Audiovisual translation ix stations (cf. Gambier 2003 and Agost in this volume).
Barcelona is the capital city of Catalonia, one of the many Spanish communities which has its own o? cial language spoken by over 6,000,000 speakers, sharing the status of bilingualism along with Spanish. Hence Catalan cinemas oYer sometimes dubbed and subtitled versions of the same ? lm in both Catalan and Spanish.
TV and radio is also broadcast in both Spanish and Catalan and the same applies to all audiovisual and multimedia material. Because of the bilingual nature of Catalan speakers, it seems to make sense to centralize all the production and postproduction of audiovisual material for both Spanish and Catalan in Barcelona.
The birth of new TV channels broadcasting in Catalan — City TV, BTV, Flax, etc — has increased the demand for dubbing, subtitling and voice-over in Catalan, and has also opened the possibility of work to any translator — even to those who are not in possession of a certi? cation issued by the o? cial Catalan TV corporation TV-3 (as explained in Rosa Agost’s contribution in this book).
Barcelona oYers an excellent location for gathering data for AVT research and also for teaching AVT in the traditional and the new online formats (see Amador, Dorado and Orero’s article in this volume).
Media accessibility, after the 2003 Athens Declaration on accessibility, will soon mean a thriving ? eld at both academic and professional levels, and Barcelona is also the place where most subtitling for the deaf and hard of hearing is broadcast with 56% of the total of hours broadcast in Spain. The contents of this book reflect not only the “state of the art” research and teaching of AVT, but also the professionals’ experiences.
The Coursework on Statement Of Purpose For Study Abroad barcelona
Statement of Purpose for Study Abroad (Barcelona) The country that attracts me most of all is Spain. I wish to study in Barcelona because it is the city with the richest medieval history, culture and traditions in education. Barcelona is one of the Europeans cities where plenty of educational institutions are concentrated. For example, this city is famous for such institutions of higher educations ...
I think — as do many of those who have contributed to this book — that research in AVT should take the many variables surrounding audiovisual translations into account. In this sense AVT is an answer to Gambier and Gottlieb’s comment which I quoted at the beginning of this introduction “to scholars from various disciplines” . The book is organised in ? ve parts (1) Professional perspectives; (2) AVT Theory; (3) Ideology and AVT; (4) Teaching AVT and (5) AVT Research. The articles in the ? rst part are put forward by professionals from their experience with Xenia Martinez describing the many stages in the process of dubbing in Spain.
And although those working in this process form a team, their work tends to be carried out on an individual basis. Diana Sanchez’s contribution brings to our attention the lack of a standardised method or procedure for subtitling. She describes the four strategies used in her company along with the advantages and pitfalls.
The second part of the book is dedicated to theory. Jorge Diaz Cintas analyses the validity and functionality of a series of concepts that have been x Topics in Audiovisual Translation articulated within the theoretical framework loosely known as Descriptive Translation Studies and applies them to the ?eld of audiovisual translation setting the framework for future publications. In his article, Frederic Chaume studies synchronisation from all perspectives.
It includes a historical account of translation theory approaches, and a translational approach — analysing the characteristics grouped by genres and text types, languages and cultures, professional context, and viewer. It also deals with an educational approach encouraging the inclusion of synchrony when training translators in the ? eld of AVT. Eduard Bartoll presents a comprehensive classi? cation of subtitles taking into account previous studies by Luyken, Ivarsson, Gottlieb and Diaz Cintas.
The article establishes new parameters which will encompass the wide range of existing subtitles in today’s subtitling industry. The third part of the book is from distant realities: Rosa Agost gives a general outline of dubbing practice in Spain. She examines the external considerations that condition these translations, the intervening factors, and how, sometimes, models of translation can become models of language.
The Essay on Part Of The Book Jason Cindy Karen
The book I read was Spellbound by Christopher Pike. In this book, a teenage girl named Karen Holly, was killed at the top of a nearby mountain with her skull smashed in. The only witness to this horrible murder was her boyfriend Jason Whitfield who said that a grizzly bear killed her and scratched him across the face when he tried to stop the bear by hitting it with a stick. He later goes to the ...
