5.2 Data Analysis on Corpus
In the following stage,I need to collect data using UltraEdit and analyse the data by using the calculating function of Microsoft Excel,as the main means of her corpus,in order to evaluate the average length of each of the subtitles (both of English and Chinese) in the 15 films,as well as the average length difference between the Chinese translated subtitles and their corresponding English original text in order to establish whether the first of my hypotheses is positive or not.
In the last chapter,it was discussed that in the sample data,there were sixty pairs extracted in a sample,the maximum value being 11 words and the minimum value being -4 (minus four).Therefore,the average value of difference in the 60 pairs was about 2.69.Then in this stage of the research,I expanded the research objectives to all the subtitle pairs in the 15 selected films.The total number of the pairs is 19,081,and according to the comparison of these pairs,I obtained a relatively more objective result than the “2.69” words difference from the sample 60 pairs.Her investigation procedure is as follows:Regarding the use of Microsoft Excel,I firstly tested the length difference between two language-versioned subtitles,as indicated in the Screenshot below:
Screenshot 11
(Subtitle pairs from The Croods,2013)
The subtitle pairs in each of the 15 films are collected into 15 separate Excel spreadsheets.As the above example shows,the first column in light grey represents the set of Chinese translated subtitles; they are ordered automatically by Excel,while the serials number shows the total number of the translated subtitles.The second column in dark grey shows the set of corresponding English original subtitles in this film.Next to this is the character/word number for each single line of subtitling.The colours show the corresponding relations.
Microsoft Excel helped me to calculate the numbers of these bilingual subtitles as well as to work out the average value of English original subtitles and that of their corresponding Chinese translated subtitles,and then it obtained the average value of difference between these two languages.By comparing the number of English words in each part of the original text with the number of Chinese words in each target subtitle on the spreadsheet,it is evident that Chinese expressions are generally longer than English expressions; see the following chart:In order to show the data result more clearly,I used the generating function of Excel:
Screenshot 12
(Subtitle pairs from The Croods,2013)
Figure 2
The line graph is more explicit than the Excel form: the dark grey line represents the number of characters in the Chinese translated subtitles of the 20 subtitles,the maximum number is about 23 characters in Chinese,and the minimum value is 1,but in most cases of these twenty pairs,when I worked out the centre shaft,the average length of the Chinese subtitles is about 12 (11.79) numbers; however,the English subtitles were characterized by a maximum value of around 15 and a minimum value of 1 as the black line illustrates,and its centre shaft runs through the number of 8 (8.32).It is a similar result to that shown by the sample data in the last chapter.With the same way showed as the above,I put all the bilingual subtitles of each film into one Microsoft Excel,then by analysing all the date of 15 selected films,I found that the Chinese translated subtitles are averagely longer than the English original subtitles in these 15 selected films.
This result shows the effectiveness of her first hypothesis: the lengths of Chinese translated subtitles are,on average,greater than those of their corresponding English original subtitles.
Table 3
In the earlier section of this chapter,I introduced advice given to her by theorists and practitioners about the ideal length of a singleline subtitle in Chinese as well as in English.The standard length of a single-line Chinese subtitle should be about 15 characters,while an English subtitle should be within 40 characters or 15 words.The corpus collection and analysis helped me to evaluate the chosen data,with the result that the data are able to meet the above standards.Hence,this strongly suggests that the official translated subtitles provided for the released films are broadly effective.What is more,the result also indicates that the subtitlers of the above released translated films are aware of appropriate lengths for subtitles in their translation work,and shows that the language and dialogue used in English animation films are mainly brief and simple.From the above chart,the largest average value for a single-line Chinese subtitle is to be found in Madagascar 1,with 11 characters,compared with the above-mentioned standard length in Chinese of 13-23 characters per line).In other words,as the average length is less than 13 characters for all the selected films,their Chinese translated subtitles can be said to be of acceptable length.As long as audiences have completed primary education (acquiring a vocabulary of 2,500 words or so),such subtitles will not pose a problem to them.As shown in the last column in the above chart,the Chinese translated subtitles are generally greater in length than the original dialogue in English.Among the selected animation films,the average length difference between the translated Chinese subtitles and their corresponding original texts range from 1.63 to 3.82 characters/words.In Rio 1,the average length difference is 1.63,which shows that the translated Chinese subtitles in this film have a similar length to the original English subtitles.In the later data analysis chapter on the use of traditional expressions and popular expressions,I found that one reason is that the high-frequency use of these typical expressions (the use of traditional expressions is 4.51%,which is higher than for most of the selected films,while the use of popular expressions is 33.14%,which is also higher than for the rest of the selected films) makes the average length difference small (I will explain this phenomenon in detail in the next two chapters).For example:
① Everyone here is on fire.5 (Original subtitle)
万物热情如火。6 （Released translation）（involves in the use of idiom which is underlined）
Everything has high enthusiasm.(Back translation)
② and we’re not big on travel.7 (Original subtitle)
也不爱出远门。6 （Released translation）
And do not like on travel.(Back translation)
However,in Frozen,the average difference is 3.82.When evaluating the translated subtitles and their corresponding original English texts,I found that the highest average length difference in this film’s subtitle translations could be determined by the presence of two songs in the film subtitles: Frozen Heart and Let It Go.In order to explain the lines of the songs,as well as to reflect the rhyme of the translated lyrics,the subtitler used the strategy of expansion,meaning that the total number of characters in the translated Chinese version is much bigger than for the other selected films.For example:
① Born of cold and winter air,6 (Original subtitle)
它来自寒冷的冬天。8（Released translation）
it comes from cold winter,(Back translation)
② and mountain rain combining.4 (Original subtitle)
裹挟着山中的雨滴。8 （Released translation）
covered with rain drops from mountain (Back translation)
In general,this result proves that my first hypothesis in this study is positive.
