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TORRALBA MIRALLES, GLORIA ET AL. LA TRADUCCIÓN PARA LA

SUBTITULACIÓN EN ESPAÑA: MAPA DE CONVENCIONES. UNIVERSITAT

JAUME I PUBLICACIONS, 2019, 243 PP., ISBN 978-84-17429-97-3

Over the last few decades, the new ways in which audiences access

media have contributed to the proliferation of subtitling publications. On the

one hand, there are handbooks outlining the different types of subtitles, as

well as the techniques and norms involved in their creation (BBC, 2018; Díaz

Cintas & Remael, 2007; Ivarsson & Carroll, 1998; Karamitroglou, 1998;

among many others). On the other hand, a number of empirical studies have

been conducted on the reception of subtitles across audiences, which

validate the norms described in subtitling handbooks and the conventions

followed in the audiovisual translation industry (Doherty & Kruger, 2018;

Krejtz, Szarkowska, & Krejtz, 2013; Perego, Del Missier, Porta, & Mosconi,

2010; among others). All these publications provide valuable information not

only for subtitling trainers and researchers, but also for professional

subtitlers. Nevertheless, a topic that has not been explored as much is the

similarities and differences between the norms found in handbooks and

tested in research studies, and the guidelines developed and used by

localisation companies specialised in subtitling for specific territories. With

that in mind, the main goal of La traducción para la subtitulación en España:

mapa de convenciones [Translating for Subtitling in Spain: A Chart of

Conventions] is contributing to filling this gap.

The book under review is a recent publication by Universitat Jaume I,

written in Spanish, which aims to offer a snapshot of the conventions used

for interlingual subtitles by the main localisation companies specialised in

subtitling in Spain. To do that, an online questionnaire was distributed to

localisation companies in Spain as a means to gather information on their

subtitling practices. This 10-chapter volume can be divided into three parts.

The first two chapters explain the design of the study and provide a general

introduction to the art of subtitling. The next seven chapters analyse the

results of each section of the online questionnaire and the last chapter

focuses on how new technologies are shifting the way subtitles are created.

Two annexes are included at the end of the book: images of the online

questionnaire and a guide to the freeware Subtitle Edit (version 3.5.7).

The book is the result of the joint efforts of ten researchers. Each of

them has carried out the analysis of a specific section of the online

questionnaire, offering practical considerations on the findings. Throughout

the book, the reader will appreciate the descriptive approach taken by the

authors: they do not assess whether the conventions applied by subtitling

companies are right or wrong; instead, they focus their attention on an

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empirical mapping of the subtitling practices in the audiovisual translation

industry.

In Chapter 1, La investigación en las convenciones de la subtitulación

[Research on subtitling standards], Irene de Higes Andino provides a

detailed summary of the research project conducted for the publication of

this book. This research project, funded by the Universitat Jaume I, was

carried out between 2011 and 2013. The author explains that the project

stemmed from the reports given by students during their internships at

localisation companies specialised in subtitling. These students, from the

Bachelor's Degree in Translation and Interpreting at the Universitat Jaume I,

mentioned similarities and differences between the companies' guidelines

and the subtitling norms taught during their degree. In an effort to gain a

better understanding on the subject at hand, an online questionnaire was

sent to the main localisation companies specialised in subtitling in Spain. De

Higes Andino describes the design of the questionnaire and its different

sections, as well as the experimental methodology used to analyse the data,

based on a cross-checking of data between the theoretical norms for

subtitling and the results from the questionnaire. Although the 35 subtitling

companies that participated in the study did not complete every section of

the questionnaire, the author points out that the analysis makes use of the

full set of collected data, on the grounds that a collection of subsamples can

still provide valuable information as a whole. Likewise, the author underlines

that the reader might notice some missing information gaps on current areas

of research, due to the fact that this study was conducted between 2011 and

2013. According to De Higes Andino, the results of the project are still up-to-

date, as groundbreaking changes in subtitling have not been fully

implemented in the audiovisual translation industry and subtitles created for

television and cinema still strongly resemble those created on celluloid in the

early days of sound film. More details on this last point —such as concrete

examples and references that demonstrate that no significant changes have

come to pass to data— could have contributed to making her arguments

more convincing to the readers, nonetheless.

