Lingua e Traduzione III Traduzione Pubblicitaria Elena Di Giovanni

Practical information Get the photocopies at the copy shop. More material will be posted on my web page. Make sure you always keep track of what we do in class (and what you are supposed to do in between classes)

Aims and topics In this course we will be looking at promotional texts, mainly advertisements (released through different communicative channels). The texts we will be working on shall display different characteristics, but they all share a persuasive purpose and their translation is produced and assessed in functional terms. This means the main issue in the translation of promotional texts is not the faithful transfer of content, but the achievement of an intended effect on an intended target group.

By the way… What is an advert? A university prospectus A political manifesto A film trailer A “speed limit” road sign A manufacturer’s label sewn on the outside of clothes A shop name on a carrier bag A T-shirt with a slogan on it (e.g. “time to party”) A poster in the grounds of a church, with “Jesus Lives” written on it

Advertising: goals Level of communication  Attract attention  Give “selected” information on product/service  Win support to message content  Elicit emotional response Level of purchase  Move instinct / activate desire to buy  Build a reputation for the product / make it well- known

What’s in an advert Advertisements/adverts/ads are made of:  Art (images, graphics, formatting...) Visual Packshot Logo  Copy (verbal text) Headline Bodycopy Payoff

How does translation fit in? TERMINOLOGY  Translation  Adaptation  Localization  Trans-creation

What this course aims at: professional profiles  Freelance or in-house translators  Copywriters at advertising agencies  Sales/Marketing/PR staff at public or private companies (from the multinational to the local level)  …and the rest? (development of “private” skills eg writing CVs, understanding ads)

Professional practice Why advertising translators aren’t “just” translators: non-linguistic skills E.g.:  Semiotic  Cultural  Legal  Creative (copywriting) (is translation ever a merely linguistic act?)

General issues - 1 Accuracy and “loyalty” to the original text  Functional view: the (translated) promotional text must “work”, not necessarily be “accurate” or “faithful”. The degree of loyalty is normally proportional to the amount of factual information conveyed (i.e. the translation of a CV is usually more faithful to the original than that of an advertisement).

General issues - 2 Accuracy and “loyalty” to the original text  Local commercial needs (i.e. loyalty to the purpose of the promotional text) are more important than accuracy in rendition (i.e. loyalty to the content and form of the original ad). See Example 1.  Clients may have hidden agendas, i.e. their own, unspoken priorities which influence their perceptions of what “works” and of their “needs”. See example 2.

3. General issues/1:example

For next week: Translate/Adapt text from NSPCC Read pp.Che cos’è la pubblicità, pp (it’s in Italian, so little effort is required…) Read pp (White)  SWOT ANALYSIS  Brand to be analysed: McDonald’s