Subtitling for streaming platforms: new techonologies, old issues

Campos, Giovana Cordeiro; Azevedo, Thais de Assis

doi:10.5007/2175-7968.2020v40n3p222

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Regarding the reading speed, the Netflix style guide for Brazilian Portuguese recommends 17 characters per second and a maximum of 42 characters per line (Netflix, 2023). This guideline exceeds the average rate viii used in Brazilian television, cinema, VHS, and DVDs (Campos & Azevedo, 2020); therefore it may have an impact on the translators' perception of quality if they are not familiar with Netflix guidelines.…”

Section: Percentagementioning

confidence: 94%

“…The data collected and analysed in this article indicate a way of carrying out more research of this nature and forming a foundation for future studies based on MT and its relationship with the quality of MTPE subtitles. In addition to the standards established as requirements for subtitling, the focus on continuous quality assurance is important because of the growing demand for subtitled products (Campos & Azevedo, 2020;Doherty & Kruger, 2018;Kuşçu-Özbudak, 2022). However, the quality standards should take into account the technical parameters and also consider viewer appraisals of reception.…”

Section: Final Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quality assessment of machine-translated post-edited subtitles: an analysis of Brazilian translators’ perceptions

Koglin,

Moura,

Matos

et al. 2023

LANS-TTS

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This study focuses on the translation product in the form of subtitles and, in particular, investigates the perceived quality of machine-translated post-edited interlingual subtitles. Basing this study on data collected from Brazilian professional translators, we analyse whether the use of machine translation has an impact on the perceived quality and acceptability of interlingual subtitles. We also examine those technical parameters and linguistic aspects that the study participants considered troublesome and whether translators would report any evidence that the subtitles were machine-translated. Sixty-eight Brazilian translators volunteered to participate in this study. They completed a questionnaire, watched a movie trailer with post-edited subtitles, and then assessed the quality of the subtitles by rating them using a Likert-type scale. Finally, the participants responded to a written verbal protocol. Our analysis relies on the qualitative and quantitative data provided by the participants. The qualitative and quantitative data from the protocol answers were triangulated with the quantitative results from the Likert-type scale. IBM SPSS Statistics was used for statistical analysis. Our findings show that 28.1% of the translators assessed the post-edited subtitles as very satisfactory whereas 48.4% judged them as satisfactory. These results seem to be an indication of the acceptability of post-editing machine-translated subtitles as they find support in the written verbal protocol answers. Regarding the technical parameters, 43% of the participants reported no issues whereas 22.8% commented on the font colour and the font size. When asked about any linguistic aspects that could have disturbed the viewing experience, 64.1% of them reported that no linguistic issues were evident in the subtitles. A small percentage of the participants reported some linguistic problems, such as a lack of accuracy, the use of literal translation, and unnatural subtitles. Despite this apparent linguistic evidence of machine translation, no participant explicitly affirmed that the subtitles were machine-translated and post-edited.

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Section: Percentagementioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Final Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quality assessment of machine-translated post-edited subtitles: an analysis of Brazilian translators’ perceptions

Koglin,

Moura,

Matos

et al. 2023

LANS-TTS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…However, Campos and Azevedo (2020) highlight that streaming is one of today's most prominent and recent technological advancements. Streaming platforms have an intrinsic connection with subtitling, influencing the creation and distribution of audiovisual content.…”

Section: Acceptability Of Swear Words In Netflix Subtitlingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…That is why further empirical reception studies are necessary to investigate audience acceptability regarding swearing in subtitling. These empirical studies can serve to test how these findings can be applied to the AVT in today's technological society, specifically in the context of subtitling for streaming platforms (Campos and Azevedo 2020) and cloud-based subtitling systems (Bolaños-García-Escribano and Díaz-Cintas 2020) across various languages and cultures around the globe. In this sense, this paper aims to investigate whether the viewers' acceptability of swear words in interlingual subtitles may vary according to different offensive loads (see Section 2.3).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Subtitling of Swearing: A Pilot Reception Study

Moura

2024

Languages

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Reception studies in audiovisual translation seek to explore how translation choices affect the audience’s comprehension, emotional engagement, enjoyment, and overall viewing experience of audiovisual materials. This study focuses on the subtitling product and analyzes the acceptability of swear words translated through different stimuli: subtitles with softened, maintained, and intensified swearing, along with standard Netflix subtitles (control). Employing a multi-method approach, the study collected data through a survey, using questionnaires with a Likert scale and interviews, following the user-centered translation model to understand how participants receive and perceive swear words in subtitling. The results indicate that the control group had the highest acceptability of the participants, while the group with softened swear words presented the lowest acceptability rate. The analysis shows that participants across all groups reported that discomfort does not arise from reading the swear word in the subtitle but from perceiving a deliberate change in its offensive load—usually softened. The findings demonstrate that this change can lead to a breach of the contract of illusion in subtitling, as participants are exposed to the original dialogue and the translated subtitle simultaneously. In conclusion, when perceived, the change in the offensive load can redirect the viewer’s focus from the video to the subtitles, negatively affecting the enjoyment of the audiovisual experience.

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“…Consistency in the translation of a streaming TV series seems to be directly addressed only by Campos & Azevedo (2020). The two researchers posit that the fragmentation of the translation task leads to problems with "the consistency of the subtitles since the same term might be translated differently by different translators throughout the series, creating confusion for viewers."…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of labor division on audiovisual translation consistency - a study of streaming TV series

Aleksandrowicz¹

2022

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The aim of the paper is to investigate the impact of labor division on translation consistency and quality in a streaming TV series by comparing Polish subtitles and voice-over. The study scrutinizes the translations of three series – Santa Clarita Diet, Orange Is the New Black and Insatiable – prepared using three labor division patterns: (1) translators change between seasons, (2) different translators prepare the subtitles and voice-over simultaneously, (3) several translators are assigned individual episodes of one season. The results are varied and depend on the division pattern. When translators change between seasons, there seems to be little to no difference in quality or consistency. When translators work simultaneously and independently on two modes, inconsistencies are likely to happen, and they could be detected if the audience switches between the modes when watching. Humour, register and vulgarity visibly vary between the translations, which can also potentially influence the reception of the translations. When different translators prepare individual episodes within the same mode, consistency suffers, and quality fluctuates. The results also reveal the beneficial effect of translator communication on consistency and quality.

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Subtitling for streaming platforms: new techonologies, old issues

Cited by 3 publications

References 5 publications

Quality assessment of machine-translated post-edited subtitles: an analysis of Brazilian translators’ perceptions

Quality assessment of machine-translated post-edited subtitles: an analysis of Brazilian translators’ perceptions

The Subtitling of Swearing: A Pilot Reception Study

The impact of labor division on audiovisual translation consistency - a study of streaming TV series

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