Teaching CulturethroughTranslation

and Subtitling

Dr. Pia ArboledaUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa

Our students belong to the MTV and multi-media generation.To address student needs, we must use fresh and exciting materials.

BackgroundLanguage learning is boring.

ChallengeFilms, songs, texts are in Filipino.There is a need for bilingual materials.Translation and subtitling help to bridge the resource gap.

photo: Flicker.com

Target students Filipino heritage learners,advanced level

practical tips on using translation and subtitling for language teaching

Filipino 435: Translation Theoryand Practice

uses of bilingual materials for teaching culture

Artist: Botong Francisco

Translation as a Tool for Teaching Philippine Language and Culture

Components of an Integrated Approach to Pedagogy, Culture and Translation

My Projects• Sakay (film)• Two Friends,

One World (story)•That’s All / Yun

Lang (song)

Philippine History and Culture

Philippine Film

Translation courseTranslation

Projects

Philippine Literature

Philippine Language courses

Courses

Student Outputs

MaterialsDevelopment

Filipino 435: Translation Theory and Practice

Course Description: This course is an introduction to the theory and practice of translation from Filipino to English and vice versa. The student will learn the fundamentals of translating literary and non-literary texts for a specific purpose and a specific audience.Objectives: By the end of the semester, the student should have been able to exhibit an understanding of translation theories, use these theories to analyze translated texts, apply these theories to produce a translation project.

Critical review in Filipino (3-5 pages)Oral presentation in Filipino

Part I (3-4 weeks)

Input: What is translation? Purposes of translation Obligations of the translator Different translation methods

Processing Activity:

Translation exercisesClassroom discussions, analysis of selected translated texts

Fil 435: Translation Theory and Practice

Student output:

What They Say About Scheherazadeby Ramon C. Sunico

She is the Sultan's new wife.Though no one sees her, those who hear cannot forget. Her voice is sullen like the first rains of summer that come to wake you from the edge of a sultry night.Her voice is sullen and it soothes.Those who can hear her cannot forget the incessant beauty of her telling; the endless, delicate constructions that move the hearts of people who do not know her. Truly, she is blessed.As to the source of her power, they say her art is bought with great sadness, with pain sharper than the pointed moon. They say she speaks with great longing for the islands she has forever left behind.It is saddening to think of her own people who have lost her. But the sultan would be a fool to let her go.I myself have witnessed these things. I have heard her stories and wept as vestiges of her voice caromed off the walls of her palace.

for Mailin

Ang Usap-usapan tungkol kay Scheherazadeisinalin nina Mary Rose dela Cruz, Leila Lagundino, Erica Tuyay, at Jovanie dela Cruz

Siya ang bagong asawa ng Sultan.Bagamat walang nakakakita sa kanya, yaong mga nakaririnig ay di siya malilimutan. Mapangalaw ang boses niya gaya ng unang patak ng ulan sa tag-araw na gumigising sa iyo sa hangganan ng maalinsangang gabi.Mapanglaw ang boses niya at nakakakalma.Hindi malilimutan ng mga nakaririnig ang walang wakas na ganda ng kanyang pangangatha; ang walang hanggan, marupok na kathang isip na nag-uudyok sa mga puso ng nakikinig bagamat di siya kilala.Tunay nga siyang pinagpala.Tungkol sa poon ng kanyang kapangyarihan, sabi nila'y tinubos niya ito ng malubhang lumbay, ng pasakit na higit pang matalim sa matulis na buwan. Sabi nila'y kung magsalita siya'y kasama ang pangungulila sa islang habambuhay niyang hindi na masisilayan.Nakakalungkot isipin ang mga taong nilisan niya, ngunit magiging hunghang ang sultan kung pakakawalan siya.Nasaksihan ko mismo ang mga bagay na ito. Narinig ko ang kanyang mga salaysay at nalugmok ako habang umaalingawngaw ang kanyang naglalahong tinig sa mga dingding ng palasyo.

para kay Mailin

Part II: Project for the Katipunan magazine

Preparatory PhaseReview of cultural/historical contextsFilm viewing or close reading of text

Part III: The Translation ProjectPre-Translation

Project Selection student interestappropriate to their level of linguistic competencerelevance to courses at UH

Conversion of DVD/VCD/VHS movie to digital video file (for subtitling) [DVDX]

Transcription (for subtitling)Listening exerciseSpellingPaying close attention to expressions, idioms, tone, gaps and silences

Actual translationtarget audiencetranslation theorycultural informationdifference in the language structure of Filipino and English

Classroom Workshopdiscussion of particular problems, word choice, suggestions

Revision and finalization of subtitles or translation

Part III: The Translation ProjectTranslation

Writing final papers (Guide Questions)

Who is your target audience?What translation theories did you use?Describe the process.Discuss particular phrases or words.

What were your options? Explain your choices.

What problems did you encounter?How did you deal with these problems?What are your personal reflections about translation?

