As a literary and communicative device, personification is the projection of characteristics normally associated with human beings onto inanimate objects, animals, or forces of nature. These characteristics are perceived through action verbs, adjectives, and situations that belong exclusively to human beings, or through emotions and feelings ascribed to objects incapable of thinking. Their association with metaphor has been studied through cognitive or conceptual approaches related to body parts and nature (Steen et al., A method for linguistic metaphor identification, John Benjamins, 2010). Audio description (AD), as an intersemiotic translation of images into words, aims to help blind and partially sighted (BPS) people construct a mental image of what they cannot see by verbalizing the relevant visual components of an object (Reviers, J Spec Transl 26:232–247, 2016). In a previous study of museum AD (Luque and Soler, J Audiovis Transl 3:64–78, 2020), personification was found to be a recurrent tool, usually used in action verbs and adjectives to describe visual components. Thus, the distribution of word types that predominate in different types of film AD may differ from those used in traditional narrative films (Matamala and Remael, Transl Stud 8:63–81, 2015). This type of figurative language can help to translate visual images in a way that better engages users with the audiovisual product (Walczak and Fryer, Br J Vis Impair 35:6–17, 2017). In recent years, research trends in cultural accessibility, particularly in AD, have tended to emphasize creativity, subjectivity, and more artistic ways of translating the visual components of audiovisual and artistic products (Romero-Fresco and Chaume, J Spec Trans 75–101, 2022). This trend is evident in both museum and film AD (Soler Gallego, vol. 12769, 2021). Although there are differences between the source texts of audiovisual products and museum objects, museum AD and its characteristics can benefit from film AD and vice versa. Based on the museum AD approach to artistic creation and creative response, as well as the importance of using creative and interpretive language and theories of creative and subjective AD (Randaccio, Linguist Lit Stud 6:285–297, 2018), this chapter presents a study on the use of embodiment to translate highly artistic images into documentary audiovisual works. In particular, we present examples of works related to Spanish flamenco folklore dance, as well as documentary works related to nature. The scripts, created by the author, refer to previous studies on the use of personification in museum AD and address the possibility of using museum AD techniques in artistic and creative film or documentary scenes.

Personification and Creativity: The Use of Museum AD to Enhance Film AD

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发表日期：

2026年

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María Olalla Luque Colmenero

摘要

As a literary and communicative device, personification is the projection of characteristics normally associated with human beings onto inanimate objects, animals, or forces of nature. These characteristics are perceived through action verbs, adjectives, and situations that belong exclusively to human beings, or through emotions and feelings ascribed to objects incapable of thinking. Their association with metaphor has been studied through cognitive or conceptual approaches related to body parts and nature (Steen et al., A method for linguistic metaphor identification, John Benjamins, 2010). Audio description (AD), as an intersemiotic translation of images into words, aims to help blind and partially sighted (BPS) people construct a mental image of what they cannot see by verbalizing the relevant visual components of an object (Reviers, J Spec Transl 26:232–247, 2016). In a previous study of museum AD (Luque and Soler, J Audiovis Transl 3:64–78, 2020), personification was found to be a recurrent tool, usually used in action verbs and adjectives to describe visual components. Thus, the distribution of word types that predominate in different types of film AD may differ from those used in traditional narrative films (Matamala and Remael, Transl Stud 8:63–81, 2015). This type of figurative language can help to translate visual images in a way that better engages users with the audiovisual product (Walczak and Fryer, Br J Vis Impair 35:6–17, 2017). In recent years, research trends in cultural accessibility, particularly in AD, have tended to emphasize creativity, subjectivity, and more artistic ways of translating the visual components of audiovisual and artistic products (Romero-Fresco and Chaume, J Spec Trans 75–101, 2022). This trend is evident in both museum and film AD (Soler Gallego, vol. 12769, 2021). Although there are differences between the source texts of audiovisual products and museum objects, museum AD and its characteristics can benefit from film AD and vice versa. Based on the museum AD approach to artistic creation and creative response, as well as the importance of using creative and interpretive language and theories of creative and subjective AD (Randaccio, Linguist Lit Stud 6:285–297, 2018), this chapter presents a study on the use of embodiment to translate highly artistic images into documentary audiovisual works. In particular, we present examples of works related to Spanish flamenco folklore dance, as well as documentary works related to nature. The scripts, created by the author, refer to previous studies on the use of personification in museum AD and address the possibility of using museum AD techniques in artistic and creative film or documentary scenes.