Danish voices, Lithuanian voice‐over. the mechanics of non‐synchronous translation

Abstract

Abstract It is commonly asserted that dialogue condensation in screen translation ‐ typically subtitling ‐ is primarily due to constraints of synchrony and space. In this study of voice‐over, a non‐synchronous form of TV translation popular in Eastern Europe, condensation turns out to be just as common as in subtitling. In voice‐over, dialogue condensation appears to be one of several results of a general standardization strategy, also found in other types of translation, in which the translator acts as a centripetal force moving “excentric” texts closer to the center of the genre in question. In this study of Danish‐Lithuanian TV translation, the English pivot script on which the Lithuanian version is based displays standardization features similar to those added by the Lithuanian translator.