Monti, S. (2014). Code-switching in British and American films and their Italian dubbed version.

Linguistica Antverpiensia, New Series. Themes in Translation Studies, 13, 135–168.

Code-switching in British and American films

and their Italian dubbed version

Silvia Monti

University of Pavia, Italy

silvia.monti@unipv.it

Much attention has recently focused on how a language shapes its

speakers’ identity in multi-ethnic contexts of interaction, where linguistic
identities are constantly open to renegotiation, reconstruction and
reinterpretation. Multicultural films prove to be one of the most apt
means of representing the richness and complexity of real-life
multilingual realities within which code-switching plays a crucial role.
This paper sets out to investigate the conversational functions code-
switching fulfils in two British and two American multicultural films:
Bend It Like Beckham (Chadha, 2002), Ae Fond Kiss (Loach, 2004),
Spanglish (Brooks, 2004) and Gran Torino (Eastwood, 2008). In these
films code-switching is crucial both to plot development and to the
bilingual immigrants’ characterisation. It is the aim of this article to
establish a specific socio-linguistic and pragmatic framework within
which code-switching in films can be studied. The analysis will involve a
thorough study of the film scripts and a comparison between the original
and the Italian dubbed version with a view to examining the translation
strategies of the different types of code-switching. The focus will be on the
scenes where code-switching emphasises the competing visions of the
world held by first- and second-generation immigrants, in an attempt to
point out which functions of code-switching are encoded in the Italian
version and which are lost in translation. It will also be shown what can
be achieved by both dubbing and subtitling in terms of transcultural
transmission in conveying the “translanguaging space” (Wei, 2011, p.
1222) the immigrant characters live in.

1. Multilingualism on the screen

As cross-cultural encounters intensify through migration and intensified

globalisation, much attention has recently focused on exploring how a
language shapes its speakers’ identity in the multicultural and
multilingual interactions (Carter, 2004) which are increasingly being
represented in contemporary British and American films. Indeed, these
often devote their attention to language use within multi-ethnic
communities in the United Kingdom and the United States where code-
switching proves to be a crucial linguistic process.
136 Silvia Monti

Starting from these observations, the present paper sets out to

investigate the conversational functions code-switching fulfils in
particular in two British and two American multicultural films and their
Italian dubbed versions: Bend It Like Beckham (Chadha, 2002), Ae Fond
Kiss (Loach, 2004), Spanglish (Brooks, 2004) and Gran Torino
(Eastwood, 2008), where multilingualism is at the core of the characters’
discourse practices and code-switching is instrumental both to plot
development and to the bilingual immigrants’ characterisation (Wahl,
2008). The authentic strength of the films’ dialogues lies in the instances
of code-switching that occur when the British/American and the
immigrant characters – be they Pakistani in Ae Fond Kiss and Bend it
Like Beckham, Mexican in Spanglish or Hmong in Gran Torino – interact
with each other. Their communicative exchanges faithfully represent the
distinguishing linguistic traits characterising both the British-Asian
communities living in the United Kingdom and the Hmong and Mexican
communities living in the United States.
In designing a specific socio-linguistic and pragmatic framework
within which code-switching operates in audiovisual products, the film
scripts are analysed, looking contrastively at the translation strategies of
the different types of code-switching in both the original and the Italian
dubbed versions. In the process, a parallel is drawn between the diaspora
identities of the films’ immigrant characters and the new forms of
dubbing recently adopted to convey the “translanguaging space” (Wei,
2011, p. 1222) they live in.1

2. Multilingualism, code-switching and screen translation

What seems to emerge first from an analysis of the films’ dialogues is

that, in the multiracial communities they portray, linguistic variation and
linguistic choices appear to be affected by both deliberate and
unconscious allegiance to community-specific behavioural, cultural and
social norms. Thus, neither English nor Punjabi/Spanish/Hmong serve as
the Pakistani/Mexican/Hmong community’s lingua franca but, rather,
language uses and preferences are distributed by generation and age, with
first-generation immigrants to the UK/USA typically preferring
Punjabi/Spanish/Hmong in informal situations with other members of
their community and their UK/USA-raised children preferring English.
The characters therefore express their bicultural identity through a
symbolic use of linguistic variation, showing that the multilingualism of
autochthonous groups, not actually relevant to practical requirements, is
nonetheless important as an act of self-identification (Auer, 1998, 2005;
Auer & Wei 2007, p. 469). As a matter of fact, the competing visions of
the world held by the two generations are illustrated by means of the
juxtaposition of linguistic codes across conversational turns: language
plays the part of an “emotional cement” in own-group recognition and in
Italian dubbing of code-switching in British and American films 137

the determination of in- and out-group boundaries (Milroy & Muysken,

1995, p. 23).
This leads us to observe that different sets of rights and obligations
are implied by the use of Punjabi/Spanish/Hmong, on the one hand, and
English on the other, within the interactions between first- and second-
generation immigrants. This shows code-switching to be a crucial
linguistic symbol of the generational gap around which the films’ plots
mainly revolve. Indeed, whereas first-generation immigrants carefully
cultivate their home cultural values and tend to maintain the we-code
(Auer, 2007) in their conversational exchanges, second-generation
immigrants generally converge to the British/American linguistic
background, accommodating to and using their English interlocutors’
they-code (Auer, 2007) while recurrently adopting code-switching to
express linguistically their moral and cultural dilemma (Myers-Scotton,
1993). This is a crucial aspect to be taken into consideration also in the
Italian translated versions of the films. These synergically adopt both
dubbing and subtitling as well as other forms of translation (Heiss, 2004)
in order to fulfil specific expressive and referential functions
(Bleichenbacher, 2008), thus preserving the important aspects of
multilingualism in the originals.
Several different types of code-switching are used in the original
versions of the films’ dialogues: 1. turn-specific code-switching occurring
between the turns of different speakers in the conversation; 2.
intersentential code-switching occurring between sentences within a
single turn; and 3. intrasentential code-switching occurring within the
same sentence, from single-morpheme to clause level (Myers-Scotton,
1993, p. 4). Turn-specific and intersentential switches seem to be
particularly prominent especially in the speech of first-generation
immigrants: it is among them that we find the most frequent cases of
code-switching as an essentially unmarked choice, used to emphasise the
common speaking community they belong to, thus creating an immediate
in-group identity with one another. As already mentioned, intrasentential
code-switching occurs, when Punjabi/Spanish/Hmong words are cited,
especially by the younger members of the multiethnic communities,
within conversational exchanges carried out in English, with the aim of
evoking specific traditions and beliefs related to their background
heritage. Code-switching therefore proves to be integral to the films’
meaning, establishing the same “we–they” dichotomy that has been
shown to be at work in many spontaneous code-switching discourses
within real multilingual communities.

