The Making of Accessible Audiovisual Translation

Carmen Pena-Díaz

1 Introduction: The Making of Accessible Audiovisual Translation

Accessibility, understood as social integration, has been studied from many perspectives, yet, due to our environment constantly changing, it is still an open concept which needs to be constantly re-examined. Within Translation Studies, audiovisual translation (AVT), understood as the transfer from one language to another of the verbal and non-verbal components contained in audiovisual works and products, has expanded the concept of translation activity and its growth has been exponential. In recent years, both AVT and accessibility studies have been widely studied, and the intersection of both spaces has equally widely been represented in academic research as well as in professional practice due to society demanding more and more diverse services.

The ‘not so new anymore’ information society and the new prospects opening up in translation due to multimedia communication require the help of mediators who adapt the message transmitted audiovisually so that the target receiver understands the message. This means adapting to all types of recipients, including those with sensory disabilities, people with limited digital skills, older people, etc.

Multimodality is ‘the use of several semiotic modes in the design of a semiotic product or event’ (Kress & Van Leeuwen 2001: 20) and it is an emerging concept in some areas. In others, such as cinema, performing arts, video games and museums the concept has been used for quite some time. Translators are bound to be faced with texts in which sound, visual and tactile aspects must be considered and should be aware that there are differences in the perception of reality. This fact, together with the need to reach audiences with different needs and characteristics, means that multimodality and accessibility to knowledge are two inseparable concepts in the field of multimedia translation.

Multimodality is the construction of meaning through different modes of communication and it should adapt to the needs of different users (López-Rodríguez et al. 2013: 49). In fact, there are standards and guidelines to help convert audiovisual and multimedia materials into accessible texts by using translation modes such as subtitling for the deaf, audio description for the blind or sign language. In addition, techniques and strategies such as textual description of images, reformulations with simplified language of visual information or easy-to-read texts are also activated. The translation of multimodal texts must consider the role played by language, sound, music, images, gestures and movement, thus becoming quite a challenge. Although this is obvious in the case of multimodal texts such as audiovisual productions, it may be argued that this is a stage that all translators should always include in their translation process with the aim of adapting all texts to all users from the very beginning.

Incorporating accessibility transversally in all translation classes, when training future professionals, will make a difference towards inclusive access to information and entertainment. As López-Rodríguez et al. (2009) claim, the multimedia translation classroom is the ideal environment to bring us closer to this reality, as we have the advantage of having students who are used to translating texts on different topics with limited knowledge of the subject matter. This will help the process of sensibilisation to the potential limitations of knowledge or sensory disabilities of the receiver (Tercedor-Sánchez 2009; López-Rodríguez et al. 2009).