Audiovisual Localization: Short Guideline for Romanian Subtitles
Audiovisual Localization: Short Guideline for Romanian subtitles
Are you trying to find out how to make good subtitle translations, according to the rules and standards of the industry? We have created below a brief guideline, containing rules and tips to consider when you will deal with your next translation project involving subtitles in Romanian – we hope you will find them useful.
As you may already know, adding subtitles to an audio or video material is one of the ways to make content more accessible to an audience – this is one form of audiovisual localization. Moreover, the translation of these subtitles into Romanian (and all other languages) opens up a whole new world: you have the possibility to offer this content to a brand new audience, lifting cultural and linguistic barriers. The translation of subtitles represents a branch in the translation industry, more specifically in the industry of audiovisual localization, along with voiceover and dubbing, and it is an intriguing and distinct one, because even if it is based on a series of very strict rules, it is a creative process.
These rules are usually generic, obtained from streaming platforms such as Netflix, Disney+ or specific (supplied by the client), and represent a starting point for the creation and delivery of a high-quality content. Among the most important categories, we notice the adaptation of the text, reading speed, positioning of the subtitles, line breaks and many more, but also the target audience, as it is important to know from the start whom you are addressing your content: children, adults or people with hearing difficulties.
So, let’s take a deep dive and find out more information about all of these.
Just as in the case of other types of translations, when tackling audiovisual localization, we must take into account the fact that the resulting text may be shorter or longer than the source one, and here is where you encounter the need to adapt the text, keeping, at the same time, the meaning and the clarity of the message – you can achieve this adaptation either by changing certain grammatical forms, editing words that are redundant or repetitive or using antonymic phrases.
Take a look at a few examples:
Grammatical form changes
Ei i s-a spus de către mama ei că nu poate merge la bal. – 56 characters and spaces
Mama ei i-a spus că nu poate merge la bal. – 42 characters and spaces
Antonymic phrases
Nu cred că ai dreptate!
Cred că greșești!
Furthermore, the spacing, positioning and length of subtitles are just as important.
Let’s start with positioning: ideally, the text should be kept on one line. However, this is not always possible, so a maximum of two lines is accepted. The subtitles should be placed in the lower part of the screen, the second line being, preferably, the longer one, just like a pyramid, but try to avoid having just one or two words on the first line. The subtitles should be placed in the upper side of the screen only if there is already existent on-screen text, which these may cover. The recommended font is Arial, the color is white, and the size of the text should be chosen considering the video resolution, so the 42 characters per line fit and don’t cover important parts of the image.
Character limit per line
This limit includes spaces and punctuation, and it is usually 42 characters per line for Romanian subtitles.
Reading speed
The reading speed is different from one language to another, however, for subtitles in Romanian, the character limit per second is between 17 and 20 characters for adult programs, and between 13 and 15 for children programs. Most subtitling programs warn you if you have exceeded the pre-set limit, just make sure to check out the settings, and adjust them according to your requirements. It is best to not translate words or phrases repeated more than once.
Line break
There are so many rules to take into consideration when it comes to line treatment, but the most important part is to maintain a correct grammar (for example, a line break should take place after punctuation and you should never break lines after articles, pronouns, such as “who”, “which” etc., never split a proper name and many other).
Let’s take a look at the example below:
M-am dus la bibliotecă și am luat o
carte pentru tine.
Correct version would have been:
M-am dus la bibliotecă
și am luat o carte pentru tine.
Use of ellipses
Ellipses are used in two cases: when a pause is indicated in the speech (for example, “I wanted to tell you… that I am sorry”) or when the line of a speaker is suddenly interrupted by another speaker, as in the example below:
– Voiam să spun…
– Nu contează!
– …că ești frumoasă.
– Mulțumesc!
Do not use ellipses when a sentence is split between two continuous subtitles.
Dual speakers
When the case, a hyphen should be used to indicate dual speakers.
Use italics for dialogues that are heard, but there are no speakers on the screen, such as a phone conversation, television, or computer. In case there is someone speaking in the background, the priority remains the translation of the plot-pertinent text.
Music and lyrics
When lyrics are encountered, you only need to translate plot-pertinent texts, and only if rights are granted; in case of translation, the lyrics shall start with an uppercase letter, written with italics, and included with a music note (♪).
Text in a foreign language
The text in a foreign language shall only be translated if it’s plot-pertinent, and italics should be used when transposing it into the text (exception from this rule is when there are proper names or words that are already accepted and included in the day to day vocabulary of the target language (such as “weekend”, “ciao” and so on).
Numbers
Numbers from 1 to 10 shall be spelled out, and above 10, numbers can be written numerically; however, if a sentence starts with a number, it should be spelled out. For the Romanian language, a comma shall be used as a decimal separator (1,5); for numbers between 1000 and 9999, a period shall not be used (e.g. “5678”), but in case of numbers higher than 9999, a period is required (e.g. “20.045”).
General rules
Proper nouns should not be translated; translate them only if there is an official translation, approved by the client. Nicknames should only be translated if their meaning is significant to the plot or if there are already approved official translations (for example, in Romanian, Albă ca Zăpada, Cenușăreasa, Moș Crăciun and so on).
On-screen text
The on-screen text should only be translated if it’s relevant for the plot, and when the on-screen text covers the dialogue, the dialogue shall be a priority. Moreover, the on-screen text must be written with uppercase letters when this is possible. It is ideal to avoid interrupting a line for on-screen text, but if this cannot be avoided, an ellipsis shall be used at the end of the first line and at the beginning of the line preceding the on-screen text.
NEVER use periods before interrogation or exclamation marks.
Use of quotation marks
Quotation marks shall be used at the start of the quotation and after the last line containing a quote (instead of using them at the beginning and end of every subtitle). For Romanian translations, always use lower and upper double quotation marks („”), without spaces.
Italics
Use italics for:
- albums, book titles, movies and TV shows;
- foreign words;
- dialogue heard through TV, phone, radio or other;
- lyrics (only of rights are granted); if not, these shall be translated and put into quotation marks.
Subtitles for people with hearing issues (SDH)
When we perform audiovisual localization for deaf and hard of hearing (SDH), translating the subtitles in Romanian using as many details as possible is very important, such as actions, song titles, sound effects, music types, foreign dialogue, so every viewer gets what they need for a truly remarkable experience.
Special instructions
When you encounter brand names, these shall be kept in the source language, but if these are not famous in your country, you can adapt them, and use a similar product, known by your audience (for example, for “Kleenex”, use “șervețele”).
All dialogue shall be translated, and in case of overlaps with on-screen text, precedence should be given to the one being more plot-pertinent, and censoring shall be avoided. It is very important to keep the original tone of voice, but it is just as important that your text sounds natural. You should always avoid using a too faithful translation, and all repetitions, redundant words and information deemed unnecessary shall be left out.
Audiovisual localization is essential for the world we live in today, and subtitles represent the artistic instrument through which you are able to facilitate the distribution of the information, and their translation helps in the inclusion of non-native groups of viewers, who are able to easier understand your video material. So, even though we know these guidelines may seem a lot and may seem hard to comply with all of them, do not take them as something meant to be an obstacle, but a challenge to put your creativity and mind to use in order to obtain a natural and correct text.
For more information, read our articole on how to start out as a translator, especially in the field of subtitles in Romanian: Romanian subtitles. My Journey in Subtitling: The Beginnings.
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