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.

••

You can find a few more blogposts here – we seized the opportunity, and took a short break from the daily to-do lists and translations tools.

Date of publication: 11.11.2022

The post Audiovisual Localization: Short Guideline for Romanian Subtitles appeared first on The Department.

Openness to new things and an on-going research are both essential in order to succeed in the translation industry, and especially in that of Romanian subtitles. So many changes take place while you are reading this article. As a translator, linguist or a philologist, you must always be curious, ready for new challenges and open to new research. Generally speaking, this field is a progressive one, in which you can always feel as a beginner when it comes to words. And if you really are one, any field can rise difficulties and challenges at first, and even if it sounds like some sort of a cliché, it is important to figure out what it is that defines you, and to try to do that something with passion.

If you are on the lookout for a creative and exciting translation field or if you think that translating subtitles represents a path you might want to follow in the future, here is some information you could use to start your own journey in the field.

As for myself, as I also started my journey with subtitles recently, I thought it would be useful to share it with you, in hopes of spreading some details and inspiration for those who might need it. In my case, it came as a pleasant surprise. Being enthusiastic about foreign languages and everything concerning visual arts, the process of subtitling gave me exactly the experience I needed: a creative and versatile space, which turned from a hobby into a full-time job of which I am extremely proud.

Why do we need subtitles?

Being an industry in which curiosity is key, you must ask yourself “why?”. Why do we need subtitles? We need them because they represent one of means for cultural accessibility, they offer an improved viewing experience, a way to learn a foreign language, by understanding various accents and learning new vocabularies.

Subtitles help those who have trouble focusing or who suffer of hearing impairment to better understand the narrative. Not only that you contribute to a cultural flexibility, but you also help others less fortunate than you have the same experience and gain access to information and entertainment.

Conclusion? When you do your job passionately and you see the bigger picture, you are able to discover how important it is what you do.

But what’s the use of theory without practice?

What do you need to start a Romanian subtitling project?

Here are the three most important things:

1. A list of specific rules for subtitles (and their translation): this will be either supplied by the client or you can decide to use the general rules (along with the client’s specifications), drafted by Disney (timed text style guide for Romanian subtitles), Netflix (timed text style guide for Romanian subtitles) or others. Like in many other fields, in subtitling as well, rules are meant to be followed; you need to consider the industry standards to supply subtitles that are easy to follow, high-quality and consistent.
2. A subtitling tool: today, technology is our best friend, offering thousands of possibilities for our daily lives, something that also happens when it comes to subtitles. There are many intuitive and user-friendly subtitling programs, even for those with limited IT knowledge. Let’s just name a few: EZTitles, Sfera, Ooona, Subtitle Edit, Happy Scribe, Matesub and the subtitling plugin of SDL Trados Studio. To make your own work easier, it is important to find the tool that best suits your needs and to research everything it may offer, including shortcuts, functionalities and many more.
3. Try this out – put yourself in the shoes of the viewer: offer the experience that you would like to have. I highly encourage you to research to whom the video material is addressed to, who the target audience is. Only after you figured this out, are you able to see the real contribution of a translator. You might as well be the voice that accompanies the viewers in a special journey. So, keep in mind the age group, area of interest, context and style of the material. It’s all in the details.

The basics when it comes to Romanian subtitles

If the aim is to translate the material from a foreign language into your native language, you need to have a SubRip (.srt) file, which is a simple format used by most of the translators, being compatible with many video editing software. You will either receive this from the client or you will have to make it from scratch (maybe using an automated transcription program) – a subsequent article will detail what to do when you don’t receive a source file from the client or if this is not adequately synchronized with the video.

However, be careful, as not all free versions ensure the confidentiality of the material. Without being aware, you might find yourself in a case of transferring the content, or even the confidential information of the client, to a third party platform, which may further share your work.

If you are to translate the material into a foreign language, my advice would be to turn to a native speaker of that language for the localization and final revision of the subtitling file. Cultural adjustment is an important detail, and it provides added value, which you could certainly use in order to get „“closer” to your audience.

Before starting a project, you must read the instructions provided by the client, or if you have not received any, you can find below a few.

Five of most important standard rules that have to be followed for a high-quality result when it comes to Romanian subtitles

1. Each subtitle must have a maximum number of two lines in the lower part of the screen. This will be positioned in the upper part of the screen only if there is already on-screen text in the lower part which the subtitle might cover. Preferably, keep the text on one line. If not possible, in case of two line events, make sure you keep a correct and logical line break, maintaining the second line longer, just like a pyramid.

For example:

Went to the library and bought a

book for you.

Correct version would’ve been:

Went to the library

and bought a book for you.

2. The recommended font style is Arial, and the font size depends on the video resolution and ability to fit 42 characters across the screen.

3. The subtitle line must not exceed 42 characters, including punctuations and spaces. Most of the subtitling tools 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. Another important aspect, concerning the reading speed, is that a subtitle should not exceed 17-20 characters per second for adult programs, and 13-15 for children’s programs.

4. To indicate two speakers, use a hyphen.

For example:

Speaker 1: – Glad to see you.

Speaker 2: – Me too.

5. Do not use ellipsis when breaking the subtitle into two lines.

For example:

Line 1:  I have talked to her yesterday

Line 2: and decided it’s better like this.

An ellipsis should be used only in case of interruptions by another speaker.

For example:

– I wanted to say that…

– Doesn’t matter!

– …you are pretty.

– Thank you.

And, in the end, the most important ingredient – creativity. Use it and enjoy the process.

Now that you read the theory, I hope this article will be the needed push for you to start working on Romanian subtitles. You will never know if you are good at something unless you try that thing, so I hope I managed to stir your interest, and who know, maybe one day, you will see your words on the big screens.

For more information and rules about high-quality Romanian subtitles, read the following article: Audiovisual Localization: A Short Guideline for Subtitle Translations.

••

You can find a few more blogposts here – we seized the opportunity, and took a short break from the daily to-do lists and translations tools.

Date of publication: 11.11.2022

The post ELENA SANDU •• Starting Out as a Translator – Romanian Subtitles appeared first on The Department.

The post Case study // Subtitling // Ideas Chat appeared first on The Department.