Alice Kilpatrick
Wed 02 Dec 2015, 16:30 - 18:00
David Hume Towers Lecture Theaters, Lecture Hall A, University of Edinburgh

If you have a question about this talk, please contact: Hephzibah Israel (hisral)

All Welcome

Agustí Villaronga’s predominantly Catalan-language film Pa Negre [Black Bread] (2010) acclaimed within Spain and internationally, tells the story of one boy’s attempts to understand the dark and often violent world surrounding him in rural Catalonia in the post-Civil War era. The film, adapted from the 2003 novel by Emili Teixidor, deals with the loss of innocence, loss of ideals, and the eventual loss of the protagonist’s childhood self. 

The majority of the dialogue is in Catalan, with occasional scenes featuring Spanish. This paper will examine the role of language, and specifically of the shifts between Catalan and Spanish, in establishing the film’s themes and characterisation. With reference to the English subtitled version, I will discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of various subtitling strategies for bringing these themes to light in translation.

Alice Kilpatrick, PhD Candidate, University of Edinburgh