Books by Alexander Künzli
This handbook, produced in collaboration with 30 specialists, provides a compact, thorough, and a... more This handbook, produced in collaboration with 30 specialists, provides a compact, thorough, and accessible account of the whole spectrum of Audiovisual Translation (AVT). In 33 articles in five thematic blocks, it offers an overview of theoretical and methodological approaches; the various types of audiovisual translation, from subtitling and dubbing to game localisation, audio description, and surtitling in theatres and opera houses; key issues such as AVT and politics, music, or foreign language learning; and institutional aspects with a special focus on the AVT landscape in German-speaking countries (TV broadcasters, streaming platforms, subtitling and dubbing companies, professional associations). The book looks at the current state of research, the latest (technological) developments and future directions for research and includes the voices of representatives from professional practice. Extensive bibliographies and suggestions for further reading provide guidance for more in-depth academic study of the content for teachers and students, but also provide a basis for conducting successful projects in the AVT sector.
This monograph investigates subtitling from two perspectives. It first presents the current state... more This monograph investigates subtitling from two perspectives. It first presents the current state of research in the field of subtitling, before studying the workflow of subtitling projects and the collaboration between the different actors involved in such projects. Data was collected through an online survey of subtitlers in the German-speaking countries. The second part of the study deals with the reception of subtitles. Within the framework of an empirical study, the cognitive load and acceptance of two types of subtitles were measured: standard subtitles vs. experimental subtitles, as can be found in fansubs. The results of the survey show that there are a number of aspects concerning the status and working conditions of subtitlers that have the potential for optimization, according to subtitlers themselves. Inferential statistical tests show moreover that two subcultures can be identified, each with its own norms and professional perspectives: subtitling for the hearing, and subtitling for the deaf and hearing impaired. Data analysis from the study on subtitle reception confirms the hypothesis that the reception capacity of subtitle users is generally underestimated in the specialist literature. The data also suggest that current subtitling norms might simply be preferred because users are accustomed to them.
Institutionen för franska och italienska Département de français et d'italien Forskningsrapporter... more Institutionen för franska och italienska Département de français et d'italien Forskningsrapporter Cahiers de la recherche 21 _____________________________________________
Papers by Alexander Künzli
This study investigates subtitling professionals’ job satisfaction. Previous research suggests th... more This study investigates subtitling professionals’ job satisfaction. Previous research suggests that on the one hand many translators feel that their work is not sufficiently recognized, but that on the other hand they are happy in their job. As audiovisual translators’ working conditions have significantly changed in recent years, this contribution examines job satisfaction in the context of interlingual subtitling. An email interview study was conducted with nineteen subtitling professionals producing German-language subtitles. Thematic analysis was used to organize the data into two overall themes: extrinsic sources of subtitler satisfaction and intrinsic ones. Suggestions for future directions concern studies in work psychology to identify key extrinsic satisfiers able to motivate subtitling professionals to stay in the profession and prevent unwanted churn among freelancers.
Handbuch AVT, 2024
Das Werk einschließlich aller Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung außerhalb der... more Das Werk einschließlich aller Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung außerhalb der engen Grenzen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes ist ohne Zustimmung des Verlags unzulässig und strafbar. Das gilt insbesondere für Vervielfältigungen, Übersetzungen, Mikroverfilmungen und die Einspeicherung und Verarbeitung in elektronischen Systemen.
Translation and Interpreting Studies, 2022
The job of a subtitler is undergoing significant changes. This study investigates subtitling prof... more The job of a subtitler is undergoing significant changes. This study investigates subtitling professionals' perceptions of the effects these changes are having on their working conditions. With this aim in mind, an email interview study was conducted with nineteen freelance subtitling professionals producing German-language subtitles. Overall themes in the subtitlers' accounts were disillusion with recent trends in the subtitling profession (the precarization of the subtitling profession, acceleration of production processes, virtualization of collaboration), concerns about quality (unavailable or low-quality working materials, market entry of unskilled subtitlers, replacement of established local subtitling guidelines by international ones, machine translation), but also opportunities (predictability, solidarity among subtitling professionals). Suggestions for future directions concern longitudinal studies to evaluate the effects changes in professional subtitling practice have on working conditions over time with follow-up surveys to collect subtitlers' opinions on how the problems identified could best be tackled.
