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Table 1 ridicule politicians and leaders by creating fake subtitles that either expose their hidden agenda or simply make them sound ludicrous through absurd utterances” (Chaume, 2020, p. 329). Activist subtitling has also been present in the Iranian context, especially in recent years by many anti-government protesters and pro- government groups. Despite being blocked in Iran, Twitter has been the extensively used platform for sharing videos on political and social issues. To voice their protest across the world, the activists need to translate their content into international languages, most often English (Figure 6). The activist subtitlers, besides their hands-on activity in the translation of the audiovisual content of their choice, tend to recruit collaborations through open-calls mostly for help in further dissemination of the contents as well as translation of the same content into other languages besides English. Additionally, to make sure the content reaches out to all walks of life, the posts are reposted on Telegram, the most popular social network in Iran. Besides these, one political instance of fake or fun subtitles is worth mentioning here. During the coronavirus pandemic, many Persian Telegram channels distributed and shared (un)reliable information about this issue as an effort to support people facing problems. Much information was spread through translation, especially original educational video clips subtitled into Persian. Nevertheless, unreliable and false information through fake subtitling was easily distrusted. A telling example is the Persian subtitles of Vladimir Putin’s speech. The Russian clip was subtitled into Persian

Table 1 ridicule politicians and leaders by creating fake subtitles that either expose their hidden agenda or simply make them sound ludicrous through absurd utterances” (Chaume, 2020, p. 329). Activist subtitling has also been present in the Iranian context, especially in recent years by many anti-government protesters and pro- government groups. Despite being blocked in Iran, Twitter has been the extensively used platform for sharing videos on political and social issues. To voice their protest across the world, the activists need to translate their content into international languages, most often English (Figure 6). The activist subtitlers, besides their hands-on activity in the translation of the audiovisual content of their choice, tend to recruit collaborations through open-calls mostly for help in further dissemination of the contents as well as translation of the same content into other languages besides English. Additionally, to make sure the content reaches out to all walks of life, the posts are reposted on Telegram, the most popular social network in Iran. Besides these, one political instance of fake or fun subtitles is worth mentioning here. During the coronavirus pandemic, many Persian Telegram channels distributed and shared (un)reliable information about this issue as an effort to support people facing problems. Much information was spread through translation, especially original educational video clips subtitled into Persian. Nevertheless, unreliable and false information through fake subtitling was easily distrusted. A telling example is the Persian subtitles of Vladimir Putin’s speech. The Russian clip was subtitled into Persian

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reasonable answer to the above questions can be that any official subtitler who could meet at east the three professional translation criteria can be entitled quasi-professional translator. These criteria, discussed above, are service fees, the professional codes of practice, and the issue of quality. The final criterion could be fulfilled through rigorous training or intensive courses provided by universities and academic institutions in neighboring fields such as translation studies—in the absence of audiovisual translation pedagogy. Considering the service fees, there is no set rate for subtitling, and the fee commonly differs on a case-by-case basis and from company to company. Regarding the professional codes, AVT providers have their own conventions and regulations for the process of subtitling because there is no Iranian subtitling association at this time. However, these conventions cannot be tentatively accessed; further research should examine these rules and compare them with those of others followed internationally. It is also certain that the professional codes, if available, would be at best secondary to cultural regulations of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. In several studies in Iran, it was found that the subtitles made by the online subtitlers are of relatively poor quality as the translators simply ignore commercial subtitling conventions, such as rules relevant to temporal and spatial constraints (A meri & K hoshsaligheh, 2019; Khoshsaligheh & Amen, 2017b; Khoshsaligheh & Fazeli Haghpanah, 2016). Another research also evidences that online subtitlers refuse to apply censorship and the Figure 1 Sats SUN SS Persian Subtitles of David Beckham’s Talks on Sports Channel Taking advantage of interlingual subtitling on Iranian national television (e.g., Sports Channe and Documentary Channel) is a great initiative (see Figures 1 & 2). However, it has been limited to non-fiction content so far. For instance, the subtitling service offered by a national documentary TV channel, otherwise known as IRIB Mostanad, provides inter/intralingual subtitles to make the languages of ethnic groups and different dialects understandable to the audience. From the perspective of quality, these subtitles have some shortcomings in terms of reading speed, timing and duration, line length, and incorrect use of hyphens in speaker identification. However, some norms of commercial subtitling are adequately observed, for example, segmentation synchronization, punctuation, accuracy, and the use of block boxes for the sake of legibility. It is worth noting that even professional translators can make errors or mistakes. Translation is a human activity, and no human activity can be entirely free of errors. Nevertheless, mistakes and errors should not lead to norms, trends, and regularities for other subtitlers. Consequently, the severity and frequency of errors should be taken into consideration when distinguishing professional translators from § quasi- nrofessional or amateur ones.
