The mediated and multimodal nature of song translation

Tiffany Lecick will discuss the translation of song lyrics and technology. This event can be attended online and in-person.

The growing number of options available to musicians seeking to make their music available to an international audience has resulted in a rise in the availability of translated lyrics and subtitled clips online. This event will unpack questions surrounding the form of the translated lyrics sometimes proposed by the musicians' artistic team on YouTube and, where applicable, by the platform's automatic translation tool. These (often approximate) translations focus mainly, if not exclusively, on the meaning, resulting in a distinct separation of the content and the stylistic aspects of the lyrics. The artist's “voice” is thus confined to their audible, musical voice, which seems to imply a greater emphasis on vocal performance and less attention to details such as tone, imagery, and sonorities, as well as cultural references and slang.

Tiffane Levick is a senior lecturer in translation and translation studies at Toulouse Jean-Jaurès university in France. She teaches and supervises Masters theses in the English Studies Department (DEMA) and in the Translation Department (D-TIM) (of which she is also deputy head). Her research centres primarily on the translation of urban youth language, but she also works more broadly on minority voices in translation. She recently co-edited the latest issue of the journal la Main de Thôt dedicated to translation and resistance, and her co-translation of the novel Ady, soleil noir by Gisèle Pineau will be published by Liverpool University Press in April 2025.

This event is part of the Translating Across Cultures and Languages Conference Series at Oxford Brookes University. It is sponsored by the Institute of Languages, Cultures & Societies (ILCS).
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Contact us

Dr Enora Lessinger

elessinger@brookes.ac.uk

Location

JHB406, John Henry Brookes Building , Headington

How to attend

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