Parallèles, 2021
This paper evaluates the impact that information and communication technologies (ICTs) are having... more This paper evaluates the impact that information and communication technologies (ICTs) are having on empirical research in Translation and Interpreting Studies. Focusing on verbal report methodologies, it identifies important parameters that ICTs have changed, such as accessing participants, the speed of data collection, and research costs and evaluates potential challenges in its use. Two case studies conducted in respectively subtitling and conference interpreting by means of email interviews and an online questionnaire illustrate the main points made. The observations reveal the advantages of continuous fine-tuning of the tool, of collecting data from respondents living in remote time zones, and of repeated contacts with participants, allowing researchers to include more data in the analysis. Suggestions for further directions include the comparison of data gathered using different data collection techniques and the mining for data on social networking or video sites where translators and interpreters discuss topics of interest regarding their profession, while taking into account internet research ethics.
August Strindberg und die Aufklärung, 2020
A t.t,.xnN o utr I( u Nzt.t / GUNNt't-F,N<;rvnr,r. l)i e G es taitun g psycholo gischer Iixpcrir-... more A t.t,.xnN o utr I( u Nzt.t / GUNNt't-F,N<;rvnr,r. l)i e G es taitun g psycholo gischer Iixpcrir-nen te i n Le Plaidoyet'd'un lou.
Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice, 2020
Professional subtitlers' perceptions of quality were studied in an online survey conducted in thr... more Professional subtitlers' perceptions of quality were studied in an online survey conducted in three German-speaking countries. Fifty-nine subtitlers filled in a questionnaire that contained items on quality parameters and quality assurance measures. The respondents' quality statements were categorized into three overall quality dimensions-correspondence between original and subtitles, intelligibility, and linguistic authenticity-each with its own subset of quality parameters. This was the basis for the construction of the CIA model of interlingual subtitle quality. It is hypothesized that if the model's quality dimensions and parameters are met, subtitle reception will lead to a flow experience. Suggestions for future directions concern time-lag studies to investigate how quality perceptions evolve over time, research into subtitling competence, and testing of the validity of the model by having professional subtitlers assess a set of subtitles while thinking aloud.
This study investigates the development of two components of translational competence, i.e., disc... more This study investigates the development of two components of translational competence, i.e., discursive and pragmatic competence, by analyzing the way the fictitious dialogue between sender and receiver in advertising texts is translated. Three translation students (1 st , 3 rd and 4 th year of study) and one professional translator were asked to translate an advertisement while thinking aloud. The results show a correlation between the degree of awareness of the role played by the fictitious dialogue, discursive and pragmatic competence, and experience of translation. The study has implications for teaching and research: It reveals the potential benefit of combining translation exercises and analyses of corpora in teaching on the one hand, and of a systematic variation of variables in research on the other.
The choice of the appropriate address pronoun is notoriously difficult in spoken and written comm... more The choice of the appropriate address pronoun is notoriously difficult in spoken and written communication. In French, there are two parallel address systems, with either unmarked T (tu) or V (vous). In Swedish, on the other hand, the T form du has been the general, usual form since the 1960s. In recent years, V (ni) has started to reappear, at least in service and business situations. The choice of the appropriate address pronoun may thus constitute a problem in French–Swedish translation. Process and product data were collected with 20 trainee translators and professional translators who were asked to translate a text or revise a draft translation respectively, while thinking aloud. The analysis of the Swedish target texts reveals both interindividual variation in the choice of the address pronoun, and intraindividual variation, with several participants showing inconsistent address use. Process data from the think-aloud protocols highlight the effort even experienced translators invest in finding the appropriate address pronoun.
This study investigates the use of information sources during the translation process. Three prof... more This study investigates the use of information sources during the translation process. Three professional translators and three translation students were asked to translate a short text while thinking aloud. The results show a correlation between the range of information sources used, expertise of translation and translation quality. However, the
preference of a certain type of source (e.g., monolingal vs. bilingual dictionaries) is not associated with translation quality. The results have implications for translation research methodology, as it should be reminded that correlational results do not permit the attribution
of causal links, and translation pedagogy, where the criticism often expressed towards the use of bilingual dictionaries seems unjustified in the light of our data.