Furthermore,in the process of calculating the figures,I also recorded the following subtitle translation phenomena:
1) In Turbo,there are two overlong subtitles with over 30 characters in the Chinese version; they provide expositional information about the story and the racing car competition.
As for the first phenomenon,I concluded that,in original English language films,English as the source language is not a very wellknown language among the target Chinese audience.It is necessary,then,to add several brief pieces of background information to help the audience understand more about the characters and plots.However,if the length is too long,the subtitles will effectively become unreadable.As analysed before,the acceptable and readable length of a single-line Chinese subtitle should be within 25 (as the maximum) characters; a single-line subtitle with 31 characters will not be fully readable by ordinary people in practice.Hence,the translation in the following two subtitles in Turbo is less likely to be successful:
Translated subtitle：让我们回到印第安纳波利斯500英里大赛的角逐现场（世界三大汽车赛事之一，简称印第500）。（37 characters）
Original subtitle: And we’re back at the final stretch of the Indianapolis 500.
Observations: In the translated subtitle,the subtitler added a bracket to explain the background information of the film’s setting.This is important information; however,in order to meet the requirement of mechanical limits of producing film subtitles,the translated subtitle could be shorter as follows:
1）让我们回到这世界三大汽车赛之一的印第500比赛现场！（23 characters）
(Back translation: And we’re back at one of the world’s three biggest car competitions — the Indianapolis 500.)(https://www.daowen.com)
2）让我们回到世界汽车大赛之印第500英里赛的现场！（21 characters）
(Back translation: And we’re back at the world’s famous car competition — the Indianapolis 500.)
For the first recommended translation,I directly rewrote the original text,but provided the audience with full information about the classification and the abbreviated name of the cars competition.This avoids the repetitive nature of the expression used in the released translated subtitle.As the length of the alternative translation is shortened to 23 characters,this falls within the allowable length according to the related subtitle theories and the recommendations of professional subtitlers.
For the second recommended translation,I carried out one more abbreviation to the original text,compared with the given released translation.
2) In Rio 1,the average number of Chinese characters in a single line is eight,which is one character less than the average number in a subtitle in English.This is the only result that is different from the other data results from the other 14 films.
Regarding this phenomenon,compared with the overlong subtitles in Turbo,the occasional use of 24 characters in a single-line subtitle is acceptable; however,the use of specialized terms will likely be an obstacle preventing comprehension among some sections of the audience,such as young primary students or others who lack specialized knowledge; for example,terms such as “nitrous oxide” (Turbo),“Odontophorus gujanensis” (Rio 2) and “oil pressure” (Cars 2).
3) In The Smurfs 1,the majority of conversations occur among several characters,compared with two-character dialogue; therefore,the translation of the subtitles in these sequences is potentially more difficult and complex.
Concerning this third phenomenon，when group conversations occur in subtitle translation，the subtitlers have to pay close attention to the length of the translated subtitles，for on the one hand，the translated subtitles should match each of the speakers appearing in the frame synchronously，while on the other hand，specific ways to make each speaker’s words or expressions different from each other could help the audience to follow the original story and multi-character dialogue more easily.Therefore，in the translation of these subtitles，the subtitlers can use a variety of translated expressions to make each character’s speech more personalized.For example，in The Smurfs film series，different smurfs have different personalities and their names are given with reference to their various personalities，such as Clumsy，Vanity and Smooth.In the released translation，these names are translated in terms of equivalent meaning，while the form of expression meets the custom by which Chinese parents give their children nicknames，that is，by using reiteratives of “笨笨” （Clumsy） “靓靓” （Vanity） and “滑滑” （Smooth）.Then，in order to show their different personalities，the subtitlers translated their words in terms of the respective features.For example，when translating the words for Clumsy，simple and funny expressions were used； however，when translating the words for Smooth，smart expressions were employed.
4) In Cars 1 and 2 and Turbo,a common difficulty in the translation is the high frequency of using mechanical terms related to autos.
Generally,the translated Chinese versions of these terms are longer than the original expressions.Moreover,for some less familiar terms,the subtitler had to add a short explanation to them in a bracket after these terms.This makes the translated subtitles even longer than their supposed length.For example:
Translated subtitle：柠檬？（对缺陷品汽车的统称）—是啊，那些天生就带缺陷的汽车，总是这里坏那里坏的。
Original subtitle: Lemon? — Yeah.Cars that don’t ever work right.