In Chapter 2, La traducción para la subtitulación [Translation for

subtitling], Beatriz Cerezo Merchán provides an overview of the theory of

subtitling, including subtitle layout, as well as orthotypographical and

spotting norms described in handbooks. She also mentions the workflow that

localisation companies follow to create subtitles. This overview offers useful

information to understand the design of the online questionnaire and is also

helpful for audiences that are not particularly familiar with subtitling. At the

end of the chapter, some insightful considerations are presented on the

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evolution of subtitling norms over time and how professional subtitlers and

theorists can influence each other.

Chapter 3, El perfil de las empresas de subtitulación: agentes y

materiales [Profile of subtitling companies: actors and materials], marks the

beginning of the analysis of the data gathered from the online questionnaire.

The author, Julio de los Reyes Lozano, analyses the findings from the

section related to the professional environment of subtitling, describing each

stage of the subtitling workflow. This chapter offers visibility to future

subtitlers about the professional opportunities in the subtitling industry in

Spain, explaining the types of roles that they can aspire to as freelancers

and in-house staff. De Los Reyes Lozano also highlights that dialogue lists

and spotting lists are the most common source materials provided to

subtitlers. It would have been interesting, however, to include a question on

the quality of these materials and to find out whether it is common to use

pre-spotted versions, considering the tight deadlines for subtitling projects.

Ana Tamayo Masero discusses the technical aspects of subtitles in

Chapter 4, Forma del subtítulo y segmentación [Subtitling layout and

segmentation]. The author analyses the findings from the online

questionnaire regarding the most common technical aspects of subtitles

(e.g. number of characters per line, font and size), as well as subtitle

segmentation (the way lines are split in the same subtitle and across

subtitles). Tamayo Masero makes an interesting observation on the need to

establish an active collaboration between localisation companies specialised

in subtitling and universities to align these technical conventions.

Common practices on how localisation companies specialised in

subtitling apply orthotypographical conventions are discussed in detail in

Chapters 5 and 6. Gloria Torralba Miralles, author of Chapter 5, Criterios

ortotipográficos: signos de puntuación [Orthotypographical guidelines:

punctuation marks], explains the findings on punctuation marks and

highlights the need to standardise orthotypography in subtitling due to the

lack of consensus on this dimension of the practice. Laura Mejías-Climent

analyses other orthotypographical aspects used in subtitling (such as the

use of italics, symbols and abbreviations, among others) in Chapter 6,

Convenciones ortotipográficas: otros tratamientos [Orthotypographic

guidelines: other marks]. To understand this lack of consensus and cover

the extensive variety of orthotypographical marks, a total of 63 questions

were asked to participants. Unfortunately, the low number of answers in this

section (only 21 out of the 35 participants responded) does not allow for

solid conclusions to be drawn on how companies apply orthotypographical

standards to subtitling. Nevertheless, the selection gives a comprehensive

overview of the orthotypographical marks professionals need to consider

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when subtitling. Both authors conclude that the use of orthotypographical

marks vary depending on the client.

Chapter 7, La síntesis de la información en la subtitulación

[Information synthesis in subtitling], by Juan José Martínez Sierra, examines

the mechanisms used by companies to synthesise information in subtitles.

Three sets of questions were asked about the elements that can be omitted

when creating subtitles, including a comprehensive list of sentence elements

(e.g. vocatives, adverbs, adjectives, etc.). In addition, an open question

asked participants to mention more types of omissions and a third question

explored omissions when using a template. It would have been interesting to

include an explanation and references on how this list was established, in

the event that readers would like to further explore this topic. Martínez Sierra

concludes that subtitlers generally tend to omit elements that are not

essential and can be understood through the auditory and visual channels,

although omission of passages depends on each project.

In Chapter 8, El proceso de pautado, la sincronización y la velocidad

de lectura [Spotting, synchronisation and reading speed in subtitling], José

Luis Martí Ferriol evaluates the results from three paramount aspects in the

creation of subtitles: spotting, synchronisation and reading speed. He

devotes part of the chapter to explaining the calculation macro that he

developed for subtitle reading speed, in the belief that it explains the

interconnection between these three elements. In this regard, further

clarification on the link between the macro and the mapping of subtitling

conventions would have given timely insight to the readers, as it remains

unclear why the macro was included in this research project. From the

analysis of the results, it seems that no conclusion can be drawn on trends

or norms regarding spotting, synchronisation or reading speed. Nonetheless,

the author highlights that students will need to be trained in such a way as to

be able to adapt to the clients' requirements and the changes taking place in

the audiovisual translation industry market (style guides for new digital

platforms, subtitling in the cloud, etc.).

