10
From the experts‟ definition above, it is clear that translation mostly revolves around rendering, replacing, and reproducing the source text into an equivalent
text in target language. This shows that translation is deeply tied with equivalency. It means that equivalence is the main component or core of translation. Without it,
a translation would not be a translation at all. This is because equivalence determines the acceptability of translation in target language. In other words, a
translation needs to possess a well balanced equivalency in order for it to achieve a high acceptability rate.
B. Film Translation
There are many terms that serve as the label of film translation. The terms are: transadapatation, film translation, screen translation, traduccióncinematográfica,
multimedia translation, and audiovisual translation.
14
Out of all the mentioned terms, the commonly used term is the audiovisual translation AVT. Audiovisual
translation is a discipline that is more than a mere text transfer, as it also transfers pictures, music, sounds and other nonverbal elements on its translation process.
15
The non-text elements music and such are considered a must on AVT. Because AVT is mainly about translation of Medias such as TV programs and films, the
socio-cultural factors inside it needs to be retained. This is because it reflects the value systems and life style of people.
16
In translating an audiovisual media, the
14
Betlem Soler Pardo. 2013. Translation Studies: An Introduction to the History and
Development of Audiovisual Translation. Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio : Villanueva de la Cañada pp.18-19.
http:www.uax.espublicaciontranslation-studies-an-introduction-to-the-history-and- development-of.pdf Accessed on February 2nd, 2014
15
Balsam A Mustafa. op.cit p.5
16
Ibid.
11
translators have to pay extra attention of the non-text elements inside it, to make sure that nothing is lost in the translation process.
Serban classifies AVT into the following categories:
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1. Inter-lingual Translation
A. Subtitling
B. Dubbing
C. Voice-over
2. Intra-lingual monolingual subtitling for the hard-hearing or deaf people. 3. Audio description for the blind.
4. Live subtitling E.g.: News broadcast 5.
Subtitling for the opera and the theatre. The focus of this paper is the highlight of translation process inside subtitling.
Thus, any other AVT categories will not be discussed. For this matter, a thorough explanation of subtitling needs to be done. Gottlieb established a definition that
subtitling is a rendering of verbal messages of different language contained in filmic media, which took form in one or more verbal-synchronized lines of
written text presented on screen.
18
The written text usually consists no more than two lines. The lines are usually simplified and precise, which is done in order to
grant a high readability rate for the audience.
19
17
Ardiana Serban. 2004. Introduction to Audiovisual Translation. Cited in Balsam A Mustafa. op.cit p.6
18
Pilar Orero. ED. 2004. Topics in Audiovisual Translation. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company p.86
19
Sheng-Jie Chen. 2004. Linguistic Dimensions of Subtitling. Perspective from Taiwan. In Meta Journal, XLIX, 1.
12
The definition explained above is just a small fraction of how diverse subtitling actually is. This is seen on the gap of differences between translating
subtitle and a written text. The differences are as follows:
20
1. A reader of translated novel usually doesn‟t compare the target text with
the source text, while in subtitling the reader especially source language speaker automatically compares the text.
2. Written text translators have space to make explanatory notes when a
difficult section of a text is available, however, this is impossible to do in subtitling.
3. Intertextual translation focuses on translating written text to a written text,
while subtitling focuses on translating spoken text to a written text. 4.
Due to space constraints, an extended or long message in subtitle needs to be shortened to fit the screen. While in intertextual translation, a space or
room of translation does not pose to be a problem. Looking at those points, it should be clear that subtitling is considered a
constrained translation, where space or room of translation is limited. These constraints are a set of subtitling rules that translators must adhere, in order to
ensure an efficient subtitle. These rules are:
20
Egil Törnqvist. 2014. Ingmar Bergman Abroad: The Problems of Subtitling. Cited in Jessica Rietveld. The Mind of a Subtitler: Translation Strategies Employed in Subtitling Crime and
Comedy. Master
Thesis. Faculty
of Humanities
: Utrecht
University p.14
http:dspace.library.uu.nlhandle187431713 Accessed March 3rd, 2014
13
1. Subtitle which consists of two full lines cannot exceed the length of eight
second.
21
If a subtitle appears on screen longer than eight seconds, the viewer might read the subtitle for a second or a third time.
2. The minimum time a subtitle can appear on screen is one second and ten
frames. Frames are the number of images that are used in a second film. The minimum time for a single line subtitle is three seconds, while a two
lines subtitle is six seconds.
22
A minimum time for subtitles is made to prevent the subtitle from disappearing before the audience can completely
read it. In order to avoid a disappearing subtitle, the subtitler needs to maintain the subtitle timing efficiently.
3. The average number of characters per line is 37, including spaces and
punctuation marks. The average number is based on the width of the letters, as such; one line can contain more characters depending on the
medium.
23
In other words, it is possible for a subtitle to contain fewer or more than 37 characters.
4. A subtitler should always create a subtitle consisting of two lines
whenever possible to improve the viewers‟ reading comfort.
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That way, the audience won‟t be too busy reading the subtitles, and can focus on the
movie. If a subtitle consists of three or more lines, it would definitely fill up the entire screen, making it hard to watch the movie.
21
Ibid. p.15
22
Ibid.
23
Ibid. p.16
24
Ibid.
14
5. When a sentence consists of two subtitles, the first subtitle is closed with
three sequence dots to inform the viewer that the subtitle does not end yet continued.
25
The linking dots, three dots at the beginning of the second subtitle, are used to inform the viewer that the current subtitle is the
continuation of the preceding subtitle. 6.
Etc.
The rules of subtitling stated above are strict, as it involves technical matters such as timing, space, etc. However, the strict rules of subtitling are meant to
produce the best result. Rather than being burdened by the rules, a good subtitler need to take advantage of it. For example, a difficult message in subtitle can be
translated by shortening or simplifying it. This can be treated as a “freedom” of translation within subtitling, despite being restricted.
C. Translation Procedures