Think-aloud protocols (TAPs) have often been used to study the cognitive aspect of translation. T... more Think-aloud protocols (TAPs) have often been used to study the cognitive aspect of translation. This paper shows their usefulness for investigating the linguistic aspect of translation. Examples are drawn from material collected in 40 think-aloud sessions over several years. The participants were professional translators or trainee translators. The
language pairs involved are French-German and French-Swedish. The translational linguistic problems discussed fall into the following categories: a) grammatical (the interpretation of French participial clauses), b) textual (the use of connectors), c) functional (different realizations of one and the same linguistic function in French on the one
hand, and in German and Swedish on the other), and d) sociolinguistic (the rendering of the formal vous into Swedish by the more formal ni or the less formal du).
The present study deals with August Strindberg as a francophone writer. Our aim is to investigate... more The present study deals with August Strindberg as a francophone writer. Our aim is to investigate how his French reviser handled the peculiarities of his French and how they were rendered in translation. The analysis is conducted on three excerpts from four different versions of the novel Le Plaidoyer d’un fou: Strindberg’s original French manuscript, the first French edition from 1895, the latest Swedish translation from 1976 and the latest Italian translation from 1991. The study reveals a great deal of deviations from the source text that are not dictated by target-language norms, particularly in the first revised French edition, but also in the latest Swedish and Italian translations. Moreover, close textual analyses indicate that not only Strindberg’s original manuscript, but also earlier translations in the respective language have inspired the translators. The observations suggest that there is potential for retranslating the Plaidoyer into a more experimental language
This study investigates risk-taking in translation. Five translation students and 5 professional ... more This study investigates risk-taking in translation. Five translation students and 5 professional translators from German-speaking Switzerland were asked to think aloud while translating a user guide from French into German. The focus of the study was the analysis of the participants' reaction to an ambiguous source-text passage through investigating the strategies they used to translate that passage on the one hand; and their uncertainty as revealed by the think-aloud protocols of their translation processes on the other. The results show a higher propensity for risk-taking among the student group. Also, the translators mitigate potential risk by making the client a partner in the translation process. The study has implications for both research and teaching. It reveals the need for more research into whether translations produced by students necessarily are more literal than those of more experienced translators. Secondly, it suggests that students should be made even more aware of the fact that consulting the client is not an admission of failure, but a necessity. Students also need to know how to successfully communicate with the client when uncertainty arises.
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Books by Alexander Künzli
Papers by Alexander Künzli
preference of a certain type of source (e.g., monolingal vs. bilingual dictionaries) is not associated with translation quality. The results have implications for translation research methodology, as it should be reminded that correlational results do not permit the attribution
of causal links, and translation pedagogy, where the criticism often expressed towards the use of bilingual dictionaries seems unjustified in the light of our data.
language pairs involved are French-German and French-Swedish. The translational linguistic problems discussed fall into the following categories: a) grammatical (the interpretation of French participial clauses), b) textual (the use of connectors), c) functional (different realizations of one and the same linguistic function in French on the one
hand, and in German and Swedish on the other), and d) sociolinguistic (the rendering of the formal vous into Swedish by the more formal ni or the less formal du).
preference of a certain type of source (e.g., monolingal vs. bilingual dictionaries) is not associated with translation quality. The results have implications for translation research methodology, as it should be reminded that correlational results do not permit the attribution
of causal links, and translation pedagogy, where the criticism often expressed towards the use of bilingual dictionaries seems unjustified in the light of our data.
language pairs involved are French-German and French-Swedish. The translational linguistic problems discussed fall into the following categories: a) grammatical (the interpretation of French participial clauses), b) textual (the use of connectors), c) functional (different realizations of one and the same linguistic function in French on the one
hand, and in German and Swedish on the other), and d) sociolinguistic (the rendering of the formal vous into Swedish by the more formal ni or the less formal du).
professional translators were asked to translate a text from French into German while thinking aloud. Their verbalisations were transcribed into what are termed think-aloud protocols and analysed in parallel with their written translations. The analysis of their written translations shows that more than half of the participants did not opt for one translation strategy alone when processing the product name
Galeo 4710, which figures in the French source text. Instead, they vacillated between different solutions. The think-aloud protocols confirm that the processing of product names can raise translation problems for at least the following reasons: (1) The
presence or absence of a definite article; (2) The need to attribute gender to the product name; (3) Whether to change or preserve the product name; (4) Rhetoric (reinforcement of the product name by the use of possessive modifiers). The results have implications for both teaching translation and research.