2.1 Dubbing turn-specific and intersentential code-switching

Notwithstanding these important theoretical notions, the Italian

filmmakers’ traditional tendency to adhere to the norms and ideologies of
138 Silvia Monti

monolingualism (Bleichenbacher, 2008) has often led, until recently, to

the recurrent elimination of the we-code through dubbing. With regard to
the films’ objects of our study, it is in particular in Ae Fond Kiss and
Bend It Like Beckham that dubbing tends to domesticate the sense of
otherness mainly provided by turn-specific and intersentential code-
switching as the we-code is mostly translated into Italian. In Ae Fond
Kiss, the plot revolves around the relationship between Casim Khan, a
second-generation Pakistani working as a DJ in Glasgow, and Roisin, an
Irish Catholic schoolteacher, and highlighting the clash of cultures and
personalities that arises when their relationship is discovered.
Domestication can be observed in a conversation between Rukhsana’s
and Amar’s parents when they talk about the arranged marriage between
their children. Bend It Like Beckham tells the story of 18-year-old British-
Asian Jess Bhamra, who, grown up in the western suburbs of London in a
family of tradition-bound Sikh immigrants, joins the local women’s
soccer team and falls in love with her white coach, despite her parents’
grounded roots and the conventional plans they have for her future.
In the excerpts from the films, the name of the character speaking
is followed by the transcription of the dialogue in the original version, the
transcription of the dubbed Italian dialogue and a back-translation into
English of the Italian dubbed version given in brackets. The sentences in
square brackets and in Italic type refer to the English/Italian fixed
subtitles appearing at the bottom of the screen and used to convey the
meaning of the spoken exchanges maintained in Punjabi/Spanish/Hmong;
when the indication [Punjabi] / [Hmong] / [Spanish] appears in square
brackets it means that Punjabi/Hmong/Spanish are maintained at the
spoken level with no subtitles conveying their meaning in either the
original version or the Italian dubbed version.

Example 1: Mrs Khan talks to Amar’s mother

Mrs Khan
Rukhsana teaches the community aerobics. Always exercising.
Look at her figure!
Rukhsana si occupa anche attivamente della comunità. Insegna
aerobica qui vicino. Si esercita in continuazione, infatti guardate
che bel corpo le è venuto.
= [Rukhsana is also actively involved in the community. She
teaches aerobics not far from here. She’s always exercising; look at
her beautiful body.]
Amar’s mother
[Punjabi: He did a Ph.D. at Boston University. Now Molecular
Biology at Manchester.]
E poi ha fatto il master all'Università di Boston. Adesso è
diventato ricercatore all’Università di Manchester, proprio in
Biologia Molecolare.
Italian dubbing of code-switching in British and American films 139

= [And then he did a Ph.D. at Boston University. He is now

researcher at Manchester University, in Molecular Biology.]
Mrs Khan
[Punjabi: You’re lucky. God gave you a good boy.]
Siete molto fortunati. Dio vi ha dato un ragazzo pieno di talento.
= [You’re really lucky. God gave you a very talented boy.]

In the original version the dialogue in which the older generation is

discussing the values and principles at the core of their socio-cultural
background is entirely in Punjabi with open subtitles in English, whereas
in the Italian version Punjabi is replaced by standard spoken Italian, thus
lessening the film’s original emotional impact and leading to the
suppression, in the Italian dubbed version, of the multilingualism in the
original film.
Owing to elimination of the we-code through dubbing, the Italian
versions also rarely show psychological distance between first- and
second-generation immigrants (Bleichenbacher, 2008). This is
particularly obvious in Ae Fond Kiss, when Casim finds the courage to
tell his mother that he cannot marry Jasmine as he is in love with an Irish
girl. Whereas Mrs Khan speaks only Punjabi, the we-code that has to be
used when it comes to family matters, Casim conducts most of the
conversation in Punjabi, thus initially conforming to his mother's
linguistic code, but then, towards the end, he switches from Punjabi to
English.

Example 2: Casim talks to his mother

Mrs Khan
[Punjabi: You know what your father is like. Tell me, what’s wrong
with you. You haven’t spoken to me for months. Won’t you tell your
mom?]
Lo sapete come la pensa vostro padre. Ma che cos’hai? Cosa ti
succede? Non parli con me da mesi. Che cos’hai da dirmi? Perché
non parli? Io sono tua madre.
= [You know what your father thinks. But what’s the matter with
you? What’s wrong with you? You haven’t spoken to me for
months. What do you have to tell me? Why don’t you speak? I’m
your mother.]
Casim
[Punjabi: She speaks the truth.]
Tahara ha ragione.
= [Tahara is right.]
Mrs Khan
[Punjabi: What truth? You tell me.]
Lascia perdere Tahara, voglio sapere che cos’hai tu.
= [Don’t listen to Tahara, I want to know what’s wrong with you.]
Casim
140 Silvia Monti

[Punjabi: I can’t do it.]

Mamma, non posso farlo.
= [Mom, I can’t do it.]
Mrs Khan
[Punjabi: What?]
Che cosa?
= [What?]
Casim
[Punjabi: I know you’re preparing things for me.]
Io lo so tutto quello che state facendo per me.
= [I know what you are doing for me.]
Mrs Khan
[Punjabi: What can’t you do?]
Che cos'è che non puoi fare?
= [What is that you can’t do?]
Casim
[Punjabi]
Non posso.
= [I can’t.]
Mrs Khan
[Punjabi]
Che cosa?
= [What?]
Casim
[Punjabi: I can’t get married.]
Io non posso sposarmi.
= [I can’t get married.]
Mrs Khan
[Punjabi: How can I tell your aunt now?]
Eh? Che gli dico a tua zia adesso? Sembravi così contento.
= [What? What do I tell your aunt now? You seemed so happy.]
Casim
I can’t go ahead with it, mom.
Non posso farlo.
= [I can’t do it.]
Mrs Khan ((crying))
[Punjabi: This is not good. What will Jasmine do? This will shame
us.]
Non ci si comporta così. E Jasmine che cosa farà? La vergogna
cadrà su di noi.
= [You can’t behave like this. And what will Jasmine do? This will
shame us.]
Casim ((crying))
I’ll sell the car. I’ll give you all the money back for the extension. I
can’t go ahead with it.
Italian dubbing of code-switching in British and American films 141

Venderò la macchina, vi ridarò tutti i soldi che avete speso per la

casa, ma non ce la faccio.
= [I will sell the car, I’ll give you back all the money you spent for
the house, but I can’t do it.]

In the original version, the maintenance of turn-specific code-switching

has crucial sociolinguistic implications with regard to the generational
clash and, in particular, the relationship between mother and son. Indeed,
the first part of this emotionally intense exchange concerns the choices
Casim’s parents made for him and therefore requires the use of Punjabi as
the language encoding the Indian traditions according to which these
choices have been made. On the other hand, the second part of the
conversation is about the choices Casim intends to make independently of
his family, which take him away from his socio-cultural background and
lead him to express his adherence to Western society also from a
linguistic point of view. Thus, using English is a symbol of his new life as
a Westerner. But code-switching’s emotive function has been lost in the
Italian dubbed version, which is monolingual and neutralises the original
socio-cultural implications concerning the relationship between Mrs Khan
and Casim.
In both Ae Fond Kiss and Bend It Like Beckham, the elimination of
spoken Punjabi sometimes leads to a lack of coherence in the Italian
translation of the we-code. This can be seen in many excerpts from Ae
Fond Kiss (Example 3) and Bend It Like Beckham (Example 4):

Example 3: Casim talks to Amar and Mrs Khan

Casim to Amar
[Punjabi] Are you doing okay?
Ciao!
= [Hello!]
Amar
Fine.
Ciao!
= [Hello!]
Casim
[Punjabi]
Come va, tutto bene?
= [How are you, everything fine?]
Amar
[Punjabi]
Bene, grazie.
= [Fine, thanks.]
Casim to Mrs Khan
[Punjabi]
Ciao, mamma, eccomi.
= [Hi mom, I’m here.]
142 Silvia Monti

Mrs Khan
[Punjabi]
Oh, ben tornato. È andato tutto bene?
= [Oh, welcome back home. Everything all right?]
Casim
[Punjabi]
Tutto bene, grazie. Che la pace sia con te.
= [Everything fine, thanks. Peace be on you.]

