2.12 Problems of Subtitle Translation in China
In the current subtitle translation market,the quality of the work is uneven.The reason is mainly explained by the lack of translation criteria and employers’ “commercial benefits come first” attitude in the workplace (Chen 2006:1).
According to Chen’s survey,other than frequent errors,such as formatting and spelling mistakes,the following four kinds of problem can be identified: 1) the lack of professional film translators; 2) the lack of unified criteria for translation quality; 3) translators’ unwillingness to translate documentaries or works based on literature because of the longer and complex statements found in the dialogue; 4) translation companies undertaking individual translation work for the same film,rather than sharing the work as a team.(https://www.daowen.com)
As a result,some common errors in film translation can be found within the current Chinese market,namely: 1) format problems —no time code,partial source language and no pace between two sentences; 2) punctuation problems; 3) various translations of a single film title; 4) overlong sentences or too many compound sentences in oral language; 5) translating literally without referring to the performance; 6) rigid literal translation; and,7) totally free translation.