TRANSLATION (5) LECTURE (3-2)

Subtitling

Eman Baghlaf

The medium imposes serious constraints on full text translation.

 One major obstacle is the limitations of the screen space. Each line, recorded on videotape, consists of approximately 40 characters or typographic spaces (letters, punctuation marks, numbers and word spaces).

 Another constraint is the duration of a subtitle, which depends on the quantity and complexity of the text, the speed of the dialogue, the average viewer's reading speed (150 to 180 words per minute), and the necessary intervals between subtitles. Taking into account various factors, the optimum display time has been estimated to be four seconds for one line and six to eight seconds for two lines. As a result, the subtitler often presents the source language dialogue or narration in condensed form.

 Loss or change of meaning also happens because the written text cannot transfer all the nuances of the spoken language. Other problems relate to the reception process. Unlike the printed page, the changing screen does not allow the viewer to re-read a line, which disappears in a few seconds.

 Audiences have to divide the viewing time between two different activities, reading the subtitles and watching the moving picture, and constantly interrelating them. Thus, subtitling has created not only a new form of translation, but also new reading processes and reading audiences.

The future of subtitling 1-Pivot subtitling 2-Personal subtitling

Pivot subtitling

It works as follows. A television film is subtitled from language A( typically English ) into language B ( Swedish). The subtitles are stored, with time-codes inserted, on a floppy disk. This disk is used for creating cheap spin- off versions in a number of target languages related to language B (for example Danish and Norwegian).

Personal subtitling

Here the viewer can choose not just between different target languages, but also between different styles or levels of subtitling.

To watch a foreign-language program, each viewer may select, for instance, one of the following options:  A no-subtitling option  Fast, uncondensed subtitling  Normal-speed subtitling  Subtitling for slow readers  Pictogram-supported subtitling for the deaf and hard of hearing  Subtitling in a domestic minority language  Foreign –learner subtitling in the source language.

How to subtitle

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You can use the following programs

Movie maker Subtitle workshop YouTube