Deictic Reference as a Means for Constructing the Character Image in a Dubbed Cartoon Snow Postman: Comparative Analysis of the Lithuanian, Russian Cover Image

Deiktinė referencija kaip personažo įvaizdžio kūrimo priemonė dubliuotame animaciniame filme „Sniego laiškanešys“: lietuviškos, rusiškos ir angliškos
Deictic Reference as a Means for Constructing the Character Image in a Dubbed Cartoon Snow Postman: Comparative Analysis of the Lithuanian, Russian

Author(s): Lina Abraitienė, Miglė Onskulytė, Danguolė Satkauskaitė
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Vilnius Gediminas Technical University
Keywords: reference; deixis; cartoons; audiovisual translation; dubbing; visual-verbal cohesion; character identity; multimodality.

Summary/Abstract: The article aims at examining how the main character Snowman’s image is constructed by applying an abundant number of deictic expressions in the Lithuanian, Russian and English versions of the cartoon Snow Postman. The research was based on M. Consten’s conception of direct and indirect reference and the model of visual-verbal cohesion proposed by N. Baumgarten. The study has revealed that in both, Russian and Lithuanian versions of the cartoon, the main character’s dialogues are loaded with deictic expressions which mark the same referents. In this way, the main character is shaped as a dull, forgetful being, unable to store and process a huge amount of information in his head. In the English version, deictic instances are sparsely used, thus the character image is quite different here: the snowman is less absent-minded and fuzzy.

  • Issue Year: 23/2015
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 26-37
  • Page Count: 11