Nowadays, subtitling is considered one of the most relevant areas of translation in visual media. Thus, considering that subtitles have the power to bring cultures, context and essentially languages closer together, the interest arose to learn about this area, not only through practice itself, but also through specific subtitling terms that contribute to the final result, the caption.
Therefore, the present work seeks to facilitate understanding in the process through the elaboration of a glossary composed of specific subtitling terms, aiming mainly at the expansion of research in the area and interested readers.
alignment
noun
The positioning of captions horizontally on a video, for instance, centre, left or right aligned.
Example: Left alignment for the captions on the left side of the card and right alignment for the captions on the right side of the card.
pt_br: alinhamento
burning
verb
A video editing process which includes converting a subtitle to an image format which is then permanently ‘burned’ to display on the video.
Example: When scanning items to burn to a CD, you should always use one of the factory-set default configurations, or a custom configuration specifically set up for CD burning.
pt_br: gravar
closed caption/subtitle
noun
Closed subtitles for broadcast are sent as a stream of characters encoded in the broadcast feed. The display of closed subtitles can be turned on or off and if applicable, different languages can be selected.
Example: Click the Closed Caption button to read along.
pt_br: legenda fechada
display
noun
Text that is an integral part of the picture, e.g. shop or road signs.
Example: And "diff'ing" tools can used to display and color-code the differences between any two versions.
pt_br: exibição; display
encoding
noun
The process of attaching subtitles or closed captions as text to a video file, broadcast or feed so that a viewer can turn them on or off.
Example: Years ago, there were hundreds of different text encodings in an attempt to support all languages and character sets. Nowadays all these different languages can be encoded in unicode UTF-8, but unfortunately all the files from years ago still exist, and some countries still use old text encodings.
pt_br: decodificar
font
noun
A set of typographic characters that share certain design characteristics. It belongs to a typeface family: It can have different styles, italic, bold, etc
Example: The article is clearly structured through headings foregrounded through font size, some suggesting linear development through the 'birth-death' metaphor.
pt_br: fonte
forced narrative subtitle
noun
Also known as Forced Subtitles, a Forced Narrative (FN) is a text overlay to clarify communications which are relevant to the plot and meant to be understood by the viewer, whether it is a foreign or alien language or a flag, a sign, or a text message.
Example: Forced Narratives are not particularly complex, and there are general rules to use as a guideline.
pt_br: legenda forçada
frame per second (FPS)
noun
It is the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images called frames apper on display. The term applies equally to films and video cameras, computer graphics, and motion capture systems. Frame rate may also be called the frame frequency, and be expressed in hertz.
Example: Advanced software processing and a frame of up to 30 fps will further improve the thermal image quality.
pt_br: quadro por segundo; frame por segundo
interlingual subtitling
noun
Along the linguistic line, the new type that has emerged recently is the interlingual subtitling for the deaf and hard of hearing (SDH). The type of subtitling most often designated for the hearing impaired is intralingual subtitling.
Example: Open subtitles are used to carry interlingual translation for foreign language films shown in cinemas. Technically, they are either a physical part of the film as in films for public viewing or transmitted separately as at festival screenings.
pt_br: legendagem interlingual
intralingual subtitling
noun
Literally, intralingual is the subtitling between two languages. It is a ―transfer from a source language (SL) to a target language (TL) designating the relationship between different source and target languages.
Example: The targeted audience includes the deaf and hard of hearing, who need to be assisted by subtitles, mainly intralingual subtitles, with longer exposure time and explanatory information.
pt_br: legendagem intralingual
kerning
noun
Adjusting the horizontal spacing between letters.
Example: The kerning units for a given font are the same as the units used to express the character widths in that font.
pt_br: kerning
line breaks
noun
The point where a subtitle line ends. Since the length of the lines in a subtitle is constrained, often a sentence doesn’t fit in one line or one subtitle.
Example: In particular, we would suggest that subtitle reading may be particularly demanding when the line-break is arbitrary, with the term ‘arbitrary’ standing for unpredictable, illogical, inaccurate or implausible.
pt_br: quebra da linha; quebra da legenda
live subtitling
noun
Also known as online subtitling, can be done by interpreters who have a special skill in typing or sometimes it is done by software of speech recognition during machine translation process.
