The Route to Identity: Italian Translation and African American Language(s) in Spike Lee's Get on the Bus
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13136/2281-4582/2016.i8.593Keywords:
cinema, audiovisual translation, spike leeAbstract
This paper investigates translation issues emerging from the analysis of Spike Lee’s movie Get on the Bus (1996) and its Italian adaptation, Bus in Viaggio. The choice is motivated by African American Vernacular English (AAVE), used in the film by a group of men that get on the bus to reach the Million Man March in Washington (1995). During the journey, characters will confront each other on different topics, such as African American male identity in that precise moment and for the future, as well as their role within the black community. As in other movies by Spike Lee, the traditional and stereotyped media portrayal of African American people is challenged and subverted. This dialogical construction poses a set of challenges for the translator/adaptor, especially because it is characterised by a use of language that has no equivalent in Italian. (Un)translatability is the main focus of this research: can idiomatic expressions that are typical of a non-standard variety of English be translated? Which translation strategies have been used? These questions will be analysed through a reading of the speech patterns enacted by one of the characters, the wannabe Hollywood star Flip, a stereotyped portrait against whom each character will fight in order to affirm his identity.References
Abrahams, Roger D. Deep Down in the Jungle: Black American Folklore from the Streets of Philadelphia.
Piscataway: Transaction Publishers, 2006.
Baker, Mona. In Other Words. A Coursebook on Translation. London: Routledge, 1992.
Bean, Annemarie, James V. Hatch, and Brooks McNamara, eds. Inside the Minstrel Mask – Readings in
Nineteenth-century Blackface Minstrelsy. Hanover & London: Wesleyan University Press, 1996.
Beller, Manfred. “Perception, image, imagology.” Manfred Beller and Joep Leerssen, eds. Imagology: the
Cultural Construction and Literary Representation of National Characters. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2007.
Bloom, Harold, ed. Alice Walker – New Edition. New York: Infobase, 2007.
Cagliero, Roberto, and Chiara Spallino. Slang Americano. Dizionario Slang americano-italiano. Milano:
Arnoldo Mondadori, 2010.
Chapman, Robert L. The Macmillan Dictionary of American Slang. London: Macmillan, 1995.
Chesterman, Andrew, ed. Reading in Translation Theory. Helsinki: Oy Finn Lectura, 1989.
Conard, Mark T., ed. The Philosophy of Spike Lee. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2011.
Corrizzato, Sara. Spike Lee’s Bamboozled: A Contrastive Analysis of Compliments and Insults from English
into Italian. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars, 2015.
Dal Lago, Alessandro, and Emilio Quadrelli. La città e le ombre: crimini, criminali, cittadini. Milano: Feltrinelli,
2003.
Dalzell, Tom, ed. The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English. New
York: Routledge, 2008.
Davis, Angela Yvonne. Angela Davis – An Autobiography. New York: International Publishers, 1974.
Davis, Katheryn B., Maurice Daniels, and Letha A. (Lee) See. “The Psychological effects of Skin color on
Afrian Americans’ Self-Esteem.” Human Behavior in the Social Environment from an African American
Perspective. Ed. Letha A. (Lee) See. Philadelphia: Haworth, 1998. 63-90.
Díaz-Cintas, Jorge, and Gunilla Anderman. Audiovisual Translation: Language Transfer on Screen. New
York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
Eble, Connie. Slang and Sociability: In-Group Language Among College Students. Chapel Hill: University of
North Carolina, 1996.
Formentelli, Maicol, Maria Pavesi, and Elisa Ghia. The Languages of Dubbing: Mainstream Audiovisual
Translation in Italy. Bern: Peter Lang, 2015.
Fowler, Virginia C. Nikki Giovanni: a Literary Biography. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2013.
Freddi, Maria, and Maria Pavesi, eds. Analysing Audiovisual Dialogue. Linguistic and Translational Insights.
Bologna: CLUEB, 2005.
Gambier, Yves, and Luc van Doorslaer, eds. Handbook of Translation Studies, Volume 3. Amsterdam: John
Benjamins, 2012.