She also considers the diverse positions opted for by translators when facing a particular translation, from the viewpoint of the relevance they attribute to linguistic and cultural aspects of the original language in relation to the target one. Henrik Gottlieb’s contribution analyses the political implication of subtitling from both academic and market perspectives concluding with the need to reach a consensus, especially where money is concerned. He presents the vicious circle of TV stations buying U. S. , British and Australian productions which are aYordable, and cheaper than domestic productions.
These remain di? cult to export because neighbouring countries keep ? lling their shelves with anglophone imports. Until this circle is broken, it will be di? cult to achieve linguistic and cultural diversity. The fourth part deals with AVT teaching. Aline Remael’s contribution draws attention to the study of ? lm dialogue from the perspective of AVT. She shows how future subtitlers would bene? t greatly from spending more time and eYort on the analysis of ? lm narrative, and in particular on the study of ? lm dialogue.
In her collaboration Joselia Neves describes how students attending subtitling courses gained skills and language awareness that were reflected in their performance in other courses and activities. This is due to the junction of two elements — translation and audiovisuals — that have been accepted as assets to language learning in general; and to the fact that subtitling calls for an enormous variety of skills that can be improved through well staged activities covering the diYerent steps of the subtitling process. Miquel Amador, Audiovisual translation xi Carles Dorado and Pilar Orero present the on-line postgraduate course environment.
The new teaching format, against much scepticism, works well and the detailed description of the teaching strategies and functions in this article aims to show its adequacy. The last part of the book is dedicated to AVT research, Francesca Bartrina analyzes ? ve possible areas of research for Audiovisual Translation which focus on the translated product. These areas have as their starting points, respectively, the study of the screenplay, ? lm adaptation, audience design, pragmatics and Polysystem Theory. Yves Gambier’s article describes an area of research which is fascinating; the many shapes and directions which ?
The Essay on The Development Of Machine Translation
Abstract The information age has promoted the development of machine translation, but also for its higher requirements. Machine translation in experienced “Loyalty” is not ideal. The article attempts to machine translation researchers mention that recommended that Context and culture.The Context consider contribute little strength of the study, with a view to the development of machine ...
lm adaptation can take, and his proposed term: tradaptation. From a case study, the many shifts and changes, transformations and adaptations are analyzed. Eva Espasa’s article on the documentary is a much needed contribution in the ? eld of Audiovisual Translation. She analyses the documentary as a hybrid protean genre within Film Studies, and works through the article towards a description which can be taken on board when researching in the ? eld of Audiovisual Translation. This description is worked while focusing on two myths popularly associated with documentaries: a documentary is not a ?
lm, and a documentary translation is not speci? cally audiovisual. Its focus on issues such as the ? ctional/ non-? ctional nature of documentaries, or its translation mode as separate from audiovisual, the documentary mode of discourse, ? eld, translation modes, textual functions and audience, makes this article a blueprint on documentary translation for future research. Vera Santiago’s article presents a brief description of the closed subtitling system used in Brazil, concluding that some adjustments are required for it to be tailored to the needs of the country’s deaf community.
I hope this book will help to settle a few matters and ? x some terminology and parameters valid for Audiovisual Translation. I don’t think there is any longer a need to justify the inclusion of Audiovisual Translation within the ? eld of Translation Studies on its own merits — the 2004 London Conference amply proves the point. We are now in a fast shifting technical audiovisual society, which started at the end of the nineteenth-century, and Audiovisual Translation Studies should be the academic ? eld which studies the new reality of a society which is media-oriented.
I would like to express my gratitude to Gideon Toury and Isja Conen, Benjamins’ advisor and editor respectively for their encouragement and hard work. To Henrik Gottlieb and Yves Gambier for their interest, advice, and support. To Jorge Diaz Cintas and Diana Sanchez for all their moral and xii Topics in Audiovisual Translation earthly help. To John Macarthy for his translations. And to all the contributors for their faith and enthusiasm. I must also mention the 2001/2 students of the Postgraduate Course at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona who were the catalyst for this volume. Pilar Orero, Barcelona, 20th May 2004.
