Subtitling: Why do subtitles never match the audio of a film?

BBL Translation

When watching a film or a TV series, you might have realised that the subtitles don’t always match what the characters are saying. But, why? Shouldn’t subtitles be a transcript of what is said in order to convert the audio to text? Is it a problem caused by the translators? Or is it just that the translators aren’t good enough?

The answer is no, it’s not due to any of these! It’s due to various technical reasons. First of all, subtitles don’t match the audio due to a matter of time, since we speak a lot faster than we can read. The reading speed of viewers must be taken into account. Subtitles have to precisely summarise what is said in the dialogues without omitting any elements. The main objective is to not lose the meaning of the sentence, so some words are not transcribed as they don’t provide relevant information. The viewer must also have enough time to look at the film scene. Subtitles must be part of the background: the viewer cannot watch an entire film just reading the subtitles, they have to be able to focus on the images too.

Secondly, its due to spatial restrictions. There is a character limit so that the subtitle stays in the centre of the screen. Due to this character limit, translators have to rephrase sentences (sometimes to the point of pulling their hair out) and use synonyms to avoid repetition, or they even have to shorten some words to be able to comply with this limit.

Thirdly, the difference between the subtitles and the original version can be caused by the translator. In fact, some translators prefer to move away from the original in order to convey the general idea and turn the subtitles into a work of art in their own right, whilst others prefer to keep the subtitles close to the original, with the aim of them being there only to help the viewer.

Finally, there is one more reason to bear in mind. We are talking about the working conditions of translators, which can influence the quality of their work. Translators live under the pressure of pay (which is often too low) and the time that they have available. Either the rates are too low and people who are less qualified accept the job, or professionals from the sector accept the work, but it ends up being a botched job. Time is usually a problem in the translation sector, because there isn’t a lot of it available. Therefore, translators always have to be as quick as possible and unfortunately, for a job to be done well, it takes time. 

Because of these limitations, translators have no choice but to remove superfluous elements that aren’t necessary to understand the plot in order to create subtitles that respect the required conditions. It’s important to remember the fact that just because subtitles don’t match the original, it doesn’t mean that they are bad subtitles.

Our values

Your success is ours

Fast and confidential

Specialised native speakers

Zero-mistake guarantee

"A translation is the price you have to pay to turn an opportunity into success."

Client inquiries

Spain: +34 93 187 6994

Italy: +39 06 983 52558

United Kingdom: +44 208 180 1993

feedback form

Important warning: we recommend that you carefully read the contents of this legal text prior to providing any personal data through the website of Bibielle Global Translations, SL, owner of and responsible for the correct application of the Privacy Policy.
In accordance with the regulations applicable to the protection of personal data, and the new provisions contained in the General Data Protection Regulation (hereinafter GDPR), directly applicable from 25 May 2018, Bibielle Global Translations, SL informs you of the following:
i. Contact details of the Data Controller: Bibielle Global Translations, SL (hereinafter BBL), with Tax Identification No. B65336885, registered office at Calle Cartagena 241, Barcelona, 08025, Spain, and contact e-mail legal@bbltranslation.eu.

ii. Purposes: Data collected through the contact e-mail address, or service quotation request form, will be incorporated into files owned by BBL with the purpose of handling, managing and responding to your request or contact. The data provided will not be used for purposes other than those for which it was collected.

iii. In addition, and on a voluntary basis, you may provide your consent (by ticking the corresponding box or registration) to us sending commercial communications, by any route and/or electronic means, and keeping you informed about the services which, being similar to the current ones, may interest you, and which BBL offers to its Clients and users under more advantageous conditions, and to carry out market or customer satisfaction surveys.

iv. Retention: The data will be retained for the time necessary to achieve the purposes for which it was collected, in order to respond to the subject of your request or contact, and while there continues to be a mutual interest. It will be deleted when it is no longer necessary for such purposes, the commercial or contractual relationship ends, unless its retention is required by law.

