covered in the main body of the work?
The main part covers the linguistic definitions of puns, theoretical translation models by scholars like Delabastita and Low, and a detailed case study categorizing successful and unsuccessful pun adaptations.
Which keywords best characterize this publication?
The most relevant keywords include "pun," "wordplay," "translation studies," "dubbing," "sitcom," and "linguistic classification."
How does the author define the "loose-fit" vs. "tight-fit" language phenomenon?
The author references Hawkins and Kortmann, suggesting that English is a "loose-fit" language with more semantic diversity, while German is a "tight-fit" language, making direct translation of puns between the two difficult.
What are the author's final conclusions regarding the translatability of puns in dubbing?
The author concludes that while puns are inherently difficult to translate, they are not strictly untranslatable; success depends on translator creativity and sufficient working conditions, though 68% of the analyzed puns were lost.
- Citation du texte
- Julie Dillenkofer (Auteur), 2017, Puns Lost in Translation. Contrasting English Puns and Their German Translations in the Television Show "How I Met Your Mother", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/375446