The Essay on Drama Translation
In general, translation is “rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the way that the author intended the text. ” (Newmark 1988, p. 5) However, the mission of a translator of a dramatic work is slightly different from any other literary piece. A dramatic text is written in order to be performed on stage. The translator of such a text has therefore to bear in mind that the readers ( ...
Note 1. See Gambier (2003: 171–177) for a detailed classi? cation of audiovisual translation. References Baker, Mona & Brano Hochel. 1998. “Dubbing”. In Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, ed. Mona Baker. London: Routledge: 74–76. Delabastita, Dirk. 1989. “Translation and Mass-Communication: Film and TV Translation as Evidence of Cultural Dynamics”. Babel 35 (4): 193–218. Diaz Cintas, Jorge. 1997. El subtitulado en tanto que modalidad de traduccion filmica dentro del marco teorico de los Estudios sobre Traduccion. Published in micro? ches Universitat de Valencia 1998 n? 345–28. Diaz Cintas, Jorge.
1998. “La labor subtituladora en tanto que instancia de traduccion subordinada”. In Orero, Pilar (ed. ) Actes del III Congres Internacional sobre Traduccio. Bellaterra: Servei de Publicacions de la Universitat Autonoma: 83–89. Dries, Josephine. 1995. Dubbing and Subtitling: Guidelines for Production and Distribution. Manchester: The European Institute for the Media. Gambier, Yves. 2003. “Screen Transadaptation: Perception and Reception”. The Translator 9 (2): 171–189. Gambier, Yves and Henrik Gottlieb (eds) 2001. (Multi)Media Translation. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Lecuona Lerchundi, Lourdes.
1994. “Entre el doblaje y la subtitulacion: la interpretacion simultanea en el cine”. In Eguiluz Ortiz de Latierro, Federico; Raquel Merino Alvarez; Vickie Olsen; Eterio Pajares Infante and Jose Miguel Santamaria (eds).
Transvases culturales: literatura, cine, traduccion: 279–286. Lorenzo Garcia, Lourdes and Ana Maria Pereira Rodriguez (eds) 2000. Traduccion subordinada: El doblaje (ingles-espanol/galego).
Vigo: Servicio de Publicacions Universidade de Vigo. Lorenzo Garcia, Lourdes and Ana Maria Pereira Rodriguez (eds) 2001. Traduccion subordinada: El subtitulado (ingles-espanol/galego).
The Research paper on Domestication and Foreignization in Translation 2
1.Definitions of Domesticationa and Foreignization Domestication refers to the target-culture-oriented translation in which unusual expressions to the target culture are exploited and turned into some familiar ones so as to make the translated text intelligible and easy for the target readers. Foreignization is a source-culture-oriented translation which strives to preserve the foreign flavor as ...
Vigo: Servicio de Publicacions Universidade de Vigo. Luyken, Georg-Michael et al. 1991. Overcoming Language Barriers in Television. Manchester: The European Institute for the Media. Audiovisual translation xiii Mason, Ian. 1989. “Speaker meaning and reader meaning; preserving coherence in Screen Translating”. En Kolmel, Rainer and Jerry Payne (eds) Babel. The Cultural and Linguistic Barriers between Nations. Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press: 13–24. Mayoral Asensio, Roberto. 1984. “La traduccion y el cine. El subtitulo”. Babel: revista de los estudiantes de la EUTI 2: 16–26.
Mayoral Asensio, Roberto. 1993. “La traduccion cinematogra? ca: el subtitulado”. Sendebar 4: 45–68. Rabadan Alvarez, Rosa. 1991. Equivalencia y Traduccion: Problematica de la Equivalencia Translemica Ingles-Espanol. Leon: Universidad de Leon, Secretariado de Publicaciones. Shuttleworth, Mark and Moira Cowie. 1997. Dictionary of Translation Studies. Mancheter: St. Jerome. Snell-Hornby, Mary. 1988. Translation Studies. An Integral Approach. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Titford, Christopher. 1992. “Sub-titling: Constrained Translation”. Lebende Sprachen 37 (3): 113–166. 1. Professional perspectives.
