The impact of globalization on children’s media is often hotly debated. While proponents welcome global media to broaden children’s horizons, opponents warn of the potentially negative effects of an increasingly ‘Disneyfied’ culture. More recently, several language and media scholars have noticed a growing counter-movement of cherishing ‘the local’, but also ‘the glocalization’ of global media. This relationship between the global and the local is at the core of our dubbing analysis. With a methodology informed by Social Semiotics and (Audiovisual) Translation Studies, the Swedish and Dutch dubbed versions of the internationally distributed Disney series PJ Masks are analysed. In our comparative analysis of the Swedish and Dutch dubbing, we use multimodal transcription grids to study how the series’ female superhero and villain are portrayed multimodally through spoken language, visuals, sound and (to some extent) voice, focusing on diversity, gender and agency. Our findings show that the Dutch and Swedish versions can be considered ‘glocal’ artefacts resulting from a global product that is imported and localized in both language areas. The analysis reveals interesting (non-)shifts in the depiction of female superhero and villain characters, but also in the semiotic interplay between the different modes in the text.

Revoicing is typically used to translate children’s audiovisual content. Of the various audiovisual translation (AVT) modes, lip-sync dubbing completely replaces the original dialogue track with a recording of the translated dialogue lines in the target language. Off-screen narration is also used to guide children through a programme. In addition to animated children’s programmes, live-action content targeting older children, which used to be subtitled in so-called ‘subtitling countries’, is likewise often dubbed nowadays. Other than dubbing, different AVT modes can be combined within the same programme to make children’s content accessible to audiences with special needs or specific linguistic preferences. Furthermore, besides professional AVT, efforts by laypersons and language activists to provide content in minoritised languages are also important. In this chapter, AVT in and out of minoritised languages is discussed from a sociolinguistic perspective. The focus is on the promotion of its use in children’s content to foster language prestige and raise the visibility of minoritised languages.

At the 10th Media for All conference, the meagre representation of minoritized languages (including sign language) in audiovisual media on streaming platforms was tackled. In this way, the very ideal of media for all was challenged. Global streaming platforms tend to adopt a ‘one size fits all’ approach in limiting their language settings to a minimum. While the users of minoritized languages often are proficient in the dominant language of their country, it is absolutely crucial that content is available in their smaller — and often endangered — languages as well. Some streaming platforms of local public service broadcasters try to accommodate this need. Still, the questions remain: to what extent do not only minoritized languages users, but also the speakers of the majority languages encounter these minoritized languages in audiovisual content, how linguistically diverse and inclusive is this content, but also: what role can audiovisual translation play here? In this article, the importance of audiovisual translation in and out of minoritized languages, with a special focus on revoicing, is discussed. The children’s content broadcast by Swedish public service broadcaster in the national minority languages and sign language is used as a case study. 

In this study of dubbing for children, a quantitative and qualitative corpus analysis of a popular TV series were conducted. The parallel corpus consists of twelve episodes of the animated series PJ Masks, and its corresponding Dutch (Pyjamahelden [Pyjamas heroes]) and Swedish (Pyjamashjältarna [Pyjamas heroes]) audiovisual translations. The focus of the analyses is the portrayal of the main characters. In the light of ongoing criticism of children’s animation, regarding a lack of diversity and gender stereotyping, this translation analysis studies potential changes in gender representation with a particular interest in the female main character. First, the character portrayal in all language versions was systematically analysed based on the characters’ utterances . Subsequently, a closer qualitative analysis revealed some interesting translation shifts, particularly, in the Dutch target text. These were contrasted against the Swedish translation to check if this results in subtle or less subtle changes in the depiction of the heroes vis-à-vis the source text. Needless to say, such translation shifts in audiovisual translation for children and their effect on the representation of children in this multimodal glocal product is highly relevant amidst ongoing criticism of gender and diversity issues in children’s television.  

This article brings together several studies scrutinising language policy and practice with regard to linguistic diversity in Dutch-language audiovisual translation. It focuses on language variation in the two main Dutch audiovisual translation methods: subtitling (for adults) and dubbing (for children). Not only translation policy regarding the use of different varieties of Dutch, but also audiovisual translation practice is analysed to establish to what extent translation practice reflects this policy. Furthermore, reception studies among different target audiences of audiovisual translations are discussed. Some of the findings are that language policy sometimes thwarts translation choices in audiovisual translations, which has an impact on translation quality. Similarly, language attitudes relating to the linguistic standard may be changing, which could have an impact on audiovisual translation in the future. While streaming platforms today facilitate video on demand, allowing viewers to access content wherever and whenever they like, viewers often cannot choose the language settings of their preference. The reason for this is that the available settings tend to be rather limited, although technically speaking a wide range of different audiovisual translations can be added. They could then cater to the special needs or specific preferences of their heterogenous target audience.

Dit artikel gaat op basis van verschillende studies dieper in op het taalbeleid en de taalpraktijk wat betreft taalkundige diversiteit in Nederlandstalige audiovisuele vertalingen. Het concentreert zich op taalvariatie in de meest voorkomende audiovisuele vertaalmethodes: ondertiteling (voor volwassenen) en nasynchronisatie (voor kinderen). Zowel het vertaalbeleid met betrekking tot het gebruik van verschillende variëteiten van het Nederlands als de vertaalpraktijk worden bestudeerd om na te gaan in welke mate het beleid ook in de praktijk wordt toegepast. Bovendien worden ook receptiestudies bij verschillende doelgroepen van audiovisuele vertalingen besproken. Het beleid blijkt de audiovisuele vertaalpraktijk soms te bemoeilijken, wat dan weer een invloed heeft op de vertaalkwaliteit. Maar taalattitudes wat betreft de taalnorm zijn mogelijk aan het veranderen en ook dit kan gevolgen hebben voor audiovisuele vertaling in de toekomst. Hoewel kijkers tegenwoordig via streamingplatforms naar alle mogelijke media kunnen kijken waar en wanneer ze maar willen, kunnen ze dit vaak niet op hun manier doen. De taalinstellingen zijn namelijk vaak nog te beperkt, ook al is het technisch mogelijk om verschillende audiovisuele vertalingen aan te bieden. Door dat te verbeteren zouden deze streamingdiensten tegemoet kunnen komen aan de specifieke behoeften of voorkeuren van hun heterogene doelpubliek.

