Subtitling is simply the art of adding text to audio-visual content. The process that involves subtitling is not that simple, though. It has many steps and rules that are critical to ensure the subtitles not only convey the correct meanings but also convey the tone, emotions, and cultural aspects of the video content.
At LinguBest, we understand that subtitling also means having some creativity. A subtitle translator has to be creative to make the perfect subtitles. The length of the text, the color, and the placement play crucial aspects in this process.
What are the Challenges of Subtitling?
There’s a lot more that goes into creating subtitles than just translating words, as explained above. Let’s look at the most challenging ones:
- The differences between English and Arabic pose a huge challenge for all language service providers. Arabic has a different writing system than English, which takes a lot of effort to format. The differences between language systems mean difficulties in arranging the sentences in a correct structure and punctuating them accurately, so the subtitles should be formatted carefully.
- The cultural challenge also continues to be a huge factor in all English-to-Arabic language services because they require a deep understanding of cultural nuances and adjusting the meaning accordingly. Translating idioms is a perfect example of this.
- Technical challenges arise when placing the texts; they should appear and disappear at the right time. That is why subtitling takes more time than any other form of language service.
What are the Rules of Subtitling?
We don’t want to get too technical, but it is important to dive into more details by highlighting the rules of subtitling:
- Subtitles should be concise because the viewers have to focus on the visual content rather than the “text under the screen.” Think of subtitles as a means of communicating something other than the actual message—like an envelope that carries an important message.
- The translator has to be able to summarize the message in a very creative way, but without affecting or diverging from the intended meaning.
- Text color should be perfectly contrasting with the background to ensure readability.
- Timing the text appearance with the beginning of the speech and ending the subtitle appearance after the speaker finishes in a very reasonable time is crucial.
Conclusion
Subtitling is an art, and it has to be concise because viewers don’t have much time to read before the next line appears. That means translators often need to get creative, summarizing and rewording while keeping the essence of what’s being said.
At LinguBest, we specialize in English to Arabic subtitling services, and we understand how important it is to capture not just the literal meaning but also the tone, humor, and cultural nuances.
Contact us today to learn more about our subtitling services and get the best results from your content.