CAT Tools used for Subtitling? Thread poster: Daithi
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I am not sure of CAT tools are the best type of software for subtitling. I think there are two scenarios.
1. You start from scratch.
2. Use already made subtitle file from source language as a template.
In either case, I think it is a good idea to open the srt file, a say Subtitle Edit program and save the file as text without the time stamps. This text can then be used as source language in a CAT tool and translation process can begin. Of course the issue is we ... See more I am not sure of CAT tools are the best type of software for subtitling. I think there are two scenarios.
1. You start from scratch.
2. Use already made subtitle file from source language as a template.
In either case, I think it is a good idea to open the srt file, a say Subtitle Edit program and save the file as text without the time stamps. This text can then be used as source language in a CAT tool and translation process can begin. Of course the issue is we end up with a text file and the lines with time stamps will need to be reinserted, which seems like a lot of work. This is for subtitling from scratch.
Often times, I see there are already subs available on the net with target language. But sometimes I see they a lot of issues but the meat of the work is done. So there is the option of, again, saving as text (removing timestamps) but this time both source and target. Use an alignment tool and create a TM. Then use the TM in a CAT Tool to perform majority of the translation and fix the bits, you have issues with. Still the issue is with re-adding timestamps and the labour of aligning.
I was wondering how Proz translate subtitles and what is the fastest and most efficient way. I would like to subtitle several films (for free) but with my current workflow and technology understanding it is just too time consuming.
I think I can avoid messing about with timestamps if I translate directly in a subtitle editing software but this way I am not building a TM which also is a big loss in the long run.
I think I tried to import a srt file into Smartcat directly (with timestamps) but was having issues with tags and the TM was a bit confused as well. Maybe it was my usage issue, not sure.
Q1 how and what do Proz use to subtitle?
Q2 I probably should opened up a new post but didn't want to spam the forum. Do CAT Tools offer a side to side view (MS Word style)? I am thinking about doing a book translation. The book has already been published in a source and target. However, the translation is known to be very old and not very idiomatic. Again, instead of starting from scratch it would be much faster to rework the already existing translation. The two books of course do not have the same word count, or number of pages, or font and formatting but the majority of the work is very similar i.e. headings, chapters, etc. One has some extras. I thought the compare function Word is pretty nice where you have both documents opened and you can scroll them side by side. It is, of course, useless when the 2 documents are in different languages and Word is attempting to compare them. But I just like the broader view, than the segment view in CAT Tools. I guess my only option is still to align the two books and use a CAT Tolo with a segment view?
Thanks, ▲ Collapse
| | | | Juan Jacob 
Mexico
Local time: 18:34
French to Spanish
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| There is a forum | Dec 28, 2019 |
called "Ask me everything about subtitling."
Post your question over there... very usefull.
| | | | | Post location | Dec 28, 2019 |
Juan Jacob wrote:
called "Ask me everything about subtitling."
Post your question over there... very usefull.
Hi Juan. I did but my post was moved here.
| | | | Juan Jacob
Mexico
Local time: 18:34
French to Spanish
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| Professional subtitling quality cannot be accomplished with any CAT tools | Jan 3, 2020 |
Subtitling is not just about translation, in fact it's not about translation at all if by that you mean simply transferring words into a different language while segmenting portions of text. A CAT tool might be a sensible addition in the corporate video niche, where you might come across some amount of repetitions, but there is no such thing in the bulk volumes of video content subtitlers are used to handling everyday, which makes having to deal with the extra issues posed by working in a CAT ab... See more Subtitling is not just about translation, in fact it's not about translation at all if by that you mean simply transferring words into a different language while segmenting portions of text. A CAT tool might be a sensible addition in the corporate video niche, where you might come across some amount of repetitions, but there is no such thing in the bulk volumes of video content subtitlers are used to handling everyday, which makes having to deal with the extra issues posed by working in a CAT absolute nonsense. Being a subtitler is about assigning timecodes, translating and adapting content while observing rigorous technical parameters all at the same time. There are very specific reasons why a subtitle can be read and understood within the very few seconds of exposure it has on screen. In this scenario using a CAT tool makes no sense, no matter what regular translators trying to jump on the subtitling wagon have to say. If you're interested in subtitling, you might want to follow my team's Facebook page. Check it out https://www.facebook.com/ItProsSubtitles/ ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 02:34
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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Daithi wrote:
I probably should opened up a new post but didn't want to spam the forum.
Be that as it may, if you want to get responses to your second question, "Do CAT Tools offer a side to side view (MS Word style)?", you're going to have to post a separate thread in the relevant sub-forum, e.g. https://www.proz.com/forum/cat_tools_technical_help-1.html .
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 02:34
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Daithi wrote:
I would like to subtitle several films (for free) but with my current workflow and technology understanding it is just too time consuming.
It is my understanding that most translator subtitlers (as opposed to subtitle translators) who subtitle films and television into foreign languages translate the audio on-the-fly inside a standard subtitle program. In other words, they don't start by first transcribing the audio, or by first creating a subtitle for the source language, and then translating that text into the target language. They simply listen and then they write (and all the rest, e.g. time coding, etc.).