Example 4: Teet’s mother talks to Teet’s father

Teet’s mother
[Punjabi]
Andiamo.
= [Let’s go.]
Teet’s father
Look, we’re not trying to cause trouble. It’s just that, well, we felt
it our duty to tell you and now it’s a matter for your own family.
Noi non vogliamo creare problemi, ma abbiamo ritenuto nostro
dovere dirvelo.
= [We don’t want to cause troubles, but we felt it our duty to tell
you.]
Teet’s mother
[Punjabi]
Su, lascia stare.
= [Come on, leave it.]
Teet’s father
[Punjabi]
Ora la cosa riguarda la vostra famiglia.
= [Now the issue concerns our family.]

Examples 3 and 4 show that, whereas in some of the original scenes

spoken Punjabi prevails, its English translation is omitted and the
meaning is left to the imagination of the audience, the Italian dialogues
eliminate the we-code and clarify the conversation’s contents through
explanatory sentences, although in many cases we cannot say with any
degree of certainty whether such sentences are equivalent to what is
actually said in Punjabi or not.

2.2. Equivalence: intrasentential code-switching maintained

Whereas most of the cases of turn-specific and intersentential code-

switching in the films under investigation tend to be dubbed into Italian, a
different translation strategy, or non-translation, is generally adopted in
the cases of intrasentential code-switching, particularly that used by
second-generation immigrants quoting Punjabi/Spanish/Hmong words to
Italian dubbing of code-switching in British and American films 143

evoke specific socio-cultural, religious as well as culinary traditions of

their home country. They thus engage in double identity practices
simultaneously, an aspect that is usually found in both the original and the
Italian dubbed versions. In Bend It Like Beckham this can be observed
when the characters talk about typical Indian food.

Example 5: Jess talks to her mother

Jess
Anyone can cook aloo gobi,2 but who can bend a ball like
Beckham?
Tutte possono cucinare aloo gobi, ma chi tira in porta come
Beckham?
= [Anyone can cook aloo gobi, but who can bend a ball like
Beckham?]

Example 6: Mrs Bhamra talks to Pinky

Mrs Bhamra
Chicken, lamb … And paneer tikka.3 We’ll show them, we’re not
poor people!
Pollo, agnello ... e anche paneer tikka. Glielo faremo vedere. Non
siamo mica poveri, no? Allora …
= [Chicken, lamb … and also paneer tikka. We’ll show them. We
are not poor people, aren’t we?]

Example 7: Mrs Bhamra talks to her daughters Jess and Pinky

Mrs Bhamra
Ah, my mother chose all my twenty-one dowry suits herself. I
never once complained. You girls are too spoilt. Now don’t forget
my dhania,4 four bunches for a pound and more carrots, I’m
making achar.5
Mia madre scelse lei tutti i ventuno vestiti del mio corredo e non
mi sono mai lamentata. Voi due siete troppo viziate. E non vi
scordate il mio dhania, quattro mazzetti per una sterlina, e un po’
di carote, devo fare achar.
= [My mother chose all my twenty-one dowry suits and I never
complained. You two are too spoilt. And don’t forget my dhania,
four bunches for a pound, and some carrots, I have to make achar.]

Example 8: Jess talks to her parents

Jess
Bring me back some langar.6
Portatemi un po’ di langar.
= [Bring me back some langar.]
144 Silvia Monti

Example 9: Pinky talks to her aunt

Pinky
Yes, massiji. Mum’s making the samosas.7
Sì, ma certo. Mamma prepara le samosa.
= [Yes, of course. Mum is making the samosas.]

Example 10: Mrs Bhamra talks to Jess

Mrs Bhamra
What family will want a daughter-in-law who can run around
kicking football all day but can’t make round chapattis?8 Now
exams are over, I want you to learn full Punjabi dinner, meat and
vegetarian!
Quale famiglia vorrebbe una nuora che corre tutto il giorno
appresso a un pallone ma che non è capace di cucinare le chapati?
Adesso che hai finito gli esami, imparerai a cucinare tutto un
pranzo Punjabi, sia carne che verdura!
= [What family would like a daughter-in-law who runs around a
kicking football all day long but can’t make chapattis? Now that
you’ve finished your exams, you will learn how to cook a full
Punjabi dinner, both meat and vegetables.]

As can be seen in Examples 5–10, the Punjabi words are kept in the
English-language dialogues and also maintained in the Italian dubbing. It
seems plausible to assume that this is due to the translator’s aim to
faithfully adhere to the original version’s attempt to represent
multilingual discourse practices; and this also fulfils code-switching
socio-linguistic and pragmatic functions.
Similarly, in Ae Fond Kiss there are many references to Indian
culinary traditions, whose relevant Punjabi definitions are maintained in
Italian, as when Casim offers Roisin some glab jamin, a popular dessert
in India and Pakistan:9

Example 11: Casim talks to Roisin

Casim
Here you go, Miss Hanlon.
Ecco a lei, signorina professoressa.
= [Here you are, Miss professor.]
Roisin
Ooh, lovely!
Oh, che bello!
= [Oh, how nice!]
Casim
Glab jamin and ice cream.
Glab jamin con il gelato.
= [Glab jamin with ice cream.]
Roisin
Italian dubbing of code-switching in British and American films 145

Glab jamin.
Glab jami?
= [Glab jami?]
Casim
No, glab jamin and ice cream.
No, si dice glab jamin con gelato.
= [No, you say glab jamin with ice cream.]

The maintenance of intrasentential code-switching in Italian is also

related to the fact that second-generation immigrants often adopt English
as a metalanguage to talk about we-code expressions imbued with socio-
cultural and religious connotations related to their background heritage.
In Ae Fond Kiss, when Rukhsana tries to convince Roisin to split up with
Casim, she uses English, the language she shares with Roisin; but she
also uses the Punjabi word izzat when she refers to the principle of
preserving family honour at any cost:

Example 12: Rukhsana talks to Roisin

Rukhsana
See, we have this concept called, ehm, izzat, which I guess is
family honour, and that’s really important to-to people. And my
parents all their life have worked very very hard to maintain that,
to keep that, and they’ve built up respect and trust in the
community. And what-what Casim has done has basically taken
that away.
Noi abbiamo un codice, che chiamiamo izzat. Più o meno
corrisponde all'onore familiare, e questo è molto importante per la
nostra gente. I miei genitori, per tutta la vita, hanno lavorato
molto duramente per conservarlo e rispettarlo, e si sono
guadagnati la stima e la fiducia della comunità. E quello che ha
fatto Casim ha vanificato tutto.
= [We have a code, which we call izzat. It more or less corresponds
to family honour, and this is very important for our people. My
parents have worked hard all their life to maintain and respect it,
and they’ve gained the esteem and trust of the community. E what
Casim did has taken everything away.]

