230608 The art of subtitling |||legendagem 230608 El arte del subtitulado 230608 L'art du sous-titrage 230608 L'arte dei sottotitoli 230608 字幕の技術 230608 Sztuka tworzenia napisów 230608 A arte da legendagem 230608 Искусство создания субтитров 230608 字幕的藝術

Neil:

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.

Beth:

And I'm Beth.

Neil:

If you're deaf or hard of hearing, watching television would be impossible without subtitles - the words of dialogue added at the bottom of the screen explaining what the characters are saying. ||surdo||com dificuldade||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Beth:

Subtitled captions aren't only for dialogue. subtitled|captions|||| legendado|legendas|||| In the most dramatic, action-packed scenes of a movie, there might be no-one speaking, but there are plenty of sounds - a scream, a thrilling car chase… And all these sounds need to be described as well. |||||||||||||||||||||||||entusiasmante|||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||||||||||empolgante||perseguição||||||||||

Neil:

In this programme, we'll be meeting Karli Witkowska, a subtitler who works on the Stranger Things show, to find out more. |||||||||legendador||||||||||| And of course, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.

Beth:

But first I have a question for you, Neil. Movie subtitles are written ahead of time, but subtitling for live TV has to be done in the moment, as the person is speaking. ||||antecipadamente||||||||||||||||||| This can lead to mistakes - sometimes very funny ones, including a subtitle which appeared in an interview for the BBC Six O'Clock News in 2019. ||levar||||||||||||||||||||| But what did the subtitle say? Was it:

a) We can't allow Spiderman to become prime minister? |||permitir|||||

b) We can't allow Superman to become prime minister?, or,

c) We can't allow Batman to become prime minister?

Neil:

Hmmm, I guess the subtitling mistake involved Spiderman.

Beth:

I'll reveal the answer later in the programme. Of course, it's not just deaf audiences that subtitles help. |||||surdo|||| The translated subtitles of foreign films are great for learning languages, letting you read a word and hear how its pronounced at the same time. ||||estrangeiro|||||||||||||||||||| And because subtitles describe everything, from monster squelches to bombs exploding, it's a great way to learn new adjectives. |||||||squelches = makes||||||||||| ||||||monstro|squelches|||explodindo|||||||| Here's subtitler Karli Witkowska explaining to BBC Radio 4 programme Word of Mouth how her choice of adjective creates emotion for the viewer: |||||||||||||||||||||espectador

Karli Witkowska:

It depends on the genre and depends on the shows, and so if you have a very upbeat period piece where the music is very jaunty… you would use the word ‘jaunty' to describe the music. |||||||||||||||||vesela||||||||vesela razigr|||||||||| |||||||||||||||||animado||||||||animada|||||||||| It's creating an idea of what a sound is like and using a very, very descriptive word in order to do so.

Neil:

Karli bases her descriptions on the film's genre – a style of film, music or book with its own particular set of features. |||||||||||||||||||conjunto||características The sound effects needed for a thriller like Stranger Things – creaking stairs and sudden screams - are very different from the sounds used in historical period dramas which are more upbeat – light-hearted and cheerful. ||||||||||škripanje|||||||||||||||||||veseli||||allegro ||||||suspense||||rangido|escadas||súbito|gritos|||||||||||||||otimistas||leves||alegre

Beth:

This influences the adjective Karli chooses to describe a sound. For example, upbeat music might be described as jaunty - full of energy and confidence. ||||||||animada|||||

Neil:

Subtitles started out as an accessibility feature for deaf audiences, and to translate foreign language films into English. |||||acessibilidade|||surdo||||||||| But since the growth of online streaming services like Netflix, subtitling has become something of an art. ||||||streaming||||||||||

Beth:

Karli belongs to a team of subtitlers who try to make their descriptions as close as possible to the sounds they hear. ||||||legendadores||||||||||||||| Here she tells BBC Radio 4's Word of Mouth about a time her team found exactly the right word:

Karli Witkowska:

…so I loved ‘gobsmacked silence' because you were able to tell that people were almost on the verge of a gasp, or on the verge of a shock, and that was the atmosphere, but there wasn't actually a sound, so when my colleague came up with that one I definitely wanted to give him a virtual high five. |||zapanjen||||||||||||||ivici|||zapanjeno uzdahivanje||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| |||chocado||||||||||||||limiar|||suspiro||||limiar|||choque||||||||||||||||||||||||||||virtual|alta|cinco ......所以我喜欢‘惊呆的沉默’，因为你可以看出人们几乎要倒吸一口凉气，或者快要震惊了，那就是当时的氛围，但实际上却没有任何声音，所以当我的同事想出这个的时候，我绝对想给他一个虚拟的击掌。

Neil:

In this scene, the surprised characters were about to gasp – take in a short, quick breath of air. |||||||||zapanjeno uzdahnuti|||||||| |||||||||ofegante|||||||| 在这个场景中，惊讶的角色正要喘息——短暂而快速地吸一口气。 There was no speech or sound in the scene, but Karli's team found the perfect adjective to describe the silence - gobsmacked, which is slang for being so surprised you can't speak. ||||||||||||||||||||surpreso|||sem palavras|||||||

Beth:

This was definitely one description that deserved a high five – lifting up your hand to clap hands with someone else as a greeting or to say ‘well done'. ||||||merecia|||||||||bater palmas||||||||||dizer|| 这绝对是一个值得击掌的描述——举起手与别人拍手以示问候或说“做得好”。 In fact, the phrase ‘gobsmacked silence' was so good it went viral and started being used in all kinds of situations.

Neil:

Maybe gobsmacked was how the viewers of that TV news programme felt, you know, the mistaken subtitle you asked me about in your question. |||||||||||||||equivocado|||||||| 也许那个电视新闻节目的观众感到震惊，你知道，你在问题中问我错误的字幕。 I guessed the incorrect subtitle was: We can't allow Spiderman to become prime minister. 我猜错误的字幕是：我们不能让蜘蛛侠成为首相。

Beth:

Which was… the wrong answer, I'm afraid. In fact the interviewee said, “we can't allow that man to become prime minister”, speaking about Boris Johnson, but the misheard subtitle appeared as Batman. |||intervjuisani|||||||||||||||||batman|||| ||||||||||||||||||||mal interpretado||apareceu|| 事实上，受访者说的是“我们不能让那个人成为首相”，指的是鲍里斯·约翰逊，但听错的字幕却变成了蝙蝠侠。

Neil:

OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learnt from this programme on subtitles, starting with genre – a style of film, music or book with its own particular set of characteristics.

Beth:

Something which is upbeat ischeerful, hopeful and light-hearted. |||vedar|veselý|nadajući||| ||||alegre||||alegre

Neil:

The adjective jaunty means full of energy and confidence. ||animado||||||

Beth:

If you gasp, you take in a short, quick breath of air in surprise or in pain.

Neil:

You can use the slang expression gobsmacked when someone is so surprised they can't speak. ||||||espantado||||||||

Beth:

And finally, if you give someone a high five, you hold up your hand above your head, clapping hands with somebody else as a greeting, or to say ‘well done!' |||||||||||||||||tapšanje rukama||||||||||||

Neil:

Once again our 6 minutes are up. Goodbye for now!

Beth:

Bye!