SBS subtitles “set a benchmark worldwide”
SBS recently made cuts to its subtitling division, but others remember the it as "the heart of SBS."
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News
The Sydney Morning Herald today carries an interesting item on the ‘glory days’ of SBS subtitling, when the broadcaster’s volume of multilingual programming required a big team and caring language experts.
Having subtitles in yellow always made sense over white (especially if the scene involved snow!).
Recently the broadcaster made cuts to its subtitling division.
Cathy Carey, who has worked in various capacities at SBS TV including stints as a subtitler, gives an interesting insight into “the heart of SBS”:
In an era when SBS prided itself on being the world’s only multicultural, multilingual broadcaster, the quality of SBS subtitles set a benchmark worldwide. In the days when SBS saw its role as providing an alternative to the programming seen on other channels, a majority of SBS’s programs were in languages other than English, with subtitles. Providing services to news and current affairs, local productions and even sport, the subtitling unit lay at the heart of SBS TV.
But the heyday of the subtitling unit was short-lived, as programming of foreign language material, once the broadcaster’s raison d’etre, was downgraded.
The advent of advertising, initially only between programs, was quickly followed by a policy of excluding non-English language programs from prime time. Leaving aside the morning WorldWatch broadcasts, which are not subtitled, it’s now not unusual for the SBS One schedule to feature only one or two non-English-language programs a day.
Even on the SBS in Language website it says “SBS is synonymous with subtitling. Our subtitling unit is one of the largest in the world, and our titles are globally acclaimed to be some of the best.”
You can read more at the The Age.
7 Responses
I miss the old SBS. I chose the color yellow for subtitles on my PC media player after seeing so many good subs on SBS over the years in the mid-1990s.
I too would love to see the foreign news bulletins subtitled…
@Jason – the article in the age said that the subtitlers were of very high quality and went through rigorous procedures to become employed there – they needed to know of the culture, the language, the country etc. so they could pick up those nuances. Who knows if it shows up on the screen because I don’t watch many foreign shows…
Even with all the cut-backs, SBS subtitling is still better than many of the DVDs available.
Have to agree with Tex that contextual translation conveys the intended meaning much better than a verbatim one, even with languages that are very close to English, such as German. Translating the German exclamation ‘super’ to English “super” is less accurate than translating it to “great”.
Also agree that the broadcast subtitles are clearly not up to their earlier standards.
@Jason D: “However, the only problem I have with their subtitling is that it’s not a literal or verbatim translation. So, much of the nuances are lost, which is unfortunate, as nuances or the way sentences are expressed play a great role in foreign language appreciation”
On the other hand, SBS Subtitling was originally very good at capturing and transliterating the context of foreign turns of phrase, idioms, nuance, and cultural subtexts into English. Those sort of things are often lost to native English-speakers in straight translations, and SBS’s skill often added immeasurably to a local’s ability to enjoy foreign movies and TV.
Unfortunately, they’ve been going downhill for a several years, and not just because they’ve been using internationally-subtitled content. For example, they totally missed the ‘MÅ•tvy / Dead Man’ joke / subtext / plot point when they subtitled “Dark Blue World” a few years ago; one that was covered by the DVD subtitles – but that’s an example where a straight translation of two sentences in the movie worked _better_ than SBS’s transliteration.
If only SBS could hark back to a decade before Shaun Brown came in, unique and interesting overseas programming which opened the minds of many to the world. It’s a sad sight and a shame to see SBS a shadow of itself now.
SBS subtitles are great, & has bridged the gap between language barriers for many foreign films & theatrical pieces. However, the only problem I have with their subtitling is that it’s not a literal or verbatim translation. So, much of the nuances are lost, which is unfortunate, as nuances or the way sentences are expressed play a great role in foreign language appreciation, & it also makes it harder to learn foreign languages.
It would also be great to see the foreign news bulletins with subtitles, however, I understand that it might not be practical given the time constraints.