| Abstract [eng] |
This research paper examines the translation of accents and idiolects in the American 2006 film Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties, directed by Tim Hill, and its Lithuanian-dubbed version, Garfildas 2. The study aims to identify the differences in how idiolects and accents are represented in both the original and dubbed versions, with a particular focus on the two main characters: Garfield and Prince. Since the characters’ appearances are identical, the only visual non-verbal element that distinguishes them is their behaviour, which is analysed through the lens of multimodality. However, the primary focus of the analysis is on the idiolects and accents that represent the acoustic verbal mode. This comparative qualitative investigation of how the idiolects and accents present in the source text are rendered in the Lithuanian-dubbed film follows Aljuied’s (2025) framework of linguistic variation, translation techniques and strategies. The analysis is enriched by comments from the interview with the director of the audio production studio Garso architektūra, who dubbed the film into Lithuanian, Benas Sakalauskas. Findings reveal that, despite their identical appearance, Garfield and Prince are differentiated by their behaviour as Garfield acts out of selfishness, while Prince’s behaviour is driven by royal obligations. The study shows that accents were not consistently translated, making idiolect translation the central mechanism for character differentiation. Translation of Garfield’s utterances predominantly utilised the technique of Addition and the strategy of Decentralisation, whereas translation of Prince’s speech featured techniques such as Maintenance and Change, with strategies like Naturalisation and Centralisation being most frequent. |