Film dubbing Its process and translation Xenia Martinez DigitSound, Barcelona, Spain Film script translation for the purposes of dubbing is one of the most peculiar disciplines within the ? eld of translation. For one thing, the text delivered by the translator is not de? nitive, indeed it is not even one of the ? nal phases of the overall project. The translator produces a text which will serve as the starting point for a lengthy and complex process during which the text will pass through many hands and operations, which may be more or less respectful of the original translation.
The audiovisual dubbing process comprises several closely linked phases, which must follow an established order and rhythm, something akin to a production line. If one of these phases is delayed or runs into problems the entire line may be aYected. Also, so many diYerent people are involved that problems do tend to occur. Although the main steps of the dubbing process are basically the same everywhere, it may change depending on the country, even depending on the studio. In this text we will analyse the Spanish reality in general and the Catalan in particular, which may, to a greater or lesser extent, diYer from that found in other countries.
The Essay on Subtitling: Translation and Subtitles
A subtitle is a textual version of what is said onscreen; often used in foreign movies to translate languages or in science fiction films to translate a lost or imaginary language to real language. To begin, the subtitler should have the film on media (VHS, DVD, etc. ), a copy of the production and, if possible, a copy of the dialogue list. Everything in the film should be subtitled. Even road ...
The dubbing preproduction process starts when the client, usually a television station, programme producer or distributor, sends a copy of the ? lm or programme to the dubbing studio. Normally, this copy, known as the master, comes accompanied by the original script to facilitate translation, and by a set of instructions on such issues as, for example, whether songs are to be dubbed, whether screen inserts are to be subtitled, and whether certain dubbing actors should take certain roles, and so on. The head of production sends a copy of all the material received to the translator, who is almost always independent of the dubbing studio.
The 4 Xenia Martinez translator usually works from two originals, the ? lm itself and the written script. Very often however, the written text can be quite diYerent from the actual ? lm; this may be because the script is the preproduction copy as opposed to the de? nitive, or because it is a less than perfect transcription. In other words, the translator may receive an incomplete script, one which diYers from the original or, in some cases, no script at all, in which case he or she will work exclusively from the ? lm.
Once the translation is complete, it is usually, though not always, sent to a proof-reader. Some television stations and distributors have their own readers and language specialists and this revision phase is a sine qua non; others however, may dispense with it entirely. The next phase is synchronisation of the translated dialogue so that it matches the actors’ mouth movements and the other images as closely as possible. Sometimes, it is the translator or proof-reader who carries out the synchronisation, although very often it may fall to an actor or the dubbing director.
The synchroniser, like the proof-reader, must try to ensure that the modi? cations do not stray too far from the meaning of the original text; he may have to eliminate super¶uous information or add additional sound eYects, such as the background noise for a football match or a hospital emergency ward. Once synchronised, the text now goes to the production department, where it will be given the ? nal touches before dubbing work per se begins. This phase consists of physical preparation of the translated and synchronised script so as to facilitate dubbing.
Depending on the type of product — whether a ? lm, a series or documentary — there may be some variations, but the process is basically the same. The production assistant ? rst divides the text into takes, i. e. , segments of up to eight lines when there is more than one participant, and up to ? ve when there is only one, in accordance with agreed procedure. Also, when the scene changes, the take ends no matter how short it is. The TCR (Time Code Record), which appears on the screen, is noted at the start of each take and the takes are numbered.
Then a chart is drawn up setting out how many takes each character appears in, the actor who is to dub the character’s voice — a decision usually taken by the dubbing director — and how the takes are to be organised into dubbing sessions, i. e. , when each actor has to come in and for how long. Organising a dubbing session is a sort of jigsaw puzzle, and calls for a distribution of takes and actors into general sessions so as to complete the dubbing work in the minimum time and at minimum cost.
