Bibliography: Cintas, Jorge Diaz; Remael, Aline, Audiovisual Translations: Subtitling, St Jerome Publishing: 2007 Course 1 Definition of subtitling

Subtitling versus other forms of translation Classification/types of subtitles Professional environment and subtitling process

Ignored by academics and teachers up to the 1990s when it started to be given well-diserved attention as a result of the proliferation and distribution of audiovisual materials in our society (8), a society characterised by the ubiquity of the image, a society based on the image and power of the screen There are 3 main ways of translating audiovisual programmes 1. Dubbing (or lip-sync) 2. Subtitling 3. Voice-over There are other translation practices that are to be included here such as: partialdubbing, narration, interpreting, the translation of live performance (surtitling for the opera and the theatre), subtitling for the deaf and the hard-of-hearing (SDH) and audio description for the blind and the partially sighted (AD). Definition According to Cintas and Remael, subtitling is defined as a translation practice consisting of presenting a written text (generally on the lower part of the screen; Japanese vertically, on the right-hand side of the screen) that endeavours to recount the original dialogue of the speakers , and all the discursive elements that appear in the image (inserts, letters, inscriptions etc) and the information contained in the soundtrack (songs, voices off) Components of a subtitled programme: 1. The spoken word 2. The image 3. The subtitles The basic characteristics of the audiovisual medium are given by the interaction of these 3 components + the viewers ability to read both the images and the written text at a particular speed + the size of the screen.

 Subtitles must appear in synchrony with the image and the dialogue

Translation or adaptation Some prefer to talk about adaptation in the case of AVT (audiovisual translation) because of all the spatial and temporal limitations imposed by the medium which constrain the end result. Reasons/constraints: Literature and poetry evoke, while films represent and actualize a particular reality based o certain images put together by a director. Audiovisual programmes use 2 codes: image and sound the constraints listed below The synchrony in the translational parametres of image and sound (the subtitle should not contradict what the characters are doing on the screen), and time (the delivery of the translated message should coincide with the original speech) Subtitles entails a change of mode from oral to written (omissions of lexical items from the original) Space: the target text has to accommodate to the width of the screen (32 to 41 characters per line in a maximum of 2 lines According to Mayoral Asensio (in Cintas &Remael: 10), we need open definitions that should take into account new realities (e.g. sign language interpretation, multimedia etc), and get rid of the ones that are no longer useful or have ceased to exist. Indeed the perspective on translation must be a more flexible, less static one acknowledging the everchanging nature of practice. Therefore, when it comes to the audiovisual translation activity, the term adaptation seems to be rejected nowadays as it seems to have taken a negative connotation and denotes a way of looking down on this profesional practice which some academics see as inferior to translation. In 2003, Gambier (ibid:11) uses the term transadaptation as an attempt to justify the hybrid nature that characterizes all the different AVT types. Cintas &Remael (11) also refer to Neves broader approach to the term, who uses the term to refer to the translation of certain messages from verbal and nonverbal accoustic codes into verbal and/or non-verbal visual codes, and the adaptation of these visual codes to the needs of the people with hearing impairment. It should be clear then that in the case of audiovisual realm, we do not and should not speak about adaptation only, as we are dealing in fact with cases of translation, the aim of the translation process being that of facilitating access to an otherwise hermetic source of information and entertainment. (AVT ACCESSIBILITY)

 umbrella terms: -film translation/cinema translation (a restricting concept as there are other types of programmes as well: documantaries, sitcoms etc) - screen translation (all products distributed on screen) - multimedia translation (the message is broadcast through multiple media and channels) - multidimensional translation This fluctuation in terms is to be seen as a reflection of the changing times, denoting in fact the desire/effort to have an open, flexible approach to this type of practice

Classification of subtitles Subtitling has a close relationship with technology, consequently the classification of subtitles is not a fixed one, but an always-changing one due to the speed at which technological developments take place. Cintas & Remael (13-25) grouped subtitles according to 5 criteria: I. II. III. IV. V. Linguistic Time available for preparation Technical Methods of projection Distribution format I. Linguistic parametres 1. Intralingual subtitles involve a shift from oral to written but stays always within the same language a) For the deaf and the hard-of-hearing (SDH): the oral content of the dialogues is converted into written speech; change of colour on television depending on the person who is talking or on the emphasis given to certain words; paralinguistic elements (e.g. the irony of a statement, applause, laughter, a knock on the door etc) b) For language learning purposes: reading on the screen the written dialogue of the actors/characters/persons so that one can recognize or confirm what she/he has not understood orally c) For karaoke effect (songs or movie musicals) d) For dialects of the same language: the use of subtitles in movies and programmes for the dialogues of people whose accents are difficult to understand to audiences who share the same language

(e.g. the film Trainspotting strong Scottish accent English subtitles in USA) e) For notices and announcements seen on monitors in underground stations or other public areas; subtitles are used as a means of advertising or broadcasting the latest news; the information is transmitted without the sound so as not to siturb the public 2. Interlingual subtitles involve a change of mode from oral to written, with a shift from one language (SL) to another (TL). a) For hearers b) For the deaf and the hard of hearing (SDH) c) Foreign language learning purposes = a didactic tool, helping us to improve our linguistic skills and to contextualize the language and the culture of other countries (mannerisms and behaviour gesticulation, way of dressing, interpersonal relationships, etc.) 3. Bilingual subtitles produced in geographical areas where two languages are spoken; also used in international film festivals (2 sets of subtitles: one in English for the international audience, and one in the language of the country where the film festival takes place)

II.