The Punjabi word izzat is used in the original version and in the Italian
translation as it has no corresponding English equivalent and the concept
it implies exists only within Rukhsana’s culture/language.
Casim himself uses intrasentential code-switching when quoting
the Punjabi term zakah, which refers to a specific Islamic duty. This is
maintained in both the source and the target language:
146 Silvia Monti

Example 13: Roisin talks to Casim

Roisin
So, I suppose then you believe that the Archangel Gabriel, in a
cave, whispered the word of god, word by word into Mohammed’s
ear.
Allora suppongo che tu creda che l'arcangelo Gabriele in una
caverna, abbia sussurrato a Mohammed la legge di Dio, parola
per parola.
= [Now, I suppose you believe that the Archangel Gabriel, in a
cave, whispered to Mohammed the law of God, word by word.]
Casim
Exactly. There’s still so much I’m proud of. D’you know what
zakah means?
Esattamente e ci sono molte altre cose di cui vado fiero. Sai cosa
significa zakah?
= [Exactly and there are many other things I’m proud of. Do you
know what zakah means?]
((Roisin shakes her head))
Casim
It’s when you give a percentage of your income to the poor. My
dad, still to this day, gives exactly to the penny to asylum seekers.
È quando dai una percentuale dei tuoi averi ai poveri. Mio padre
ancora oggi devolve ai senza tetto una parte dei suoi guadagni.
= [It is when you give a percentage of your income to the poor. My
father still to this day gives a part of his income to the asylum
seekers.]

In Spanglish, whose main character is Flor Moreno, a Mexican single

mother who moves to the United States with her daughter Cristina and
works as housekeeper with a well-off family in Los Angeles, the
instances of intrasentential code-switching are always reproduced in the
Italian version. Example 14 illustrates the use of the Spanish word barrio,
meaning district or neighbourhood. In the film, it refers to Carbon Beach,
the highest-value beach neighbourhood on the Pacific Coast where Flor
and Cristina spend the summer months at the Claskys:

Example 14: Deborah talks to Flor

Deborah
Oh come on, it’s ... There’s no buses from her to here. There's no
question. Double come on. The barrio, Carbon Beach, the barrio,
Carbon Beach.
Bè ma dai, è … non ci sono autobus da casa sua a qui. Non c’è
discussione. Ti prego, ti straprego. Voglio dire, il barrio, Carbon
Beach, il barrio, Carbon Beach.
Italian dubbing of code-switching in British and American films 147

= [Oh come on, it’s … there are no buses from your house to here.
There’s no question. Please, double please. I mean, the barrio,
Carbon Beach, the barrio, Carbon Beach.]

Example 15 below focuses on the word engreído:

Example 15: Flor talks to John and Cristina translates for them
Cristina
A name for the action, what you did.
Un nome per l’azione, per quello che ha fatto.
= [A name for the action, for what he did.]
Flor
[Spanish: Engreído.]
[Spanish: Engreído.]
John to Cristina
Oh, boy, engreído is gonna be rough.
Oh mamma, engreído mi sa che è tosto.
= [Oh my God, I think engreído is rough.]
Cristina
Smug!
Prepotente!
= [Smug!]

The Spanish word is uttered by John, who doesn’t actually know Spanish,
during a crucial discussion with Flor, who speaks only Spanish. It is
preserved in Italian to convey the anger which characterises the dialogue.

2.2.1 Code-switching in forms of address and greetings

Intrasentential code-switching is also maintained in Italian when

immigrant characters address each other using we-code words. These are
mainly affectionate terms of address, implying the spontaneous use of the
we-code as the linguistic correlative of the concepts of “family” and
“home”. In Bend It Like Beckham, Mrs Bhamra often addresses Jess, her
youngest daughter, using the Punjabi expression Chi Chi Chi, literally
meaning “little finger”, which is to be found in both versions:

Example 16: Mrs Bhamra talks to Jess

Mrs Bhamra
Chi chi chi. Cigarette! [Punjabi]
Chi chi chi. Sigaretta! [Punjabi]
= [Cigarette!]

Example 17: Mrs Bhamra talks to Jess

Mrs Bhamra
148 Silvia Monti

Chi! We’re going to pray to God to give you both sense, not bring
back food for you! [Punjabi]
Chi, noi andiamo a pregare Dio che le dia un po’ di buon senso
non certo a prendere da mangiare! [Punjabi]
= [Chi, we are going to pray God to give her some good sense not
at all to take something to eat!]

Another Punjabi word that adults use when addressing their children is
putar, meaning “son, boy”, whereas children addressing adults
recurrently use massiji, whose literal meaning is “aunt”, as can be seen in
Bend It Like Beckham when Jess and Pinky meet Tony and his mother:

Example 18: Tony’s mother talks to Pinky

Tony’s mother
Aha. May God give you and your husband an endless happiness!
And pray for me, that I get a lovely daughter-in-law like you for
my Tony, uh putar?
Ah, ah! Possa Dio mantenere te e tuo marito nella felicità più
infinita. E prega per me che io possa trovare una nuora come te
per il mio Tony. Ah, putar?
= [Ah, ah! May God preserve you and your husband in the most
neverending happiness. And pray for me that I can find a daughter-
in-law like you for my Tony. Ah, putar?]
Tony
Mum!
Mamma!
= [Mum!]
Pinky
Ah, thank you, Massiji! OK, bye eh.
Oh, grazie, Massiji, arrivederci, eh.
= [Oh, thanks. Massiji, good-bye, eh.]

Also in this case the two Punjabi words putar and Massiji, used in the
original version, are maintained unaltered in the Italian version.
A similar instance can be observed in the following excerpt from
Ae Fond Kiss:

Example 19: Casim talks to Roisin

Casim
You’re a khotee.
Sei una khotee.
= [You are a khotee.]
Roisin
A khotee? Is that a compliment?
Una khotee? È un complimento?
= [A khotee? Is it a compliment?]
Italian dubbing of code-switching in British and American films 149

Casim
A lovely little khotee.
Una piccola dolce khotee.
= [A sweet little khotee.]
Roisin
Ah.
Casim
Do you know what you are?
Anzi, sai cosa sei?
= [Or rather, do you know what you are?]
Roisin
What?
Cosa?
= [What?]
Casim
A durdou.
Una durdou.
= [A durdou.]
Roisin
Durdou? What’s that?
Una durdou? E cos’è?
= [A durdou? And what is it?]
Casim
Frog.
Una ranocchietta.
= [A little frog.]

Here Casim compares Roisin first to a khotee (a butterfly) and then to a

durdou (a frog), two Punjabi lexical items commonly used as pet names
whose presence, in both versions, is symbolical of Casim’s attempt to
share with Roisin some aspects of his Pakistani cultural heritage.

2.3 Code-switching and open subtitles

As we have observed so far, different translation strategies have been

adopted in the cases of code-switching when used by either first- or
second-generation characters in specific communicative situations. When
important family matters are at stake, especially in Ae Fond Kiss and
Gran Torino, the original spoken we-code tends to be used in the oral
exchanges in both the original version and the Italian dubbed version and
to be translated through open subtitles (in the following examples
indicated in shquare brackets, Italic type) according to specific
explicitation and replacement strategies (Bleichenbacher, 2008).
In Ae Fond Kiss, this can be noticed when the conversations
revolve around the etiquette and protocol of arranged marriages between
150 Silvia Monti

the descendants of two chosen families. Thus, when the Khans meet the
family of Rukhsana's future husband Amar, the older generations choose
Punjabi as their linguistic code in order to create an immediate in-group
identity with each other:10

Example 20: Mr and Mrs Khan talk to Amar’s parents

Mr Khan to Mrs Khan
[Punjabi] [On you go.]
[Punjabi] [Prego, cara.]
= [Please, dear.]
Mrs Khan to Amar’s parents
[Punjabi] [Peace be on you! Are you all right? Find the house OK?
Sorry about the mess. Son, go with Auntie.]
[Punjabi] [Che la pace sia con voi. Come state? Che ve ne pare
della casa? Scusatemi per il disordine. Portali dentro.]
= [Peace be on you. How are you? What do you think about the
house? Sorry for the mess. Take them inside]
Mr Khan to Amar’s father
[Punjabi] [We’re building an extension here. When it’s done, it’ll
look fine.]
[Punjabi] [Abbiamo terminato il giardino e stiamo lavorando
all’estensione della casa. Una volta finito sarà molto bello.]
= [We have finished the garden and we’re building the house
extension. Once done, it’ll look really fine.]

