Subtitlers’ beliefs about pivot templates: What do they tell us about language hierarchies and translation quality in streaming service platforms?
SusanaValdez,HannaPięta,EsterTorres-Simón and RitaMenezes
Leiden University | Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, FCSH, CETAPS | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona | University of Lisbon Centre for English Studies
Abstract
Streaming service platforms are said to increase worldwide access to peripheral languages, often via the use of pivot templates. To shed light on how pivot subtitling practices impact language hierarchies and translation quality, we report on the results of an online questionnaire completed by European subtitlers. The questionnaire elicited data on the respondents’ experiences and expectations when translating from pivot templates for streaming services and other media environments (such as cable TV, cinema, and websites). The questionnaire was completed by 370 subtitlers and the elicited data were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. The results suggest that streaming platforms reinforce traditional language hierarchies by strengthening the position of English as a hyper-central language (Heilbron 2010). ‘Peripheral–peripheral’ subtitling practices (e.g., Korean–Danish) occur mainly through pivot templates in English, and so do ‘central–central’ subtitling practices (e.g., German–French). This means that even when the original content is in a language other than English, English is still the most common source language for subtitlers because of the use of pivot templates. Furthermore, according to our respondents, pivot templates are more common in streaming platforms than in other media environments. The use of pivot templates is also reported to negatively impact subtitlers’ working conditions and give rise to particular ethical, linguistic, and technological challenges for which there are currently few guidelines and training opportunities.
It has been said that streaming service platforms have worked to empower peripheral languages (e.g., Danish, Korean, and Arabic; see Heilbron 2010). This is because they enhance the visibility of these languages in the global media ecology and increase their access to other peripheries (Oziemblewska and Szarkowska 2022, 448). In the streaming media ecosystem, such ‘periphery–periphery’ subtitling practices typically rely on the use of pivot templates. In this study, we regard a template as “a subtitle file consisting of the spotted subtitles of a film done in the SL [source language], usually English, with specific settings in terms of words per minute and number of characters in a row, which is then translated into as many languages as necessary” (Georgakopoulou 2003, 210). Pivot templates are thus template files in a third language that differs from the language of the original content and the final subtitles. Following Heilbron (2010), peripheral languages are languages that occupy a marginal position in the traditional model of the world system of translation (i.e., they are the source language for less than 1% of translations produced worldwide). These contrast with hyper-central English (the source language for the vast majority of translations worldwide), semi-central languages (which account for between 1% and 3% world market, such as Italian, Spanish, and Russian), and central languages (which account for about 10% of the global translation market, such as German and French) (see Heilbron 2010).
References
Artegiani, Irene, and Dionysios Kapsaskis
2014 “Template Files: Asset or Anathema? A Qualitative Analysis of the Subtitles of The Sopranos.” Perspectives 22 (3): 419–436.
Bishop, George F.
2008 “Order Item Randomization.” In Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods, edited by Paul J. Lavrakas, 397–399. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
2021 “The Role of Pivot Translations in Asian Film Festivals in Catalonia: Johnny Ma’s Old Stone as a Case Study.” Journal of Audiovisual Translation 4 (1): 96–113.
Čemerin, Verdana
2017 “Lost in Translation or Not? The Use of Relay Among Croatian Subtitlers.” In Translation Studies and Translation Practice: Proceedings of the 2nd International TRANSLATA Conference, 2014, edited by Lew N. Zybatow, Andy Stauder, and Michael Ustaszewski, 245–253. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
Díaz Cintas, Jorge
2013 “Subtitling: Theory, Practice and Research.” In The Routledge Handbook of Translation Studies, edited by Carmen Millán and Francesca Bartrina, 285–299. Abingdon: Routledge.
Díaz Cintas, Jorge, and Aline Remael
2021Subtitling: Concepts and Practices. Abingdon: Routledge.
2018 “Audiovisual Translation and Fandom.” In The Routledge Handbook of Audiovisual Translation, edited by Luis Pérez-González, 436–452. Abingdon: Routledge.
Gambier, Yves
2003 “Working with Relay: An Old Story and a New Challenge.” In Speaking in Tongues: Language Across Contexts and Users, edited by Luis Pérez-González, 47–66. València: Universitat de València.