Gambier, Yves and Luc van Doorslaer, eds. The Metalanguage of Translation. Amsterdam: John Benjamins,
2009.
Get on the Bus. Spike Lee, 1996.
Gooding-Williams, Robert, ed. Reading Rodney King/Reading Urban Uprising. New York: Routledge, 1993.
Green, Lisa J. African American English: a Linguistic Introduction. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University,
2002.
Gunn Morris, Vivian, and Curtis L. Morris. “Racism Inside the Race: Light Skin Versus Dark Skin.”
Encyclopedia of African American Education, Volume 1. Ed. Kofi Lomotey. Thousand Oaks: SAGE,
2010. 529-531.
Halliday, Michael Alexander Kirkwood, and Ruqaiya Hasan. Cohesion in English. London: Longman, 1976.
Lee, Spike, and Cynthia Fuchs. Spike Lee: interviews. Jackson: University of Mississippi, 2002.
McGowan, Todd. Spike Lee. Champaign: University of Illinois, 2014.
Partridge, Eric. A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English – 8
th Edition, edited by Paul Beale.
London: Routledge, 2006.
Pavesi, Maria. La traduzione filmica: aspetti del parlato doppiato dall'inglese all'italiano. Roma: Carocci,
2005.
Ramos Pinto, Sara. "How Important Is the Way You Say It?: A Discussion on the Translation of Linguistic
Varieties." Target International Journal of Translation Studies 21.2 (2009): 289-307.
Scarborough, William Kauffman. Masters of the Big House. Elite Slaveholders of the Mid-Nineteenth-Century
South. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University, 2013.
Sernett, Milton C. Harriet Tubman. Myth, Memory and History. Durham and London: Duke University, 2007.
Shuttleworth, Mark, and Moira Cowie. Dictionary of Translation Studies. Manchester: St. Jerome, 1997.
Starkey, Brando Simeo. In Defense of Uncle Tom: Why Blacks Must Police Racial Loyalty. New York:
Cambridge University, 2015.
Tadmor, Carmit T., Melody M. Chao, Ying-yi Hong, and Jeffrey T. Polzer. "Not Just for Stereotyping
Anymore: Racial Essentialism Reduces Domain-General Creativity." Psychological Science 24.1
(2012): 99-105.
Taylor, Yuval, and Jake Austen. Darkest America: Black Minstrelsy from Slavery to Hip-Hop. New York: W.
W. Norton & Company, 2012.
van Doorslaer, Luc, Peter Flynn, and Joep Leerssen, eds. Interconnecting Translation Studies and
Imagology. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2016.
Piscataway: Transaction Publishers, 2006.
Baker, Mona. In Other Words. A Coursebook on Translation. London: Routledge, 1992.
Bean, Annemarie, James V. Hatch, and Brooks McNamara, eds. Inside the Minstrel Mask – Readings in
Nineteenth-century Blackface Minstrelsy. Hanover & London: Wesleyan University Press, 1996.
Beller, Manfred. “Perception, image, imagology.” Manfred Beller and Joep Leerssen, eds. Imagology: the
Cultural Construction and Literary Representation of National Characters. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2007.
Bloom, Harold, ed. Alice Walker – New Edition. New York: Infobase, 2007.
Cagliero, Roberto, and Chiara Spallino. Slang Americano. Dizionario Slang americano-italiano. Milano:
Arnoldo Mondadori, 2010.
Chapman, Robert L. The Macmillan Dictionary of American Slang. London: Macmillan, 1995.
Chesterman, Andrew, ed. Reading in Translation Theory. Helsinki: Oy Finn Lectura, 1989.
Conard, Mark T., ed. The Philosophy of Spike Lee. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2011.
Corrizzato, Sara. Spike Lee’s Bamboozled: A Contrastive Analysis of Compliments and Insults from English
into Italian. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars, 2015.
Dal Lago, Alessandro, and Emilio Quadrelli. La città e le ombre: crimini, criminali, cittadini. Milano: Feltrinelli,
2003.
Dalzell, Tom, ed. The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English. New
York: Routledge, 2008.