As Example 20 shows, the Italian version maintains spoken Punjabi to

stress the importance of the Muslim tradition of arranged marriages
between the descendants of two chosen families. Indeed, arranged
marriages allow Pakistanis in Glasgow to strengthen ties with their own
background community also from a linguistic point of view, as they use
code-switching when talking to one another. The crucial function code-
switching has of building and maintaining interpersonal relationships
among families of a bilingual community sharing the same ethno-cultural
identity is thus preserved.
Similarly, in both versions of Gran Torino, many sentences in
Hmong, uttered by first-generation immigrants within familiar contexts,
are conveyed by means of open subtitles, as can be seen in Examples 21
and 22:

Example 21: Phong talks to a Hmong man

Phong
[Hmong] [I’m just so broken-hearted. I want my daughter to find
another husband. If she married again, there would be a man in
the house.]
[Hmong] [Sono davvero addolorata. Mia figlia deve trovare un
altro marito. Se si risposa ci sarà di nuovo un uomo in casa.]
Italian dubbing of code-switching in British and American films 151

= [I’m really broken-hearted. My daughter should find another

husband. If she marries again, there will be a man in the house
again.]
Man
[Hmong] [What about Thao? The man of the house is right there.]
[Hmong] [Ma c’è Thao, no? Eccolo lì l’uomo di casa.]
= [But there’s Thao, isn’t there? He is the man of the house.]
Phong
[Hmong] [Look at him washing dishes. He does whatever his sister
orders him to do. How could he ever become the man of the
house?]
[Hmong] [Guardalo, lava i piatti. Fa tutto quello che gli ordina la
sorella. Come potrà mai essere l’uomo di casa?]
= [Look at him, he washes the dishes. He does all that his sister
orders him. How could he ever be the man of the house?]
Man
[Hmong] [Be patient, once he’s older he will be the man of the
house.]
[Hmong] [Vedrai, quando sarà più grande diventerà l’uomo di
casa.]
= [You’ll see, once a bit older he’ll become the man of the house.]
Phong
[Hmong] [No way.]
[Hmong] [Figurati.]
= [No way.]

The film centres on the character of Walt Kowalski, a Korean War

veteran who meets his new Hmong neighbours and gradually overcomes
the prejudices and ethnocentric beliefs that are getting involved in their
life. In this scene, Walt attends a Hmong birth ceremony at his
neighbours’ house, where all the older Hmong speak their native
language. When Phong, the family grandmother, talks to a relative
complaining about her nephew, Thao, Hmong is maintained in the oral
exchange and its meaning is clarified through subtitles in the original
version of the film.

Example 22: Kor Khue talks to the family

Kor Khue
[Hmong] [Today is a blessed day for a child is born. I offer food to
nurture this child’s body. I offer clothing to protect this child’s
flesh. The child is blessed with a mother and father. Oh, spirit of
this child return home and do not wander anymore.]
[Hmong] [Questo è un giorno benedetto perché è nato un
bambino. Offro cibo per nutrire il corpo di questo bambino. Offro
vestiario per proteggere il corpo di questo bambino. Il bambino ha
152 Silvia Monti

il dono di una madre e di un padre. Oh, spirito di questo neonato

torna alla tua casa e non vagare oltre.]
= [This is a blessed day as a child is born. I offer food to feed this
child’s body. I offer clothing to protect this child’s body. The child
is blessed with a mother and a father. Oh, spirit of this child return
home and do not wander anymore.]
Whole family
[Hmong] [Come home, spirit and soul, come home.]
[Hmong] [Vieni a casa, spirito e anima, vieni a casa.]
= [Come home, spirit and soul, come home.]

Here, the ritual of a birth ceremony in Hmong performed by the family

Sciaman is translated in both the original and the Italian dub through open
subtitles, thus conveying crucial information about the Hmongs’ socio-
cultural and religious beliefs.

2.4 Code-switching left untranslated

Different translation choices regarding code-switching can be observed in

Bend It Like Beckham, Spanglish and Gran Torino, where some instances
of spoken Punjabi, Spanish and Hmong are left untranslated in both
versions.
In Bend It Like Beckham spoken Punjabi is preserved when used
for general comments and exclamations as well as during family disputes
between first- and second-generation immigrants. In particular, in typical
mother–daughter conflicts, the mother uses Punjabi to ward off authority
challenges from her daughter (Hua, 2008). This peculiar speech pattern
can be observed in many exchanges between Jess and Mrs Bahmra, often
code-switching from English to Punjabi to strengthen the power she
wants to exert over her daughter:

Example 23: Mrs Bhamra talks to Jess

Mrs Bhamra
Jesminder, you get back home now! [Punjabi] Jesminder, are you
listening to me? [Punjabi] Jesminder, have you gone mad? [...]
Jasminder, torna subito a casa. (Jasminder, go home now!)
[Punjabi] Ma mi stai a sentire?
= [But are you listening to me? [Punjabi] Jasminder, ma sei
impazzita? […] Jasminder, but have you gone mad?]

Example 24 Mrs Bhamra talks to Jess

Jess
No, it’s too tight. I want it looser.
È troppo stretto. Lo voglio comodo.
= [It’s too tight, I want it looser.]
Italian dubbing of code-switching in British and American films 153

Mrs Bhamra
Dressed in a sack, who’s going to notice you, huh? [Punjabi]
Se ti metti un sacco, quale ragazzo ti noterà? [Punjabi]
= [If you put a sack on, what boy is going to notice you?]

Example 25: Mrs Bhamra talk to Jess

Mrs Bhamra
You’ve ruined your sister’s life! [Punjabi] Happy now?
Hai rovinato la vita a tua sorella! [Punjabi] Sei contenta ora?
= [You’ve ruined your sister’s life! Are you happy now?]

Example 26: Mrs Bhamra talks to Pinky

Mrs Bhamra
[Punjabi] Don’t think I didn’t know that you were sneaking out
with that good-for-nothing Teetu as well! [Punjabi]
[Punjabi] Guarda che io sapevo che amoreggiavi di nascosto con
quel fannullone di Teetu, va bene! [Punjabi]
= [Mind that I knew that you were secretly flirting with that good-
for-nothing Teetu, OK!]

