Recommendations for Chinese Audio Description Guidelines: A Case Study

漢語口述影像指導準則的個案研究

沈曉佩(Adeline Sim)

《翻譯學研究集刊》 21輯 (2018/07) Pp. 103-124

摘要

Like all other subjects and fields, translation and interpretation leverage on the rapid development of multimedia and technology. Today, human's reliance on technology is hardly negligible. As Audiovisual Translation is closely intertwined with technologies, the rapid technological advancement also brought about significant development in the field of Audiovisual Translation. Audio Description (AD), a form of Audiovisual Translation, is a service provided for the Blind and Visually-impaired (BVI). Audio describers translate the images on the screen into words to help the BVIs create a mental image. Unbeknownst to most, AD is a demanding task. As the saying goes, ＂a picture speaks a thousand words.＂ Audio describers, on the contrary, have to put these images into words. Although AD had been put into practice in Chinese-speaking regions, there is a lack of Chinese AD guidelines to provide guidance and general rules for the AD practitioners. As a result, the quality of the ADs produced varied greatly. While the lack of Chinese AD guidelines has resulted in a diversified and vibrant AD industry, the lack of it was also the culprit for Chinese AD's disorganised state. This paper attempts to propose Chinese AD guidelines through a triple case study analysis of the English-Chinese parallel AD texts of three different films, and I hope that the product can contribute to AD beginners' learning and practitioners' understanding of AD production, thereby producing Chinese ADs which are better suited for the BVIs.

關鍵字

audio description ； Chinese ； guidelines ； recommendations ； audiovisual translation

並列摘要

現今社會中，人們對科技的依賴遠遠超越從前。科技發展與電子器材的發明不但改變了人與人之間的互動，翻譯和口譯活動也因此產生了變化。隨著科技迅速的發展，影視翻譯也隨之更受關注。口述影像是視聽翻譯的分支，主要目的是為視障人士解說視頻，將螢幕上的資訊（例如：人物表情，動作和背景）轉述給視障人士，引導他們在腦海中將視頻還原。譯者必須利用某種語言將資訊傳達給視障人士或聽眾，這樣說來口述影像的根基就是語言。俗話說一張圖勝過千言萬語，口述影像這項服務卻偏偏要將千言萬語轉述給視障人士，這可不是件易事。口述影像也不僅僅是專為視障人士提供的服務，近來也有一些學者研究如何將口述影像運用在教學和語言習得上。口述影像在世界各地的發展有別，有些發展較成熟，有些則較落後，有些甚至零發展。雖然漢語文化圈（例如：中國和臺灣）也出產口述影像，但缺乏正規的口述影像指導準則和規範。儘管口述影像成品的品質千差萬別，我們可以通過探析成品的長處與短處來提升我們實踐水準。筆者首先瞭解口述影像的發展，並研究口述影像在英語文化圈和漢語文化圈的發展現況。然後再仔細研究英語文化圈內四套口述影像的指導準則，以便整理各家對口述影像的看法及實踐，從而奠下背景知識。筆者雖然抄下一些現有的口述影像腳本，但並不進行翻譯。親筆抄下的好處在於能夠同時評價各個腳本的長處與短處，從而親身體驗它們各自的效果。彙集英漢口述影像腳本也讓筆者能夠更充分理解口述影像的發展現況，同時作為案例研究的輔助材料。這確保筆者在進行分析時，充分考慮到現今口述影像實踐的優缺點。缺乏漢語口述影像指導準則讓口述影像在漢語文化圈內得以百花齊放，但也是漢語口試影像雜亂無章的導火線。現有的漢語口試影像缺乏評估，品質也參差不齊。希望筆者在論文中所提出的指導準則能夠指導譯者如何製造出更適合視障人士的口述影像。

並列關鍵字

口述影像 ； 漢語 ； 指導準則 ； 建議 ； 視聽翻譯

參考文獻

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