The development of technology and how it has contributed to

subtitling is discussed in Chapter 9, TIC, TAV, SUBS.: Tecnologías de la

información y la comunicación [IT, AVT, SUBS: Information Technology], by

Ximo Granell. This chapter fills in the gaps on the limited research

conducted on the impact of technology on subtitling by investigating how

localisation companies specialised in subtitling use new technologies to

create and deliver subtitles. Specifically, the analysis revolves around

technology used to execute tasks such as audiovisual translation, formatting,

burning, encoding, and terminology management, among others. The results

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can provide insight to subtitling students and professional subtitlers on how

companies use tools in the subtitling process.

The last chapter, Mirando hacia el futuro [Looking ahead to the

future], by Frederic Chaume, presents three recent changes that are

influencing the ways in which subtitled content is produced and distributed,

namely machine translation and translation memories; translation on the

cloud; and video-on-demand platforms. Chaume fleshes out how these

changes can shape subtitle practices, encouraging further research to

continue mapping subtitling conventions. This final chapter brings the perfect

ending to this research project, inspiring students, professional subtitlers and

researchers to reflect on the importance of subtitling conventions and to

keep updating them according to the current digital times.

In short, this book fills a gap in audiovisual translation research by

mapping the subtitling conventions used in localisation companies in Spain.

It gives visibility to the workflow, agents and tools involved in the creation of

subtitles and can prove to be a useful resource not only for subtitlers-to-be,

but also for trainers, researchers and professionals alike. Each chapter

covers specific and pertinent aspects on how companies apply subtitling

conventions, following a logical sequence that guides the reader in the

subtitling creation journey. One of the few weaknesses of this research

project is the inconsistent number of responses gathered from each section

of the online questionnaire, which does not allow for significant and clear

findings to be drawn, as some questions received more answers than

others. This could be due not only to the considerable length of the

questionnaire, but also to the lack of specific incentives given to the

companies to answer it. I wonder if other strategies and methodologies could

be explored in future studies, such as interviews, monetary compensation or

even "research stays" in the companies, where the researcher would agree

to work in exchange for gathering information for research purposes.

Another aspect that could have made the book more accessible to Spanish

readers is the translation of English quotes. In fact, authors used direct

quotes in English to support their interpretation in several occasions,

assuming that the reader speaks fluent English.

In conclusion, La traducción para la subtitulación en España: mapa de

convenciones is an insightful project that capitalises on making industry-

informed conventions more accessible to anyone interested in or working

with subtitles in Spain. It can be a source of inspiration for other researchers

to expand this study and explore further elements and more agents involved

in the process, such as freelancers, accessibility experts, translation

providers and Software as a Service (SaaS) companies. Furthermore, this

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book has the potential to encourage other countries to map their conventions

and to open dialogue on the topic at an international level.

REFERENCES

Díaz Cintas J, Remael A. (2007). Audiovisual translation: subtitling. St.

Jerome, Manchester.

Doherty, S., & Kruger, J.-L. (2018). The development of eye tracking in

empirical research on subtitling and captioning. In J. Sita, T. Dwyer, S.

Redmond, & C. Perkins (Eds.), Seeing into Screens. London:

Bloomsbury.

BBC. (2018). BBC subtitle guidelines. London: The British Broadcasting

Corporation. Retrieved from http://bbc.github.io/subtitle-guidelines

Ivarsson, J., & Carroll, M. (1998). Subtitling. Simrishamn: TransEdit HB.

Karamitroglou, F. (1998). A Proposed Set of Subtitling Standards in Europe.

Translation Journal, 2(2). Retrieved from

http://translationjournal.net/journal/04stndrd.htm

Krejtz, I., Szarkowska, A., & Krejtz, K. (2013). The Effects of Shot Changes

on Eye Movements in Subtitling. Journal of Eye Movement Research,

6(5), 1–12. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.16910/jemr.6.5.3

Perego, E., Del Missier, F., Porta, M., & Mosconi, M. (2010). The Cognitive

Effectiveness of Subtitle Processing. Media Psychology, 13(3), 243–

272. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2010.502873

[OLIVIA GERBER-MORON]