Examples 23–26 clearly show that a number of instances of spoken

Punjabi (indicated by “Punjabi” in square brackets) are not translated in
either the original or the Italian dubbed version.
In Gran Torino, Hmong (in square brackets below) is often left
untranslated in both versions, within exchanges between Walt and his
neighbours, as can be seen in Example 27:

Example 27: Walt talks to a Hmong couple

Hmong couple
[Hmong]
[Hmong]
Walt
No. No. No more.
No. No, no. Via, adesso basta.
= [No. No. No. Go away. Stop now.]
Hmong couple
[Hmong]
[Hmong]

A Hmong couple give Walt gifts after he has saved Thao from the
aggression by an Asian gang. Walt speaks English whereas the Hmong
only speak Hmong, which is neither conveyed through open subtitles nor
translated by a bilingual character.
In another scene, reproduced in Example 28, Walt is visited by two
elderly Hmong women, each carrying a bouquet of flowers as a sign of
their gratitude for what he has done for their community:
154 Silvia Monti

Example 28: Walt talks to Hmong women

Hmong women to Walt
[Hmong]
[Hmong]
Walt
No. No more.
No, ora basta, eh?
= [No, stop now, eh?]
Hmong women to Walt ((setting the bouquets on his porch))
[Hmong]
[Hmong]
Walt
Okay, just put them there.
Okay, metteteli lì. Oh, accidenti.
= [Okay, put them there. Oh, damn.]
Hmong women
[Hmong]
[Hmong]
Walt
Goodbye.
Arrivederci.
= [Goodbye.]

What is interesting to notice here is that the women speak at a fast pace in
Hmong (untranslated and unsubtitled in the original and in the Italian
dubbing) and Walt replies in English without really understanding what
they are saying.
Another significant instance occurs when, during a barbecue,
Walt sits among several Hmong women who take great delight in feeding
him different Hmong dishes. Walt makes some enthusiastic comments
about the food using his mother tongue while the women continue to
speak Hmong, without understanding what he is saying:

Example 29: Walt talks to Hmong women

Hmong women
[Hmong]
[Hmong]
Walt
Fantastic. Well, you ladies are wonderful.
Hmm. Buonissimo. Voi signore siete meravigliose.
= [Hmm. Very good. You ladies are wonderful.]
Hmong women
[Hmong]
[Hmong]
Walt
This stuff is really good.
Italian dubbing of code-switching in British and American films 155

Questa roba è squisita.

= [This stuff is delicious.]
Hmong women
[Hmong]
[Hmong]
Walt
Thank you very much but I have to go now. I have to go now. I’ll
be back. Now, don’t let anything go away.
Va bene. Vi ringrazio molto ma adesso – adesso devo proprio
andare. Però torno, non portate via niente.
= [Okay. I thank you very much but now – now I really have to go.
But I’ll come back, don’t take away anything.]

Throughout the whole dialogue, Hmong is left untranslated. This suggests

that a form of empathy is developing between the two parties, allowing
them to overcome language barriers.
In Spanglish, Spanish is maintained untranslated at the spoken
level but conveyed through open subtitles in the original version of the
film, in specific interactional contexts. Some instances regard intimate
conversations occurring between Flor and Cristina as expressing their
mutual affection:

Example 30: Cristina recollects memories of her childhood and in

particular a conversation with Flor
Cristina as a child
[Spanish] [Te quiero!]
[Spanish] [Te quiero!]
Cristina ((voice))
We were safe and happy.
Eravamo al sicuro e felici.
= [We were safe and happy.]
Cristina as a child
[Spanish] [Te quiero.]
[Spanish] [Te quiero.]
Flor
[Spanish] [Yo también te quiero, mi amor.]
[Spanish] [Yo también te quiero, mi amor.]

As can be noticed, in both the original and the Italian dubbed version Flor
and Cristina speak Spanish, reproduced on screen in writing in the form
of open subtitles.
Similar cases can be observed when Flor and her cousin Monica
comment upon specific situations they find themselves in, without being
either heard or understood by their American interlocutors:
156 Silvia Monti

Example 31: Cristina reports a conversation between Monica and

Flor
Monica
Okay.
Va bene.
= [Okay.]
Monica
[Spanish] [Que están atrás. Vente.]
[Spanish] [Que están atrás. Vente.]
Cristina ((voice))
Holding out had helped, though.
Ma aspettare era stato utile.
= [But waiting was useful.]
Monica
[Spanish] [Ándale, no mires. No te (matan)]
[Spanish] [Ándale, no mires. No te (matan)]
Cristina ((voice))
She was no longer intimidated.
Non era più intimidita.
= [She was no longer intimidated.]
Monica
[Spanish] [¿Lista?]
[Spanish] [¿Lista?]

This is yet another case in which the Spanish utterances are not translated
in either English or Italian, but simply reproduced through open subtitles.
Spoken Spanish is maintained and its meaning indicated in
English/Italian subtitles when the topic of short conversations taking
place at Flor’s is not crucial for the plot’s development, as can be seen in
the following exchange:

Example 32: Flor talks to Monica and a Hispanic man

Man
[Spanish] [¿Ahora qué le pasa?]
[Spanish] [¿Ahora qué le pasa?]
Flor to Monica
[Spanish] [Tengo que sacarla de allí.]
[Spanish] [Tengo que sacarla de allí.]
Monica to Flor
[Spanish] [¡Sí. Sí!]
[Spanish] [¡Sí. Sí!]
Monica
[Spanish] [Cuidado, eh? No pasa nada. Nada, va por la niña …]
[Spanish] [Cuidado, eh? No pasa nada. Nada, va por la niña …]
Italian dubbing of code-switching in British and American films 157

The entire conversation takes place in Spanish, which is not translated in

either the original or the Italian version.

2.5 Interpreting

A translation strategy adopted only in Spanglish and Gran Torino is

interpreting (Bleichenbacher, 2008), used with specific narrative aims to
point out how second-generation immigrants often act as a linguistic
bridge between their relatives and the Western world. Whereas in
Spanglish it is mostly Cristina who translates from Spanish into English
and vice versa, thus mediating between her mother, Flor, and the English-
speaking characters, in Gran Torino teenagers Thao and Sue often code-
switch between Hmong and English to allow communication between
their Hmong-only speaking mother and grandmother and Walt.
In Spanglish, one interesting case of interpreting can be observed
when Flor interacts with an American waitress and, in order to enable the
conversation to continue, Cristina has to translate into English/Italian
what the women say in their respective native languages:

Example 33: Flor and Cristina talk to a waitress

Waitress
Excuse me. Uh, those men would like to buy you a drink.
Scusatemi. Em, ci sono dei signori che vorrebbero offrirvi da bere.
= [Excuse me. Ehm, there are some men who would like to buy
you something to drink.]
Flor
[Spanish: ¿Qué?]
[Spanish: ¿Qué?]
Waitress ((points at someone))
Those.
Quelli.
= [Those.]
Cristina
[Spanish: Nos quieren comprar algo de tomar.]
[Spanish: Nos quieren comprar algo de tomar.]
Cristina to men
Thank you!
Grazie!
= [Thanks!]
Flor
[Spanish: No, gracias.]
[Spanish: No, gracias.]
Waitress
Okay.
158 Silvia Monti

Va bene.
= [Okay.]

