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Translation - art & business » Subtitling »
Full stops / periods within subtitles
Thread poster: Bob Hering
Bob Hering
Bob Hering
Local time: 10:42
English
Jan 27, 2009

I work for a video production company. Although I have seen some subtitling guidelines on the internet that suggest that full stops / periods are never to be included in subtitles, in my experience I have found that they are customary in subtitles for Western languages. However, lately we have been getting subtitles translated into Chinese, and I have run into a disagreement between two of our freelance translators about whether to use them in Chinese subtitles. One translator tells us that, ... See more
I work for a video production company. Although I have seen some subtitling guidelines on the internet that suggest that full stops / periods are never to be included in subtitles, in my experience I have found that they are customary in subtitles for Western languages. However, lately we have been getting subtitles translated into Chinese, and I have run into a disagreement between two of our freelance translators about whether to use them in Chinese subtitles. One translator tells us that, by convention, full stops / periods are not used on Chinese subtitles (other types of end punctuation ARE included, however). The other translator is suggesting that we include them. Looking around at videos that are available on the web, it seems like many do not include full stops / periods.

Does anyone on the forum have experience with East Asian subtitles, to shed some light on this rule? If full stops / periods are indeed normally omitted in Chinese, is this also true of Japanese and/or Korean, or is Chinese a lone exception?

Thanks very much for any help,

Bob Hering ▲ Collapse
 
Juan Jacob
Juan Jacob  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 08:42
French to Spanish
+ ...
What are... Jan 27, 2009

..."full stops / periods", and forgive me if this is a silly question?
 
Renée van Bijsterveld
Renée van Bijsterveld  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 16:42
Member (2007)
English to Dutch
+ ...
. Jan 28, 2009

It's the dot at the end of the sentence.
 
simona dachille
simona dachille  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:42
Italian to English
hear the client Jan 28, 2009

Usually clients have their own specific guidelines which you must stick to. I work for clients who want full stops and others who prefer not to use them.
 
Bob Hering
Bob Hering
Local time: 10:42
English
TOPIC STARTER
East Asian Subtitles? Jan 28, 2009

My particular interest is in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Do any of you know if it is more usual and/or proper to leave out periods for subtitles done in these languages?
 
Jing Nie
Jing Nie
China
Local time: 22:42
Member (2011)
English to Chinese
+ ...
Do not use any punctuation in Chinese subtitles Jan 28, 2009

I am a Chinese subtitler. In my experience, all punctuations in Chinese subtitles should be replace with "blank".It is a formal practice adopted by all Chinese TV stations.

You may use TVUPlayer( A program that can watch Chinese TV online) to watch the TV broadcasted by Chinese TV stations to see if I am correct.
 
Angeline PhD
Angeline PhD  Identity Verified
China
Local time: 22:42
English to Chinese
+ ...
Periods should be omitted. Jan 29, 2009

Jing Nie wrote:

I am a Chinese subtitler. In my experience, all punctuations in Chinese subtitles should be replace with "blank".It is a formal practice adopted by all Chinese TV stations.

You may use TVUPlayer( A program that can watch Chinese TV online) to watch the TV broadcasted by Chinese TV stations to see if I am correct.


Hi Jing,

As I know, sometimes, the "," was asked replaced by blank(When the comma are not used at the end of a line), not all the punctuations. Punctuation marks that facilitate a better understanding of sentences emotional signals should be retained.
On the Starmovie and Discovery Channel, all the subtitles adopte this rule.

Regards,

Angeline
 


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Full stops / periods within subtitles


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