The Role of the Audiovisual Mode in the Choice between Subtitling and Revoicing

The immense importance of audiovisual media in our everyday lives can hardly be doubted. As a result, an investigation into the norms that govern audiovisual translation comes as a natural demand. The choice of the language transfer method to be followed for all foreign products in all country/culture settings seems to be one governed and dictated by norms and conventions that are specifically related to each of the hosting audiovisual mode: the motivations that guide the choice between subtitling and revoicing for the mode of TV are not identical to those that guide the same choice for the modes of cinema or video. The fundamental difference between subtitling and revoicing (dubbing, narration, free-commentary) lies upon the linguistic carrier of the intended message: written for subtitling vs. oral for revoicing. The piece of work that follows is a modified sub-chapter of my PhD Thesis and deals with the influence of each of the audiovisual modes upon the choice between subtitling or revoicing, with a particular view of Greek audiovisual reality