Example: This dichotomy between open and closed subtitles does not rule out the possibility of other technology-related types, for instance, in Jan Ivarsson‘s categories, there are subtitling live or in real time, subtitling for opera, theatrical works, conferences, etc., which employ special technologies.
pt_br: legenda ao vivo; legenda online
localization
noun
In-depth translation which take into account cultural or regional differences. In terms of subtitles, localization can also relate to changing the encoding of a foreign subtitle file in order to display foreign characters correctly.
Example: The largest number of culture-specific items is translated employing the strategy of localization.
pt_br: localização
offset
noun
Shifting the timing of a subtitle to be before or after its current position, (without changing the amount of time displayed) in order to achieve better sync.
Example: You can adjust the timing offset for an external text-based subtitle. You can not change the offset of a subtitle embedded in a video file or image based subtitles.
pt_br: deslocamento
open subtitle
noun
An open subtitle cannot be turned on or off but rather display on a video as an image.
Example: This dichotomy between open and closed subtitles does not rule out the possibility of other technology-related types.
pt_br: legenda aberta
placement
noun
Caption position changes in order to aid ease of reading where there are forced subtitles, text, or a busy background. Placement can be top, bottom, central or specified exactly by the subtitle editor.
Example: Regardless of the type of video that you are adding subtitles to, you may often come across problems when using standard subtitle placement. For this reason, subtitlers should always consider caption and subtitle placement, especially when working on some types of programmes.
pt_br: posição; colocação
pop-on caption
noun
Traditional subtitles which appear and disappear off screen in a set position.
Example: Pop-on caption are similar to the open subtitles usually seen in Brazilian cinema and television screens.
pt_br: legendas pop-on
reading speed
noun
The rate at which text displays in relation to length of text divided by time. Reading speed can be calculated as words per minute or characters per second. It ensures there is sufficient time for viewers to read any given subtitle or closed caption.
Example: This flaw may be responsible for contingent disruptions and for reductions to reading speed in the form of garden-pathing or spill-over phenomena.
pt_br: velocidade de leitura
roll-up caption
noun
Subtitles that appear one line at a time, rolling down to the next. These typically display up to three lines at a time and are often used for online or live closed captioning.
Example: Roll-up captions make use of either the speaker's name or the symbol to identify the person speaking.
pt_br: legenda rotativa
SDH caption
noun
SDH stands for Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard-of-hearing, and they are designed to convey everything that you’d hear in a video – dialogue, music, sound effects (car honking, phone ringing, etc.).
pt_br: legendas para surdos e para os com deficiência auditiva (SDH)
spotting
verb
Formerly, a mechanical procedure carried out independently of the content and nuances of the dialogue by technicians. Now used to describe the process of defining the in and out times of individual subtitles.
Example: The creation of captions requires spotting, and, as such, Supertext delivers captions to clients in .srt files.
pt_br: localizar
subtitle background
noun
A coloured box that displays behind subtitle or closed caption text in order to help ease of reading. This colour is typically black but can also display as a shadow.
Example: With light colored subtitles, light colored backgrounds can be especially difficult. Similarly, if you have a particularly busy background with lots of small details, it can be difficult to read subtitles too.
pt_br: fundo de legenda
surtitles
noun
Surtitles, also known as supertitles, SurCaps or OpTrans, are transcribed or translated lyrics/dialogue projected above a stage on a supertitling machine or displayed on a screen, commonly used in opera or other musical performance and theatre plays.
Example: The surtitles consist of pre-prepared scrolling text that an operator times in and out while watching the live performance.
pt_br: super legendas
sync
verb
The process of aligning time exactly with the appearance and disappearance of each caption.
Example: Wyke has shown how a dubbing technique that left characters' voices out of sync with their lips, and the insertion of random sound effects which had no meaning, distanced viewers from the characters which thus helped prevent the audience identifying with the Romans in the film (Wyke 1997: 190).
pt_br: sincronização
timing
noun
The process of defining the in and out times of individual subtitles.
Example: It puts the subtitles in the right place, allow changing timing of subtitles during the movie, etc.