There are many factors conditioning the dubbing session, including whether the recording room is available or not, whether the actors are available or not, the actual di? culty of the takes, etc. Film dubbing 5 Once all the sessions have been organised, the assistant draws up a schedule, which serves as a guide to the director; setting out the time when each actor will arrive, the character he or she is to dub and the takes to be recorded. On occasion, especially for ? lms, the client asks for voice samples from two or three dubbing actors for given characters in the ?
lm, and then choose the one they ? nd most suitable. On the day of the dubbing session, the director, with all the material now in the recording room, tells the actors the characters they are going to dub and how he wants them to do it. The director’s task, in addition to supervising the actors’ performance and avoiding all errors, especially errors of pronunciation or content, is to ensure that all the planned takes are dubbed, leaving no loose ends for later. In dubbing into Catalan, before the dubbed product is sent to the Catalan television channel TV-3, it has to receive another language check.
If there are any errors, the particular fragment in which they occur has to be re-recorded. Now the only remaining task is to add in subtitles to the dubbed material, should there be any, and to carry out the ? nal mix, that is, coordination and ? ne-tuning of the image and sound between the various channels on which the dubbed voices have been recorded. The dubbing process is highly complex then, and involves a great many factors. It is virtually inevitable that the translation initially delivered by the translator will undergo modi? cations.
Indeed, audiovisual translation is probably the discipline in which the text undergoes most change from start to ? nish. All the stages of the process involve manipulation to some extent of the text submitted by the translator. As already pointed out, after the translator submits the completed translation, the text may be sent to a proof-reader and then may undergo synchronisation. These two phases involve modi? cations of the text, which sometimes may be necessary and sometimes not particularly so. It must also be borne in mind that in most cases, neither the proof-reader nor the synchroniser understand the original language.
As a result, there is a risk that the changes introduced may diYer from the original text. It could be said that form is a priority in both cases, while content receives rather less attention. Examples of the changes that may be made by the proof-reader or synchroniser include such simple changes as replacing “per favor” (please) with “sisplau” so as to have the p of “sisplau” coincide with the p of the original “please” and eliminating the fricative f of “per favor”. Another example is the English phrase “what do you think? ”, which can be translated in several diYerent ways: “Que en penses?
”, “Que et sembla? ”, etc. However, the synchroniser will probably opt for “Que me’n dius? ”, to make the English th coincide with the ? nal d and 6 Xenia Martinez i of “dius”. Similarly, the most natural translation of the English “Don’t talk like a fool” would probably be “No diguis bestieses”; however, a version such as “No siguis ridicul” (don’t be ridiculous) would echo the last syllable of the original without any signi? cant change in meaning. On occasions, as pointed out earlier, information is lost for the sake of synchronisation, as for example, in translation of the exchange “How did they meet?
— They’re both commuters. ” The most appropriate option is probably, “Com es van coneixer? — Viatjant en autobus. ” [literally, “How did they meet? — travelling by bus. ”] or De que es coneixen? — D’anar en metro. ” [literally, “What do they know each other from? — From the metro. ”] However, whatever solution opted for, the original sense of “commuter” cannot be fully maintained, i. e. , a person who travels to work every day, probably on public transport. When proof-reading and synchronisation is complete, the following step is dividing the text into takes.
Of all the stages in the process, this is undoubtedly the one which most respects the text in terms of content, despite the fact that in physical terms it is systematically broken down into segments. In theory, there need not be any modi? cation of the translated text at this phase since the text is accepted and worked on as a complete unit, without analysis of quality or appropriateness.
Although, again the person in charge of marking the takes is unlikely to understand the original language of the ? lm, this is the phase in which most formal errors can be detected — omissions by the translator, mismatch between text and image, etc.
— and, if the assistant does understand the original, errors of content may also be detected. Any error detected will lead to yet further modi? cation of the text. An example of the kind of error that could be detected at this stage is translation of “I’ll go and get the glasses” as “Vaig a buscar les ulleres” (literally, I’ll go and get my spectacles), while the image clearly shows that it is drinking glasses that are in question. Such ambiguity in the source language can lead to many translation errors, especially if the translator has not been given a copy of the ?
lm or has not paid su? cient attention to it. The text may also be modi? ed during the ? nal dubbing phase; if synchronisation was not carried out by the director, he may wish to make certain minor changes in keeping with personal taste or because there are errors. In addition, the actors may also change the text, through improvisation or because of di? culties with a given phrase or word, such as for example, the double l found in the combination “modul lunar”, or the repetition of the same s sound in “una ascensio sensacional.
