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Code of Good Subtitling Practice

The 'Code of Good Subtitling Practice' outlines essential guidelines for subtitlers, emphasizing the importance of high-quality translation, coherence, and appropriate language use. It includes technical aspects such as subtitle legibility, positioning, and synchronization with film dialogue. The document also highlights the need for revisions, proper acknowledgment of subtitlers, and adherence to copyright standards.

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8 views3 pages

Code of Good Subtitling Practice

The 'Code of Good Subtitling Practice' outlines essential guidelines for subtitlers, emphasizing the importance of high-quality translation, coherence, and appropriate language use. It includes technical aspects such as subtitle legibility, positioning, and synchronization with film dialogue. The document also highlights the need for revisions, proper acknowledgment of subtitlers, and adherence to copyright standards.

Uploaded by

6mb7rpgnjm
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Code of Good Subtitling Practice

Proposed by Mary Carroll and Jan Ivarsson

Approved at the meeting of the European Association for Studies in Screen Translation in Berlin 17.10.1998

“I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it.”


Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart

Subtitle Spotting and Translation

1) Subtitlers must always work with a (video, DVD, etc.) copy of the
production and if possible, should have a copy of the dialogue list and a
glossary of unusual words, names and special references.

2) It is the subtitler's job to spot the production and translate and write the
subtitles in the (foreign) language required.

3) Translation quality must be high with due consideration of all idiomatic


and cultural nuances.

4) Straightforward semantic units must be used.

5) Where compression of dialogue is necessary, the results must be


coherent.

6) Subtitle text must be distributed from line to line and page to page in
sense blocks and/or grammatical units.

7) As far as possible, each subtitle should be semantically self-contained.

8) The language register must be appropriate and correspond with the


spoken word.

9) The language should be (grammatically) "correct" since subtitles serve


as a model for literacy.

10) All important written information in the images (signs, notices, etc.)
should be translated and incorporated wherever possible.

11) Given the fact that many TV viewers are hearing-impaired,


"superfluous" information, such as names, interjections from the off, etc.,
should also be subtitled.

12) Songs must be subtitled where relevant.


13) Obvious repetition of names and common comprehensible phrases need
not always be subtitled.

14) The in- and out-times of subtitles must follow the speech rhythm of the
film dialogue, taking cuts and sound bridges into consideration.

15) Language distribution within and over subtitles must consider cuts and
sound bridges; the subtitles must underline surprise or suspense and in no
way undermine it.

16) The duration of all subtitles within a production must adhere to a regular
viewer reading rhythm.

17) Spotting must reflect the rhythm of the film.

18) No subtitle should appear for less than one second or, with the exception
of songs, stay on the screen for longer than seven seconds.

19) The number of lines in any subtitle must be limited to two.

20) Wherever two lines of unequal length are used, the upper line should
preferably be shorter to keep as much of the image free as possible and in
left-justified subtitles in order to reduce unnecessary eye movement.

21) There must be a close correlation between film dialogue and subtitle
content; source language and target language should be synchronized as
far as possible.

22) There must be a close correlation between film dialogue and the
presence of subtitles.

23) Each production should be edited by a reviser/editor.

24) The (main) subtitler should be acknowledged at the end of the film (or if
the credits are at the beginning, then close to the credit for the script
writer).

25) The year of subtitle production and the copyright for the version should
be displayed at the end of the film.

Technical Aspects
1) Subtitles should be highly legible with clear lettering and a font which is
easy to read. The characters should have sharp contours and be stable on
the screen.

2) The position of subtitles should be consistent, e.g.

a) centred for film applications;

b) left-justified or centred for TV and video applications. (With the


globalization of broadcasting, subtitled television and video programmes
are often shown not only on domestic channels. Many broadcasting
stations worldwide still transmit their programmes with a logo in the
lower left-hand corner, which inevitably covers the first couple of
characters of all left-justified subtitles. Furthermore, at video festivals
video productions are usually projected on large screens. It is easier to
read subtitles on large screens if they are centred rather than left-
justified.)

c) two-person dialogue in one subtitle should be left-justified or left-


centred; individual speakers should be indicated by a dash at the
beginning of each line.

3) In video applications, character clarity can be enhanced by a drop


shadow or a semi-transparent or black box behind the subtitles.
4) In laser subtitling, sharp contours and removal of residual emulsion can
be achieved by precise alignment of laser beam focus and accurate
adjustment of power output.
5) In laser subtitling, the base line must be set accurately for the projection
format of the film.
6) The number of characters per line must be compatible with the subtitling
system and visible on any screen.
7) Due to the different viewer reading times and the different length of lines
for TV/video and film subtitles, TV/video subtitles should be adapted for
film application and vice versa.

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