Features of translation of English-language horror filmonyms into Russian and German

Dondik Lyudmila Yurievna ORCID: 0000-0001-5955-5017 PhD in Philology Associate professor, Department of Foreign Languages and Russian Philology, Russian State Vocational Pedagogical University 622031, Russia, Nizhny Tagil, Krasnogvardeyskaya str., 57 dondik2006@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Yuzhaninova Elena Vladimirovna ORCID: 0000-0001-7623-0214 PhD in Pedagogy Associate professor, Department of Foreign Languages and Russian Philology, Russian State Vocational Pedagogical University 622031, Russia, Sverdlovsk region, Nizhny Tagil, Krasnogvardeyskaya str., 57 elena-yuzh@yandex.ru

The object of the research in the article is the original English-language and translated Russian- and German-language filmonyms of horror discourse. The subject of the study is the general features and specific features of the translation of horror discourse filmonyms from English into Russian and German.

The problem of translating English-language film names is urgent: a large number of films have been released in English over the past few decades, and many of them have been translated into different languages of the world. At the same time, film discourse belongs to a hybrid type of discourse: it combines the features of artistic and media discourse ^[1]. Consequently, the translation of a filmonym is complicated by its versatility and the ability to participate in the implementation of various communication strategies inherent in media headings of artistic speech, advertising messages ^[2]. In addition, when translating a filmonym, its pragmatic characteristics should be taken into account – autosemanticism or synsemanticism, attractive potential, that is, the ability to attract the attention of a potential viewer ^[3].

The research material was a sample including 150 original English-language film names and their translation options into Russian and German. The sample is based on movie ratings, movie theater posters, and materials from thematic Internet sites.

The scientific novelty of the research is that the features of the translation of film names are studied in a comparative aspect using the example of Russian- and German-language horror discourse based on films released over the past two decades. The obtained results make a definite contribution to the development of the theory of translation of onyms. The classification of strategies and techniques for translating filmonyms is being clarified, and a methodology for comparative research of the features of translating filmonyms into different languages is being developed.

A film, as a work that uses units of language to convey its content, can be an object of linguistic research ^[4]. Following E. A. Sukhanova, we believe that a horror film has those characteristic features that allow it to be attributed to the sphere of horror discourse. First of all, like other works of this type of discourse, horror films aim to evoke in the recipient a sense of suspense, or anxious expectation, anxiety ^[5].

According to its functional characteristics, the filmonym has the features of a media title ^[6], therefore, despite a number of difficulties encountered in translating the filmonym, it seems significant to keep the emphasis on its main functions inherent in the original. When translating, it is necessary to take into account not only the structural and semantic features of the original film names, but also how the translated title will be perceived by the host culture ^[7]. This is important for horror discourse filmonyms, since phenomena that cause fear among representatives of one nation may leave indifferent speakers of another culture ^[8].

The success of a film among foreign viewers largely depends on the choice of a translation strategy for the film name ^[10]. Under the translation, following V. N. According to Komissarov, we understand the kind of linguistic mediation in which not only different languages, but also cultures interact ^[11]. In order to preserve the genre characteristics of the film name and references to the plot, translators may prefer pragmatic equivalents, that is, follow a strategy of domestication ^[12]. Domestication is contrasted with forenization, which assumes a global translator's attitude to preserve the specific features of the original in translation ^[13,14]. A translator can also combine domestication and forenization to achieve a translation that would meet the pragmatic objectives of the original ^[15].

A comparative analysis of the original English-language and translated Russian-language horror-discourse filmonyms has shown that in the process of translating filmonyms, the "highlight" laid down by the authors of the original title of the film is often lost due to differences between languages and due to various translation difficulties, for example, in the case of using non-equivalent vocabulary in the original filmonym. In addition, the functional type of the filmonym, its syntactic, morphological, and semantic structure may change during translation. It was found that the domestication strategy for translating English-language film names into Russian is used in 85% of cases; forenization was detected in 15% of the sample examples. When translating based on forenization, such methods of translating a filmonym as transcription (73%) and transliteration (23%) are used.

