The layers of subtitling

• Main Author: Elena Di Giovanni
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2016-12-01
• Series: Cogent Arts & Humanities
• Subjects: audiovisual translation; subtitling; translator’s competence; cognitive linguistics; translation profession; film translation
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2016.1151193

The study of subtitling, although widely practiced over the past 20 years, has generally been confined to comparative studies focusing on the product of subtitle translation, with little or no consideration of the conditions of creation and reception. Focusing on the process of subtitle production, occasional studies have touched upon the cognitive processes accompanying it, but no study so far has related these processes, and the resulting products, to various degrees of translators’ competence. This is precisely what this essay does, focusing on the different layers of subtitle translation provided for two different films and in two different contexts. By analysing the first and second versions of subtitle translations, we shall reflect on the acquisition, and application, of different subtitling competences.