Another instance of interpreting takes place during Flor’s interview with

Mrs Clasky, with her cousin Monica simultaneously switching from
Spanish into English/Italian and vice versa:

Example 34: Deborah talks to Flor and Monica translates into

Spanish for Flor what Deborah says
Deborah
So, the job is six days a week. Seven, eight, twelve hours, it
depends. All the housekeeping, driving the kids.
L’impegno è sei giorni a settimana. Sette, otto, dodici ore, dipende.
Tutte le faccende di casa, accompagnare i ragazzi.
= [The job is six days a week. Seven, eight, twelve hours, it
depends. All the housekeeping, driving the kids.]
Monica to Flor
[Spanish: Seis días a la semana. Siete, ocho, doce horas, depende.
Cuidar a la casa, llevar a los niños.]
[Spanish: Seis días a la semana. Siete, ocho, doce horas, depende.
Cuidar a la casa, llevar a los niños.]
Deborah
How much a week do you want?
Quanto vuoi alla settimana?
= [How much do you want a week?]
Monica to Flor
[Spanish: ¿Tú cuánto quieres?]
[Spanish: ¿Cuánto quieres?]
Flor
[Spanish: Ah, no no, lo, lo que Usted diga.]
[Spanish: Ah, no no no, como-como Usted crea.]
Monica
Whatever you say.
Quello che dice lei.
= [Whatever you say.]

The maintenance of code-switching between Spanish and English at the

spoken level also proves to be functional to the characterisation of the
film’s main protagonist, Flor, as well as to the faithful rendering of her
sense of estrangement in the American host society.
Similarly, interpreting functions as a crucial strategy to allow
mutual understanding when John and Flor argue and Cristina acts as an
interpreter between them:

Example 35: Flor talks to John and Cristina translates

Cristina to John
Italian dubbing of code-switching in British and American films 159

My mother wishes for me to represent exactly what she says

nothing else.
Mia madre vuole che traduca letteralmente quello che dice,
nient’altro.
= [My mother wants me to literally translate what you say, nothing
else.]
John
What?
Come?
= [What?]
Flor to John ((angrily))
[Spanish: ¿Puedo hablar con Usted?]
[Spanish: ¿Puedo hablar con Usted?]
Cristina to John
May I talk to you?
Posso parlarle?
= [May I talk to you?]
John
You mean your mother? Yeah. Sure. You can talk to me.
Vuoi dire tua madre? Sì. Certo. Puoi parlare con me.
= [Do you mean your mother? Yes. Of course. You can talk to
me.]
Flor ((angrily))
Spanish: ¿Y no me tengo que dormir primero?]
Spanish: ¿Y no me tengo que dormir primero?]
Cristina
I don’t have to sleep first?
E non devo dormire prima?
= [And don’t I have to sleep first?]
John
What's wrong? Come on, come on, sit down.
Che succede? Venite, andiamo, sedetevi.
= [What’s wrong? Come on, come on, sit down.]
Flor ((angrily))
[Spanish: ¿Usted diste este dinero a mi hija?]
[Spanish: ¿Usted diste este dinero a mi hija?]
Cristina
((in a low voice)) I’m sorry. ((angrily)) Did you give this money to
my daughter?
((in a low voice)) Mi dispiace. ((angrily)) Ha dato lei questi soldi a
mia figlia?
= [I’m sorry. Did you give this money to my daughter?]
John
Okay, I-I made a deal with the kids. All the kids.
Sì, senti. Io ho fatto un patto con lei e con tutti i bambini.
= [Yes, listen. I made a deal with her and with all the kids.]
160 Silvia Monti

Flor ((angrily))
[Spanish: ¡Oh, no! ¡Discúlpeme!]
[Spanish: ¡Oh, no! ¡Discúlpeme!]
Cristina
Oh no! Please!
Oh no, la prego!
= [Oh no, please!]

Here interpreting proves to be crucial in fulfilling the phatic function of

code-switching, usually enacted within conversations taking place in
familiar contexts and often involving feelings of anger or emotional
outbursts.
The strategy of interpreting is recurrently used in Gran Torino as
Sue usually takes on the role of interpreter between the Hmong elders and
her mother and grandmother in particular, and Walt. This can be seen in
Example 36:

Example 36: Kor Khue talks to Walt and Sue translates

Sue to Kor Khue
[Hmong]
[Hmong]
Kor Khue to Sue
[Hmong]
[Hmong]
Sue to Walt
Kor Khue is interested in you, he heard what you did. He would
like to read you. It’d be rude not to allow him this, it’s a great
honour.
Kor Khue è interessato a te. Ha saputo quello che hai fatto.
Vorrebbe leggerti. Sarebbe offensivo non accettare, è un grande
onore.
= [Kor Khue is interested in you. He heard what you did. He would
like to read you. It’d be rude not to accept, it’s a great honour.]
Walt
Yeah, sure, fine by me.
Ah certo, va bene per me.
= [Ah, sure, it’s okay for me.]
Kor Khue to Walt
[Hmong]
[Hmong]
Sue to Walt
He says that you think you’ve been disrespected. That people don’t
even look at you.
Dice che la gente non ti rispetta. Che non ti vuole neanche
guardare.
Italian dubbing of code-switching in British and American films 161

= [He says that people don’t respect you. That they don’t even
want to look at you.]
Kor Khue to Walt
[Hmong]
[Hmong]
Sue to Walt
He says that you do not live and your food has no flavour. You are
scared of your past.
Dice che nel tuo modo di vivere non c’è più sapore, che sei
preoccupato per la tua vita.
= [He says that in your lifestyle there is no flavour anymore, that
you are worried for your life.]

In this scene, Walt is at his neighbours’ house and interacts with the old
family Sciaman, Kor Khue, who “reads” Walt’s soul addressing him only
in Hmong, while Sue simultaneously translates what is said.
Another instance of translation by interpreting occurs when Vu,
Sue and Thao make amends for Thao’s trying to steal Walt’s Gran
Torino:

Example 37: Vu talks to Walt and Sue translates what her mother
says
Walt
What’s going on?
Che succede?
= [What’s wrong?]
Vu to Sue
[Hmong]
[Hmong]
Sue to Walt
Thao is here to make amends, he's here to work for you.
Thao è venuto a fare ammenda, a lavorare per te.
= [Thao has come to make amends, to work for you.]
Vu
[Hmong]
[Hmong]
Walt
No he’s not. How can he work for me?
Vuoi scherzare? Non ci penso nemmeno.
= [Are you joking? I don’t even think about it.]
Vu to Sue
[Hmong]
[Hmong]
Sue to Walt
My mum says that he dishonoured the family and now he has to
work off his debt. He’ll start tomorrow morning.
162 Silvia Monti

Mamma dice che lui ha disonorato la sua famiglia e ora deve

pagare il suo debito. Comincerà domattina.
= [Mum says he dishonoured his family and now he has to work
off his debt. He’ll start tomorrow morning.]

