Quality Assessment of Subtitling Symbols Found in
The Animal Farm (1999)
Towards a New Approach of Enriched Subtitles
Subtitles, a mode of audiovisual translation, aim at communicating
the content of audiovisual materials. Subtitlers should follow the norms and
standards of subtitling to achieve that goal. However, subtitles that abide by
the norms and standards of subtitling do not communicate symbolism in scenes of
various AV materials, such as The Animal Farm (1999). To support this statement,
this study explores the subtitles of symbols in selected scenes from The Animal
Farm (1999) movie. This study sets out to examine the quality of subtitles of
these scenes by using the FAR model by Jan Pederson (2017) to reveal that
conventional subtitles quality assessment (SQA) models do not reveal the flaws
of subtitles of symbols in AV materials. Moreover, the study then utilizes the
proposed hermeneutical SQA model, that is based on the hermeneutics motions by
George Steiner (1975), to assess whether symbolism is communicated or not
through conventional subtitles. Based on the analysis of selected scenes, the
current study reveals that conventional subtitles – that follow the standards
and norms of subtitling- do not communicate the symbolism in these scenes.
Moreover, the current study revealed that enriched subtitles (ETs) help the
viewers understand symbolism in AV materials by providing additional
information to the viewers without increasing the character count on the
screen.
Enriched subtitles (ETs) represent a contemporary approach in subtitling.
Enriched subtitles are complementary instruments that aim at providing the viewers
of audiovisual materials with additional information that could not be communicated
through conventional subtitles. Nevertheless, ETs should be added to the
existing subtitles of certain AV materials to enrich the communication of
certain scenes found in these AV materials.
The following are the sample of the study where certain scenes were
analyzed and it was determined that the subtitles of these scenes are insufficient
to enable the viewer to access the deeper meaning(s) intended by these scenes. The
scenes contain three types of symbols that are referred to by Elaheh Fadaee
(2010) that are metaphoric symbols, commemorative symbols, and sacramental
symbols. Scenes one, two, and three are metaphoric symbols that are used for “used
for natural phenomena”, according to Fadaee (2010, p.20). Scenes three, four,
and five are commemorative symbols that “add a real event to a memory”, according
to Fadaee (2010, p.20). Finally, scene seven is a sacramental symbol that is “used
in myths and customs”, according to Fadaee (2010, p.20).
Scene one: the scene of Mr. Jones plowing the field and Boxer
dragging the tillage.
Hyperlink: https://www.iotiers.com/scenes/3.2.1.1/3.2.1.1.html
Scene two: the scene when the animals sing the “Beasts of the
World” anthem.
Hyperlink: https://www.iotiers.com/scenes/3.2.1.2/3.2.1.2.html
Scene three: the scene when Pincher is assigned as the leader of
the animal guard.
Hyperlink: https://www.iotiers.com/scenes/3.2.1.3/3.2.1.3.html
Scene four: the scene when of the battle between the animals and the
other farmers.
Hyperlink: https://www.iotiers.com/scenes/3.2.2.1/3.2.2.1.html
Scene five: the scene of the farmers after the battle.
Hyperlink: https://www.iotiers.com/scenes/3.2.2.2/3.2.2.2.html
Scene six: the scene when the dogs chase Snowball to exile him.
Hyperlink: https://www.iotiers.com/scenes/3.2.2.3/3.2.2.3.html
Scene seven: the scene when the animals win the battle.
Hyperlink: https://www.iotiers.com/scenes/3.2.3.1/3.2.3.1.html
Disclaimer:
The website, represented by the researcher Ahmed Nasser Eddin, does
not claim the copyright of the movie, the scenes from the movie, or the
existing subtitles. However, enriched subtitles are the production of the
researcher and the result of the research mentioned above.
The copyright of this website and study rests with the author. No
quotation should be published without his prior written consent and information
derived from it should be acknowledged.
Ahmed Nasser Eddin.
References:
Fadaee, E. (2011). Symbols, metaphors and similes in literature: A
case study of “Animal Farm”. Journal of English and literature, 19-27.
Nasser Eddin, A. (Cf). Quality assessment of subtitling symbols
found in The Animal Farm (1999) towards a new approach of enriched
subtitles.