If you provide your consent to the sending of commercial communications, personal data will be processed actively while you have the status of User, or until you withdraw your consent.

v. Data communication: In no event will your data be transferred or communicated to a third party, unless required by law; nor will it be transferred internationally, except with the unequivocal consent of the data subject, and prior information about the possible recipients, purpose and, where appropriate, country of destination.

vi. Duty of secrecy: BBL complies strictly with the duty of secrecy and confidentiality of personal data, and for this reason has implemented technical, organisational and security measures to prevent its unauthorised alteration, loss, processing and/or access, taking account of the state of the art, the nature of the stored data and the risks to which they are exposed, all of this as established by Spanish and European legislation on the Protection of Personal Data.

vii. Rights of the data subject:

a. To exercise the rights of access, rectification, erasure and objection, limitation of treatment, data portability and not being the subject of automated individual decisions, by writing to Bibielle Global Translations, SL, Calle Cartagena 241, Barcelona, 08025 Spain or at legal@bbltranslation.eu indicating the subject of your request, and attaching a [copy of your] national identity card or passport.
b. To complain to the Supervisory Authority: if a user considers that their data is not being used properly, and this matter is not addressed by BBL, they may submit a complaint to the relevant data protection authority, which in Spain is the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos.

Important warning: we recommend that you carefully read the contents of this legal text prior to providing any personal data through the website of Bibielle Global Translations, SL, owner of and responsible for the correct application of the Privacy Policy.
In accordance with the regulations applicable to the protection of personal data, and the new provisions contained in the General Data Protection Regulation (hereinafter GDPR), directly applicable from 25 May 2018, Bibielle Global Translations, SL informs you of the following:
i. Contact details of the Data Controller: Bibielle Global Translations, SL (hereinafter BBL), with Tax Identification No. B65336885, registered office at Calle Cartagena 241, Barcelona, 08025 Spain, and contact e-mail legal@bbltranslation.eu.

ii. Purposes: Data collected through the contact e-mail address, or service quotation request form, will be incorporated into files owned by BBL with the purpose of handling, managing and responding to your request or contact. The data provided will not be used for purposes other than those for which it was collected.

iii. In addition, and on a voluntary basis, you may provide your consent (by ticking the corresponding box or registration) to us sending commercial communications, by any route and/or electronic means, and keeping you informed about the services which, being similar to the current ones, may interest you, and which BBL offers to its Clients and users under more advantageous conditions, and to carry out market or customer satisfaction surveys.

iv. Retention: The data will be retained for the time necessary to achieve the purposes for which it was collected, in order to respond to the subject of your request or contact, and while there continues to be a mutual interest. It will be deleted when it is no longer necessary for such purposes, the commercial or contractual relationship ends, unless its retention is required by law.

If you provide your consent to the sending of commercial communications, personal data will be processed actively while you have the status of User, or until you withdraw your consent.

v. Data communication: In no event will your data be transferred or communicated to a third party, unless required by law; nor will it be transferred internationally, except with the unequivocal consent of the data subject, and prior information about the possible recipients, purpose and, where appropriate, country of destination.

vi. Duty of secrecy: BBL complies strictly with the duty of secrecy and confidentiality of personal data, and for this reason has implemented technical, organisational and security measures to prevent its unauthorised alteration, loss, processing and/or access, taking account of the state of the art, the nature of the stored data and the risks to which they are exposed, all of this as established by Spanish and European legislation on the Protection of Personal Data.

vii. Rights of the data subject:

a. To exercise the rights of access, rectification, erasure and objection, limitation of treatment, data portability and not being the subject of automated individual decisions, by writing to Bibielle Global Translations, SL, Calle Cartagena 241, Barcelona, 08025 Spain or at legal@bbltranslation.eu indicating the subject of your request, and attaching a [copy of your] national identity card or passport.
b. To complain to the Supervisory Authority: if a user considers that their data is not being used properly, and this matter is not addressed by BBL, they may submit a complaint to the relevant data protection authority, which in Spain is the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos.

viii. If you receive commercial communications by electronic means, in accordance with the Spanish Law of Information Society and Electronic Commerce Services (LSSICE), you may withdraw your consent, unsubscribe or modify your data using the same channel, through the e-mail address legal@bbltranslation.eu, which will be specified in each communication.