” However, all changes are subject to the director’s approval. Film dubbing 7 In conclusion, audiovisual programme dubbing is a highly complex process comprising many stages. And although those working in this process form a team, their work tends to be carried out on an individual basis. Particularly unusual is the way the product of the translator’s work is often not the ? nal product but a sort of draft version which is polished and adjusted to the needs and demands of the medium. Subtitling methods and team-translation Diana Sanchez Imaginables SCCL, Barcelona, Spain 1. Introduction
Since 1999 I have worked as a subtitle translator and editor at Imaginables, a small subtitling company based in Barcelona. The bulk of our subtitling is done into Castillian or Catalan from English, though we also work from Spanish into English and to and from various other languages, including French, German, Portuguese and Italian. Within the subtitling world, methods and procedures vary considerably according to studio and/or client. Standard procedure is not a term which is really applicable to this ? eld and most studios would seem to have developed and honed their own procedures over the years.
My own experience of subtitling can be classi? ed into four main methods, which will be outlined below. In a world where technology is constantly advancing, studios must be ¶exible enough to adjust their services and their strategies to the needs of the client. Here, I will attempt to analyse the advantages and pitfalls of the four strategies I have identi? ed in the light of problems arising from developments in DVD and satellite broadcasting. As the lack of standardisation in subtitling extends to terminology, I will use the terms we employ in-house to describe what we do.
Pre-translation: Adaptation: TC-in / TC-out: Coding or Spotting: LTC: VITC: Simulation: Translation of dialogue list before creation of subtitles. Separation and adjustment of pre-translated text into subtitle units. The time code at which a subtitle begins and ends. Capturing of TC-in and TC-out for all subtitles. Linear Time Code, carried on an audio channel. Vertical Interval Time Code, carried in the image within the interval between frames. Screening of ? lm with completed subtitles. 10 Diana Sanchez Import: Export: Transformation of adapted text into subtitle format.
Transformation of subtitles into text format. 2. The four subtitling methods The four methods I have identi? ed are as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. Pre-translation – Adaptation – Spotting Pre-translation – Spotting – Adaptation Adaptation – Spotting – Translation Translation/Adaptation – Spotting Regardless of the method, each project undergoes a two-step veri? cation process. First, the subtitle ? le is read by a native speaker without watching the video. This allows for easier identi? cation of incoherence and mistakes in spellings or punctuation in the subtitles.
It is preferable that the person carrying out this stage has not seen the video previously, to maximise the identi? cation of incoherent phrases and minimise interference from the original. However, this is not always possible, especially in a small company where the employees usually carry out more than one part of the subtitling process for each project. The second step in the veri? cation stage is simulation. Here the ? lm or programme is screened with the completed subtitles to check for any errors overlooked during the previous stages.
The subtitling programme we use allows the subtitles to be projected on screen, simulating how the completed subtitles will look. Thus, any ? nal adjustments can be made without the need to make a VHS copy. As our workload is increasingly for clients requiring only a subtitle ? le, or often in the case of DVD, a ? le in text format, the simulation stage avoids the need to record a copy with subtitles. Other subtitling packages also oYer this option, often by means of a video window within the PC monitor. Opinions vary as to the ideal person to carry out this stage.
Some believe it is better for ? nal editing to be carried out by someone with no knowledge of the source language, for similar reasons to those outlined above for step one. Knowledge of the source language can often interfere with the reading and processing of the target language text. The skill of listening and processing one language while reading and processing another takes great concentration. The danger is that understanding of the source text can result in a type of “suggestion” whereby small mistakes can be missed. This is obviously even more of a Subtitling methods and team-translation 11 problem where the translator performs the simulation.
When the ? nal stage is carried out by someone with no knowledge of the source language, this problem is avoided. However, if the ? rst stage of the veri? cation process has been carried out thoroughly, it is arguably better to have this ? nal step performed by someone who does understand the ? lm or programme they are watching, as this way mistakes in translation can be identi? ed. method 1: Pre-translation – Adaptation – Spotting In a process akin to that of the dubbing script adjuster, in this method a pretranslated script is adjusted or adapted into subtitle units before being spotted.
