1887
image of Mediated spectatorial views in the arts and beyond
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

As concise self-contained units of meaning at the interface of artworks and their publics, artwork titles give important insights into what is at stake in mediation in transcultural settings, under particular contextual conditions: stable visual input with cross-over of languages and cultures, and thus activation of multiple frames of reference and expectations for audiences. They are revealing microcosms of morphosyntactic, lexical and pragmalinguistic triggers of spectatorial responses. Implications extend to other mediation forms with similarly unique but more complex characteristics, like interlingual subtitling. Artwork titles are used here to identify features of mediation in these distinct forms of expression, from a cross-cultural pragmatics perspective with an underpinning from systemic functional linguistics (SFL). Implications are taken up with the more challenging case of interlingual subtitles.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/target.24139.gui
2026-01-29
2026-02-17
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Belke, Benno, Helmut Leder, Tilo Strobach, and Claus Christian Carbon
    2010 “Cognitive Fluency: High-level Processing Dynamics in Art Appreciation.” Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts: –. 10.1037/a0019648
    https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019648 [Google Scholar]
  2. Franklin, Margery, Robert Becklen, and Charlotte Doyle
    1993 “The Influence of Titles on How Paintings Are Seen.” Leonardo (): –. 10.2307/1575894
    https://doi.org/10.2307/1575894 [Google Scholar]
  3. Gambier, Yves
    2020 “Book review of: Venuti, L. (2019). Contra Instrumentalism. A Translation Polemic.” Parallèles (): –.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Gerger, Gernot, and Helmut Leder
    2015 “Titles Change the Esthetic Appreciations of Paintings.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience: . 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00464
    https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00464 [Google Scholar]
  5. Gosse, André, and Maurice Grévisse
    2016Le Bon usage [Correct usage]. 16th ed.Louvain la Neuve: DeBoek.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Guillot, Marie-Noëlle
    2007 “Oral et illusion d’oral: Indices d’oralité dans les sous-titres de dialogues de film [Oral and illusion of oral: Orality cues in film dialogues’ subtitles].” Meta (): –. 10.7202/016068ar
    https://doi.org/10.7202/016068ar [Google Scholar]
  7. 2014 “Cross-Cultural Pragmatics and Translation: The Case of Museum Texts as Interlingual Representation.” InTranslation: A Multidisciplinary Approach, edited byJuliane House, –. London: Palgrave Macmillan. 10.1057/9781137025487_5
    https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137025487_5 [Google Scholar]
  8. 2019 “Subtitling’s Cross-Cultural Expressivity Put to the Test: A Cross-sectional Study of Linguistic and Cultural Representation across Romance and Germanic Languages.” InAudiovisual Translation as Intercultural Mediation, edited byMarie-Noëlle Guillot, Maria Pavesi, and Louisa Desilla, special issue ofMultilingua (): –. 10.1515/multi‑2018‑0116
    https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2018-0116 [Google Scholar]
  9. 2020 “The Pragmatics of Audiovisual Translation: Voices from within in Film Subtitling.” Journal of Pragmatics: –. 10.1016/j.pragma.2020.09.015
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2020.09.015 [Google Scholar]
