Slaying Vampires in French... and talking about it in Tunisia

Slaying Vampires in French...

and talking about it in Tunisia.

Tunisia

Translations of wordplay and proper names

inBuffy the Vampire Slayer

Visual wordplay?

Wordplay Definition(-s):

The use of a word in such a way as to suggest two or more meanings, or the use of two or more words of the same sound with different meaning, so as to produce a humorous effect, a play on words.

(The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary)

Wordplay Definition(-s):

Associated with several features in dictionaries:

• joke (plaisanterie)

• ambiguity (équivoque)

• pun (calembour)

• allusion (allusion)

• understood (sous-entendu)

• double meaning (double sens)

(Ben Amor)

Wordplay Examples:

11 examples of wordplay

How translated into French?

•7 - no wordplay

•3 - wordplay kept (almost the same)

•1 - ?

Wordplay Examples:

English examples; types and translations:

•Homonymic (7) (1 Kept)

•Visual (1) (Kept)

•“Precision” (1) (Not kept)

•Rhyme (2) (1 Kept)

Wordplay Examples (no wordplay kept):

- Aw, you wanna be part of the gang now, don’t you?

- Yes, yes, but I’m not dying to be in the gang, if you get the, um... the pun there.

- What? You’re too good to be dead?

- T’as dit que t’étais d’accord pour faire partie du group ?

- Oui, oui, bien sûr, mais je veux pas mourir pour en faire partie, si vous saisissez la petite nuance...

Up with people

Wordplay Examples (no wordplay kept):

- I’m about ready to pop.

- Pop?

- You up for it?

- I’m up. I’m suddenly very up. It’s just that I haven’t been up with people before.

- Je vais péter les plombs si tu ne m’aides pas.

- Ah oui ? À ce point-là ?

- Tu serais partant?

- Ah oui, j’uis partant. Je me sens très partant. Il faut que je te dise... C’est la première fois que je suis partant avec une fille.

Wordplay Examples (no wordplay kept):

- Would you like to tell some jokes?

- Would I? As a matter of fact, it is! It’s also a wood nose and a wood mouth.

- Je ferais bien quelque chose qui doit te paraître bizarre. Une ballade en forêt avec toi ! J’ai comme qui dirait envie de trouver ma racine.

Would I?

Wordplay Examples (wordplay kept):

- I know. If you don’t go out it’ll be the end of the world. Everything is life or death when you’re a sixteen-year-old girl.

- Chérie. Si tu ne sors pas, ce ne sera pas la fin du monde. Tout est une question de vie ou de mort quand on a ton âge.

Feet on the ground...

Wordplay Examples (wordplay kept):

- Sensible girl with her feet on the ground.

- ... avec les pieds solidement ancrés sur terre.

Wordplay Examples (wordplay kept):

- Can I have you? Duh... Can I help you?

- Je peux vous aimer ? Eh... je veux dire... je peux vous aider ?

Proper names:Examples:19 examples of proper names

How translated into French?

•4 - proper names

(1 the same name, 3 other name)

•3 - explanation

•3 - some equivalent

•9 - something completely different

Proper names:Proper name - > proper name:

•Taco Bell - Taco Bell

•John Tesh - John Travolta

•Walker Texas Ranger - les X-files

•The Watchtower - Citizen Kane

Proper names:Proper name - > explanation:

•Starbucks Town - une petite ville

•Neiman Marcus - ma boutique préférée

Nieman Marcus

Proper names:Proper name - > equivalent:

- Sorry, that’s incorrect. But you do get this lovely watch and a year’s supply of Turtle Wax.

- C’est faux. Je suis désolée. Mais vous avez gagné un bon d’abonnement à notre journal.

Proper names:Proper name - > equivalent:

- I’d much rather be at home with a cup of Bovril and a good book.

- Je préférerais être chez moi, dans mon lit avec un bouquin.

Bovril

Proper names:Proper name - > equivalent:

- Does anybody else feel like they’ve been Keyser Soze’d?

- Elle nous a drôlement manipulé, la marionnette.

Proper names:Proper name - > different:

- You look like DeBarge!

- Vous êtes d’un démodé..!

DeBarge

Proper names:Proper name - > different:

- They couldn’t just pour Gatorade on each other?

- Elles ne pourraient pas se dévorer les unes les autres ?

Conclusions?

•11 wordplays - 3 kept

•19 proper names - 1 kept (!) / 3 other proper names

Conclusions?

What happens if you take away wordplay?

• The story / plot - still there

• The characters - still there

• The images - still there

Conclusions?

•Some characteristic of the series lost

•Some features that are crucial for the characters lost

Conclusions?

What happens if you take away proper names?

• The story, characters, images - still there

• The characters may lose some of their identity (Nieman Marcus - modern, Bovril - brittish)

• Some associations lost (DeBarge, Gatorade)

• Several cultural references lost (Keyser Soze, Gatorade, Turtle Wax)

Conclusions?

What happens if you keep proper names and wordplay?

•They may be lost anyway!

•Many features transmitted by means of other strategies

Thank you!

Merci !