Translating Subtitles

We have a Subtitles project where we localize subtitles for our marketing videos. Here are the following rules to follow when translating units in this project:

1. Keep the same number of "paragraphs"

Consider the following example source text:

And we're going to talk
today about some things

we're doing to make the
modern web experience

even better.

Here we have a single translation unit which will be split into three subtitle cues. The blank lines between the text indicate where the break will go. The text itself is always a complete sentence or several sentences: this makes it easier to translate as a whole. Feel free to reflow the text between each cue in a single translation unit, for as long as the number of "paragraphs" (cues) in it stays the same.

2. Consider the line size and line breaks

Remember that subtitles are displayed for a user for a short period of time, and that their readability is important. Here are some constraints to remember about:

  1. Split longer cues into two lines. Each cue must have two lines at most.
  2. Try to keep the length of each line at 35-40 characters.
  3. When splitting the cue into two lines, try to follow your language rules so that the split sounds more natural.
  4. When splitting the cue into two lines, try to follow the "pyramid" principle: top line must be of equal size or shorter than the bottom one. Such cues obscure less of the picture; but ultimately, readability is more important.

Bad example (line too long):

And we're going to talk today about some things

Good example (cue is split into two lines):

And we're going to talk
today about some things

Bad example (inverted "pyramid", one line is much shorter than the other, and line splitting doesn't make much sense):

And we're going to talk today about some
things

Better example (cue lines are at least balanced):

And we're going to talk
today about some things

But probably in this case the text will be more readable if split that way:

And we're going to talk today
about some things

In the end, you as a linguist decide how to make text more pleasing to the viewer.

3. Use the preview links

To better understand the context, use the preview links in the Comments section of the translation UI. They will lead you to the video you're providing subtitles for, and automatically play you exactly the part of the video with the cues you're editing.

Further reading

For those who are interested in learning more about authoring subtitles, check out these resources:

  1. BBC subtitle guidelines
  2. Language-specific timed text translation guidelines from Netflix
  3. TED Translators community guidelines: How to break lines, How to compress subtitles, and How to tackle a translation