Why should the French government promote dubbing?
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Why should the French government promote dubbing?
French culture is deeply rooted in the French language that is unique in Europe, New York, Chicago, London and the entire world. Dubbing is not only an entertainment aspect but also an important role to play in the country's history. According to Bade (2001), the French language is unique and it gives the French people uniqueness in the entire European continent. According to this statement, the French culture is of great importance to France as a country and as a source of social integration for its people. Translation through dubbing has great significance in the preservation of the French culture through the promotion of the French language. In addition to the language, the French culture is characterized by other unique elements such as ascent that are embedded in the French language. Dubbing therefore promote the development of the French culture through promotion of the language to the citizens especially the young generation.
The uniqueness of France not only depends on its unique language but also on the ability of the French people to identify themselves as the citizens of the great nation. Through dubbing, the French film industry has been able to eliminate the external influence that is passed through the media. The media especially the cinemas has been accused to be some of the channels though which ideologies are sold (Munday 2001). This statement implies that the film industry is an active channel through which foreign influence and ideologies are passed. The French film industry has been able to eliminate this effect through the promotion of dubbing in most of the foreign products brought into the country. In particular, during the Nazi invasion of France, the French film industry was flooded with German film. These films were not only brought in for economic purpose but also for selling the Nazi ideology. With dubbing, the French film industry has been able to eliminate the foreign aspect attached in the foreign films by replacing it with the local factors. French dubbing has important aspect that demonstrates or illustrates the country's history (Gentzler 1993). By giving details on the country's development across various phases, dubbing has enabled France to define history that led to the modern day France.
Why Dubbing in France Should Be Controlled
As the French dubbing industry continues to develop steadily, the French government is conscious of the negative effects it causes on the French people. Although dubbing has many advantages to the French people and the country, the government has considered looking at the negative side of the issue by analyzing the practice. Dubbing has contributed a lot in the preservation of the French language but the practice has been accused of having long-term destructive effect on the French language. According to (Cronin 2000) language not only depends on the ability of a person to speak it but also on the ability of the speaker to write the same language. Since the adoption of dubbing in the French film industry, the practice has not contributed enough in the promotion of the grammatical aspect of the French language that is of equal importance. In addition, the practice has not promoted the learning of the French language among children especially the school-going children. This has been due to the widespread application of dubbing in film industry that forms an important part of the French traditions and social life. As stated by Carvajal (2007) since early 1930s France has remained to be the leading European country that dubs majority of its foreign films by replacing them with the voices of the local actors. Due to its popularity, dubbing has replaced the use of subtitles that was once an important part in the French film industry
Conclusion
The need to communicate in the fast integrating world has created the need of translation. French is the leading European country that relies in dubbing to translate most of its foreign films. Through dubbing the voices of character in the film are replaced with the voices of local actors in the local language. The practice has contributed to the promotion of the French culture through promotion of the unique French language. Secondly, the practice has contributed to social integration by eliminating the foreign factor attached to foreign films. Although dubbing has many benefits to the country, the practice does not promote the learning of written French language.
References
Bade, R 2001, Foundations of French films, Addison Wesley, New York.
Carvajal, D 2007, French film-industry dubbers complain of pressure to water down scripts -
Technology & Media - International Herald Tribune. New York Times, 21 Jan.
Cronin, M, 2000, Across the line: Travel, language, and translation, Cork University Press, Dublin.
Gentzler, E 1993, Contemporary translation theories, Routledge, New York.
Munday J 2001, Introducing translation studies, Routledge, London.