Song translation over time: a digital analysis of Italian-dubbed animated musical comedies 1959-2019

Dino Guida, Lucia Antonia ORCID: 0009-0007-0538-5711 (2024). Song translation over time: a digital analysis of Italian-dubbed animated musical comedies 1959-2019. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

Taking its cue from Susam-Sarajeva’s call (2008: 190) to focus on ‘why’ a specific song translation activity is ‘done in a certain way’, this study aims to provide the first empirical investigation into translation techniques used in Italian-dubbed animated musical comedies from 1959 to 2019. It compiles eleven selected song case studies from songs produced by major US film companies (Disney and DreamWorks), which (a) present features of multiple pop song genres (e.g. swing, gospel, stage musical) and (b) have been released in different language versions: ‘Once Upon a Dream’ (Sleeping Beauty, 1959), ‘Thomas O’ Malley Cat’ (The Aristocats, 1970), ‘Be Our Guest’ (Beauty and the Beast, 1991), ‘Arabian Nights’ (Aladdin, 1992), ‘Jack’s Lament’ (The Nightmare Before Christmas, 1993), ‘Be Prepared’ (The Lion King, 1994), ‘Zero to Hero’ (Hercules, 1997), ‘Deliver us’ (The Prince of Egypt, 1998), ‘Holding Out for a Hero’ (Shrek 2, 2004), ‘Love is an open door’ (Frozen, 2013), and ‘Into the Unknown’ (Frozen II, 2019).

Building on Abbott’s definition (2017) of song as a ‘conjoined work’, this research deploys a ‘thick’ method of song analysis (Abbott, 2021) combining contextual, schematic, statistical, and time-bound analysis via Sonic Visualiser (Cannam et al., 2010) to investigate complex and simultaneous interrelations between (translated) text, singing medium and visual performance. Through the transversal use of innovative digital humanities techniques, this study creates a set of quantitative and qualitative data for each song across six interconnected parameters: (1) word count/musical phrase duration; (2) rhyme/prosody; (3) linguistic, visual and/or musical culture-specific elements; (4) vocal interpretative nuances; (5) phonetic and visemic implications for lip-synch; (6) visual performance matching word meaning.

In so doing, this research interrogates the notion of representations of ‘cultural otherness’ (Di Giovanni, 2003) in Western animated film songs’ interplay of linguistic, visual and musical features, whilst looking at how ‘the same tune with a diﬀerent set of words becomes a new song within a new context’ (Susam-Saraeva, 2019: 48). It provides detailed sets of both synchronic and diachronic screenshots of cultural interactions (Bassnett and Lefevere, 1998) through comparative analyses of song translations within the broader context of dubbed film products (Chaume, 2012). The study concludes with findings showing that translators and performers tension the competing linguistic, visual and musical aspects to varying degrees within a given song to produce coherent multi-semiotic representations of cultures. This suggests that over-simplified or reductive approaches are ill-suited to understanding the complex interplays at stake in dubbed songs in the context of animated musical comedies.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):