Compensation: a translation strategy to mirror spontaneous-sounding conversation when dubbing sitcoms

Abstract

Compensation is a translation strategy used frequently in audiovisual translation in order to overcome the constraints which characterize audiovisual texts (Chaume, 2008: 82). In dubbing, in addition to considering synchronization constraints, translators should take into account that the text they receive has been written to be interpreted as if it had not been written, that is, as if it was spontaneous. In addition, translators should bear in mind the specificities of the register of dubbing, and that some orality markers which are common in domestic productions, are not appropriate in dubbed productions (Baños Piñero and Chaume, 2009). Due to the impossibility of using specific linguistic features which make audiovisual dialogue sound spontaneous, compensation turns out to be a very useful strategy to achieve credible dialogues in dubbed productions. The aim of this article is to reflect on the appropriateness of this strategy to mirror naturally-occurring conversation in dubbing. This will be illustrated with examples from episodes of the TV series Friends dubbed into Spanish. Through these examples, it will be shown how compensation is implemented through the addition of features which are typical of colloquial conversation in Spanish and which are absent in the original version.