Introductory description

The rapid globalisation of media and entertainment relies heavily on the efficiency of audiovisual translation and, in particular, the versatility of subtitling. This module provides students with an understanding of audiovisual translation in the context of global media flows and creates a space for them to critically reflect on the evolving role of professional audiovisual translators.
The module introduces key topics in audiovisual translation, media and subtitling within the broader framework of the language industry and the translation profession. Through a series of lectures, seminars and hands-on workshops, the course combines theoretical, practical, and industry-related aspects of subtitling to help students become aware of the challenges, issues, ethical questions, and possibilities in this field of specialisation.
The module will equip students with essential translation, technical and technological skills to face challenges they are likely to encounter when working on audiovisual translation assignments. On top of fostering these essential skills needed to produce successful audiovisual translations, the module will prompt students to contextualise audiovisual translation practices within the broader globalisation and professional realities of the language industry. Further, the activities will emphasise the transferrable nature of these skills, supporting students in tailoring a flexible and sustainable professional career.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

After an introductory seminar on audiovisual translation, media distribution and audiovisual products, the module will focus on specific, practical and critical aspects of audiovisual translation and subtitling. The sessions will focus on the audiovisual product, linguistic and cultural aspects of subtitling, subtitling software, the influence of automation on subtitling and the audiovisual translation industry. Students will be provided with guiding questions and tasks to prepare for class discussions and activities. The sessions will integrate technical and technological aspects, as well as language-independent guidance.
The students will choose audiovisual products to analyse and translate. The selection of materials will be undertaken in consultation with the module tutor. Drop-in sessions and individual feedback appointments for project planning.
In addition to introducing key theoretical concepts of subtitling, the module will draw connections with the application of the different practices and the realities of the profession. An invited speaker from the industry (from companies like Netflix, Nimdzi or associations such as the ITI or CIOL) will provide additional insights for students to access first-hand information and reflect on the relevance of the skills, abilities and knowledge enhanced in the module.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Cognitive skills: Analyse the translation needs of audiovisual products and determine suitable subtitling solutions..
• Subject-specific skills: Produce high-quality subtitles that are technically, linguistically, and culturally adequate for their purposes.
• Subject-specific skills: Use different types of subtitling software to translate video files.
• Cognitive skills: Reflect critically on the influence of technologies, automation, and globalisation on the media localisation industry.
• Key skills: Successfully conceive, plan, and deliver their coursework and practical translation project to advanced academic standards within the specified deadline.

Indicative reading list

Session 1

• Crisp, Virginia. Film distribution in the digital age: Pirates and professionals. Springer, 2015.
• Dwyer, Tessa. Speaking in subtitles: revaluing screen translation. Edinburgh University Press, 2017.
• Orrego-Carmona, David. "New audiences, international distribution, and translation." Reception studies and audiovisual translation (2018): 321-342.

Sessions 3 and 4

• Cintas, Jorge Díaz, and Aline Remael. Subtitling: Concepts and Practices. Routledge, 2020.
• Pérez-González, Luis. Audiovisual translation: Theories, methods and issues. Routledge, 2014.
• Romero-Fresco, Pablo. Accessible filmmaking: Integrating translation and accessibility into the filmmaking process. Routledge, 2019.

Session 5

• Koponen, Maarit, Umut Sulubacak, Kaisa Vitikainen, and Jörg Tiedemann. "MT for subtitling: User evaluation of post-editing productivity." In Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Conference of the European Association for Machine Translation, pp. 115-124. 2020.
• Nunes Vieira, Lucas, Elisa Alonso, and Lindsay Bywood. "Post-Editing in Practice: Process, Product and Networks." JoSTrans-The Journal of Specialised Translation 31 (2019).
• Varga, Cristina. "Online Automatic Subtitling Platforms and Machine Translation." Buletinul Stiintific al Universitatii Politehnica din Timisoara, Seria Limbi Moderne 20 (2021): 37-49.

Session 6

• Agulló, Belén. "Technology for subtitling: a 360-degree turn." Hermēneus. Revista de traducción e interpretación 22 (2020): 11-40.
• Chaume, Frederic. "Audiovisual translation in the age of digital transformation." In Reassessing dubbing. Historical approaches and current trends ed. by Irene Ranzato, Serenella Zanotti (2019): 103-124.
• Tardel, Anke, Silvia Hansen-Schirra, and Jean Nitzke. "Post-Editing Job Profiles for Subtitlers." In Proceedings of the 1st Workshop on Automatic Spoken Language Translation in Real-World Settings (ASLTRW), pp. 13-22. 2021.

Research element

Students will choose and tailor their own individual projects, which will integrate independent research components.

International

All modules delivered in SMLC are necessarily international. Students engage with themes and ideas from a culture other than that of the UK and employ their linguistic skills in the analysis of primary materials from a non-Anglophone context. Students will also be encouraged to draw on the experiences of visiting exchange students in the classroom and will frequently engage with theoretical and critical frameworks from across the world.

Subject specific skills

This module will develop students’ capacity to engage with aspects of audiovisual translation and subtitling through the analysis of secondary sources, seminars and hands-on workshops and the creation of audiovisual translations. The module will develop the students’ awareness and critical thinking through engagement with scholarship and industry resources in the field.

Transferable skills

All SMLC culture modules demand critical and analytical engagement with artefacts from target-language cultures. In the course of independent study, class work and assessment students will develop the following skills: written and oral communication, creative and critical thinking, problem-solving and analysis, time management and organisation, independent research in both English and their target language(s), intercultural understanding and the ability