Observations: In the translated subtitle,the subtitler explained that “lemon” does not refer here to the original meaning of the fruit,but it is a mechanical term related to autos; it refers to the defective cars.Similarly,in The Smurfs 2,there is a subtitle which has 24 characters in the line because it involves the translation of some specialized terms:
Translated subtitle：这是一个有机的、无麸质、富含抗氧化剂的阿萨伊浆果蛋糕。
Original subtitle: This is an organic,gluten-free,antioxidantrich acai berry cake.
In the translated subtitle，there are four expressions that are the translation of specialized words.Because the released translation completely translated the original subtitle by using equivalence to render the four original attributes，this translation is considered as a faithful translation.Moreover，although the length is longer than the average length of the whole number of translated subtitles in this film，24 characters in this line is within the limitation of 25 characters per line.However，as regards this specific subtitle，the researcher thinks another translation might be acceptable as well：这是一个纯天然、很健康的阿萨伊浆果蛋糕。（18 characters）（Back translation： This is a pure nature，very healthy acai berry cake）.
In my translation,I avoid the translation of the first three specialized terms of nutritional science.In fact,the basic information to be conveyed to the common audience in this subtitle is that this is a healthy fruit cake,because this type of story is a fairy tale,not a scientific report.Considering the practical function of this subtitle,it is not necessary to translate it in a scientific way.Therefore,the advantages of the recommended translation are: a) to offer the audience a general explanation of the features of acai berry cake; b) to shorten the length of the released translation.However,in some places,if cultural differences exist,the extra information becomes necessary.Take the following from The Smurfs 2,for instance:
① Translated subtitle：那是蓝蓝吗？—他可真大呀。
Original subtitle: Is that Blue? — He’s huge.
西方传说：小孩子都是由鹳鸟送到父母那里的，蓝精灵也是被鹳鸟带到村庄去的。 （Extra information）
② Translated subtitle：哪个鹳如果被他骑着肯定要累死了。Original subtitle： I wouldn’t want to be the stork that brought that guy.
Observations: Between subtitle pairs ① and ②,the subtitler added one line of extra information to explain a Western tale,namely,that children are delivered to their parents by storks,as are Smurfs.This added information is necessary,because in order to understand the next subtitle,②,the target audience should know the background story about the storks.
However,fortunately,the above phenomena seldom appeared in the films under examination,and consequently,the rarity of these phenomena does not affect the overall quality of the translated film subtitles.But the film subtitlers should note the differences in length between English and Chinese expression.They can check their translation work by referencing the average value of difference between the subtitles’ lengths in the two versions.According to Table 2,subtitles which have more than 3 characters’ difference could be considered too brief in translated Chinese to explain or transfer the meaning of the original English subtitles completely; consequently,the audience would not understand the meaning of the subtitle because of the loss of necessary information.
For the other subtitles which have less than 3 characters’ difference,which may constitute a very long subtitle in the Chinese translated version,even though the longer subtitle may offer more detailed information to the audience,because of the space and time limits in watching film subtitles,these translations become far less readable.
As a result,intercultural communication between the audience and the film cannot successfully happen.Only one exception can make the second phenomenon workable; this is when translation course teachers use the films as a teaching resource.They will need to use “the slow play” and “pause” buttons frequently in their teaching to give students enough time to finish reading the information in the subtitles.In this case,the detailed explanations in the subtitles become part of a more substantial,successful knowledge transfer.
To sum up,the readable length for a film subtitle is an important technical concern in the process of making films.In the translation between English and Chinese,the characteristics of Chinese characters mean that translated Chinese subtitles mainly need more space,but not necessarily more words than the original English ones.From a visual sense,Chinese subtitles look longer and require more time to be read; therefore,the subtitlers should be aware of this difference when pursuing the creation of readable Chinese subtitles in their translation work.One suggestion could be that,when subtitlers meet some long subtitles,they can use Chinese idioms or use the translation strategies of transcription,transfer,condensation,paraphrase to shorten the length of their translated subtitles.The use of Chinese idioms in the translation of E-C subtitles can effectively condense the length of the translated subtitle,compared with the corresponding literal translation.The use of transcription and transfer for proper nouns can also effectively shorten the length of the translated subtitles.For example:
① Yeah,it’s all about swagger.You got to puff out that chest!
帅气最重要，你要抬头挺胸！ 11 （Released translation involves in the use of one new word and one idiom）
The most important is to be cool.You need rise your head and chest out.(Back translation)
对，要很张扬的样子。你得挺起你的胸脯！16 （Direct translation）
Yeah,it’s all about swagger.You got to puff out that chest! (Back translation)
② So,Dr.Monteiro...(Original subtitle)
所以，蒙特罗博士…… 7 （Released translation）
So,Dr.Monteiro...(Back translation)
所以，Monteiro博士…… 5 （Suggested translation with the strategy of transfer to the original English name of the character）
So,Dr.Monteiro...(Back translation)
(Rio 1,2011)
I will discuss the effectiveness of these strategies with more detailed examples in the next two chapters.