Let’s say you need some film translation services. Your first step is probably to Google ‘translation company near me’. Once you’ve picked the best translation company for you, what’s the best option to ask interpreter services to use? Dubbing, or subtitling? Here’s why translation agencies recommend one film translation technique or the other….
Subtitling: A More Popular Method of Film Translation
Subtitling is recommended by interpreting services because it’s become deeply popular, especially in the last decade or so. This tactic is often recommended by interpreting agencies because it helps to retain a lot of the nuances in the film. Most obviously, when you subtitle a movie, you don’t remove the actors’ voices. Since actors are charged with providing emotion, accents, and other subtle verbal cues with their voices, it’s a shame to dub over them and lose all of that! Another reason to subtitle is that it allows viewers who are interested in the language of the film to hear it. Many people who go to foreign films are at least somewhat interested in the language the film is made in (even if they can’t speak it perfectly). They’re happy to be immersed in the sound of the language, even as it’s translated in subtitles below.
Beyond retaining the nuances of film, subtitling as a film translation technique also has two other advantages: it’s less annoying to viewers than dubbing and it’s helpful to deaf viewers. Subtitles have the distinct advantage of being definitively separate from the actors speaking. With dubbing, there’s an expectation that the sound should match the actor—in the movement of their lips and also as a voice that seems like it could come from that particular person. A subtitle will never feel awkward the way a dub can when it doesn’t match the actor’s lips at all. A subtitle will also never feel awkward in the way that a dubbed voice can feel too high or low, young or old, for the actor it’s meant to represent!
Dubbing: Better Film Translation for Viewer Experience?
Certified translation companies will often suggest dubbing because it can be more enjoyable and mindless than subtitling. While interpreting firms often find that viewers like subtitles to preserve the nuances of a film, dubbing will allow a viewer to just sit back and enjoy the film easily. Instead of having to watch the bottom of the screen so intently for their own languages (which can get exhausting with longer films), viewers can relax and just listen to the dubbing. They can also focus on the whole frame of the film better, which is obviously a plus when a movie has great cinematography. For horror films or gory films, a dub is also helpful. You can’t look away when you need to read a subtitle, while you can still close your eyes at scary or gross parts when you’re watching a dubbed film!
About Language Connections:
Language Connections is one of the top language service companies in the US. Over the last 30 years, we’ve focused on providing the best business translation services, interpreting services, as well as interpreter training and customized language training programs. In addition to top-tier corporate language training, we offer certified corporate interpreters and professional business translation services in 200+ languages. Our network includes linguists with backgrounds in all major industries. They’re ready to meet your needs, whether they’re for technical translation services, legal translation, government translation services, international development translation services, education translation services, life sciences translation, or something else. Reach out to us today for a free quote on our cost-efficient and timely translation services, interpreters, or other linguistic services.
Language Connections Inc.
2001 Beacon Street, Suite 105,
Boston, MA 02135
Phone: +1-617-731-3510
Email: service@languageconnections.com