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12. ADVERTISING TEXTS
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ADVERTISING TEXTS 1
• Advertisements are designed to attract attention rather than give information
• Texts are short and related to striking visual images
• Advertisements are usually designed by a professional, well-paid team
• They feature mnemonics, i.e. linguistic devices to make a text easy to
remember: rhyme and rhythm, alliteration (repeated use of the same
consonant) and onomatopoeia (the sound of the word imitates its meaning).
Mnemonics represent an enormous challenge for the translator. An imaginative
approach is essential, and the task is often to create equivalents rather than
translations.
No Italian word rhymes with
Electrolux
What can the translator do?
And what can the Italian-to-English
translator do here?
Niente attira
Come Electrolux aspira
Change the word order.
Use the inflections of Italian verb
conjugations. The _are infinitives have
great potential.
TRONY
Genuine, never phoney
Rhythm
Alliteration
Onomatopoeia
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ADVERTISING TEXTS 2
• The language is typical of speaking rather then writing
• The imperative mood is frequently used
• Omission of function words and copular “to be”
• Parataxis rather than hypotaxis.
• Comparatives and superlatives are used a lot
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ADVERTISING TEXTS 3
Creative word play of various kinds:
Puns
Homophones
Metaphors
Similes
Metonyms
Neologisms
Linguistic and Visual Metaphors
Similes: with like or as… as
Metonymy: “[…] an attribute of an entity is used in place of the entity itself.
People are using metonyms when they talk about the bottle to mean ‘drinking’.”
(Crystal 1992: 250)
The White House = the US Government
Suits = the powerful men who make the decisions
Fresh blood = new people
The pen = the written word = ideas
The sword = a weapon = force
“The pen is mightier than the sword”
Neologisms = invented words
1. Entirely new expressions: baby boomers, yuppies
2. New meaning for existing word: flake (USA), anorak (UK)
3. Combining parts of two existing words to make a new one: smirting (smoking
+ flirting), chuggers (charity + muggers)
The translator’s task
Quite often it is impossible to translate puns, neologisms etc. But if we can’t
translate the words, we can translate the communicative intention
(illocutionary force) by creating a broadly equivalent discourse. We have to
identify what aspect of the product is being promoted (style, flavour,
modernity, price, association with youth etc.) and find a way to present the
same quality to the same target consumers.
Nowadays many advertisements are presented in a single version all over the
world (“Nespresso. What else?”). However, there are cultural preferences.
Taylor (p. 144) notes that “English advertisements rely very heavily on humour
(English humour), and thus there is much evidence of word play and
intertextual allusion. Italian advertisers can be seen to place more attention on
the aesthetic attributes of products in line with the Italian predilection for style
and handsome presentation.”
And in 2016 the female body is still used (or exploited) to advertise a great
range of products. Especially in Italy.
And finally, how does the advertising industry promote
itself?
FALSE FRIENDS 12
What do you remember about complexion and comprehensive?
Concrete (adjective): like the Italian concreto. Not gossip but concrete/hard facts.
Concrete (noun): like the Italian cemento. There is an English word cement. In
general cement is in powder form, concrete is solid.
Concurrence 1: two events happen at the same time. The concurrence of the film
festival in Bristol and the music festival in Manchester made it
impossible to attend both.
Concurrence 2: like the Italian consenso. An unexpected concurrence of opinion
between the parties.
Concorrenza: competition. Our business is struggling because of competition from
Chinese firms. Concorrenza sleale = unfair competition.
Concussion: In Italian trauma cranico. The rugby player left the field suffering from
concussion.
Concussione: extortion (legal term), graft (journalistic expression)
THE DIARY OF A BRAVE TRANSLATOR VERILY IN LEG – PART 12
I don’t like political correctness because I think we should say bread to
bread, wine to wine and use words that do not hide the truth. Of course, we
don’t want to go back to the widespread use of the sexist and racist language
of the 1950s, but some of the 21st century euphemisms are ridiculous. To
prove whether an expression is really offensive or not, we should find out
how the alleged victims describe themselves. I have met plenty of blind
people in my time and they all described themselves as blind, not “visually
impaired” or “suffering from vision loss”. It seems to me that some
politically correct enthusiasts want to be more realistic than the king.
Dire pane al pane = Call a spade a spade (spade = vanga)
Provare = variously translated as test, try, try out, try on, feel,
rehearse
Prove = like Italian dimostrare or, in legal contexts, provare or
fornire una prova
Essere più realista del re: no equivalent expression in English.
A possible paraphrase would be: to support or defend a cause more
fervently than people directly involved do.