reasonable answer to the above questions can be that any official subtitler who could meet at east the three professional translation criteria can be entitled quasi-professional translator. These criteria, discussed above, are service fees, the professional codes of practice, and the issue of quality. The final criterion could be fulfilled through rigorous training or intensive courses provided by universities and academic institutions in neighboring fields such as translation studies—in the absence of audiovisual translation pedagogy. Considering the service fees, there is no set rate for subtitling, and the fee commonly differs on a case-by-case basis and from company to company. Regarding the professional codes, AVT providers have their own conventions and regulations for the process of subtitling because there is no Iranian subtitling association at this time. However, these conventions cannot be tentatively accessed; further research should examine these rules and compare them with those of others followed internationally. It is also certain that the professional codes, if available, would be at best secondary to cultural regulations of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. In several studies in Iran, it was found that the subtitles made by the online subtitlers are of relatively poor quality as the translators simply ignore commercial subtitling conventions, such as rules relevant to temporal and spatial constraints (A meri & K hoshsaligheh, 2019; Khoshsaligheh & Amen, 2017b; Khoshsaligheh & Fazeli Haghpanah, 2016). Another research also evidences that online subtitlers refuse to apply censorship and the Figure 1 Sats SUN SS Persian Subtitles of David Beckham’s Talks on Sports Channel Taking advantage of interlingual subtitling on Iranian national television (e.g., Sports Channe and Documentary Channel) is a great initiative (see Figures 1 & 2). However, it has been limited to non-fiction content so far. For instance, the subtitling service offered by a national documentary TV channel, otherwise known as IRIB Mostanad, provides inter/intralingual subtitles to make the languages of ethnic groups and different dialects understandable to the audience. From the perspective of quality, these subtitles have some shortcomings in terms of reading speed, timing and duration, line length, and incorrect use of hyphens in speaker identification. However, some norms of commercial subtitling are adequately observed, for example, segmentation synchronization, punctuation, accuracy, and the use of block boxes for the sake of legibility. It is worth noting that even professional translators can make errors or mistakes. Translation is a human activity, and no human activity can be entirely free of errors. Nevertheless, mistakes and errors should not lead to norms, trends, and regularities for other subtitlers. Consequently, the severity and frequency of errors should be taken into consideration when distinguishing professional translators from § quasi- nrofessional or amateur ones.
Figure 2 Persian Subtitles of Foreign Documentaries on Documentary Channel
Figure 2 Persian Subtitles of Foreign Documentaries on Documentary Channel
Figure 3 Reception studies also show that Iranian viewers appear to be satisfied with amateur subtitles. Khoshsaligheh et al. (2019)’s study is the first attempt to explore the reception of Fansubtitles are mission- and community- oriented. That is, the main motivation behind producing them is promoting a genre from a certain culture like the Korean or the J apanese. Anime or video games are a perfect example here. These subtitles are produced on a voluntarily basis, and no monetary rewards are sought by the fansubtitlers (Fazeli Haghpanah & Khoshsaligheh, 2018; Khoshsaligheh & Ameri, 2017b). Good examples worth mentioning are subtitles produced by the Iranian group of “The Simpsons” which aims to familiarize the Iranian audiences with this classic American animated series (Figure 3).
Figure 3 Reception studies also show that Iranian viewers appear to be satisfied with amateur subtitles. Khoshsaligheh et al. (2019)’s study is the first attempt to explore the reception of Fansubtitles are mission- and community- oriented. That is, the main motivation behind producing them is promoting a genre from a certain culture like the Korean or the J apanese. Anime or video games are a perfect example here. These subtitles are produced on a voluntarily basis, and no monetary rewards are sought by the fansubtitlers (Fazeli Haghpanah & Khoshsaligheh, 2018; Khoshsaligheh & Ameri, 2017b). Good examples worth mentioning are subtitles produced by the Iranian group of “The Simpsons” which aims to familiarize the Iranian audiences with this classic American animated series (Figure 3).
