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Fig. 9 Frequency of working with subtitling equipment

Figure 9 Frequency of working with subtitling equipment

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Table 1 Respondents SLs As for target languages (TLs), respondents translated into 30 languages in total. Eight respondents used two main working languages so that the total count is 437. Details concerning the TLs are shown in Table 2.
Table 1 Respondents SLs As for target languages (TLs), respondents translated into 30 languages in total. Eight respondents used two main working languages so that the total count is 437. Details concerning the TLs are shown in Table 2.
Fig. 1 Frequency of working into languages other than mother tongue The gender ratio of the respondents was close to 25% male and 75% female. Among participants, 55.7% were aged 25-40, 34.5% were aged 41-55 and the remaining were either younger than 25 (2.6%) or older than 55 (7.2%) years old. Over 50% of respondents held a university degree, 35.4% had a postgraduate degree, and 5.8% a high school degree. Only one participant’s level of study was lower than high school, and the remaining 5.3% mostly either held a diploma or had studied, but not to degree level. Regarding qualifications and specialisation, 72.3% of the respondents indicated that they possessed a qualification in translation and only 32.9% stated that they had achieved a specialised qualification in subtitling, tallying with the fact that audiovisual translation (AVT) training is a relatively new area in most educational institutions throughout the world.
Fig. 1 Frequency of working into languages other than mother tongue The gender ratio of the respondents was close to 25% male and 75% female. Among participants, 55.7% were aged 25-40, 34.5% were aged 41-55 and the remaining were either younger than 25 (2.6%) or older than 55 (7.2%) years old. Over 50% of respondents held a university degree, 35.4% had a postgraduate degree, and 5.8% a high school degree. Only one participant’s level of study was lower than high school, and the remaining 5.3% mostly either held a diploma or had studied, but not to degree level. Regarding qualifications and specialisation, 72.3% of the respondents indicated that they possessed a qualification in translation and only 32.9% stated that they had achieved a specialised qualification in subtitling, tallying with the fact that audiovisual translation (AVT) training is a relatively new area in most educational institutions throughout the world.
Translation into the subtitlers’ mother tongues or main languages seemed to be the norm, with 418 (97.4% of the 429 respondents subtitling routinely in this direction. This supports the traditional view that translators should translate only into their mother tongue, as the essence and flavour of the target language is more likely to be attained by native speakers. As Newmark (1988: 3) argues, translating into one’s language of habitual use is “the only way [one can] translate naturally, accurately and with maximum effectiveness”, a mantra that has been traditionally embraced by numerous scholars and professionals. Translation into a non-mother tongues is in fact frowned upon and considered to be doomed to failure by many scholars (Dickins et al. 2002; Duff 1981). However, according to the survey results, the situation may be Table 2 Respondents TLs
Translation into the subtitlers’ mother tongues or main languages seemed to be the norm, with 418 (97.4% of the 429 respondents subtitling routinely in this direction. This supports the traditional view that translators should translate only into their mother tongue, as the essence and flavour of the target language is more likely to be attained by native speakers. As Newmark (1988: 3) argues, translating into one’s language of habitual use is “the only way [one can] translate naturally, accurately and with maximum effectiveness”, a mantra that has been traditionally embraced by numerous scholars and professionals. Translation into a non-mother tongues is in fact frowned upon and considered to be doomed to failure by many scholars (Dickins et al. 2002; Duff 1981). However, according to the survey results, the situation may be Table 2 Respondents TLs
Table 3 Ranges of average subtitling rates — only translating from a template Table 3 shows the ranges of average subtitling rates received by respondents when they translated subtitles from a template into their main languages; that is, the task did not include time-cueing or spotting and they focused solely on linguistic transfer.
Table 3 Ranges of average subtitling rates — only translating from a template Table 3 shows the ranges of average subtitling rates received by respondents when they translated subtitles from a template into their main languages; that is, the task did not include time-cueing or spotting and they focused solely on linguistic transfer.
Table 4 Ranges of average subtitling rates — only time-cueing
Table 4 Ranges of average subtitling rates — only time-cueing
Table 5 Ranges of average subtitling rates — time-cueing and translation
Table 5 Ranges of average subtitling rates — time-cueing and translation
Table 6 Ranges of average revision and proofreading rates
Table 6 Ranges of average revision and proofreading rates
Fig.2 Frequency of timely payments from clients participants commented that their clients ‘rarely’ made timely payments, and 1.4% claimed that their clients ‘never’ paid on time.
Fig.2 Frequency of timely payments from clients participants commented that their clients ‘rarely’ made timely payments, and 1.4% claimed that their clients ‘never’ paid on time.
Fig. 3 Negotiation power vs. subtitling experience rates The relationship between negotiation power and the respondents’ age, level of education, qualifications and subtitling experience have been examined in further detail, with the results showing that there is no apparent correlations among the variables studied. However, information provided by respondents did highlight a trend among those who negotiated with their clients, shown in Figure 3; the ratio did increase exponentially with subtitling experience. Meanwhile, the ratio for those whose clients set the rates also decreased as subtitling experience increased. This tendency suggests that more experienced subtitlers are more likely to negotiate with their clients. Nevertheless, this might only reveal an inclination to negotiate and not necessarily an increase in negotiation power.
Fig. 3 Negotiation power vs. subtitling experience rates The relationship between negotiation power and the respondents’ age, level of education, qualifications and subtitling experience have been examined in further detail, with the results showing that there is no apparent correlations among the variables studied. However, information provided by respondents did highlight a trend among those who negotiated with their clients, shown in Figure 3; the ratio did increase exponentially with subtitling experience. Meanwhile, the ratio for those whose clients set the rates also decreased as subtitling experience increased. This tendency suggests that more experienced subtitlers are more likely to negotiate with their clients. Nevertheless, this might only reveal an inclination to negotiate and not necessarily an increase in negotiation power.
