Pronunciation of foreign proper names in Hungarian dubbing

Attitudes and experiences of voice actors

Abstract

Pronunciation of foreign proper names in Hungarian dubbing
Attitudes and experiences of voice actors

The paper investigates Hungarian voice actors’ attitudes to the language quality of texts they have to read for dubbing and narrating foreign language audiovisual products as part of an overall study that is theoretically and practically supported by the most popular voice actors of present-day Hungary and the trade union of Hungarian voice actors. Besides summarizing some general results, the study focuses on a research topic emphasized by many participants: the problems of the pronunciation of foreign proper names in Hungarian dubbing and narration. The results are based on survey answers from 69 Hungarian voice actors with different personal and professional backgrounds. The participants name many factors that affect the final quality of the products and reveal many negative examples of topics presented in the paper. Since most foreign language audiovisual products released for Hungarian television, cinemas, film theatres, and even to the Hungarian consumers of online streaming services are dubbed or narrated in Hungarian, and this being the only accessible way of watching these products for most people, the quality of their language should be studied, regardless of the dichotomy of attitudes on watching audiovisual products in Hungarian or original (or other) languages. The results and the dissemination of these can help develop a quality assurance system for Hungarian dubbing that serves many millions of consumers.