Description
Transferring multimodal humor in TV remakes: English, Greek, Russian
Humor is a central component of human communication, and audiovisual translation has occasionally transcreated humorous implications in target film versions or TV series, in other language contexts. The study examines the workings of transferring humor in TV remakes, where the visual make-up and the whole multimodal experience also changes across cultures, and potentially contributes to humor creation. The study examines humor transcreation in 4 first-season episodes of the American television series The Nanny (1993-1999) and its adaptati-ons into the Greek and Russian remakes (Η Νταντά 2003-2005 and Моя прекрасная няня 2004-2006) to observe how intercultural transfer can achieve an analogous humorous effect in target environ¬ments. The study uses both naturalistic and experimental data to examine rendition of pragmatic phenomena producing humorous effects on two levels: at the fictional (horizontal) level and at the vertical level, in the communication between text producer and audience. As verbal humor depends on incongruities, the study examines multimodal strategies scriptwriters and directors use in order to transfer/recreate humor in other cultural environments. Results show that, although all three versions are humorous and attract viewer’s attention, the Greek version artfully combines verbal, visual and acoustic aspects of meaning-making to create a genuinely humorous effect. The research offers insight into understanding how adaptation of the whole multimodal experience operates in different target cultural environments and enriches cross-cultural understanding of variation in interpersonal contexts and relational dynamics. Keywords: humor, im/politeness, TV series, localization, in/directness, cultural references, intertextuality.
