Multilingualism as a Functional Element, a Useful Category for the Study of the Construction and Translation of Linguistically Diverse Discourse

Abstract

This article is a discursive and equivalence-generating study of the use of the multilingual property as a narrative transmission mechanism in audiovisual texts. Specific functions can be constructed and different events and aspects of the plot can be presented through the introduction of linguistic variation and its deliberate application to achieve defined purposes. The analysis is based on functionalist approaches to the study of fiction and translation and on the binary branching classification model of solution types for determining textual problems in translation based on the form these adopt. This article presents the findings of multilingual property identification and translation related to the application of this forms- and functions-based approach. Several classifications of solution types are also developed with representative examples extracted from film and series.

Keywords

• multilingualism
• multilingualism functions
• third language
• binary branching model
• audiovisual texts
• comparative language studies