Wykład 6

• Translation of graphic narratives – this combination of the visual and textual layer imposes on the translator certain limitations, especially:

  • Textual-visual nature imposes spatial limitations: balance between what we see and what we can read
  • Modern graphic narratives – 3D graphic novels, and comic books with scratch-and-sniff systems to stimulate imagination
  • Popularity: there may be problems with the translation of culture-specific elements
• Graphic narrative - characteristics:

  • composed of sequential pictures – each can exist on its own, but the images form a narrative only if combined 
  • we can’t separate the visual layer from the textual layer.
  • Movement of characters – there are no descriptions, everything is shown via images
  • It is essential for a reader to recognize the connections between panels and page layout
  • Synergistic language which has to be seen as a combination of the visual and the verbal
  • Comics tell stories through the juxtaposition of images and text for speech and sound
• Graphic narrative = a deliberately arranged sequence of pictorial and other images which is intended to transfer information and/or evoke an aesthetic response
• Graphic narrative - structure:

  • Each page consists of several panels
  • Panels are separated by a gutter (the line between panels)
  • Balloons = areas where dialogues are inserted, indicates that a given character is speaking
• The verbal layer of graphic narratives

  • Words, images, and other icons are analogous to a semiotic system of signs 
  • The natural language in a graphic narrative is inseparable from the visual aspect
  • Context is the key factor 
  • The story can be told only by correlating pictures with words
  • The verbal layer in graphic narratives is sequential and segmented, serving the purpose of moving the story forward as well as intertwining itself with the visuals of the work
• Translation inserted into speech balloons has to be balanced context -wise and space -wise
• Panels include captions – additional pieces of info, which are better transmitted by the linguistic layer and specify certain context 
• Translation and quality assessment based on:

  • Complete verbal and pictorial make-up of the ST and TT – what was in the original should be in the translation.
  • Identical distribution of verbal and non-verbal components on every page
  • Identical appearance of frames and gutters and components of spatial organization 
  • Identical coloring – changing colors may spoil this aesthetic experience.
• Onomatopoeic words are often a part of the page’s layout, therefore, it is kind of problematic to change it.