The translation industry covers a myriad of text sources that require translation, both via oral and written means. Based on this fact, the need arises to make a more precise distinction between those two forms, so we call the first one “interpretation” while we reserve “translation” for the written form. However, there is a common feature to both variants: the fact that each one encompasses a large variety of modalities, which correspond to what is called translation typologies. On the one hand, regarding interpretation, there are three main consolidated typologies: simultaneous interpretation, consecutive interpretation and bilateral or liaison interpretation, among others. On the other hand, we have translation modalities. Care must be taken not to confuse modalities with specialty fields, such as the legal, technological or health translation fields. Translation modalities are intricately linked to the final transmission means, especially where specific platforms are involved. In these cases, translation goes beyond the mere exercise of interlanguage conversion, including a series of factors as well as the need to be familiarized with specific software and resources. This is the case with subtitle translation, and we will now proceed to explain what it consists of, its main characteristics and how to decide on the most suitable translator profile for the task. Subtitling translation is the localization of textual content to be used as a visual resource with the objective of bringing an audience closer to a speech in a foreign language, which is reproduced in synch with their projection on a screen. This is a key definition because although conventional wisdom would have us believe that subtitles are only used in films and TV series, the truth is that they also play a fundamental role in the business and entrepreneurial field, since this is a typical modality, for example, when localizing video tutorials, webinars, interviews with members of different bodies, product or service demonstrations, virtual training videos, etc. In fact, such is their relevance that subtitle translation accounts for almost 10% of the global language services market, stemming from the current trend to use the video format as an essential tool in many industries. Now let’s take a look at some figures: 86% of businesses use videos as a marketing tool, over 50% of consumers would rather watch videos from their favorite brands (instead of static images), 82% of Internet international traffic corresponds to streaming or downloading services, 85% of videos on social media are viewed in silent mode (just by reading the subtitles), 95% of a message is better recalled if it has been transmitted in audiovisual format (while this percentage only reaches 10% for written text), and 88% of our Internet time is dedicated to watching videos. It looks like a great market niche, doesn’t it? However, this is not a translation modality to be taken lightly, because subtitle translation is not quite the same as the translation of documents that we all tend to associate with conventional translation, regardless of the fact that this is carried out with computer assisted tools or not. Then, how are they different? When translating subtitles, we must take into account the bigger picture. Generally, subtitles correspond to an audio track and are simultaneously displayed. Thus, it can be inferred that, at some point during the process, specific tools must be used with specific file formats. For this reason, the translator must be familiar with the most commonly used software or, alternatively, have a management flow manager for their translation project who can prepare this content (which is normally segmented by means of time marks) in a format that can be dealt with by the translator. In this sense, some translation agencies can be responsible for several steps of the process, such as audio transcription, time segmentation of the text to generate the source subtitles and the format conversions that translators need. Likewise, subtitles can be also understood as a series of characters that are displayed in a row on the screen. This aspect is crucial because the screen is a limited space and the text must appear such that it does not interfere with the image and, in turn, allows spectators to read its content in a reasonable time. For this reason, the common reference point for every subtitle translation project entails displaying only two lines of subtitles at once and agreeing on a maximum number of characters per line, in order to facilitate reading. As a rule of thumb, each second corresponds to between 12 and 15 characters. Then, what can be considered as a good profile for a subtitle translator? First things first, every subtitle translator is expected to be equipped with suitable language proficiency for performing translations, but building on this foundation, they must also have the ability to adapt the text so that it meets the requirements in this modality, which they must know by heart. Likewise, they must be able to discern which textual information is relevant and provides information and which elements can be discarded, such as fillers that are only useful as an aid in oral expression. For this reason, the translation of subtitles requires the translator to be creative, to prioritize and interpret, while respecting the degree of literalness required by the area at hand; i.e., it is not the same to translate the subtitles for a sitcom than the subtitles for technical training targeted to a company’s employees. Thanks to the digitalization era, translation is making way into new transmission channels, and as these keep coming up, we must entrust our localization needs to professionals who are aware of their essential nature and are capable of reproducing that nature while complying with the highest quality standards.
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