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Translation and the Construction of Identity: Abstracts
Date: 12-14 August 2004
Venue: Sookmyung Women's University, Seoul, Korea
Ira Torresi
University of Bologna, Italy
In written texts pictures and graphic layout are usually considered as addenda
to the verbal text. This may apply to some textual genres, but is certainly not
true for print advertisements. One may think that if a given pictorial element
(a picture or drawing) of an advertisement is not offensive or incomprehensible
in a given target culture, it need not be changed. Similarly, there may seem to
be no need to adjust graphic elements (the use of capitals, italics, symbols
etc.) when a product is advertised across cultures.
Panel 7: The Verbal, The Visual, The Translator
Translating the Visual. The Importance of Visual Elements in the
Translation/Adaptation of Advertising across Cultures
Two examples will be shown to prove that visual elements in print advertisements
can in fact be adjusted to different cultures: the Italian and British versions
of an advertisement for L’Oréal’s Elvive (1999) and the British, Italian and
Russian versions of an advertisement for Maybelline’s ‘Smooth Result’ foundation
(2002). In the first case, the adjustment of a drawing depicting the product’s
action will be analysed with reference to the culture-specific use of an alleged
‘scientific truth’ about the effectiveness of beauty and cleaning products. In
the second case, the analysis of visual elements will highlight that emphasis is
placed on different textual elements, thus attributing more or less relevance to
the product’s bonuses, with particular reference to culture-specific instances
of ‘lexical boost’ (Bhatia, 1993); it will also be pointed out that according to
the captions the model should be wearing a different tone of foundation in each
version – in line with what is perceived as the ideal skin tone in each country
– whereas the photograph is clearly the same.
This suggests that pictorial and graphic elements should never be taken for
granted or considered universal; their arrangement follows grammar-like rules
(Kress and Van Leeuwen, 1996) and produces a constructed and negotiated meaning
which completes the meaning of verbal texts. In the field of advertising,
therefore, translation skills should include the ability to ‘translate’ the
visual as well as the verbal.
References
Bhatia, V. J. (1993). Analysing Genre: Language Use in Professional Settings.
London: Longman.
Kress, G. and T. Van Leeuwen (1996). Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual
Design. London: Routledge.
© IATIS 2003