On voice-over translation of documentaries in Iran: A synchronization perspective

ABSTRACT Voice-over is a mode of transfer in the audiovisual translation in which the original soundtrack is heard simultaneously in the background. The reason for the double-voice hearing is proof of the products’ authenticity and translators’ faithfulness to the target viewers. The technical factor of synchrony (adapting the length of the soundtrack, matching the original and target soundtracks, the soundtrack and visuals, and the soundtrack and body movements) raises the quality of voiced-over products. Voice-over is widely used in the translation of documentaries in many countries including Iran. The present study investigated documentary voice-over on Iran’s national television from an isochrony perspective seeking to examine to what extent the international isochrony standards are followed and where the Iranian voice-over profession stands. For this purpose, a documentary was selected and analyzed based on framework triangulated by the researchers. The results revealed that, in practice, voice-over narrators adhered strongly to synchronization techniques in most segments of the selected documentary. The study demonstrates that documentary voice-over translation techniques, particularly the synchronization principles, are frequently followed on Iran’s television, although with slight modifications they would even improve more.