It is possible to translate an existing subtitle file in the source language, but the success of such a translation will depend on how suitable the source subtitle file is for translation. If you're very lucky, the source file will be ideally suited for translation, and you can simply translate the text, without having to bother with the time stamping at all.
If you want to build up a TM, and you can't do so while you translate, then you can always create a new TM after every translation project by aligning your translation against the source text. However, it is rare for multiple videos to contain high fuzzy matching chunks of audio. It is more likely that the value of using a CAT tool would be the use of the glossary, or by being able to use manual concordance searches on previous TMs.
A good CAT tool should be able to load a subtitle file without you having to use some method to delete time codes, line breaks and screen breaks. A good CAT tool can be set to "ignore" the time stamps and to treat hard line breaks as soft (i.e. non-breaking) line breaks. Even then, though, if you need to translate a line across screen breaks, you'll end up with segments in the TM where the source text does not fit the target text exactly (in the same way as you would do if you get a source text sentence that is split across multiple segments by mistake).
| | | | | That's pretty much it alright | Jan 3, 2020 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
It is my understanding that most translator subtitlers (as opposed to subtitle translators) who subtitle films and television into foreign languages translate the audio on-the-fly inside a standard subtitle program. In other words, they don't start by first transcribing the audio, or by first creating a subtitle for the source language, and then translating that text into the target language. They simply listen and then they write (and all the rest, e.g. time coding, etc.).
It is possible to translate an existing subtitle file in the source language, but the success of such a translation will depend on how suitable the source subtitle file is for translation. If you're very lucky, the source file will be ideally suited for translation, and you can simply translate the text, without having to bother with the time stamping at all.
If you want to build up a TM, and you can't do so while you translate, then you can always create a new TM after every translation project by aligning your translation against the source text. However, it is rare for multiple videos to contain high fuzzy matching chunks of audio. It is more likely that the value of using a CAT tool would be the use of the glossary, or by being able to use manual concordance searches on previous TMs.
A good CAT tool should be able to load a subtitle file without you having to use some method to delete time codes, line breaks and screen breaks. A good CAT tool can be set to "ignore" the time stamps and to treat hard line breaks as soft (i.e. non-breaking) line breaks. Even then, though, if you need to translate a line across screen breaks, you'll end up with segments in the TM where the source text does not fit the target text exactly (in the same way as you would do if you get a source text sentence that is split across multiple segments by mistake).
Yes. I have observed that most people do it on the fly. I also understand that subtitle translation is a lot about conciseness. To minimize text to be read and deliver the content. But my observation is that source is always word for word with audio/video. It is the translation that has flexibility. I am mainly interested in subbing movies, and they pretty much always have source subtitles available. Sometimes it may be difficult to shorten the point. Therefore, I'd like a TM to remember the style and the way I chose to translate it. I can always tweak it out next movie but use the basis from previous translations. I would use the TM just for subtitling.
Regardless how well you translate, I believe you will have to resync/respot afterwards using a subtitle software. But using already coded source file will ease up spotting greatly.
I think you are right about the glossary being the most important. I don't know any way how to use a glossary with subtitling software, just with a CAT tool.
[Edited at 2020-01-03 13:59 GMT]
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Wojciech_ (X)
Poland
Local time: 02:34
English to Polish
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| Subtitle translation | Jan 3, 2020 |
Well, as for translating subtitles, there are two basic scenarios. You either receive a template with source language and time codes included, and then you simply insert your translation in the corresponding box; or you translate and cue from scratch, which means that the translator decides on the proper timing (cueing/spotting) of subtitles and providing proper translation.
As for CAT tools for subtitle translation, I think there's a future there, especially regarding the use of TM... See more Well, as for translating subtitles, there are two basic scenarios. You either receive a template with source language and time codes included, and then you simply insert your translation in the corresponding box; or you translate and cue from scratch, which means that the translator decides on the proper timing (cueing/spotting) of subtitles and providing proper translation.
As for CAT tools for subtitle translation, I think there's a future there, especially regarding the use of TMs to keep consistency of translations (especially in TV series). I personally like Subtitle Edit as it's free and easy to use, but at the same time has lots of advanced functions (e.g. shot change detection), and I would be happy to see TM functionality included there, because (as far as I know), no subtitle software can utilize it now. There's an app for SDL Studio for translating subtitles, but it's so basic at the moment that it's completely useless for my purposes. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | CAT & Subtitles | Feb 4, 2022 |
MemoQ with memoQ Video Player plugin helps me to maintain consistency when translating series. It's a real time-saver. But still, I have to make all the time-coding and/or corrections connected with speed and line length in an external tool, because memoQ only indicates problems live, you don't see any warnings in the editor window.
Trados has its tool for subtitles too, but I didn't check it.
| | | | Mr. Satan (X)
English to Indonesian
| In my humblest of humble opinion... | Feb 5, 2022 |
...doing subtitles using a CAT tool is like shaving with peanut butter and a steak knife. But YMMV.
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