Dubbing, perception and reception

Dubbing is one of the oldest, most commonly employed and best known audiovisual translation techniques, yet still relatively underresearched, at least from the point of view of its reception by audiences across the world. This chapter offers an overview of approaches, tools and methods which can be used for reception-centred dubbing research, by drawing from the literature on media and reception studies. Subsequently, it provides an overview of studies on the perception and/or reception of dubbed films and television products as carried out and published by scholars within and outside audiovisual translation studies, in Europe and beyond. In its final sections, the chapter offers a critical reading of the studies previously reviewed, in view of fostering further research along these lines and encouraging audience understanding, involvement and empowerment.