Contact
Biography
Dr Pierre-Alexis Mével is Associate Professor in Translation Studies at the University of Nottingham. His research interests include creative captions for the screen and for the stage, the translation of nonstandard language varieties, and media accessibility. He teaches subtitling for D/deaf audiences and audio description at the University of Nottingham. He is a fierce advocate for inclusive media-making practices and has a long track-record of working with partners from the creative industries.
Expertise Summary
- Translation theory
- Audiovisual translation
- Subtitling (interlingual and DoH)
- Dubbing
- Audio description
- Transfiction
- Machine translation
Teaching Summary
MLAC3157 Subtitling and Dubbing from French into English
MLAC4027 Audiovisual Translation: Accessibility
MLAC1079 Introduction to French and Francophone Studies (Phonetics)
MLAC3061 Translation from French
MLAC3114 Translation into French for native speakers of French
MLAC3151 Introduction to Interpreting
Research Summary
My first monograph Subtitling African American English into French: can we Do the Right Thing? analysed the French subtitling of African American English in a corpus of films from the United States,… read more
Current Research
My first monograph Subtitling African American English into French: can we Do the Right Thing? analysed the French subtitling of African American English in a corpus of films from the United States, exploring in particular the implications of resorting to non-standard forms in the French subtitles to portray linguistic variation. I have also published several articles on the translation of non-standard varieties.
I originally focussed on translation for screens but then went on to work on an AHRC-funded project for the stage. The main project partner was a Derby-based company called Red Earth Theatre, a small-scale touring theatre company with an established track record and commitment to research in inclusive integrated communication for young audiences (with a focus on deaf audiences). In this project, we explored the potential for the use of cheap or freely available immersive technologies to support further development of integrated inclusiveness for deaf audiences in small scale touring productions. Also working with stakeholders from the D/deaf community (through D/deaf societies and with local schools with deaf units), the research team (from English, Translation Studies and Computer Science) prototyped tools and resources to make stage performances more inclusive through the integration of captioning into creative processes. The team was then awarded follow-on funding by the AHRC to use the technology in a show created by Red Earth that toured around the UK. Red Earth have recently had to close, in no small part because of Covid. As a result of this project, we published a series of articles.
Past Research
At the intersection of Translation Studies, Sociolinguistics and Film Studies, my doctoral thesis analysed how textual and audiovisual objects move across borders, and the nature of the shift characters' identity undergoes in the process of translation. I examine the translation into French, in the form of subtitles, of a corpus of American films portraying speakers of a marked use of language (African American Vernacular English, henceforth AAVE) that informs character development, and convey powerful social and political traits that are particularly meaningful in the source culture. This raises particular issues relating to the formation of identities, about their cultural porosity, and the transferability of culturally bound features and the nature of their adaptation in another culture. In the process, I am redefining the figure of the translator, who is constantly negotiating with cultures, for instance by associating features of banlieue French (such as verlan) in their subtitles with images of Black America. Although sociolinguistic studies have shown how black youths use specific linguistic characteristics to construct their social identity, the audiovisual translation of vernacular language and the possibilities for language to convey otherness remain under-studied. In this thesis, I show the ways in which these traits are altered (in the etymological sense, "made other/different/foreign") in the process of translation. This case study on the subtitling of AAVE into French, particularly in the context of audiovisual translation which is just coming to the fore of Translation Studies, contributes to broader debates on the translation of sociolinguistic features and suggests ways in which existing subtitling frameworks might be broadened to include cultural and sociolinguistic dimensions, rather than limiting themselves to technical and linguistic considerations.
Future Research
My focus has recently shifted back to screen settings, and particularly to the reception of subtitles, yet still with EDI considerations and particularly D/deaf audiences. At the intersection of Psychology and Translation Studies, this project investigates the emotional correlates of different types of subtitles on audiences. We compare the reception of 'creative subtitles' (also sometimes referred to as 'integrated titles' - subtitles that experiment with font/typeface, size, colour, positioning and enhancing effects) with that of traditional subtitles (white letters, bottom of the screen).
I am also currently working on a project with a Nottingham-based dance company called IMPACD CIC. After transalting their website into Easy Language, we set the WeSpeak initiaitive (https://wespeakuon.wordpress.com/about/) and have been fervent advocate for inclusive media-making practices.