Transcript Lingua e Traduzione III Traduzione Pubblicitaria

Lingua e Traduzione III
Traduzione Pubblicitaria
Elena Di Giovanni
Practical information
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Get the photocopies at the copy shop.
More material will be posted on my
web page.
Make sure you always keep track of
what we do in class (and what you are
supposed to do in between classes)
Aims and topics
In this course we will be looking at promotional texts, mainly
advertisements (released through different communicative channels).
The texts we will be working on shall display different characteristics,
but they all share a persuasive purpose and their translation is
produced and assessed in functional terms.
This means the main issue in the translation of promotional texts is
not the faithful transfer of content, but the achievement of an
intended effect on an intended target group.
By the way…
What is an advert?
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A university prospectus
A political manifesto
A film trailer
A “speed limit” road sign
A manufacturer’s label sewn on the outside of
clothes
A shop name on a carrier bag
A T-shirt with a slogan on it (e.g. “time to party”)
A poster in the grounds of a church, with “Jesus
Lives” written on it
Advertising: goals
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Level of communication
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Attract attention
Give “selected” information on product/service
Win support to message content
Elicit emotional response
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Level of purchase
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Move instinct / activate desire to buy
Build a reputation for the product / make it wellknown
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What’s in an advert
Advertisements/adverts/ads are made of:
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Art (images, graphics, formatting...)
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Visual
Packshot
Logo
Copy (verbal text)
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Headline
Bodycopy
Payoff
How does translation fit in?
TERMINOLOGY
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Translation
Adaptation
Localization
Trans-creation
What this course aims at:
professional profiles
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Freelance or in-house translators
Copywriters at advertising agencies
Sales/Marketing/PR staff at public or
private companies (from the multinational
to the local level)
…and the rest? (development of “private”
skills eg writing CVs, understanding ads)
Professional practice
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Why advertising translators aren’t “just”
translators: non-linguistic skills
E.g.:
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Semiotic
Cultural
Legal
Creative (copywriting)
(is translation ever a merely linguistic act?)
General issues - 1
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Accuracy and “loyalty” to the original text
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Functional view: the (translated) promotional text
must “work”, not necessarily be “accurate” or
“faithful”. The degree of loyalty is normally
proportional to the amount of factual information
conveyed (i.e. the translation of a CV is usually
more faithful to the original than that of an
advertisement).
General issues - 2
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Accuracy and “loyalty” to the original text
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Local commercial needs (i.e. loyalty to the
purpose of the promotional text) are more
important than accuracy in rendition (i.e. loyalty
to the content and form of the original ad). See
Example 1.
Clients may have hidden agendas, i.e. their own,
unspoken priorities which influence their
perceptions of what “works” and of their “needs”.
See example 2.
3. General issues/1:example
3. General issues/1:example
For next week:
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Translate/Adapt text from NSPCC
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Read pp.Che cos’è la pubblicità, pp. 75-85
(it’s in Italian, so little effort is required…)
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Read pp. 59-60 (White)
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SWOT ANALYSIS
Brand to be analysed: McDonald’s