Figure 4 IP Ege Soe: Subtitle for Stand- Up Comedy: Chris Rock: “Nowadays We Pay for Things Which Used to Be Free”
Figure 4 IP Ege Soe: Subtitle for Stand- Up Comedy: Chris Rock: “Nowadays We Pay for Things Which Used to Be Free”
Figure 5 subtitles may also be used for criticism and to openly express opinions against the existing policies, as Chaume (2020, p. 329) nicely mentions, “fansubbers ridicule politicians and leaders by creating fake subtitles”. In the following example (Figure 5) uploaded to Aparat.com (the Iranian version of YouTube), a Korean music video by Bangtan Sonyeondan was funsubtitled into Persian, and the subtitles had nothing to do with the orginal lyrics. Rather than rendering the original content, the funsubtitles in Persian reads “J am fed up with the jealous teachers who do not allow us to nap in the class”. Like fundubbing (Chaume, 2012; Nord, Khoshsaligheh, & Ameri, 2015), funsubtitling involves fake verbal content in the subtitles of the original program, which is not difficult to distinguish from reality. Funsubtitling, created by amateurs or a group of fans, is distributed through computer-mediated technologies and aims to “offer false information with the 29 ultimate objective of entertaining the viewer (Diaz Cintas, 2018, p. 135). The humorous and witty nature may not necessarily aim for entreating the audience as the use of parody in rn © Funsubtitling in Persian on a Korean Music ‘Video by Bangtan Sonyeondan
Figure 5 subtitles may also be used for criticism and to openly express opinions against the existing policies, as Chaume (2020, p. 329) nicely mentions, “fansubbers ridicule politicians and leaders by creating fake subtitles”. In the following example (Figure 5) uploaded to Aparat.com (the Iranian version of YouTube), a Korean music video by Bangtan Sonyeondan was funsubtitled into Persian, and the subtitles had nothing to do with the orginal lyrics. Rather than rendering the original content, the funsubtitles in Persian reads “J am fed up with the jealous teachers who do not allow us to nap in the class”. Like fundubbing (Chaume, 2012; Nord, Khoshsaligheh, & Ameri, 2015), funsubtitling involves fake verbal content in the subtitles of the original program, which is not difficult to distinguish from reality. Funsubtitling, created by amateurs or a group of fans, is distributed through computer-mediated technologies and aims to “offer false information with the 29 ultimate objective of entertaining the viewer (Diaz Cintas, 2018, p. 135). The humorous and witty nature may not necessarily aim for entreating the audience as the use of parody in rn © Funsubtitling in Persian on a Korean Music ‘Video by Bangtan Sonyeondan
tS Det Two Examples of Activist Subtitling on Twitter
tS Det Two Examples of Activist Subtitling on Twitter
Figure 7 “<< Ss Example of Commission-Oriented Subtitling in Persian for TED TED, is 21 characters per second. More importantly, the TED translators are simply volunteer translators and are not paid for their work, but they are credited with their name.
Figure 7 “<< Ss Example of Commission-Oriented Subtitling in Persian for TED TED, is 21 characters per second. More importantly, the TED translators are simply volunteer translators and are not paid for their work, but they are credited with their name.
Scrolling Texts Appearing on the Right Corner of the Screen IRIB Salamat (Health Channel) has been providing subtitles for an American science
Scrolling Texts Appearing on the Right Corner of the Screen IRIB Salamat (Health Channel) has been providing subtitles for an American science
SDH Provided By Quasi- Professional Subtitlers for a Persian Dubbed Version of an American Science Series
SDH Provided By Quasi- Professional Subtitlers for a Persian Dubbed Version of an American Science Series
Speaker Identification by Hyphens and Verbalized Sound Effects
Speaker Identification by Hyphens and Verbalized Sound Effects
Sets Dee Description of Background Music participants requested the description of the background music.
Sets Dee Description of Background Music participants requested the description of the background music.
SDH Provided by Non-Professional Subtitlers For Segments of a Series (on the Left) and a Talk Show (on the Right) These subtitles are transcriptions of the dialogue list and by no means conform to SDH standards. A nother example for fan-SDH is the free service offered by the Iranian fansubbing group, Avanegaran, which is available on the group’s website, Instagram page, and Telegram channel. The sole purpose of this group, as mentioned on its homepage, is to contribute to the prevalence of SDH provision for feature films and TV programs. The subtitles have high presentation rates. However, they adhere to a handful number of the SDH conventions, such as sound description, tone/mood description, and speaker identification; among others (see Figure 14).
