Cécile Ibarra

Title: Lektor, a disembodied translation? 

Abstract 

I would like to investigate the place of readers in audiovisual media through voiceover translation, a practice in use in various Eastern European countries, as well as in Mongolia, Vietnam and Cambodia. The distinguishing feature of this technique is the fact that a single voice is used to cover whole dialogues in the original version, based on whether the characters are male or female. The asynchronous nature of this type of dubbing allows the listener to hear the original version, to perceive and feel the tone and emotions of the character who is speaking. In this way, when one line ends, the translation begins, with the listener already knowing the feelings, the tone, the mood and the emotions of the character. All that is missing, then, is the translation itself. In order to superimpose a reader’s voice over the dialogue, there must be a sort of detachment and transparency in the reader’s intonation. In this workshop, I would like to give some participants the chance to take on the role of reader, and others that of the listener who unconsciously picks up on information. By exploring this technique whereby fiction and acting are seemingly disallowed, we may question its relationship with translation, but also with its reception by audiences, seeing as affect is dissociated in time from understanding. 

Biography 

After studying art, I started working as an artist and filmmaker. As well as creating spaces conducive to intuitive and emotionally sensitive artistic experiences, my work mainly centres around introductions and transformations: I am fascinated by phases of resilience, recovery and movement. This thought process has led me to teach literacy, and to pursue my studies in language sciences. Parallel to this, I write for publications which focus on the relationship between language and cinema, but also cover a wide variety of subjects such as translation, movement, the moving image, the place of the imagination, and storytelling.