Change in Meaning in the Swedish Dub of Spirited Away : A translation study on dubbing using a pivot language

Abstract: This paper aims to study the results of dubbing from Japanese to Swedish using a pivot language. The author examines the Swedish dubbed version of the Japanese animated film Spirited Away by comparing it to the original version and finding differences in what in-formation is conveyed through the dialogue. Because the Swedish dubbed version has been translated using the English language script as a base, the English dubbed version is also examined. The findings are then presented, categorized and analysed according to where the changes have appeared and what they consist of. Finally, the results are dis-cussed and compared to previous findings in the field. The study finds how many lines of dialogue have been altered, and that the use of a pivot language has greatly increased the number of altered lines, although no proof was found of an increased amount of mistrans-lations. The increased amount of altered lines leads to the conclusion that the usage of a pivot language can be problematic.