Title
Audiovisual translation quality assessment. The case of voice-over from a practisearcher’s perspective
Conference name
Intermedia. 5th International Conference on Audiovisual Translation
City
Country
Poland
Modalities
Date
19/09/2019
Abstract
In terms of quality assessment, AVT research has, until recently, mainly focused on the quality assessment of dubbing and subtitling, while voice-over modality has been largely overlooked. One of the aspects which has thus far warranted analysis has been synchrony, nevertheless there are other factors which would allow for the assessment of the quality of the final product with regards to perspective.
As the ultimate test of quality in translation is the effectiveness of the communication, a translation should meet the criteria of accuracy, meaningfulness, accessibility, effectiveness and ergonomics, compliance with rules and regulations and the client’s interests (Gouadec 2007). For both the client and the translator, the most important factor is efficiency and suitability of the translated material, i.e. the satisfaction of the translation provision process. For the audience, this factor is the invisibility of both of the voice-artist and the translator. In the case of the voiceartist this translates to the synchrony of delivery and the acoustics, while for the translator, accuracy, fidelity and correctness of a text is of paramount importance. The perspective of the voice-artist, in need of a text that is easy to read with the appropriate intonation and rhythm, is sometimes easy to overlook. The aim of the paper is to analyse these factors and possibly define the parameters that could be taken into account in voice-over quality assessment.
As the ultimate test of quality in translation is the effectiveness of the communication, a translation should meet the criteria of accuracy, meaningfulness, accessibility, effectiveness and ergonomics, compliance with rules and regulations and the client’s interests (Gouadec 2007). For both the client and the translator, the most important factor is efficiency and suitability of the translated material, i.e. the satisfaction of the translation provision process. For the audience, this factor is the invisibility of both of the voice-artist and the translator. In the case of the voiceartist this translates to the synchrony of delivery and the acoustics, while for the translator, accuracy, fidelity and correctness of a text is of paramount importance. The perspective of the voice-artist, in need of a text that is easy to read with the appropriate intonation and rhythm, is sometimes easy to overlook. The aim of the paper is to analyse these factors and possibly define the parameters that could be taken into account in voice-over quality assessment.