Time available for preparation Classification: 1. Pre-prepared subtitles (offline subttling) done after the programme has been shot and some time ahead of its broadcasting/release a) In complete sentences b) Reduced (television programmes such as the news, interviews or documentaries only the gist of what is being said is considered relevant for the audience and translated) 2. Live or real-time subtitles (online/simultaneous subtitling) no time to prepare the subtitles in advance (interviews, political statements, sports programmes of news bulletins); done by a team of professionals: a professional interpreter who translates the message in a condensed way in front of a microphone connected to the headphones of a velotypist or stenographer; the biggest problem: the synchrony btw source and target texts

a) Human made (stenographer/stenotypist/stenocaptioner) b) Machine translated (speech recognition software high number of spelling mistakes; impractical in the case of most languages)

III.

Technical parameters Classification: 1. Open subtitles: the subtitles are burned or projected onto the image and cannot be removed or turned off 2. Closed subtitles: subtitles can be added to the programme at the viewers will (they are hidden and can be seen with an appropriate decoder or when the viewer activates them on DVD)

IV.

Methods of projecting subtitles 1. Mechanical and thermal subtitling 2. Photochemical subtitling 3. Optical subtitling 4. Laser subtitling (the most commonly used method of impression in cinema subtitling) 5. Electronic subtitling

V.

Distribution format (= the medium used for the distribution of the programme) 1. Cinema 2. television 3. video, VHS 4. DVD 5. Internet

the six-second rule = the time it takes the average viewer to read and assimilate the information contained in the two lines of a subtitle SURTITLES (supertiles/supratitles) Also called subtitles by many in the profession; considered the equivalent of subtitles in the cinema = the translation of the words being sung, if the opera is sung in another language Events where surtitles can be used live performances: opera, concerts, theatre, conferences

Shown on a LED display normally placed above the stage, or on smaller monitors placed at the back of each seat in the auditorium (seat-back title screens) INTERTITLES (title cards) They are at the origin of subtitles; considered their oldest relatives = a piece of filmed, printed text that appears between scenes; used in silent films Their usefulness was eliminated with the arrival of soundtrack Called inserts when used in contemporary films FANSUBS A new form of subtitling by fans for fans The translations/subtitles are done by fans for free and then posted on the Internet Questionable legality of this activity (the copyright)

THE PROFESSIONAL ENVIRONMENT` A copy of the film and the dialogue list Spotting (timing/cueing) = determining the precise moments when a subtitle should appear on the screen known as the in-time and when it should leave the screen known as the out-time ; areas to be taken into account by the translator during the first viewing of the programme: 1. polysemantic words or phrases (the appropriate translation is established with the help of the image, the context or the situation: e.g. funny = ciudat, dragutz, amuzant etc.) 2. the gender and number of some nouns, pronouns and adjectives that are not marked in English; e.g. you are great male/female; pone or several people, being polite or informal 3. the degree of familiarity shown among the characters (formal/informal form of address; their identity when being referred to by pronoun - you) 4. deictic units as this/these, hat/those, here/there etc may have referents that appear on the screen and do not need to be translated; obscure or long terms that are difficult to translate may refer to objects that appear on the screen and then deictic units can be used; 5. exclamations with no fixed meaning (only the context makes it relevant: geez; oh, my;Christ etc

other acoustic and visual elements that should also be translated: songs, inserts, newspaper headlines, voices coming from a radio/television set etc. Before inserting the subtitle on the celluloid, a simulation of what the film is going to look like is carried out in the presence of the client (changes may be incorporated at this stage). I ok the next stage: laser engraving the subtitles on the celluloid The professionals The subtitling process involves three different professionals: 1. The spotter - the technical task of deciding the in and out times of the subtitles 2. The translator - in charge of the language transfer (should have an excellent command of the TL and SL and cultures, and know the intricacies of moving from speech to written texts) 3. Adaptors = experts in the media limitations that constrain subtitling; are familiar with condensation and reduction strategies in TL; their task = to fit the rough translation into the subtitle lines (shorter synonyms, altering syntactical structures while keeping the meaning of the original) However, the figure of the adaptor is gradually disappearing, being subsumed by that of the translator. The general tendency in the field = a professional who would embody all three tasks In most cases of multilingual projects of this nature, the subtitling company creates a single document, known as a template, containing the master titles to be translated in all the target languages. The whole process of subtitling a full-length film can last from 12 to 15 days from the moment it has been placed with the subtitling company Subtitlers have the same copyrights under the Berne and World Conventions as writers and therefore have the right to see their names on works that are published (Ivarsson quoted by Cintas &Remael:39)