Article In: FORUM: Online-First Articles
Adaptation of multilingual lexis in anime translation
A case study of the bulgarian fansubbing of “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind”
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
The article analyses the adaptation of multilingual lexis in the Bulgarian fansubbing of “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
Part 5: Golden Wind”. The study focuses on interjections, as well as anthroponyms, Stand names, combat techniques, institutional
terms, toponyms and honorifics, all of which form a marked multilingual layer in the original Japanese text. The findings show a
strong tendency to retain foreign elements, typically through phonetic transcription, which functionally mirrors the markedness
and foreignness signalled in the original work, which for these instances use katakana syllabary. Translation strategies used in
the Bulgarian version align with documented characteristics of fansubbing, particularly its reference for foreignization and
stylistic fidelity, and suggest an effort to offer Bulgarian viewers an experience comparable, to some extent, to that of Japanese
audiences.
Résumé
Cet article analyse l’adaptation du lexique multilingue dans le fansubbing bulgare de « JoJo’s Bizarre
Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind ». L’étude porte sur les interjections, ainsi que les anthroponymes, les noms des Stands, les
techniques de combat, les termes institutionnels, les toponymes et les titres honorifiques, qui constituent tous une strate
multilingue distincte dans le texte japonais original. Les résultats révèlent une forte tendance à conserver les éléments
étrangers, généralement par transcription phonétique, reproduisant ainsi, sur le plan fonctionnel, le caractère marqué et étranger
que signalent dans l’œuvre originale les formes écrites en katakana. Les stratégies de traduction employées dans la version
bulgare correspondent aux caractéristiques documentées du fansubbing, notamment sa préférence pour l’étrangéisation et la fidélité
stylistique, et témoignent d’une volonté d’offrir aux spectateurs bulgares une expérience, dans une certaine mesure, comparable à
celle du public japonais.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Specifics of the analysed material
- 3.Theoretical background
- 4.Methodology
- 5.Analysis
- 5.1Italianisms and other barbarisms
- 5.2Anthroponyms
- 5.3Stand names, combat techniques and attacks
- 5.4Institutionalisms and toponyms
- 5.6Honorifics
- 6.Conclusion
- Notes
- Author queries
References
References (25)
Alt, Matt. 2021. Pure
Invention. How Japan Made the Modern World. New York: Little, Brown Book Group.
Araki, Hirohiko. 2015. Manga in Theory and Practice. The Craft of Creating
Manga [orig. Araki Hirohiko no
Mangajyutsu]. Translated by Collins, Nathan A.]. San Francisco: VIZ Media.
Bednarczyk, Anna. 1999. Wybory translatorskie. Modyfikacje tekstu literackiego w przekładzie i kontekst
asocjacyjny [Translation Choices. Literaty Texts Modifications in Translation and
the Associative Context]. Łódź: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego.
Bogdanov, Stanislav. 2016. “Subtitles
translation in the grey zone.” In Юбилеен годишник на
департамент ‚‘Англистика‘ [Anniversary Yearbook of the Department of English
Studies], ed. by Yankova, Diana. 155–171. София: Издателство на Нов български университет.
Chatrian, Carlo, and Paganelli, Grazia. 2010. Manga
Impact! The World of Japanese Animation. London: Phaidon Press.
Cooper, Andrew. 2012. “Adapting
to Survive: The Cultural Regeneration of ‘Doctor
Who’.” Panoptikum 11 (18): 132–142.
Denison, Rayna. 2011. “Anime
fandom and the liminal spaces between fan creativity and piracy.” International Journal of
Cultural
Studies 14 (5): 449–466.
Hermans, Theo. 2015. “On
Translating Proper Names, with reference to De Witte and Max
Havelaar.” In Modern Dutch Studies. Essays in Honour of Professor
Peter King on the Occasion of His Retirement, ed. by Wintle, Michael J., 11–24. London/New Delhi/New York/Sydney: Bloomsbury.
Juozulinas, Anna. 2022. “Fandom mangi i anime w Polsce [Manga and Anime Fandom in
Poland].” Argumenta
Historica 9: 66–74.
Kalizhanova, Anna N., Gazikhanova, Zhanar H., Adil, Aidyn N., and Budikova, Zhansaya A. 2025. “Dubbing of the Anime
‘JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’: Insights from Kazakhstani students.” In Өрлеу. Үздіксіз білім жаршысы [Ascension. Herald of Continuous
Learning] 1 (48): 123–132.
Kostkiewiczowa, Teresa. 2008. “Barbaryzm [Barbarism].”. In Słownik terminów
literackich [Dictionary of Literary Terms], ed.
by Sławiński Janusz. 5th
ed., 58. Wrocław: Zakład Narodowyi m. Ossolińskich — Wydawnictwo we Wrocławiu.
Lee, Hye-Kyung. 2011. “Participatory
media fandom: a case study of anime fansubbing.” Media, Culture &
Society 33 (8): 1131–1147.
. 2010. “Cultural
consumer and copyright: a case study of anime fansubbing.” Creative Industries
Journal 3: 237–252.
Lewicki, Roman. 2000. Obcość w odbiorze przekładu [Foreignness in the Reception of
Translation]. Lublin: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej.
. 2017. Zagadnienia lingwistyki przekładu [Issues in Translation
Linguistics]. Lublin: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej.
Pérez González, Luis. 2007. “Fansubbing
anime: Insights into the ‘Butterfly effect’ of globalisation on audiovisual
translation.” Perspectives 14: 260–277.
Piotrowska, Maria. 2019. “Kulturem [Cultureme].” In Słownik polskiej terminologii
przekładoznawczej [Dictionary of Polish Translation
Terminology], ed. by Bogucki Łukasz, Dybiec-Gajer Joanna, Piotrowska Maria and Tomaszkiewicz Teresa. 71. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Księgarnia Akademicka.
Rončević, Velna. 2021. “Croatian
anime and manga fans: an encounter with Japanese culture and
language.” In Tabula: časopis Filozofskog fakulteta,
Sveučilište Jurja Dobrile u Puli [Tabula: Journal of the Faculty of Philosophy.
Juraj Dobrila University in
Pula] 18: 33–50.
Tomaszkiewicz, Teresa. 2006. Przekład audiowizyalny [Audiovisual
Translation]. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
Ursini, Francesco-Alessio. 2017. “David
Bowie’s Influence on ‘JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’.” The Comics Grid: Journal of Comics
Scholarship 7 (1). [URL].
Vinay, Jean-Paul, and Darbelnet, Jean. 2000. “A
Methodology for Translation”. Translated by Juan C. Sager and M.-J. Hamel. In The
Translation Studies Reader, ed. by Lawrence Venuti. London/New York: Routledge: 84–93.
Момчилова, Мария. 2013. “Динамика в развитието на манга комуникация [Dynamics in the
Development of Manga Communication].” In Реторика и
комуникации [Rhetoric and
Communications] 9. [URL]
Степанова, Мария. 2020. “Проблемът за пресъздаването на хумора в аудиовизуалния превод от български на руски
език [The Problem of Recreating Humour in Audiovisual Translation from
Bulgarian to Russian].” Translated by Ivanova Iva. In Медии и език. Електронно списание за научни изследвания по медиен език [Media and Language. Electronic Journal for Scientific Research in Media
Language] 8. [URL]