Equivalence and Investigations: an in-depth analysis of the quality of Dutch subtitles for American crime dramas

Abstract

Subtitles are of crucial importance to Dutch television. The simple, yet intricate subscripts allow millions of people to enjoy hundreds of foreign television programmes without the need to learn English extensively. However, in spite of their simplicity, creating a proper audiovisual translation suitable for a broad audience that manages to fully captures the atmosphere and essence of the original script is exceedingly complicated. This paper seeks to investigate and assess the quality of subtitles on Dutch television by analysing the screen translations of two popular American crime dramas. Using prior literature and studies on translating and subtitle practices this paper will attempt to rationalise the choices made by the translators and provide possible alternatives. The study focuses on subtitle timing and rhythm, semantic choices, idiomatic expressions, pragmatic particles and cultural-specific elements to evaluate the level of quality of subtitles today.