At the same time, in 5% of the sample examples, there was a shift in the function of the filmonym. Thus, the original signal filmonym Jeepers Creepers was translated into Russian using transcription as Jeepers Creepers. The translated filmonym has lost its signaling function and has become informative, reflecting the name of the main character. The original uses a phonetic and word–formation game: the first component of the name reflects the theme of the road, which can be traced in the plot of the film (Jeepers – from "Jeep"), and in the second – the belonging of this creature not to the human race (Creepers - from "creeps", which may indicate a reptile).  In our opinion, in this case, the choice of reception is justified, since it is difficult to translate the filmonym in such a way as to preserve the function of the original, and so that it remains euphonious.

The original English-language filmonym Hostel has been translated into Russian as a Hostel. The translated equivalent is Anglicism, which is familiar to native speakers of the Russian language. It stands for a small inexpensive hotel, but also reflects the features of a foreign culture, as the phenomenon came to Russia from the West.

Examples of using transliteration are the filmonyms Oculus and Poltergeist. In this case, it was the graphic composition of the words that was reproduced using the Russian alphabet in translation – Oculus and Poltergeist.

Another example of a forenization strategy is the filmonym Doom. For the Russian film distribution, it was decided to keep the foreign name in order to show the connection of the film with the Doom video game series and attract its many fans to watch it. The forenized filmonym turned out to be more attractive than the literal translation of the lexeme "doom" into Russian (rock / fate/ doom). This version of the adaptation of the film name does not destroy the reference to the name of the game.

In 42% of the examples, as part of the domestication strategy, translators used a literal translation without seriously changing the structure of the filmonym. In 58% of cases, various transformations were used in translation, namely: adding lexical units (13%), omitting them (8%), moving language units (3%), descriptive translation (2%), holistic transformation (0.5%), complex replacement (10%), contextual replacement (5%) and various kinds of lexical and semantic substitutions (16.5%).

A comparative analysis of the original English-language and translated Russian-language horror-discourse filmonyms showed that the main function of the original filmonym in translation may fade into the background or be lost altogether (10%). In some cases, the use of techniques that change the perception of the film name and shift the focus from the function of the original name is inevitable. In other cases, the features of the original filmonym can be preserved by using an alternative translation technique as part of a domestication strategy.

An example of using the technique of adding lexical units, which led to a functional shift, is the filmonym The Number 23. When translated, it lost its intriguing purpose in the Russian version of the translation. The filmonym "Fatal number 23" has become more tonal, already preparing the viewer for the fact that this number will be an unkind sign for the character of the film. The original filmonym Shutter (literally "shutter") it was translated using a complex replacement – "Phantoms". Thus, the translator changed the emphasis placed in the original title on the signaling function to an informative one, informing in advance that otherworldly creatures would be to blame for the problems of the main characters.

The type of filmonym according to the peculiarities of perception when using domestication has changed only in 6% of the examples of translation from English into Russian. An explanation appears, for example, when using the technique of adding lexical units in the translation of the filmonym The Meg (Rus. – Meg: monster of the depth). The original title did not indicate where the action of the film would take place, but it was a signal, intriguing due to the setting of a definite article in front of the proper name, suggesting that a creature named Meg is something terrible. For a Russian–speaking translator, the English article is a lacuna, so the translated filmonym was supplemented with a predicate as a result of using the technique of adding lexical units and moved into the category of informative type headings.

In general, for the Russian film distribution, it should be noted that the domestication strategy is used more frequently. The forenization strategy is rarely used. When following the domestication strategy, filmonyms are more susceptible to translation transformations. They may require placement in a small context (indicating the genre or the corresponding poster), or they may lose the intrigue conveyed by the context, for example, when using concretization or adding lexical units.

A comparative analysis of the original English-language and translated German-language horror-discourse filmonyms presented at the German film distribution showed that various translation strategies are also used when translating English-language filmonyms into German. The forenization strategy is most often used (61%). The domestication strategy is significantly less frequent (19%). In addition, in 20% of the examples of translating film names into German, the use of a combination of two translation strategies was revealed.

