Suomalaisten av-alan toimijoiden tekstityskonventioiden vertailua

Authors

• Juha Lång Itä-Suomen yliopisto

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61200/mikael.129535

Keywords:

audiovisual translation, subtitling, conventions

Abstract

The aim of this study is to compare the subtitling conventions that are used by some of the biggest suppliers of subtitles in the Finnish broadcasting market, namely Yle (the Finnish public broadcasting company), MTV Media, Pre-Text and SDI Media. The analysis was done by comparing the companies’ subtitling guidebooks or quality manuals both quantitatively and qualitatively. The analysis shows that there is great variation in the length of the guidebooks, but very little variation in the actual content of the conventions. Surprisingly, Yle, which is known for the quality of the subtitles it broadcasts, gives only broad guidelines for the subtitles, while MTV Media and SDI Media provide very detailed rules. This reflects the differences in production networks: Yle has an in-house translation department, where the translators have an opportunity to interact with each other, while SDI Media and MTV Media use freelancers, who work more or less in isolation. Since the quality standards for subtitles seem to be uniform between the companies, the differences in quality must lie elsewhere. The results suggest that further research into production networks could provide valuable information on the issue.