Factors such as working habits also tended to influence subtitlers’ negotiation powers. In this regard, 92.3% of the respondents claimed that they ‘always’ (72.5%) or ‘mostly’ (19.8%) worked for their typical clients from home. The results are summarised in Figure 4 .
Factors such as working habits also tended to influence subtitlers’ negotiation powers. In this regard, 92.3% of the respondents claimed that they ‘always’ (72.5%) or ‘mostly’ (19.8%) worked for their typical clients from home. The results are summarised in Figure 4 .
Fig. 5 Practice of royalty payments
Fig. 5 Practice of royalty payments
Despite the campaign led by some translators and subtitling associations to raise the visibility of professional subtitlers, the fact remains that, for many companies and viewers, the best subtitles are those that are not noticed. In this respect, the reality is that subtitlers are more often perceived when they make mistakes than when they produce successful translations. On the part of the professionals themselves, the survey results reveal, as demonstrated in Figure 6, that there was a strong desire among the respondents to raise their visibility both socially and professionally. This was attested by 74.4% of respondents who claimed that they ‘always’ preferred to have their names appear on the credits of subtitled programmes.
Despite the campaign led by some translators and subtitling associations to raise the visibility of professional subtitlers, the fact remains that, for many companies and viewers, the best subtitles are those that are not noticed. In this respect, the reality is that subtitlers are more often perceived when they make mistakes than when they produce successful translations. On the part of the professionals themselves, the survey results reveal, as demonstrated in Figure 6, that there was a strong desire among the respondents to raise their visibility both socially and professionally. This was attested by 74.4% of respondents who claimed that they ‘always’ preferred to have their names appear on the credits of subtitled programmes.
Table 7. Deadline range The tightest deadline was reported by a Turkish respondent, with a typical client/commissioner also based in Turkey. The reported answers not only cover a wide range of programme lengths and given times, but also vary greatly from person to person. Tellingly, only one Swiss respondent, with a typical client/commissioner in Switzerland, was able to decide her own deadlines, usually allowing more than two weeks to subtitle a 60-minute programme. The fact that many respondents have been forced to work to tight deadlines to some extent justifies their attitudes towards their (in)visibility, as discussed in section 4.4.
Table 7. Deadline range The tightest deadline was reported by a Turkish respondent, with a typical client/commissioner also based in Turkey. The reported answers not only cover a wide range of programme lengths and given times, but also vary greatly from person to person. Tellingly, only one Swiss respondent, with a typical client/commissioner in Switzerland, was able to decide her own deadlines, usually allowing more than two weeks to subtitle a 60-minute programme. The fact that many respondents have been forced to work to tight deadlines to some extent justifies their attitudes towards their (in)visibility, as discussed in section 4.4.
Fig. 7 Professional practice as regards the inclusion of the subtitler’s name in the acknowledgement credits This might be because ‘subtitlers’ credit’ is either required by law, or because subtitlers are supported by strong unions in these countries.
Fig. 7 Professional practice as regards the inclusion of the subtitler’s name in the acknowledgement credits This might be because ‘subtitlers’ credit’ is either required by law, or because subtitlers are supported by strong unions in these countries.
Fig. 8 Influence of tight deadlines on quality as more time could be devoted not only to documenting and finding appropriate solutions, but also to conducting a final quality check and revision.
Fig. 8 Influence of tight deadlines on quality as more time could be devoted not only to documenting and finding appropriate solutions, but also to conducting a final quality check and revision.
Table 8. Supporting material provision It should be noted that some respondents mentioned that they had to translate without access to audiovisual material, i.e. video clips. This approach endangers the quality of the subtitling output, as images are a crucial part of the audiovisual programme and should be taken into consideration when producing subtitles that are coherent and cohesive with the overall semiotic complex.
Table 8. Supporting material provision It should be noted that some respondents mentioned that they had to translate without access to audiovisual material, i.e. video clips. This approach endangers the quality of the subtitling output, as images are a crucial part of the audiovisual programme and should be taken into consideration when producing subtitles that are coherent and cohesive with the overall semiotic complex.
Table 9. Quality of the provided supporting material The survey was set up to explore the correlation between the quality of the subtitling output and the quality of the supporting material. Although appreciation is necessarily subjective, the results show that there is, indeed, a clear correlation. The impact of different types of supporting material on output quality according to the subtitlers who completed the survey is shown in Table 10. In this regard, it seems that respondents greatly appreciate the quality of audiovisual material, dialogue lists and templates. concerning the perception of the respondents in relation to the quality of the main supporting material they had received from their typical clients are presented in Table 9.
Table 9. Quality of the provided supporting material The survey was set up to explore the correlation between the quality of the subtitling output and the quality of the supporting material. Although appreciation is necessarily subjective, the results show that there is, indeed, a clear correlation. The impact of different types of supporting material on output quality according to the subtitlers who completed the survey is shown in Table 10. In this regard, it seems that respondents greatly appreciate the quality of audiovisual material, dialogue lists and templates. concerning the perception of the respondents in relation to the quality of the main supporting material they had received from their typical clients are presented in Table 9.
Table 10. Influence of the quality of supporting material on the final translation 4.9 Changes since the economic downturn
Table 10. Influence of the quality of supporting material on the final translation 4.9 Changes since the economic downturn
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Audiovisual Translation (subtitling)Translator and Interpreter TrainingTranslation Industry
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