As in Russian-language translations of film names, the forenization strategy is manifested in the use of transcription and transliteration. But also a significant number of translated horror film titles (92% of movie titles as part of the forenization strategy) at the German box office simply repeat the original English-language filmonym. Obviously, it is assumed that the English-language filmonym itself will be understandable to the German-speaking mass audience. Filmonyms such as The Messager, The Others, Lights Out, Insidious or Get Out completely repeat the original English-language title.  When graphically reproducing the original filmonym, translation transformations are rarely used: the addition of lexical units was found in 7% of the sample examples, the omission of lexemes – in 3% of cases. Transcription was rarely used when translating the titles of films in this sample into German (1%).

A feature characteristic of the adaptation of English-language horror discourse filmonyms for German film distribution turned out to be that the techniques of adding and omitting lexical units, indicating the use of domestication, are combined with the use of a forenization strategy. For example, the original English-language titles Annabelle Comes Home and Annabelle: Creation were subjected to the technique of omitting lexical units, but were not translated into German: Annabelle 3 and Annabelle 2. An interesting example is Texas Chainsaw 3D – The Legend Is Back, where a part in the original language was added to the original Texas Chainsaw 3D movie.

Also in the posters of cinemas in Germany, you can see a filmonym, the first part of which contains the original title of the film in English, and the second part, separated by a dash, contains a translation, explanation, or addition to the original title in German. For example: The Fog – Nebel des Grauens (original: The Fog). This method of translation can be regarded as a combination of two translation strategies: it is resorted to if understanding an English-language film name requires a higher level of English proficiency. 20% of the examples of the German-speaking corpus of the study sample can be attributed to such a technique of translating filmonyms based on a combination of forenization and domestication. The added translated part follows the original part of the film name in English, acting as a kind of clarification in German. When using this strategy, the leading function of the filmonym has changed in 26% of the sample examples.

For example, the use of the technique of adding lexical units was noted when translating the filmonym The Shallows – Gefahr aus der Tiefe (original – The Shallows).  Here, the signal function of the original gives way to the tonal function of the translated title, since the latter, due to the explanation after the dash, causes the viewer more definite emotions (anxiety, fear) than the original title.

In the translated filmonym Take Shelter – Ein Sturm zieht wahre Geschichte (English –Take Shelter), additional lexical units provide more information about the plot of the picture, which makes the filmonym more informative compared to the original film title of the tonal type.

In some cases, additional tokens are added to clarify an English word that is supposed to be little known to the mass German public. For example, this explains the need to use the addition in the title of the film Orphan: Das Waisenkind (English – Orphan). This addition does not affect the functionality of the filmonym, but acts as a kind of footnote in translation. Such hybrid versions of the translation of filmonyms go back, in our opinion, to the word–formation phenomenon typical for the German language, in which the first component of the derived word is borrowed from English, and the second is German. It is worth noting that word composition, in principle, acts as the most productive way of word formation in the German language, which explains the reasons for the emergence of a similar way of forming phrases used in the translation of movie titles.

Sometimes, as a result of using the technique of adding lexical units, the filmonym is supplemented with an explanation, but containing no longer a translation into German, namely additional information clarifying the name. For example, the filmonym The Amityville Horror – Eine wahre Geschichte (English – The Amityville Horror) reports that the events unfolding in the plot of the film once took place in reality.

In total, within the framework of such a translation technique, which involves a combination of two translation strategies by using a binomial translational onym with a dash, the use of the technique of omitting lexical units in 7% of sample examples, the technique of modulation in 3% of cases and the literal translation of part of the title into German in 7% of sample examples was recorded.

19% of the examples of the German-speaking sample body were attributed to cases of using the domestication strategy (without combining it with forenization elements). At the same time, a functional shift is noted in 10% of translated film names. During the implementation of this strategy, various types of substitutions (18%), additions (7%), antonymic translation (2%) and generalization (2%) are used. Much more frequent against this background is the literal translation (71%), examples of which may be the filmonyms Der Exorzismus von Emily Rose (English – The Exorcism of Emily Rose), 28 Tage sp?ter (English – 28 Days Later...) or Der letzte Exorzismus (English – The Last Exorcism). These names do not contain any pun, no realities, or other difficult-to-translate phenomena. Therefore, a literal translation in these cases is justified and contributes to an adequate transfer of the pragmatics of the original English-language filmonym.

