“Dinna Fash, Sassenach” – Subtitle Quality and Finnish Translations of Cultural References in Streaming Services
Lassila, Heli (2019-05-23)
“Dinna Fash, Sassenach” – Subtitle Quality and Finnish Translations of Cultural References in Streaming Services
(23.05.2019)
Julkaisu on tekijänoikeussäännösten alainen. Teosta voi lukea ja tulostaa henkilökohtaista käyttöä varten. Käyttö kaupallisiin tarkoituksiin on kielletty.
avoin
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on:
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2019061220082
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2019061220082
Tiivistelmä
This thesis examines translation quality and Finnish translations of cultural references in the three most popular international streaming services used in Finland. The analysis is qualitative in nature, and the research material consists of the first season of the Outlander series. As the series is set on 18th century Scottish Highlands, it offers various interesting aspects for study. The main focus is on cultural aspects, which include the Gaelic language, Scottish dialect, proper names, and titles. Other issues concerning subtitle quality are examined as well. The theoretical framework utilized in this thesis includes Juliane House’s and Kristiina Abdallah’s ideas of translation quality and Jan Pedersen’s works on Extralinguistic Cultural References and the FAR model. In addition, the thesis examines the recent development in the field of audiovisual translation and its effects on translation and translators as well as the emergence of streaming services. While the main focus of the thesis is on product quality, it aims to keep in mind the underlying external factors that affect the occurrence of translation errors.
The thesis finds that all three streaming services use different translation providers and that the translators vary between episodes. However, the overall information provided on the origin of the subtitles is rather inadequate. Nevertheless, the use of multiple translators appears to create inconsistencies in the translation choices. In all categories, the Gaelic language, the Scottish dialect, personal names, place names, and titles, the translations change throughout the episodes, occasionally resulting in more serious errors as well. There are also some serious errors regarding acceptability but overall, readability and acceptability seem to be on an adequate level. It can be argued that the main issue behind problems in the quality of the subtitles is most likely that there has been insufficient amount of collaboration between the different translators and that the translators might have not had a chance to catch up on the previous episodes or had any access to written episode scripts or terminologies. Further studies could benefit from a more in-depth look into the operation of the streaming services concerning their methods for acquiring audiovisual translations and their views on audiovisual translation and multinational translation companies in general. The translation companies and translators themselves could also be contacted in order to focus on the various aspects influencing product quality.
The thesis finds that all three streaming services use different translation providers and that the translators vary between episodes. However, the overall information provided on the origin of the subtitles is rather inadequate. Nevertheless, the use of multiple translators appears to create inconsistencies in the translation choices. In all categories, the Gaelic language, the Scottish dialect, personal names, place names, and titles, the translations change throughout the episodes, occasionally resulting in more serious errors as well. There are also some serious errors regarding acceptability but overall, readability and acceptability seem to be on an adequate level. It can be argued that the main issue behind problems in the quality of the subtitles is most likely that there has been insufficient amount of collaboration between the different translators and that the translators might have not had a chance to catch up on the previous episodes or had any access to written episode scripts or terminologies. Further studies could benefit from a more in-depth look into the operation of the streaming services concerning their methods for acquiring audiovisual translations and their views on audiovisual translation and multinational translation companies in general. The translation companies and translators themselves could also be contacted in order to focus on the various aspects influencing product quality.