Translating non-native varieties of English in animated films: the Italian dubbing of Madagascar 3: Europe’s most wanted

This paper explores the representation of non-native varieties of English in Dreamwork’s animated film Madagascar 3 (2012) and investigates the strategies adopted by Italian dubbing professionals. Language variation is often exploited in films and in animated films in particular to provide characterisation, to construct identities and to trigger humour. Linguistic varieties and accents play an important part in defining characters and are often conveyors of stereotypes (Lippi-Green, 1997). In Italian dubbing the translational norm seems to be that of levelling out different varieties by using standard Italian (Chiaro, 2008). However, comedies and animated films constitute an exception to this homogenizing norm, as they convey linguistic variation to some extent. In particular, although Italian dubbing professionals usually refrain from using Italian regional dialects or regional accents in order to avoid unintended effects and stereotyping, they sometimes resort to ethnolects, foreign-accented Italian, or Italian regional dialects, thus adding a further layer of meaning to the dubbed version. By analysing the representation of the non-Anglo-American characters and their dubbing into Italian in Madagascar 3, the paper seeks to ascertain whether non-native varieties of English or ethnolects (Salmon, 2000) are reduced, neutralised or conveyed and highlighted in the Italian dubbed version. The paper also draws on interviews with dubbing professionals in order to understand their approach to language variation and to multilingualism in films, as well as their role in shaping the representation of ‘otherness’ in the Italian dubbed versions.