Subtitling: the long journey to academic acknowledgement

The present article is part of a wider translation project from Spanish carried out by Juan Abad, Judith Harling, Yuka Miyakita, Mark Seager and Christina Wiggins, students at the University of Surrey Roehampton. Audiovisual translation seems to have been absent from academic exchanges on translation until very recently. Focusing solely on subtitling, this article starts by taking a look at the reasons behind this state of affairs. It then presents the reader with a detailed account of the research that has taken place in this field, both outside and in Spain. After an overview of the topics, figures, publications and conferences that have had an impact on subtitling, the paper points to the direction of possible avenues of research. Although the future seems very promising for this field of research, the article finishes with a section highlighting some of the challenges that lie ahead of us

Por una preparación de calidad en accesibilidad audiovisual

Subtitling for the deaf and the hard-of-hearing (SDH) and audio description for the blind and the partially sighted (ad) are two professional activities with a very recent history both in Spain as well as in other countries. From an academic perspective, very few educational centres offer courses in these topics and there has not been much debate about the appropriate skills needed by professionals willing to work in these areas. Given the interest raised by both activities in our society this seems to be the right time to start reflecting on the best curriculum for an education of quality in the field of accessibility to the audiovisual media. This paper aims to be a contribution to the debate

Los subtítulos y la subtitulación en la clase de lengua extranjera

Este artículo se abre con una panorámica del papel que la traducción audiovisual juega en la didáctica de idiomas: introduce variedad, da cabida a los elementos no-verbales de la comunicación y, lo más importante, permite a los estudiantes ver el tipo de interacción que se establece entre lengua y cultura en un contexto real. Tras presentar una clasificación de los distintitos tipos de subtítulos que existen en la enseñanza de idiomas, el artículo considera los pros y los contras de usar vídeos subtitulados para aprender idiomas. Con el fin de superar la posible pasividad que se deriva de ver vídeos subtitulados, el autor propone una aproximación más activa para explotar este material, que consiste en enseñar a los alumnos a crear sus propios subtítulos. El artículo finaliza con un análisis de las ventajas de esta actividad relativamente novedosa en el campo de la enseñanza de idiomas y presenta un listado de las principales consideraciones lingüísticas y técnicas que caracterizan la subtitulación para que los profesores que estén interesados puedan familiarizarse con ellas. //This paper presents an overview of the role played by audiovisual translation in the foreign language classroom, which has been a common resource since it introduces variety, provides exposure to nonverbal cultural elements and, most importantly, presents linguistic and cultural aspects of communication in their context. After presenting the different types of subtitles available, it then discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using subtitled videos for language learning purposes. To do away with the potential passivity of watching subtitled material, it proposes a more active approach to exploit this material by teaching students how to create subtitles. The pros of this novel approach to foreign language learning are presented as well as the main technical and linguistic considerations that characterised subtitling, so that tutors can familiarised themselves with them

Clearing the smoke to see the screen: ideological manipulation in audiovisual translation

In this article, a critical and methodological approach is offered concerning the subject of manipulation and translation in the realm of the audiovisual. Taking the potentialities unleashed by the cultural turn in Translation Studies as a starting point, the paper first provides an overview of the main hurdles and issues at stake when adopting a line of enquiry centred around the realisation that the way in which cultural values are translated depends not only on linguistic asymmetries between languages but also on fundamental decisions based on power, dominance, and ideology. As part of a debate that could prove fruitful in the world of audiovisual translation (AVT), the concept of manipulation is discussed in detail and a distinction between technical and ideological manipulation is put forward. After considering the special case of censorship and some of the new developments in the use of subtitling as a tool for local empowerment, it is suggested that the boundaries of research into AVT should be pushed beyond its traditionally parochial linguistic sphere by focussing more on unmasking the rationale behind ideologically motivated changes and by contextualising them within a wider socio-cultural environment

Back to the future in subtitling

Audiovisual translation (AVT) in general, and in subtitling in particular, has an umbilical relationship with technology, which to a large degree determines it. The technical advances taking place in this area can have an immediate and considerable impact both on the subtitling practice from the practitioner’s perspective, and also on the perception of subtitling we have as spectators and consumers. This article proposes to investigate how some of the technological changes that have recently taken place in this field are affecting this translating mode. Focusing on interlingual subtitling in a variety of language combinations, I take a look at the different conventions that have started to crop up in commercialised DVD subtitled programs and that diverge acutely from what up until now has been considered standard practice in interlingual subtitlin

Audiovisual Translation

In a technologically driven multimedia society like the present one, the value of the moving images is crucial when it comes to engaging in communication. This greater currency of audiovisual productions has brought about the need for their translation into other languages, thus raising the importance and visibility of audiovisual translation (AVT), both as an academic discipline as well as a professional activity. This chapter starts by exploring the many instantiations of AVT, which can be broadly clustered in two main groups: revoicing and timed text. It then offers an overview of the main research topics that have marked the evolution of this area of knowledge, with a distinct emphasis on the synergies established between academia and the industry. This collaboration has been gradually strengthened over the years, from the early descriptive studies fixated on probing the nature of the translated product and the numerous overviews focused on the professional environment and labour dynamics, to the more recent interest in the application of automation and CAT tools to the practice of AVT and the in-vogue investigations centred on audience receptio

Fansubs: Audiovisual Translation in an amateur environment

The purpose of this paper is to describe the so-called fansubs, a different type of subtitling carried out by amateur translators. The first part of this study covers both the people and phases involved in the fansubbing process from beginning to end. The second section focuses on the legality and ethics of fansubs. The third part pays attention to the actual translation of fansubs and their unique features, such as the use of translator's notes or special karaoke effects. The paper concludes with a reflection on the work done by fansubbers and the possibilities opened by this mainly Internet phenomenon