Audiovisual Translation: Subtitling

Contents Acknowledgements The structure of Audiovisual Translation: Subtitling The book The DVD WinCAPS 1. Introduction to Subtitling 1.0 Preliminary discussion 1.1 Definition 1.2 Translation or adaptation? Audiovisual Translation (AVT) 1.3 Classification of subtitles 1.3.1 Linguistic parameters 1.3.2 Time available for preparation 1.3.3 Technical parameters 1.3.4 Methods of projecting subtitles 1.3.5 Distribution format 1.4 Surtitles 1.5 Intertitles 1.6 Fansubs 1.7 Discussion points 2. The Professional Environment 2.0 Preliminary discussion 2.1 The subtitling process 2.2 The professionals 2.3 The working conditions 2.3.1 Clients and rates 2.3.2 Globalization 2.3.3 Deadlines 2.3.4 Subtitlers' visibility and professional associations 2.3.5 Training 2.4 Discussion points 3. The Semiotics of Subtitling 3.0 Preliminary discussion 3.1 The film as text 3.1.1 The complexity of the filmic sign system 3.1.2 The semiotics of screenwriting and film dialogue 3.2 Subtitling and images 3.2.1 Semiotic cohesion 3.2.2 The multimodality of language 3.2.3 Camera movement and editing 3.2.4 A blessing in disguise 3.3 Subtitling, soundtrack, and text on screen 3.3.1 Subtitling's vulnerability 3.3.2 Multilingual films 3.3.3 Text on screen 3.4 Change of medium 3.4.1 Speech to writing: a matter of compromise 3.5 Discussion points 3.6 Exercises 4. Technical Considerations 4.0 Preliminary discussion 4.1 Subtitling programs 4.2 Feet and frames 4.3 Dialogue lists 4.4 Style guides 4.5 Code of good subtitling practice 4.6 Spatial dimension 4.6.1 Maximum number of lines and position on the screen 4.6.2 Font type and number of characters per line 4.6.3 One-liners and two-liners 4.6.4 Centred and left-aligned 4.7 Temporal dimension 4.7.1 Spotting and duration of subtitles 4.7.2 Synchronization 4.7.3 Multiple voices 4.7.4 Shot changes 4.7.5 Delay function between subtitles 4.7.6 One or two lines? 4.7.7 Timecodes 4.7.8 Reading time 4.7.9 Six-second rule 4.7.10 DVD reading speed 4.8 Exercises 5. Punctuation and other Conventions 5.0 Preliminary discussion 5.1 In search of conventions 5.2 Punctuation conventions 5.2.1 Commas and semi-colons 5.2.2 Full stops 5.2.3 Colons 5.2.4 Parentheses and brackets 5.2.5 Exclamation marks and question marks 5.2.6 Dashes and hyphens 5.2.7 Triple dots 5.2.8 Asterisks 5.2.9 Slashes 5.2.10 Other symbols 5.2.11 Capital letters 5.2.12 Quotation marks or inverted commas 5.3 Other conventions 5.3.1 Italics 5.3.1.1 Songs 5.3.1.2 Letters and written documents 5.3.2 Colours 5.3.3 Abbreviations 5.3.4 Numbers 5.3.4.1 Cardinals 5.3.4.2 Ordinals 5.3.4.3 Time 5.3.4.4 Measurements and weights 5.4 A glimpse of the future? 5.5 Discussion points 5.6 Exercises 6. The Linguistics of Subtitling 6.0 Preliminary discussion 6.1 Subtitling: translation as rewriting 6.2 Text reduction 6.2.1 Condensation and reformulation 6.2.1.1 Condensation and reformulation at word level 6.2.1.2 Condensation and reformulation at clause/sentence level 6.2.2 Omissions 6.2.2.1 Omissions at word level 6.2.2.2 Omissions at clause/sentence level 6.3 Linguistic cohesion and coherence in subtitling 6.4 Segmentation and line breaks 6.4.1 Line breaks within subtitles: syntactic-semantic considerations 6.4.2 Line breaks across subtitles: syntactic-semantic considerations 6.4.3 Rhetorical segmentation 6.5 Discussion points 6.6 Exercises 7. Translation Issues 7.0 Preliminary discussion 7.1 Linguistic variation 7.2 Denotative versus connotative meaning 7.3 The translation of marked speech 7.3.1 Style 7.3.2 Register 7.3.3 Dialects, sociolects, and idiolects 7.3.3.1 Grammar 7.3.3.2 Lexicon 7.3.3.3 Accents and pronunciation 7.3.4 Emotionally charged language: taboo words, swearwords, interjections 7.4 The translation of culture-bound terms 7.5 The translation of songs 7.5.1 Deciding what to translate 7.5.2 Deciding how to translate 7.6 The translation of humour 7.6.1 Pinning down humour 7.6.2 Subtitling humour 7.7 Ideological issues: whose voice and whose message 7.8 Discussion points 7.9 Exercises 8. Further Activities 8.1 WinCAPS activities 8.2 Extra scenes 9. A Glossary of Terms Used in Subtitling 10. References 10.1 Bibliography 10.2 Filmography 11. Index