Subtitling conventions

Subtitling conventions are useful as a guideline to editing subtitles and providing legibility. These conventions are sometimes challenged because of the evolving nature of subtitling and, most probably, with the evolution of on-screen media and technology. Listed below are subtitling conventions from various sources.

Subtitle Guidelines BBC © 2018 Version 1.1.7 May 2018

NEL 4 SUBTITLING GUIDELINESfor foreign-language programmes http://www.channel4.com/media/documents/corporate/foi-docs/SG_FLP.pdf

A Proposed Set of Subtitling Standards in Europe by Fotios Karamitroglou

According to Karamitroglou the following categories can be elided:

• Padding expressions(e.g. “you know,” “well,” “as I say” etc): These expressions are most frequently empty of semantic load and their presence is mostly functional, padding-in speech in order to maintain the desired speech flow.
• Tautological cumulative adjectives/adverbs (e.g. “great big,” “super extra,” “teeny weeny” etc): The first part of these double adjectival/adverbial combinations has an emphatic role which can be incorporated in a single-word equivalent (e.g. “huge,” “extremely,” “tiny”).
• Responsive expressions (e.g. “yes,” “no,” “ok,” “please,” “thanks,” “thank you,” “sorry”). The afore-listed expressions have been found to be recognised and comprehended by the majority of the European people, when clearly uttered, and could therefore be omitted from the subtitle. It should be noted, however, that when they are not clearly uttered or when they are presented in a slang, informal or colloquial version (e.g. “yup,” “nup,” “okey-dokey,” “tha” etc) they are not recognisable or comprehensible and should, therefore, be subtitled.

Jorge Díaz Cintas. Subtitling Theory, Practice, and Research https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314278174_Subtitling_theory_practice_and_research [accessed Feb 19 2019].