Davis, Angela Yvonne. Angela Davis – An Autobiography. New York: International Publishers, 1974.
Davis, Katheryn B., Maurice Daniels, and Letha A. (Lee) See. “The Psychological effects of Skin color on
Afrian Americans’ Self-Esteem.” Human Behavior in the Social Environment from an African American
Perspective. Ed. Letha A. (Lee) See. Philadelphia: Haworth, 1998. 63-90.
Díaz-Cintas, Jorge, and Gunilla Anderman. Audiovisual Translation: Language Transfer on Screen. New
York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
Eble, Connie. Slang and Sociability: In-Group Language Among College Students. Chapel Hill: University of
North Carolina, 1996.
Formentelli, Maicol, Maria Pavesi, and Elisa Ghia. The Languages of Dubbing: Mainstream Audiovisual
Translation in Italy. Bern: Peter Lang, 2015.
Fowler, Virginia C. Nikki Giovanni: a Literary Biography. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2013.
Freddi, Maria, and Maria Pavesi, eds. Analysing Audiovisual Dialogue. Linguistic and Translational Insights.
Bologna: CLUEB, 2005.
Gambier, Yves, and Luc van Doorslaer, eds. Handbook of Translation Studies, Volume 3. Amsterdam: John
Benjamins, 2012.
Gambier, Yves and Luc van Doorslaer, eds. The Metalanguage of Translation. Amsterdam: John Benjamins,
2009.
Get on the Bus. Spike Lee, 1996.
Gooding-Williams, Robert, ed. Reading Rodney King/Reading Urban Uprising. New York: Routledge, 1993.
Green, Lisa J. African American English: a Linguistic Introduction. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University,
2002.
Gunn Morris, Vivian, and Curtis L. Morris. “Racism Inside the Race: Light Skin Versus Dark Skin.”
Encyclopedia of African American Education, Volume 1. Ed. Kofi Lomotey. Thousand Oaks: SAGE,
2010. 529-531.
Halliday, Michael Alexander Kirkwood, and Ruqaiya Hasan. Cohesion in English. London: Longman, 1976.
Lee, Spike, and Cynthia Fuchs. Spike Lee: interviews. Jackson: University of Mississippi, 2002.
McGowan, Todd. Spike Lee. Champaign: University of Illinois, 2014.
Partridge, Eric. A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English – 8
th Edition, edited by Paul Beale.
London: Routledge, 2006.
Pavesi, Maria. La traduzione filmica: aspetti del parlato doppiato dall'inglese all'italiano. Roma: Carocci,
2005.
Ramos Pinto, Sara. "How Important Is the Way You Say It?: A Discussion on the Translation of Linguistic
Varieties." Target International Journal of Translation Studies 21.2 (2009): 289-307.
Scarborough, William Kauffman. Masters of the Big House. Elite Slaveholders of the Mid-Nineteenth-Century
South. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University, 2013.
Sernett, Milton C. Harriet Tubman. Myth, Memory and History. Durham and London: Duke University, 2007.
Shuttleworth, Mark, and Moira Cowie. Dictionary of Translation Studies. Manchester: St. Jerome, 1997.
Starkey, Brando Simeo. In Defense of Uncle Tom: Why Blacks Must Police Racial Loyalty. New York:
Cambridge University, 2015.
Tadmor, Carmit T., Melody M. Chao, Ying-yi Hong, and Jeffrey T. Polzer. "Not Just for Stereotyping
Anymore: Racial Essentialism Reduces Domain-General Creativity." Psychological Science 24.1
(2012): 99-105.
Taylor, Yuval, and Jake Austen. Darkest America: Black Minstrelsy from Slavery to Hip-Hop. New York: W.
W. Norton & Company, 2012.
van Doorslaer, Luc, Peter Flynn, and Joep Leerssen, eds. Interconnecting Translation Studies and
Imagology. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2016.
Downloads
Published
2016-12-01
Issue
Section
Articles: Special Section
License
Copyright (c) 2019 Dora Renna
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Iperstoria is an Open Access journal.- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 BY-NC License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of their work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. We require authors to inform us of any instances of re-publication.
