Understanding Fansub as One of the Audiovisual Translation Methods
Main Article Content
Abstract
The advancement of multimedia and internet technologies has led to the development of a new form of communication known as fansubbing that connects anime fans from around the globe. Fansubbing can be regarded as a form of collaborative practice because it provides anime fans the opportunity to explain the infusion of foreign cultural elements in local culture, thus enabling the target audience to better understand the anime shows that they are watching. As a translation method, fansubbing also allows anime fans to share their knowledge and interests through a free digital network. In relation to this context, this paper aims to discuss the position of fansubbing as a community’s contribution towards understanding anime in a different culture. The discussion is mainly centred upon the ideas posited by Hatcher (2005) and O’Hagan (2009) on fansub for Japanese anime and technology, Diaz-Cintas and Muñoz Sánchez’s (2006) and Pérez-González’s (2007, 2012) on the conventional subtitling and fansubbing approaches, and Chiaro’s (2008) on viewers experience. Despite the differences between fansub activities and the conventional subtitling practices, this new experience somehow illustrates a practical combination of these two subtitling approaches. This paper is expected to contribute to a more in-depth understanding of fansub as an avenue for viewers to share their cultural knowledge with the target audience who have minimal knowledge about the source language, culture and the background of the anime. In addition, the paper will also seek to understand the potential reception for anime amongst the target audience due to the effects of fansubbing.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Bold, B. 2011. The power of fan communities: An overview of fansubbing in Brazil.Tradução em Revista 11(2): 2. https://doi.org/10.17771/PUCRio.TradRev.18881
Bucaria, C. 2008. Acceptance of the norm or suspension of disbelief? The case of formulaic language in dubbese. In Between text and image: Updating research in screen translation, eds. D. Chiaro, C. Heiss and C. Bucaria, 149–163. Amsterdam/ Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company. https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.78.16buc
Chiaro, D. 2008. Issues of quality in screen translation: Problem and solutions. In Between text and image: Updating research in screen translation, eds. D. Chiaro, C. Heiss and C. Bucaria, 241–256. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company. https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.78.24chi
Diaz-Cintas, J. 2003. Audiovisual translation in the third millennium. In Translation today: Trends and perspectives, eds. G. Anderman and M. Rogers, 192–204. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Ltd.
______. 2005. Back to the future in subtitling. In Proceedings of the Marie Curie Euroconferences. MuTra 2005: Challenges of Multidimensional Translation, Saarbrücken, Germany, 2–6 May 2005.
______. 2008. Audiovisual translation comes of age. In Between text and image: Updating research in screen translation, eds. D. Chiaro, C. Heiss and C. Bucaria, 1–9. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company. https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.78.02dia
Diaz-Cintas, J. and Muñoz Sánchez, P. 2006. Fansubs: Audiovisual translation in an amateur environment. The Journal of Specialised Translation 6(July): 37–52. http://www.jostrans.org/issue06/issue06_toc.php (accessed 14 August 2014).
Ferrer Simo, M.R. 2005. Fansubs y scanlations: La influencia del aficionado en los criterios profesionales. Puentes 6: 27–43.
Gambier, Y. 2009. Perception and reception of audiovisual translation: Implications and challenges. In The sustainability of the translation field, eds. Hasuria Che Omar, Haslina Haroon and Aniswal Ghani, 40–57. Kuala Lumpur: Persatuan Penterjemah Malaysia.
Gong, X. 2017. On annotations in English and Chinese fan-subtitling: A case study of Japanese TV series Legal High. In Nilai penterjemahan dalam masyarakat, eds. Salinah Ja’afar et al., 767–777. Kuala Lumpur: Co-published by Universiti Malaya, Persatuan Penterjemah Malaysia, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Institut Terjemahan & Buku Malaysia, Perbadanan Kota Buku.
Hasuria Che Omar and Chow Yean Fun. 2017. Penterjemahan pelbagai mod dalam program audiovisual anime Jepun. In Nilai penterjemahan dalam masyarakat, eds. Salinah Ja’afar et al., 69–92. Kuala Lumpur: Co-published by Universiti Malaya, Persatuan Penterjemah Malaysia, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Institut Terjemahan & Buku Malaysia, Perbadanan Kota Buku.