Part III: The Translation ProjectPost-Translation

Presentation of oral report•classroom or conferences (e.g. Filipino as Global Language, San Diego)

Synchronization (for subtitling)synchronize subtitles to video [Media Subtitler]review and revision—accuracy, timing, overlapping of subtitles [Virtual Dub]subtitle embedding [Virtual Dub]video conversion to DVD [Ashampoo Burning Studio 9]view film and revise as needed

Screening of Video (through Katipunan Sine, SEA movie night, classroom)

Translated texts—classroom discussions

Part III: The Translation ProjectPost-Translation (post-course activities)

Mumbaki (1996)Direction: Antonio Jose PerezSubtitles: Nikolas Bonifacio, Joseph Daoang, Francess GagarinSynchronization: Jorge de Luna Andrada

Mumbaki (1996)Direction: Antonio Jose PerezSubtitles: Nikolas Bonifacio, Joseph Daoang, Francess GagarinSynchronization: Jorge de Luna Andrada

This elaborate Ifugao burial practice is performed to please the soul of their kin and also to satisfy the gods called baki. The age of the dead person, social status, and cause of death are also determinants of the burial method. In Ifugao, when a person of kadangyan rank dies of natural causes, the bodies are kept in the chair for as many as thirteen to fifteen days. And when a person is murdered, s/he is sometimes dressed in the same clothes s/he wore when s/he was killed.1 Women of the family take on the duties and responsibilities to shake the corpse continually, and shout words of vengeance and curses on the murderers, their families and relatives. 2

In Ilocos, women of the family, usually widows, are paid do a dung-aw (wailing, chanting, crying).

1 Tomas Andres, Understanding Ifugao Values (Quezon City: Giraffe Books, 2004), 72.

2 Mariano Dumia,The Ifugao World (Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 1979), 21.

excerpt from the final paper of Joseph Daoang, Nikolas Bonifacio and Francess Gagarin

Translating this movie was indeed a great and unique way of learning about the Ifugao. Without this project, we would not have acquired this much information and knowledge about them. This was a really amazing way of enhancing our knowledge about the Philippines. Initially, our expectations for this project were simply to hone our translation skills and apply all the things we have discussed in class. However, by the time the project ended, we realize that we also gained new insights on the different complexities of both the English and Filipino language and the translation process itself.

excerpt from the final paper of Joseph Daoang, Nikolas Bonifacio and Francess Gagarin

Videoke King (2002)Direction: Jerry Lopez SinenengSubtitles: Mary Rose dela Cruz and Laila LagundinoSynchronization: Jorge de Luna Andrada

Videoke King (2002)Direction: Jerry Lopez SinenengSubtitles: Mary Rose dela Cruz and Laila LagundinoSynchronization: Jorge de Luna Andrada

That’s All / Yun Lang

I can only give you country walks in springtimeAnd a hand to hold when leaves begin to fallAnd a love whose burning lightWill warm the winter's nightThat's all, that's all

Tanging alay ko’y kaakbay sa tag-initSa taglagas, hawak na labis ng higpitAt pagsuyong taimtimNa kumot mo sa taglamigYun lang, yun lang

Music and Lyrics: Bob Haymes, Alan E. BrandtTagalog Lyrics: Gary Granada, Pia Arboleda

and Jorge de Luna Andrada

Two Friends, One WorldAuthor: Ramon C. SunicoArtist: Joanne de LeonProduction and narration: Pia Arboleda

Two Friends, One WorldAuthor: Ramon C. SunicoArtist: Joanne de LeonProduction and narration: Pia Arboleda

Sakay (1993)Director: Raymond RedSubtitles: Pia Arboleda and Jorge de Luna Andrada

SakayDirection: Raymond RedSubtitles: Pia Arboleda and Jorge de Luna Andrada

setting of the movie, Sakay

worker in kalesa (horse carriage) shop

comedia, or moro-moro, a folk drama based on the battles between Christians and the Muslim Moro, the Philippinesphoto courtesy of Philippine Embassy

L to R: seated, Julian Montalan, Francisco Carreon, Macario Sakay, Leon Villafuerte; standing, Benito Natividad, Lucio de Vega

source: Flores, Paul. "Macario Sakay: Tulisán or Patriot?" in Hector Santos, ed., Philippine Centennial Series; at http://www.bibingka.com/phg/sakay/. US, 24 August 1996.

Sakay’s vest with religious figures and Latin phrases. This was his anting-anting (amulet) believed to protect him from bullets and other hazards of war.

Further reading:Abad, Antonio K. General Macario L. Sakay: Was he a bandit or a patriot? Manila: J.B. Feliciano & Sons, 1955.Constantino, Renato. The Philippines: A past revisited. Quezon City: Tala Publishing,1975.Ileto, Reynaldo C. Pasyon and revolution: Popular movements in the Philippines, 1840-1910. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1979.

photo: Flickr.com, dhammza, 2005

Maraming salamat po!

For questions or comments: pca62@hawaii.edu