Spanish Language Subtitles

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Writing Spanish language subtitles for film and video productions

Translation of subtitles for any film or video production in Spanish is a highly specialised form of translation. Typical subtitles are on screen for only 3-4 seconds but comprehension of written text takes much longer than the spoken word. A considerable amount of simplification is required – a skilled subtitles translator will decide how much of the original dialogue is transcribed into Spanish to provide the best combination of readability and understanding.

Factors affecting the translation of film dialogue into Spanish language subtitles include:

We can process speech more quickly than the written word. The amount of Spanish that can be spoken in 3-4 seconds is considerably more than can be accommodated in the 15-20 short words of Spanish subtitles that could be shown in that time. The translator must reduce and simplify the original speech while retaining the fluency and meaning in the Spanish subtitles.

Literacy of the intended audience becomes important. While people of all educational levels and ages might understand spoken dialogue equally well, it may take some much longer than others to read the same words in written Spanish subtitles.

Standardisation. Spanish speech patterns and dialects vary widely and give significant information about the characters in the film. Dialect and unusual inflections are much more difficult to read than standardised Spanish. When writing subtitles in Spanish the translator has to consider how much might be lost or gained through different renditions of the dialogue.