Georgakopoulou, Panayota
2003Reduction Levels in Subtitling: DVD Subtitling: A Compromise of Trends. PhD diss. University of Surrey.
Georgakopoulou, Panayota
2006 “Subtitling and Globalisation.” JoSTrans 6: 115–120.
Georgakopoulou, Panayota
2012 “Challenges for the Audiovisual Industry in the Digital Age: The Ever-Changing Needs of Subtitle Production.” JoSTrans 17: 78–103.
Georgakopoulou, Panayota
2019 “Template Files: The Holy Grail of Subtitling.” Journal of Audiovisual Translation 2 (2): 137–160.
2010 “Structure and Dynamics of the World System of Translation.” Paper presented at the UNESCO International Symposium Translation and Cultural Mediation, Paris, February 22–23, 2010.
Holbrook, Allyson
2008 “Acquiescence Response Bias.” In Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods, edited by Paul Lavrakas, 3. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Ivaska, Laura
2021 “The Genesis of a Compilative Translation and Its de facto Source Text.” In Genetic Translation Studies: Conflict and Collaboration in Liminal Spaces, edited by Ariadne Nunes, Joana Moura, and Marta Pacheco Pinto, 72–88. London: Bloomsbury.
Kapsaskis, Dionysios
2011 “Professional Identity and Training of Translators in the Context of Globalisation: The Example of Subtitling.” JoSTrans 16: 162–184.
Mellinger, Christopher D., and Thomas A. Hanson
2020 “Methodological Considerations for Survey Research: Validity, Reliability, and Quantitative Analysis.” In Cognitive Translation Studies – Theoretical Models and Methodological Criticism, edited by Ricardo Muñoz and Kairong Xiao, special issue of Linguistica Antverpiensia, New Series: Themes in Translation Studies 19: 172–190.
2015 “The Pros and Cons of Using Templates in Subtitling.” In Audiovisual Translation in a Global Context: Mapping an Ever-Changing Landscape, edited by Rocío Baños Piñero and Jorge Díaz Cintas, 192–202. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
O’Hagan, Minako
2007 “Impact of DVD on Translation: Language Options as an Essential Add-On Feature.” Convergence 13 (2): 157–168.
Oziemblewska, Magdalena, and Agnieszka Szarkowska
2022 “The Quality of Templates in Subtitling: A Survey on Current Market Practices and Changing Subtitler Competences.” In Latest Trends in Audiovisual Translation, edited by Roberto A. Valdeón, special issue of Perspectives 30 (3): 432–453.
Piȩta, Hanna
2012 “Patterns in (In)Directness: An Exploratory Case Study in the External History of Portuguese Translations of Polish Literature (1855–2010).” Target 24 (2): 310–337.
Piȩta, Hanna
2017 “Theoretical, Methodological and Terminological issues in Researching Indirect Translation: A Critical Annotated Bibliography.” In Indirect Translation: Theoretical, Methodological and Terminological Issues, edited by Alexandra Assis Rosa, Hanna Pięta, and Rita Bueno Maia, Translation Studies 10 (2): 198–216.
2016The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. London: SAGE.
Szczepanik, Petr
2020 “ ‘Dear Netflix …’: Informal Local Intermediaries on the Periphery of the Global VOD Market.” In Global Distribution and “National Mediations” of Ready-Made TV Shows in Foreign Markets, edited by Luca Antoniazzi and Luca Barra, special section of Journal of Popular Television 8 (3): 321–326.
Toffler, Alvin
1980The Third Wave. New York: Bantam Books.
Torres-Simón, Ester, Hanna Pięta, Rita Bueno Maia, and Catarina Xavier
2021 “Indirect Translation in Translator Training: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead.” In Languages of Low Diffusion and Low Resources: Translation Research and Training Challenges, edited by Bogusława Whyatt and Nataša Pavlović, special issue of The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 15 (2): 260–281.
Toury, Gideon
2012Descriptive Translation Studies – and beyond. Revised ed. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Vermeulen, Anna
2011 “The Impact of Pivot Translation on the Quality of Subtitling.” International Journal of Translation 23 (2): 119–134.