  10. Halliday, Michael A. K.
    1987 “Spoken and Written Modes of Meaning.” InComprehending Oral and Written Language, edited byRosalind Horowitz and S. Jay Samuels, –. London: Academic Press. 10.1163/9789004653436_006
    https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004653436_006 [Google Scholar]
  11. 1994An Introduction to Functional Grammar. London: Arnold.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Halliday, Michael A. K., and Christian M. I. M. Matthiessen
    2014Halliday’s Introduction to Functional Grammar. 4th ed.London: Routledge. 10.4324/9780203783771
    https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203783771 [Google Scholar]
  13. House, Juliane
    2006 “Communicative Styles in English and German.” European Journal of English Studies (): –. 10.1080/13825570600967721
    https://doi.org/10.1080/13825570600967721 [Google Scholar]
  14. Jiang, Chengzhi
    2012 “Visual Pragmatic Effects of Distance Representation in Bilingual Museum Catalogue Entries of Chinese Landscape Paintings.” Journal of Pragmatics (): –. 10.1016/j.pragma.2012.07.002
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2012.07.002 [Google Scholar]
  15. Jiang, Chengzhi, and Chunshen Zhu
    2018 “Bilingual and Intersemiotic Representation of Distance(s) in Chinese Landscape Painting: From yi (‘meaning’) to yi (‘freedom’).” Semiotica: –. 10.1515/sem‑2016‑0226
    https://doi.org/10.1515/sem-2016-0226 [Google Scholar]
  16. Leder, Helmut, Benno Belke, Andres Oeberst, and Dorothee Augustin
    2004 “A Model of Aesthetic Appreciation and Aesthetic Judgements.” British Journal of Psychology: –. 10.1348/0007126042369811
    https://doi.org/10.1348/0007126042369811 [Google Scholar]
  17. Levinson, Jerrold
    1985 “Titles.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism (): –. 10.2307/430537
    https://doi.org/10.2307/430537 [Google Scholar]
  18. Liao, Min-Hsiu
    2018 “Museums and Creative Industries: The Contribution of Translation Studies.” The Journal of Specialised Translation: –. www.jostrans.org/issue29/art_liao.php. 10.26034/cm.jostrans.2018.211
    https://doi.org/10.26034/cm.jostrans.2018.211 [Google Scholar]
  19. Martin, F. David
    1966 “Naming Paintings.” Art Journal (): –. 10.1080/00043249.1966.10794281
    https://doi.org/10.1080/00043249.1966.10794281 [Google Scholar]
  20. Neather, Robert
    2005 “Translating the Museum: On Translation and (Cross-)Cultural Presentation in Contemporary China.” IATISYearbook: –.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. 2008 “Translating Tea: On the Semiotics of Interlingual Practice in the Hong Kong Museum of Tea Ware.” Meta (): –. 10.7202/017984ar
    https://doi.org/10.7202/017984ar [Google Scholar]
  22. 2018 “Museums, Material Culture, and Cultural Representations.” InThe Routledge Handbook of Translation and Culture, edited bySue-Ann Harding and Ovidi Carbonell Cortés, –. Abingdon: Routledge. 10.4324/9781315670898‑20
    https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315670898-20 [Google Scholar]
  23. 2020 “Museums as Translation Zones.” InThe Routledge Handbook of Translation and Globalisation, edited byEsperança Bielsa and Dionysios Kapsaskis, –. London: Routledge. 10.4324/9781003121848‑25
    https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003121848-25 [Google Scholar]
  24. Pavesi, Maria, and Maicol Formentelli
    2019 “Comparing Insults across Languages in Films: Dubbing as Cross-cultural Mediation.” Multilingua (): –. 10.1515/multi‑2018‑0124
    https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2018-0124 [Google Scholar]
  25. Ravelli, Louise
    2006Museum Texts: Communication Frameworks. Abingdon: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Reber, Rolf, Norbert Schwarz, and Piotr Winkielman
    2004 “Processing Fluency and Aesthetic Pleasure: Is Beauty in the Perceiver’s Processing Experience?” Personality and Social Psychology Review (): –. 10.1207/s15327957pspr0804_3
    https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr0804_3 [Google Scholar]
  27. Sturge, Kate
    2007Representing Others: Translation, Ethnography and Museum. Abingdon: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Venuti, Lawrence
    2019Contra Instrumentalism: A Translation Polemic. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. 10.2307/j.ctvgc62bf
    https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvgc62bf [Google Scholar]
  29. Swami, Viren
    2013 “Context Matters: Investigating the Impact of Contextual Information on Aesthetic Appreciation of Paintings by Marx Ernst and Pablo Picasso.” Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts: –. 10.1037/a0030965
    https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030965 [Google Scholar]
  30. Szubielska, Magdalena, Joanna Ganczarek, Karolina Pietras, and Anna Stolińska
    2021 “The Impact of Ambiguity in the Image and Title on the Liking and Understanding of Contemporary Paintings.” Poetics: 101537. 10.1016/j.poetic.2021.101537
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2021.101537 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/target.24139.gui
Loading
/content/journals/10.1075/target.24139.gui
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keywords: artwork titles ; film subtitles ; transcultural mediation ; spectatorial responses ; Venuti
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error