Translating scripted dialogue is such a wonderful and tricky thing.
As an audiovisual translator, you immerse yourself in the characters. What does Bárbara mean here? What’s her relationship with Carmelo? What happened before? What’s the context?
You also listen to the scriptwriter’s voice. What does he want Bárbara to communicate? What’s the purpose of her line? To advance the plot, to portray relationships, to make viewers feel something, to characterize her, to make the dialogue sound authentic - all of the above?
Up to here, the process is similar to the scriptwriter’s. But here’s the catch. The scriptwriter lives in the same universe as the viewers. You don’t. (Enter Even-Zohar’s Polysystem Theory.) The context doesn’t exist in your culture. There are no African American communities in Greece with the same historical background. And forcing an equivalent wouldn’t work. The viewers from your universe are transported - also through the image - into the other universe. You don’t want to drag them out of it by reminding them they aren’t really there.
Yes, some things will look and feel strange to the audience - also in your translated dialogue. That’s OK. They’re ready to embrace foreignness.

#subtitling #audiovisualtranslation #scripteddialogue