SDH Provided by Non-Professional Subtitlers For Segments of a Series (on the Left) and a Talk Show (on the Right) These subtitles are transcriptions of the dialogue list and by no means conform to SDH standards. A nother example for fan-SDH is the free service offered by the Iranian fansubbing group, Avanegaran, which is available on the group’s website, Instagram page, and Telegram channel. The sole purpose of this group, as mentioned on its homepage, is to contribute to the prevalence of SDH provision for feature films and TV programs. The subtitles have high presentation rates. However, they adhere to a handful number of the SDH conventions, such as sound description, tone/mood description, and speaker identification; among others (see Figure 14).
Use of Asterisks (Instead of Musical Notes) in a Fan- SDH to Show Background Music is Playing Fan-SDH Provided for a Feature Film videos since 2017. The subtitles available on the channel have very different formats and, in some cases, failed to adhere to the basic standards of subtitling (e.g., subtitle placement, color, and line length) (Figure 13). The mentioned initiative is also supported by hearing fans of SDH. These groups have been making local audiovisual products accessible to DHH viewers in recent years. For instance, some users of A parat.com have been producing intralingual subtitles for audiovisual products, especially popular TV programs in the last few years.
Use of Asterisks (Instead of Musical Notes) in a Fan- SDH to Show Background Music is Playing Fan-SDH Provided for a Feature Film videos since 2017. The subtitles available on the channel have very different formats and, in some cases, failed to adhere to the basic standards of subtitling (e.g., subtitle placement, color, and line length) (Figure 13). The mentioned initiative is also supported by hearing fans of SDH. These groups have been making local audiovisual products accessible to DHH viewers in recent years. For instance, some users of A parat.com have been producing intralingual subtitles for audiovisual products, especially popular TV programs in the last few years.
Figure 15 Besides, some Iranian singers have distributed their music videos with captioned lyrics, and even have persuaded some Instagram users to post their own witty and entertaining video clips with intralingual subtitles on Instagram ON SDH Provided for a Music Video (on the Left) and a Short Comic Video Clip (on the Right)
Figure 15 Besides, some Iranian singers have distributed their music videos with captioned lyrics, and even have persuaded some Instagram users to post their own witty and entertaining video clips with intralingual subtitles on Instagram ON SDH Provided for a Music Video (on the Left) and a Short Comic Video Clip (on the Right)
guidelines. Consequently, the subtitlers do not necessarily conform to a certain guideline and only render the original content according to their personal decisions. n general, since none of the Iranian subtitling services meet all the four aforementioned criteria, especially the lack of a national set of professional subtitling codes and guidelines professional subtitling is virtually non-existent. However, not all subtitles could be called channels, which produce relatively good quality subtitles and observe a set of ideological principles regulated by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, retain quasi-professional subtitling services. Nevertheless, unauthorized video-sharing websites and individuals who produce subtitles without maintaining the ideological regulations, fall into the category of amateur subtitling, which typically endures questionable quality in terms of translation and technical issues. One of the cautions emerging from this categorization is that Iranian researchers, especially graduate students who do research on non-professional subtitling, should attend to the difference between the two varieties of subtitling. Moreover, comparing students’ subtitles with the existent non- professional subtitles could enhance the quality of the students’ translations and raise their pragmatic awareness (Lakarnchua, 2017;
guidelines. Consequently, the subtitlers do not necessarily conform to a certain guideline and only render the original content according to their personal decisions. n general, since none of the Iranian subtitling services meet all the four aforementioned criteria, especially the lack of a national set of professional subtitling codes and guidelines professional subtitling is virtually non-existent. However, not all subtitles could be called channels, which produce relatively good quality subtitles and observe a set of ideological principles regulated by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, retain quasi-professional subtitling services. Nevertheless, unauthorized video-sharing websites and individuals who produce subtitles without maintaining the ideological regulations, fall into the category of amateur subtitling, which typically endures questionable quality in terms of translation and technical issues. One of the cautions emerging from this categorization is that Iranian researchers, especially graduate students who do research on non-professional subtitling, should attend to the difference between the two varieties of subtitling. Moreover, comparing students’ subtitles with the existent non- professional subtitles could enhance the quality of the students’ translations and raise their pragmatic awareness (Lakarnchua, 2017;
Related topics:
Media StudiesTranslation StudiesPolitical ScienceAVT (Translation Studies)Audiovisual TranslationSubtitling for the deaf and hard of hearingNon-professional SubtitlingLanguage Culture and Society
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