Quantitative analysis showed that during domestication, in 10% of cases, the main function of the film title changed during translation, and the semantic type of the film name changed in 3%. Thus, the emphasis shifted from one function to another when transferring the filmonym The Skeleton Key (literally "universal key to all doors of the house") by means of the German language. The original not only names the property of the key, but also evokes an association with the human skeleton, creating an atmosphere of expectation of the sinister. But the transmission of wordplay and ambiguity presents a difficulty, to overcome which the translator used a generalization technique: Der verbotene Schlussel (dosl. "Forbidden key"). At the same time, the emphasis shifted from the tonal function to the signaling function.

The film name Zimmer 1408 (original – 1408) attracts special attention. The addition of a lexical unit changed the semantic category to which the title refers: the translated film name began to indicate the place of action (hotel room). The addition of a lexical unit made the German filmonym autosemantic: in the original, the poster of the film depicted a key with the number of this room, which involved the potential viewer in thinking and making assumptions about what the plot of the film would be related to. The translated title has become more informative compared to the original signal-type film. Such a functional shift, of course, has a significant impact on the pragmatic potential of the film name, on the perception of its mass audience. 

When translating the filmonym Das Haus der geheimnisvollen Uhren (orig. – The House with a Clock in Its Walls), a holistic transformation was used, and thanks to the addition of the epithet, the tonal function of the title received a more vivid expression.

Among the filmonyms that did not significantly change their characteristics during the translation process as part of the domestication strategy, one can name Die Frauen von Stepford (English – The Stepford Wives), which underwent the technique of moving lexical units, and only grammatical relations expressing case are reflected in this case in different ways.

More significant changes were made to the filmonym What Lies Beneath, which was transmitted in German using an antonymic translation: Schatten der Wahrheit. The translated filmonym is more aimed at implementing an intriguing function and sets the tone for expecting something otherworldly.

With the help of a complete comprehensive replacement, the original filmonym Bless the Child was translated into German as Die Prophezeiung (Prophecy/Prediction). The translated title has a less pronounced signaling function, it has become more informative, as it reflects the main storyline of the film, showing that the abilities of one of the main characters of the film, a little girl, were interested in a group of sectarians even before her birth, information about which they received as a result of prophecy with the help of some mystical sign.

So, we can conclude that the use of a forenization strategy is much more typical for German-language translated film names. Domestication is rarely used. A feature of the German film distribution is also the higher frequency of combining two translation strategies, when the first forenized part of the filmonym is combined with domestication in the second part of the movie title after the dash sign.

Due to the fact that German translated film names undergo less transformations, they are less characterized by a functional shift, in which the emphasis shifts from the function that was most clearly traced in the original title to another. At the same time, some of the tonal filmonyms become signaling, some of the signaling ones become tonal, so the percentage of filmonyms of different functional types eventually equalizes (Table 1). Attention is drawn to the preference given to tonal filmonyms when translated into Russian, which is explained by the peculiarities of the horror genre. In addition, when translated into German, in general, the function of the filmonym changes less often than when translated into German.

Table 1

Functional types of original and translated horror-discourse filmonyms

A similar situation is observed in terms of changing the semantic features of horror discourse filmonyms when translated into Russian and German (Table 2).

Table 2

Types of original and translated horror-discourse filmonyms according to the peculiarities of perception

When using the forenization strategy when translating into German, translators resort to transcription and transliteration much less often, whereas in the Russian film distribution they are the most frequent translation techniques capable of conveying a foreign flavor.

It should be noted that in the entire sample of filmonyms, a certain number of coincidences were found in choosing a strategy for translating an English-language filmonym into two languages. However, in many cases, the translation techniques preferred by the translators did not match to adapt the film title as part of the domestication strategy. For example, the original filmonym Zombieland was translated into Russian using the technique of adding lexical units and transcription while preserving the English letter Z at the beginning of the word as "Welcome to Zombieland". The language game gave the title a brighter look, evoking an association with an amusement park, in order to show the connection of the plot of the picture with the events of this horror film with elements of the comedy genre.  In the German film distribution, a forenized name was used, graphically repeating the letter composition of the original film name Zombieland.

