Zi Ye

The audio description of humour in Chinese comedy films

Humour has been discussed extensively in translation studies regarding its linguistic and cultural features. Then, more attention has been paid to audiovisual texts where audiovisual channels interact with verbal dialogues to convey humorous effects. However, these discussions do not apply to the emerging mode of audio description (AD). AD is commonly categorised as the inter-semiotic translation, transferring from visual signs to verbal content, and can be used to help visually impaired persons appreciate audiovisual products. Previous studies usually focused on verbal humour, whereas AD is concerned with non-verbal, primarily visual humour. The different characteristics of non-verbal humour and AD texts have brought many new challenges. For example, it is recommended that the language of AD remain neutral, but can humorous scenes, which require specific emotional responses, be described neutrally? Humour in AD is a significant but under-explored research landscape, and only a few scholars have attempted to address this issue (Martínez Sierra 2009, 2010, 2020; Dore 2020; Chorão 2021).

This presentation will be the first to explore AD of humour in the Chinese context, where AD development is at a very early stage. In addition, the principles of AD writing in Chinese may be quite different from those developed in Western countries. Taking some case studies from Chinese comedy films, I will try to provide an initial insight into the strategies currently used in China for audio-describing humour, based on the joke prototype developed by Martínez Sierra (2020). My presentation can reinterpret translation from the perspective of accessibility and lead to new ways of approaching humour as a translation challenge.

References: 

Chorão, G. B. (2021). The audio description of humour. 3 January. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DfWQbC6FpY&t=45s [accessed 3 April 2023].

Dore, M. (2020). The audio description of humour. In M. Dore, ed. Humour in audiovisual translation: Theories and applications. New York and London: Routledge, 259-280.

Martínez-Sierra, J. J. (2009). The relevance of humour in audio description. Intralinea, 11. 

Martínez-Sierra, J. J. (2010). Approaching the audio description of humour. Entreculturas, 2, 87-103.

Martínez-Sierra, J. J. (2020). Audio describe humour: Seeking laughter when images do not suffice. In M. Dore, ed. Humour translation in the age of multimedia. London: Routledge, 177-195.

Bio:

Zi Ye is a first-year PhD student funded by the South, West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership, based at the University of Bristol and Cardiff University. Her research interests are audiovisual translation and film accessibility, focusing on audio description in China.