Interlingual subtitling is the principal way of translating audiovisual content in many countries. It has been descriptively studied by scholars in numerous books and articles. However, studies attempting to tackle this phenomenon empirically, such as reception studies, have been scarce until recently, and only over the last couple of years have such studies become more common. The reason for the relative scarcity of empirical research in interlingual subtitling is its complexity. Finding the right subjects, using the adequate technology and obtaining funding may be a complicated and lengthy process. For instance, eye tracking technology started to be used only recently in studies that offered scholars concrete findings about viewers’ reception. But is eye tracking the only valid research method? This chapter follows the developments in empirical research into interlingual subtitling, introducing the findings of such research and suggesting future directions.
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Caffrey, Colm. 2009. Diss. Relevant Abuse? Investigating the Effects of an Abusive Subtitling Procedure on the Perception of TV Anime Using Eye Tracker and Questionnaire. Dublin City University.
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Díaz Cintas, Jorge and Aline Remael. 2007. Audiovisual Translation: Subtitling. Manchester: St. Jerome.
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Di Giovanni, Elena. 2016. “Reception Studies in Audiovisual Translation Research, The Case of Subtitling at Film Festivals”. trans-com 9 (1), 58–78.
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d’Ydewalle, G. & Van de Poel, M.1999. “Incidental foreign language acquisition by children watching subtitled television programs”. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 28: 227–244.
Fox, Wendy. 2016. “Integrated titles: an improved viewing experience”. In Hansen-Schirra and Grucza (eds). Eye-tracking and Applied Linguistics, 5–30. Berlin: Language Science Press.
Gambier, Yves. 2003. “Introduction: Screen Transadaptation. Perception and Reception”. The Translator 9 (2):171–189.
Gottlieb, Henrik. 2000. “Language political implications of subtitling”. In Gottlieb H. (ed) Screen Translation, Eight Studies in Subtitling, Dubbing and Voice-over. Center for Translation Studies, Department of English, University of Copenhagen.
Gottlieb, Henrik. 2004. “Subtitles and International Anglification”. In Dollerup, Cay (ed). Worlds of Words. A tribute to Arne Zettersten. Nordic Journal of English Studies. (Special issue) 3 (1): 219–230.
Gottlieb, Henrik. 2012. “Subtitles – Readable dialogue”. In Perego, Elisa (ed) Eye-Tracking in Audiovisual Translation., 37–81. Roma: Arcane.
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Kovačič, Irena. 1995. “Reception of subtitles: The non-existent ideal viewer”. Translatio (FIT Newsletter) 14 (3–4): 376–383.
McLarty, Rebecca. 2012. “Towards a multidisciplinary approach in creative subtitling”. MonTI 4, 133–153.
Orrego-Carmona, David. 2015. The Perception of (Non) Professional Subtitling. Unpublished dissertation. Tarragona: Universitat Rovira I Virgili. [URL]
Orrego-Carmona, David. 2016. “A reception study on non-professional subtitling. Do audiences notice any difference? In Across Languages and Cultures 17 (2): 163–181.
Nufsfojrd Kvitens, Ingrid Elizabeth. 2013. Subtitles in the Second Language Classroom. An Experimental Study with Norwegian Learners of English. MA thesis. Trondheim: Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Modern Foreign Languages.
Perego, Elisa. 2016. “History, development, challenges and opportunities of empirical research in audiovisual translation”. Across Languages and Cultures 17 (2): 155–162.
Perego, Elisa, David Orrego-Carmona and Sara Bittiroli. 2016. “An empirical take on the dubbing vs. subtitling debate: an eye movement study”. Lingue e Linguaggi 11: 73–92.
Szarkowska, Agnieszka. 2016. Report on the results of an online survey on subtitle presentation times and line breaks in interlingual subtitling. [URL] (Last accessed, March 22, 2017).
Szarkowska Agnieszka, Izabela Krejz, Olga Pilipuczuk, Łukasz Dutka, Jan-Louis Kruger. 2016. “The effects of text editing and subtitle presentation rate on the comprehension of reading patterns of interlingual and intralingual subtitles among deaf, hard of hearing and hearing viewers”. Across Languages and Cultures 17 (2): 183–204.
Tuominen, Tina. 2012. Diss. The art of accidental reading and incidental listening: An empirical study of the viewing of subtitled films. Tampere: University of Tampere.[URL] (Last accessed March 26, 2017).
Widler, Brigitte. 2004. “A survey among audiences of subtitled films in Viennese cinemas”. Meta 49 (1): 98–101.
Informants
Fetner, Chris. 2016. Director of Global Partnerships at Netflix.
Pedersen, Jan. 2017. Director of Stockholm University’s Institute for Translation and Interpretation (TÖI).
Branimira Borčić Nemec. 2017. Head of Translation and Subtitling. Croatian Radio and Television.
2022. The role of subtitling on Netflix: an audience study. Perspectives 30:3 ► pp. 537 ff.
Valdeón, Roberto A.
2022. Latest trends in audiovisual translation. Perspectives 30:3 ► pp. 369 ff.
Perego, Elisa & Ralph Pacinotti
2020. Audiovisual Translation through the Ages. In The Palgrave Handbook of Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility [Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting, ], ► pp. 33 ff.
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