Introduction to Screen Translation

Lecture 7 & 8: Dubbing versus Subtitling:

Old Battleground Revisited Jan-Emil Tveit
By Amna Anwar
• Early in the twentieth century , the film
industry faced a translation problem since only
a small percentage of the world’s population
understood English
• As a result, there was a growing need to find
appropriate screen translation approaches. In
Europe, France became a forerunner
experimenting with both dubbing and
subtitling.
 Disadvantages

• It was even claimed that translating a film

ruined it. To solve the problem a third
approach was tried out in the form of multiple
versions, which meant that films were shot in
several languages instead of one. But the
different versions were not on an equal
footing, and it did not take long before it
became obvious that the TL-versions were
suffering
• A main problem was that their linguistic
quality was not up to par.
 Aspects of subtitling

• An important aspect of the subtitling process

is the filtering of potential loss of information:
for the purposes of expressing nuances the
written word cannot possibly compete with
speech. Hence a large number of lexical items
tend to be required in order to match what is
conveyed by stress, rhythm and intonation
• The subtitler does not have room for wordy
formulations or complex structures: in order
to enhance readability, brevity is the essence.
And if the subtitles are to remain on the
screen long enough for audiences to read
them, contraction is a must, which in turn can
result in a regrettable loss of lexical meaning.
 Cohesive devices

• Cohesive devices are often considered

omittable. But although they may not have
obvious semantic functions, these still play an
important role in making relationships and
events explicit.
• Omitting cohesive devices in order to boost readability can
therefore prove counterproductive. It may, indeed, reduce
readability.
• Subtitling is additive by nature, that is verbal material is added
to the original programme and nothing is removed from it. The
usefulness of this addition, however, depends on the viewers’
comprehension of the original dialogue.
• It is true that tone of voice, stress and intonation may contribute
to conveying information across language barriers, but if source
and target languages are poles apart in terms of lexis, the value
of keeping the original soundtrack may be rather limited
 Spoken versus written language

• Another constraining factor of subtitling

results from the spoken word containing
dialectal and sociolectal features which are
extremely difficult to account for in writing
• Spoken language tends to contain unfinished
sentences along with redundant speech and
interruptions, writing has a higher lexical
density and a greater economy of expression.
• . In addition, written translations of spoken
language often display a tendency toward
nominalisation, whereby verbal e lements are
turned into nouns
• Hence it is difficult to retain the flavour of the
spoken mode in subtitles. When it comes to
keeping the register and appropriateness of
the SL-version dubbing can undoubtedly be at
an advantage.
Visual, spatial and decoding restraints

• Trying their best to read everything that has

been translated, viewers are often unable to
concentrate adequately on other important
visual information and sometimes also on oral
information.
• This is regrettable since audiovisual
programmes combine words and images, and
the translation should observe the
interrelation between the way a plot is told
and the manner in which it is shown. Subtitles
should synchronise not only with speech, but
also with image.
• It is increasingly important for the subtitles to
be integrated with the film and to fall in with
the rhythm of the visual information on the
screen.
• When the subtitles follow each other in rapid
succession, reading one two-liner appears to
be less strenuous than reading two one-liners
containing the same amount of information.
 Precise timing

• Although precise timing has usually been

defined in terms of subtitle–speech
synchronisation, research carried out by Baker
(1982) in Great Britain indicates that subtitles
overrunning shot changes cause perceptual
confusion.
 Animation

• A case in point is the animation series

South Park, where the bodies and faces of the
characters fill up most of the screen. This
series can be difficult to handle for subtitlers.
Also in news bulletins, faces often dominate
the screen as the camera focuses on the so-
called called ‘talking head’ but since there is
limited activity in the picture, the viewers are
able to concentrate on the translation.
• Decoding may present translators with a difficult
task due to the presence of ambiguities.
Normally a translator has the means of following
up unclear linguistic or factual points
• The reporter tends to know enough about the
context, the subtitler may be helped with
potential decoding problems. Frequently the
subtitler does not have the time to obtain
adequate knowledge of the context
• Misinterpretition
• A mistake may occur after the translator has
spent considerable time trying to decode a
difficult word
• Mishearing phonemes
• Mishearing phonemes is a common type of
decoding mistake, and seems to be what
occurred here.
• Stringent deadlines in combination with
decoding problems often present screen
translators with difficulties and lead to
misunderstandings, errors and inaccuracies.
They represent considerable decoding
constraints and are bound to have a negative
impact on the quality of the translation
The constraints of dubbing and lip synchronisation

• When we experience state-of-the-art lip

synchronisation, it is not difficult to understand
why this method is the favoured screen
translation approach in large parts of the world.
• One important consideration is the loss of
authenticity. An essential part of a character’s
personality is their voice, which is closely linked
to facial expressions, gestures and body
language.
• Authenticity is undeniably sacrificed when a
character is deprived of their voice and
instead the audience hears the voice of
somebody else.
• Intonation patterns
• Although intonation patterns often vary from language
to language, universal features such as the expression of
pain, grief and joy should not be ignored: linked to pitch,
stress, rhythm and volume, they contribute considerably
to conveying information not only about the speakers,
but also about the context of which they form a part.
Voices reflect the mood and atmosphere of a situation,
whether it is at a major sports event, the scene of an
accident or the convention of a political party.
• Conclusion
• Based on the premises outlined above, it can
be concluded that subtitling is normally a
better approach to screen translation than is
dubbing. This does not follow logically from
counting the number of constraining factors of
the two approaches, but has to do with the fact
that some of the constraining factors are easier
to get around or compensate for than others.