This strategy is adopted for a variety of reasons. It may be that the client provides the translated script to be used for subtitling, or that time constraints mean the dialogue list must be translated before spotting is carried out. A typical example would be that the client provides a dialogue list but no videotape for an urgent project which is to be broadcast in a couple of days. Here, the subtitler has two choices: wait for an appropriate tape to arrive before beginning, or attempt to gain time by having the dialogue list translated.
Working within a word-processing package, or directly in a subtitling programme, the subtitle adjuster can then adapt the translation into subtitles, checking meaning and summarising where necessary. If the text has been wordprocessed, it is then imported into the subtitling programme and the TC-in and TC-out for each subtitle is captured, before veri? cation. method 2: Pre-translation – Spotting – Adaptation A variation on the ? rst method is to spot the ? lm or programme before adapting the pre-translated text.
Here, the subtitler ? rst captures the TC-in and TC-out for each subtitle, thus identifying the subtitle units and later adapting the translated text to ? t, again either working within subtitling software or in a text document which is later imported. The advantage of this system is that the subtitler identi? es the “real” units of a dialogue, and will not be distracted by the quantity of information conveyed when making the decision as to where a subtitle will begin and end. For this reason, the spotting stage will tend to be much faster when using this method. Of course, this also has its consequences.
When spotting precedes adaptation of text, the subtitler is less likely to search for alternative solutions to avoid 12 Diana Sanchez excessive loss of information. Experience has shown that although it is possible to adjust the time codes in the following adaptation stage, subtitlers are less likely to do so than they are to adjust adaptation in the spotting stage when the process is reversed. In addition to the time gained, the advantage of both these methods is that they allow for the use of freelance translators with no previous subtitling experience. The translator requires only a PC, video and monitor.
The adaptation stage also provides for additional checking of the translation. However, this method also has its disadvantages. Firstly, as is also often the case with translations for dubbing, the translator has no real control over the ? nished product. The constraints of subtitling mean that much of the translation is rewritten and summarised during the adaptation stage. From the point of view of the subtitler, this method also has its downside. The scripts or dialogue lists provided by clients are notorious. Often they contain text which does not appear in the ?
lm or worse, are missing text which does. These discrepancies may have gone unnoticed at the pre-translation stage. In the case of combined continuity and spotting lists which contain suggested subtitle units for translation, often at the spotting stage we ? nd that the text is too short, that more subtitles are not only possible, but necessary. However, as we shall see, the main issue arising from these ? rst two methods of subtitling occurs in ? lms and programmes which are to contain closed caption subtitles, such as is the case in subtitling for DVD and satellite broadcasting.
3. Subtitling new media The advent of DVD and digital and satellite television has meant an increase in subtitled ? lm and television. Moreover, it has also meant that two worlds which have traditionally been separate, those of subtitling and dubbing, ? nd themselves working for the same client. As the dubbed version is invariably produced beforehand, the client will often send the translated script to be used in producing the subtitles. However, the constraints of producing a translation for dubbing are very diYerent to those of subtitling.
Whereas in subtitling the original will be at all times available to the audience, leading to a tendency to produce a more “faithful” translation, in dubbing, a “freer” translation is possible, because the restrictions imposed upon the dubbing translator are diYerent.
Although the additional problem of lip synchronisation must be Subtitling methods and team-translation 13 considered, when an actor speaks dialogue oY screen, or with his back to the camera, or in the case of a narrator, it is not necessary for the dubbed dialogue to respect the point at which the speaker starts or ? nishes, or the order. As the original dialogues will not be heard, the dubbing translation can and does stray from the original version considerably. Until now, this has not been a problem.
Each translator uses the tools and tricks available in his or her ? eld. However, recently we are ? nding our worlds overlapping, and anomalies are coming to light. The option exists within DVD and on many digital and satellite television stations to choose to view dubbed and subtitled versions simultaneously, either in the same language o