As Example 37 shows, Vu’s utterances are always in Hmong in both

versions, and are then translated by her daughter by means of turn-
specific code-switching.
In Gran Torino interpreting from Hmong into English/Italian is
sometimes enacted by a member of the third generation of Hmong
immigrants, as can be seen when an old Hmong man and his
granddaughter visit Walt to ask his permission to allow Thao to work for
them:

Example 38: Walt talks to an old man and his little granddaughter
Grandfather
Hello. [Hmong]
Salve. [Hmong]
= [Hi.]
Granddaughter
Grandpa says he want to know if you can have Thao clear out the
big wasp nest under our porch?
Il nonno dice che vuole sapere se puoi dire a Thao di levare il
grande nido di vespe che sta sotto il nostro portico.
= [Grandpa says that he wants to know if you can ask Thao to
clean out the big wasp nest under our porch?]
Walt
Wasp nest? That’s terrible. I think we can tell him sometime after
lunch.
Di vespe hai detto? Ma è terribile. Sì, beh, dì al nonno che si può
fare dopo pranzo.
= [Wasp nest, you said? But it’s terrible. Yes, tell your grandpa
that it can be done after lunch.]
Granddaughter
[Hmong]
[Hmong]
Grandfather
[Hmong]
[Hmong]

The old man greets Walt in English saying “Hello”, probably one of the
very few words he knows in this language, and then switches to Hmong
and his granddaughter translates what he says.
Italian dubbing of code-switching in British and American films 163

2.6 Voice-over

In Spanglish, in the scenes when the Spanish utterances are not directly
translated by means of interpreting, the strategy of voice-over proves to
be another effective way of conveying meaning in the instances of code-
switching (Freddi & Pavesi, 2009). Voice-over is used for Flor’s
emotional outbursts as well as within intimate conversations between
mother and daughter, as can be observed in the excerpt below:

Example 39: Flor talks to Cristina

Flor
[Spanish: No más una lágrima. No más una.]
[Spanish: No más una lágrima. No más una.]
Cristina ((voice))
One tear.
Una lacrima.
= [One tear.]
Flor
[Spanish: ¡Una!]
[Spanish: ¡Una!]
Cristina ((voice))
Just one.
Solo una.
= [Just one.]
Flor
[Spanish: Una, una, una.]
[Spanish: Una, una, una.]

The use of voice-over is particularly relevant in the final part of the film,
when code-switching is mainly connected to its emotive and phatic
functions. Flor addresses Cristina in Spanish, thus proving her mother
tongue to be a metalinguistic commentary on her socio-cultural identity
(Hua, 2008):

Example 40: Flor talks to Cristina

Flor
[Spanish: ¿Claro? Ahora entiendo lo que está pasando. ((sighs))
Hija siento que … que tengas que]
[Spanish: ¿Claro? Ahora entiendo lo que está pasando. ((sighs))
Hija siento que … que tengas que]
Cristina ((voice))
She expressed regret that she had to ask me to deal with the basic
question of my life at such a young age ...
Espresse il dispiacere di dovermi mettere di fronte alla domanda
fondamentale della mia vita così da piccola …
164 Silvia Monti

= [She expressed the regret of having to ask me the basic question

of my life when I was so young …]
Flor
[Spanish: Porque todavía eres una niña.]
[Spanish: Porque todavía eres una niña.]
Cristina ((voice))
And then she asked it.
E poi me lo chiese.
= [and then she asked me.]
Flor ((crying))
[Spanish: ¿Eso es tú lo que quieres para ti misma?]
[Spanish: ¿Eso es tú lo que quieres para ti misma?]
Cristina ((voice))
“Is what you want for yourself …”
“È questo che vuoi per te stessa?”
= [Is it this that you want for yourself?]
Flor ((crying))
[Spanish: Convertirte en alguien tan … ]
[Spanish: Convertirte en alguien tan … ]
Cristina ((voice))
“… to become someone very different ...”
“Diventare una persona tanto diversa …”
= [To become a person so different …]
Flor ((crying))
[Spanish: … diferente de mí?]
[Spanish: … tan diferente de mí?]
Cristina ((voice))
“… than me?”
“… da me?”
= [… from me?]

This is the last scene of the film and voice-over, enacted by Cristina
translating the Spanish utterances, always overlaps with the dialogue
between mother and daughter.

3. Conclusions

The comparative analysis of the original English and the Italian dubbed
version of these four films illustrates that, in the original versions the we-
code prevails in spoken exchanges, whereas the Italian dub uses different
translation strategies to deal with code-switching.
Overall, some instances of turn-specific and intersentential code-
switching are preserved at the spoken level and translated through open
subtitles in both versions, especially when they occur within generational
conflicts and private family conversations, whereas intrasentential code-
Italian dubbing of code-switching in British and American films 165

switching is mostly maintained unaltered in the cases of words connoted

by a high cultural specificity such as culinary and religious terms,
greetings and terms of affection.
In particular, what stands out is a different approach to the Italian
translation of code-switching in Bend It Like Beckham and Ae Fond Kiss,
on the one hand, and in Spanglish and Gran Torino, on the other. Indeed,
in Ae Fond Kiss and Bend It Like Beckham, the general tendency is to dub
Punjabi into spoken Italian through a process of socio-cultural adaptation
and domestication, except in the cases of intrasentential code-switching
whose maintenance in Italian leads to the creation of a specific trans-
ethnic common ground that both the source language audience and the
target language audience are made aware of. Dubbing the we-code leads
the defining ethno-cultural and linguistic features of the original films’
dialogues to be diluted almost to the point of neutralisation, obscuring the
films’ linguistic makeup and the role of code-switching in giving voice to
the immigrant families’ internal structures and relationships.
On the other hand, the Italian versions of Spanglish and Gran
Torino maintain most occurrences of spoken Spanish and Hmong to be
found in the original dialogues, thus guaranteeing a higher degree of
faithfulness to the American context’s linguistic and cultural nuances. In
Spanglish there are mostly instances of interpreting and voice-over,
whereas in Gran Torino both interpreting and the use of open subtitles
occur, even though a good proportion of Hmong lines are also left
untranslated and unsubtitled, especially when this doesn’t represent a
hindrance to the understanding of the filmic context. This peculiar “non-
translation” strategy, which is quite noteworthy especially in a country
such as Italy, where dubbing still seems to be the most common modality
of audiovisual transfer, preserves the vitality of the source language
dialogues carrying over the functions code-switching fulfils in the
original version.
Furthemore, in films characterised by a massive presence of code-
switching, such as Spanglish and Gran Torino, code-switching is mostly
maintained in the Italian dubbed versions as its elimination through
dubbing would completely overturn the films’ internal coherence. On the
other hand, in Ae Fond Kiss and Bend It Like Beckham, where the
presence of code-switching is less significant and mainly limited to
family conversations, the tendency in the Italian dub is to eliminate the
we-code, thus sticking to more traditional translation norms, even though
this has a detrimental effect on the films’ internal coherence.
To conclude, the translation or non-translation strategies most
commonly used in the films under discussion seem to highlight a new
trend that privileges a more faithful rendering of the otherness of foreign
languages and cultures. Code-switching gives vital clues about the
immigrant characters’ socio-linguistic hybrid identities and, as such, it is
a very important feature of the filmic text.
166 Silvia Monti

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_____________________________

1 This research is part of a wider international research investigation carried out at the
University of Pavia and entitled “English and Italian audiovisual language: translation and
language learning”, which focuses on the language of contemporary screen dialogue, film
translation and second language acquisition.

2 Aloo gobi is a dry dish in Indian and Pakistani cuisine made with aloo (potatoes) and gob(h)i
(cauliflower) and Indian spices.

3 Paneer tikka refers to bits of Indian cheese.

4 Dhania refers to coriander leaves.

5 Achar is a Hindi word for a variety of pickled condiments.

6 Langar is the name given to the free vegetarian meal served after a Sikh service.

7 Samosa refers to a small fried turnover of Indian origin that is filled with seasoned
vegetables or meat.
168 Silvia Monti

8 Chapattis refers to Indian flatbread, made of wheat flour, water, and salt.

9 Also known as “waffle balls”, it is made of dough, often including double cream and a little
flour in a sugar syrup flavoured with cardamom, rosewater or saffron.

10 In Examples 20, 21 and 22 the indication [Punjabi] refers to the spoken utterances in
Punjabi, whereas the lines in square brackets following it reproduce the open subtitles in
both the original and the Italian dubbed version.