Subtitle Translation
We see it with foreign language films all the time: the actors are speaking in one language and subtitles appear on the bottom of the screen to translate the lines into another language. When content is uploaded online, it’s made available to people across the globe, regardless of the language they speak. It makes sense, then, that providing translations through subtitles is such a big trend in video accessibility!
There are about 7,000 languages spoken today with 23 of them accounting for more than half of the global population. According to Ethnologue, the top 5 languages spoken in the world in 2020 are English (1268 million), followed by Mandarin (1120 M), Hindi (637 M), Spanish (538 M), and French (277 M). What does this mean for you? By only having content available with subtitles in one language, you’re missing out on reaching potentially millions of people with your content.
But translations are not only for people who don’t speak the content’s original language. Often when people learn a second (or a third! Or a fourth!) language, their reading comprehension is better than their listening comprehension. Translating subtitles helps to provide clarity and can work as a learning aid.
When it comes to translating a script into another language, the goal is to keep the original meaning and intention of speech intact rather than just translating word for word. There are two main options for getting started with this process: 1) hire someone who is fluent in both languages to lead the translation process or 2) begin with AI auto-generated translations and use it as a starting place to edit and improve from, saving time and money!
Remember, as is the case with all auto generated subtitles, that internet generated translations are not sufficient enough on their own to be published. Translated subtitles must first be reviewed for accuracy and adjusted to any include context that may have otherwise been missed in the auto-translation process. The subtitles also need to have appropriate line breaks according to the speech rate, which auto-translations might not always be able to detect.
Dubbing
Another option when translating video content for international audiences is to translate the spoken audio into another language with “dubbing.” In this process, the original audio track is removed from the video and replaced with a new audio track containing dialogue being spoken in the desired language.
Have you ever watched tv or a movie and realized that the audio and video are out of sync? It’s usually quite distracting, right? This is certainly a risk with dubbing, which is why it’s such an exact process in post-production. Rather than translating word for word, the dialogue should be translated both to retain the intention and meaning of the original script. Additionally, the words chosen in the translation should ideally match up with the visual movement of actors’ mouths as they speak, kind of like lip syncing.
A little confusing? Here’s a great example! Shortly after Disney released Frozen in 2013, they uploaded what they referred to as a “multi language medley” of the hit song “Let it Go” that’s now been viewed almost 70 million times and shows the animation synced up with the song in 25 different languages. This is an excellent example of dubbing -- the language has been changed, but the speech timing remains constant with the original animation and feels seamless. As with all accessibility initiatives, the goal with dubbing is to make the adjusted experience as close to the original experience as possible.
Voice Overs
Sometimes, such as with documentaries, you want to preserve the original speaker’s voice but still translate the audio. This is often referred to as UN-Style Voice-Over (UN standing for United Nations). In these cases, a second audio track is added. The original dialogue starts, there’s a brief pause, and the translated audio plays over the orignal. In other words, the intention behind dubbing is that it isn’t noticeable to the audience, whereas for voice over translations, audiences are purposely made aware of the translations.
Because there isn’t the concern of matching up the audio and visual in the same way as dubbing, voice over translations are usually more exact. That doesn’t mean one is better than the other, though -- it just depends on the result you want to achieve!
To find out more information about how to add subtitles/captions to any video, click here: Add Subtitles to Video
To discover how to create dubbed and voice over videos, follow this link: Voice Over Video Maker