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A qualitative analysis of the impact of template files in multilingual subtitling. Irene Artegiani and Dionysios Kapsaskis University of Roehampton. Subtitling as a form of representation. From the oral to the written mode From language A to language B
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A qualitative analysisof the impact oftemplatefiles in multilingualsubtitling Irene Artegiani and DionysiosKapsaskis University of Roehampton
Subtitling as a form of representation • From the oral to the written mode • From language A to language B • From a foreign to a familiar reality • From a dominant to a peripheral culture
Subtitling quality a function of… • Translational choices (linguistic, narrative, stylistic) • Technical constraints • Cultural, political and aesthetic considerations
Subtitling and the industry • Multilingual subtitling • Standardisation of the subtitling process • Centralisation of project management Template files: time-cued subtitles in the original language (usually English) that are to be used by all translators working on the same multilingual subtitling project
Our research • What are the main techniques used for the production of template files? • Are translators constrained by the presence of template files? • Do translators tend to copy the linguistic, cultural, aesthetic, political choices of the template makers? • Do translators tend to translate from the template file rather than directly from the audiovisual material? • What are the qualitative effects on language, semantic transfer, narrative coherence, intertextuality?
The language of The Sopranos • It is a mix of Italian expressions, Mafia-related slang and swearing. • Cultural and intertextual references • Requires “active viewing” (Yacowar, 2007)
Subtitling the series • General reduction (due tospatial and temporalconstraints) • Targetedreduction • Italianexpression • Swearwords • Information
Qualityissues Targeted reduction at template level (Italian words, swearing, information) Effect on quality : Loss of characterisation Narrative inconsistencies
Conclusions • Strategies of text reduction were on many occasions blindly reproduced in the French, Greek and Spanish subtitles • Translators generally tended to translate from the template file rather than from the audiovisual material • However, template files also provide correct technical guidance, prevent mishearings and other consistency errors
Suggestions • Template files should contain the full transcribed dialogue and on-screen text. • Template files should provide broader background information and guidance.