Cristina Valdés (University of Oviedo): Translating Multimedia/Modal Advertising
[Translation Studies]
Abstract
Firstly, in this seminar I will introduce the main topic of advertising and promotional translation, focusing on the translation of audiovisual and promotional web material and drawing some attention on why advertising material is translated, with regard to marketing and communication issues or cultural ones.
Undoubtedly a key point of interest is related to the factors that influence this kind of translation, that is, the way they are translated. Their multimodal nature, the target audience or culture-bound elements like humour or persuasion will be dealt with as some of the factors that determine both the process and the product in advertising translation.
This will be illustrated with examples that will show different translation and communication strategies which can be found in advertisements, where not only verbal but also nonverbal material are transformed, and thus changing the role and competence of translators into what has been called ‘transcreators’ and translator training programs. Relevance or creativity will be presented as key notions to train translators and conduct research in this particular field.
Cristina Valdés is full-time lecturer of English Studies and Translation in the University of Oviedo (Spain). Her main research has been carried out in the field of advertising translation, website translation/localization, on intercultural communication and on the reception of the 18th century English translations of Don Quixote. She has participated in several European projects on intercultural communication, language learning, the multilingual web and screen translation. Besides, she has published La traducción publicitaria: comunicación y cultura. (2004) and co-edited with Beverly Adab the Special Issue of The Translator entitled Key Debates in the Translation of Advertising Material, as well as different papers and contributions to the Handbook of Translation Studies, The Routledge Handbook of Translation Studies and The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Pragmatics.