Hatcher, J.S. 2005. Of otakus and fansubs: A critical look at anime online in light of current issues in copyright law. SCRIPT-ed 2(4): 546–571. https://doi.org/10.2966/scrip.020405.514
Hsiao, C. 2014. The cultural translation of U.S television programs and movies: Subtitle groups as cultural brokers in China. PhD dissertation, University of California, USA.
Karamitroglou, F. 1998. A proposed set of subtitling standards in Europe. Translation Journal 2(2): 1–14. http://translationjournal.net/journal//04stndrd.htm (accessed 14 August 2014).
Kayahara, M. 2005. The digital revolution: DVD technology and the possibilities for audiovisual translation. The Journal of Specialised Translation 3: 64–74.
Liew Zhe Rong, Hasuria Che Omar and Wan Rose Eliza Abdul Rahman. 2011. Ada apa dengan fansub. In Globalisasi melalui penterjemahan, eds. Noor Ida Ramli, Norizah Ardi and Aini Aziz, 114–128. Kuala Lumpur: Persatuan Penterjemah Malaysia.
______. 2013. Perbandingan tanggapan dan penerimaan penonton antara hasil penyarikataan umum dalam DVD dengan hasil ‘fansub’ dari sudut pendekatan ketersampaian (accessibility) Gambier (2009). In Pendidikan dan latihan penterjemah dan jurubahasa, eds. Hasuria Che Omar, Goh Sang Seong and Hasmidar Hassan, 87– 104. Kuala Lumpur: Persatuan Penterjemah Malaysia
Miller, L. 2017. Access and the construction of fan identity: Industry images of anime fandom. Participations: Journal of Audience & Reception Studies 14(1): 49–66. http://www.participations.org/Volume%2014/Issue%201/4.pdf (accessed 28 January 2018).
O’Hagan, M. 2009. Evolution of user-generated translation: Fansubs, translation hacking and crowdsourcing. The Journal of Internationalization and Localization 1(1): 94– 121. https://doi.org/10.1075/jial.1.04hag
______. 2010. Japanese TV entertainment: Framing humour with open caption telop. In Translation, humour and the media (vol. 2), ed. D. Chiaro, 70–88. London/New York: Continuum International Publishing Group.
Pérez-González, L. 2007. Fansubbing anime: Insights into the butterfly effect of globalisation on audiovisual translation. Perspectives: Studies in Translatology 14(4): 260–277. https://doi.org/10.1080/09076760708669043
______. 2012. Amateur subtitling and the pragmatics of spectatorial subjectivity. Language and Intercultural Communication 12(4): 335–352. https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2012.722100
Radiah Yusoff and Hasuria Che Omar. 2009. Satu kajian kes terhadap pemahaman filem dan kepentingan penterjemahan. In Kelestarian bidang penterjemahan, eds. Hasuria Che Omar and Rokiah Awang, 537–545. Kuala Lumpur: Persatuan Penterjemah Malaysia.
Rush, A. 2009. Otaku creations: The participatory culture of fansubbing. Digital imageries: Culture and reception. Kinephanos Journal 1: 1–18. http://web.mac.com/paraffilm/iWeb/Kinephanos/Otaku_files/Otaku_v1n1.pdf (accessed 25 February 2018).
Tian, Y. 2011. Fansub cyber culture in China. Masters thesis, Georgetown University, Georgetown, Washington, USA. https://search.proquest.com/openview/df33ed91b9b78c80b082df8e29e90e12/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y (accessed 28 January 2018).
Verbruggen, N. 2010. The translation of wordplay in fansubs and original subtitles: A comparative study. Masters thesis, Ghent University, Belgium. http://lib.ugent.be/fulltxt/RUG01/001/457/866/RUG01-001457866_2011_0001_AC.pdf (accessed 28 January 2018).
Wan Ida Rahimah. 2007. Penyuntingan dalam penyarikataan. In Penyarikataan: Satu kaedah penterjemahan audiovisual, ed. Hasuria Che Omar, 43–54. Kuala Lumpur: Institut Terjemahan Negara Malaysia Berhad.