The original filmonym Venom was translated into Russian using transcription as Venom as part of the forenization, but in the German film distribution we again see the English-language original without any changes – Venom.

A combination of the two strategies is often used by German translators based on the technique of adding lexical units to clarify the name or expand, and sometimes narrow its meaning. In Russian, the technique of adding lexical units is also quite often used for similar purposes, but within the framework of using a domestication strategy. For example, the original film name Red Riding Hood, when translated into German, was expanded by combining two strategies to Red Riding Hood – Unter dem Wolfsmond. In Russian, it was translated by generalization as Little Red Riding Hood. In some cases, when translating into Russian, the technique of adding lexical units is used not to explain the meaning of a word, but to convey more detailed information about the plot to the viewer. For example, Constantine – Constantine: Lord of Darkness, Evil Dead – The Sinister Dead: The Black Book. Although the explanation function is also implemented: Hellboy – Hellboy: A hero from hell. In this case, the second part helps to understand the meaning of the neologism.

To clarify the name, which may cause difficulties in understanding by a German–speaking audience, the filmonym Hide and Seek has been expanded to Hide and Seek - Du kannst dich nicht verstecken. In this case, the second part contains a threat, creating an ominous atmosphere and, at the same time, emphasizes the meaning of the first part of the original title, summarizes it. Even if the moviegoer does not know the translation, he will guess that we are talking about a game of hide-and-seek. In Russian film distribution, there is a tendency to domesticate film names: translation is based on the use of a holistic transformation technique – a game of hide-and-seek. Despite the translation transformation, it remains as the predominant signaling function of the filmonym.

In German, the modulation technique is used quite rarely. A small number of examples have been found, including Zombieland: Doppelt h?lt besser. Combining the two strategies, the translators modified the second part of the original title of Zombieland: Double Tap so that it is understandable to the mass German-speaking audience and does not contradict the original. When translating into Russian, a contextual substitution is also used – a Bombyland: A control shot. In general, this technique is more typical for translating horror discourse filmonyms into Russian. The filmonyms Blue Abyss (47 Meters Down), Telikinesis (Carrie), Child of Darkness (Orphan), Doll (The Boy) illustrate how radically the name of a motion picture can change when translated into Russian. In German, complex substitutions are much more rare: Unbekannter Anrufer (When a Stranger Calls), Die Prophezeiung (Bless the Child).

 Generalization and concretization are also rarely used when translating horror discourse filmonyms into German: the title of The Skeleton Key is rendered in German as Der verbotene Schlussel. When translating into Russian, lexical and semantic substitutions are more common, first of all, we are talking about concretization. As a rule, the use of such a translation technique as concretization is accompanied by a change in the main function of the filmonym: Bird Box, The Conjuring, The Last Exorcism. In all these examples, the translated filmonym has become less tonal compared to the original and more informative.   

Descriptive and antonymic translation techniques, as well as the technique of displacement, relate to low-frequency transformations when translating English-language horror discourse filmonyms into Russian. When translated into German, the percentage is even lower. The omission technique is used more often, especially when translating film names into Russian. At the same time, translators try to exclude details from the filmonym that do not make it more effective, capacious and memorable: Dracula Untold, Take Shelter, The Mothman Prophecies. In some cases, omission is resorted to in order to exclude details that overload it from the title, unfamiliar to the translation audience, for example, in the film name Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, the first part with proper names was omitted, because the Russian moviegoer is not familiar with these characters. In German, where these characters are well known to everyone, the name is translated as part of the forenization: H?nsel und Gretel: Hexenj?ger.

Russian Russian and German languages, it should be noted that if the use of a forenization strategy is more typical for translation into German, and domestication is used much less frequently, then when translating into Russian the situation is the opposite: in the vast majority of cases, domestication is used, and only occasionally – forenization. The revealed difference is probably explained by the significant number of English-language borrowings in modern German that are understandable to the German audience. In addition, many native German speakers speak English, and only a part of the mass Russian-speaking audience has a similar stock of English vocabulary, therefore, as a rule, a different strategy is preferred.