Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate city audio guides in Italian and in English from a multimodal perspective, focusing on the use of music. The audio guide genre is here described as a ‘soundscape’ (Van Leeuwen, T. (1999). Speech, Music, Sounds. London: Macmillan.), i.e. a composite semiotic system characterised by speech, music, and sounds. A Corpus of fifty professional city audio guides in Italian and in English has been qualitatively investigated in order to determine how music can be distributed within the audio guide script, whether and how it intertwines with speech, and the effects it may produce on the listener. The results show that music may be used to serve several purposes, and highlight in particular the roles played by music when this is strictly relevant to the narration. Key differences in the use of music between audio guides in Italian and in English were identified and on the basis of these differences translation issues and implications for professionals in the field are addressed by listing a series of aspects that could be taken into account when producing English versions of Italian audio guides.
Appendix 1 – Types and distribution of music in the Italian audio guides
| Audio guide | Type of music | Distribution of music in the script | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrelated | Content-related | Beginning/end of each track | Between sections | In a few parts | In all/most of the tour | |
| Cagliari | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Catania | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Ferrara | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Firenze | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Genova | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Lecce | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Milano | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Modena | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Padova | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Rimini | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Sirmione | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Torino | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
Appendix 2 – Types and distribution of music in the British+Irish audio guides
| Audio guide | Type of music | Distribution of music in the tour | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrelated | Content-related | Intro/End | Beginning/end of each track | Between sections | In a few parts | In all/most of the script | |
| Bristol | ✓ | ✓ | |||||
| Cambridge | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Dublin | ✓ | ✓ | |||||
| Edinburgh New Town | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Edinburgh Royal Mile | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Glasgow | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Leicester | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| London by StrollOn | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Portsmouth | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Sligo | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Westminster and West End | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
Appendix 3 – Types and distribution of music in the American audio guides
| Audio guide | Type of music | Distribution of music in the tour | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrelated | Content-related | Intro/End | Beginning/end of each track | In a few parts | In all/most of the script | |
| Albany | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Chicago | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Denver | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Downtown Houston | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Elgin | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Greenwich Village | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Lexington | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| London by Rick Steves | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| New York NAT | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Philadelphia Constitutional | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Philadelphia by WelcomeWalks | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Washington National Mall | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Washington Capitol Hill | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Washington DC by Audioviator | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
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