This volume deals with language policies and practicesrelating to the linguistic standard used in a range ofdifferent media. It contains research on ten language areas.The aim is to gain a better understanding of such policiesand practices in both original and translated media indifferent pluricentric language areas.

From its early days, audiovisual translation has often been referred to as constrained translation (Titford, 1982; Mayoral, Kelly & Gallardo, 1988). Skilled audiovisual translators try to find creative solutions to deal with these constraints, yet some might argue inevitably things get lost in translation. However, from a sociolinguistic point of view, there is also a lot to be gained from translation. Especially, in minority and smaller language areas that tend to rely more on imported foreign content. More recently, the emergence of several streaming platforms has started to change the audiovisual media landscape, as well as media consumption and audiovisual translation practices. These content providers are mostly large American companies and they are often feared to flood smaller countries and regions with their American content. Because of this, attempts have been made to protect local markets. Even at EU level, measures are in place to promote European audiovisual media. Importing foreign content can broaden the audience’s horizon, but the importance of making it accessible to a wide range of audiences with different linguistic preferences and special needs is often underrated. As a result, some content providers fail to adequately assess the implications of neglecting parts of their audiences. The impact of audiovisual translation, including dubbing of both local and foreign animation, is often underestimated. In this article, audiovisual translation practice is discussed, explaining sociolinguistic implications focussing on language planning (De Ridder & O'Connell, 2018) and linguistic diversity (De Ridder, 2019; 2020; 2021) in audiovisual content. It aims to raise more awareness of the role audiovisual translation can play and calls for better regulation.

Rond de eeuwwisseling erkende de Nederlandse Taalunie dat het Nederlands een pluricentrische taal is met een Nederlandse en een Belgische nationale variëteit. Daarna werden ook Surinaamse en Caribische variëteiten erkend. Belgische Nederlandstaligen en taalprofessionals hielden zich in het verleden grotendeels aan de Nederlands-Nederlandse norm.  

Met de officiële erkenning van het Belgisch-Nederlands kregen taalgebruikers geleidelijk aan meer vertrouwen in het gebruik van hun eigen nationale variëteit. Enkele studies trachtten op basis van een systematische lexicale analyse na te gaan of beide variëteiten naar elkaar toe groeiden of net uit elkaar groeiden. Veel Nederlands-Nederlands werd in België overgenomen door de verwoede taalplanningsinitiatieven uit het verleden om de Nederlands-Nederlandse variëteit te promoten. Toch wordt er nog steeds een aanzienlijk aantal gemarkeerde Belgisch-Nederlandse woorden gebruikt in België, waarvan de Nederlandse tegenhangers om de een of andere reden nooit echt ingang hebben gevonden in dit deel van het taalgebied. Deze bijdrage blikt terug op het onderzoek van Grondelaers et al. uit 2001 en de vervolgstudie van Daems et al. uit 2015 en zoomt in op het gebruik van een deel van de kledingterminologie vandaag. Maar we bekijken ook andere manieren om de lexicale variatie in het Nederlands te bestuderen. Dat doen we door zelf taalgebruikers te bevragen en door taalgebruik te analyseren in corpora. Deze bijdrage pleit ook voor verder onderzoek naar de Nederlandse natiolectismen en een betere beschrijving van de Nederlandse natiolecten in het algemeen.

Het televisielandschap is de laatste jaren enorm veranderd. Traditionele televisiezenders bieden naast klassieke, lineaire televisie meer en meer films en televisieprogramma’s ‘op aanvraag’ aan die online en via mobiele apparaten gestreamd kunnen worden. Ook kindertelevisie is veranderd. Een brede waaier aan verschillende media is beschikbaar via allerhande platforms. Maar niet veel mensen zijn op de hoogte van het huidige audiovisuele kinderaanbod. Af en toe verschijnt er een artikel in een krant waardoor bijvoorbeeld het taalgebruik in kindertelevisie onder de aandacht komt. Veel sociolinguïstisch onderzoek naar kindertelevisie werd echter nog niet verricht in het Nederlandse taalgebied. Welke taal of taalvariëteiten worden daarin gebruikt? Wat vinden de ouders van het taalgebruik in het televisieaanbod? Om dit laatste na te gaan werden eind 2020 de ouders van Nederlandstalige kinderen bevraagd. De voornaamste resultaten van deze vragenlijst worden in deze bijdrage besproken.

As children are still in the early stages of language acquisition, their exposure to the language used in children’s media may affect their language learning, but also their language attitude. Children’s television has been criticized for being out of touch with reality when it comes to the portrayal of children. However, linguistically children’s media can also be out of touch with reality. This chapter discusses audiovisual media offered by different providers and accessed by young speakers of non-dominant national varieties in pluricentric language areas in the light of ongoing concerns about overexposure to the dominant variety. The main focus is on an analysis of media for Dutch-speaking children in Belgium, but German-language media for Austrian children is also discussed. It highlights differences between local and imported fiction and calls for further sociolinguistic research into the language used in different children’s media and how it affects language learning and language attitude.