Insights from an Audiovisual Translator

Following our recent blog, “Squid Game Lost in Translation?,” which discusses the poorly translated subtitles for Netflix’s hottest Korean tv show, Squid Game, we recently came across an article by the Baltimore Sun which provides commentary from an Audiovisual Translator.

Audiovisual Translation is a specialized branch of translation which deals with the transfer of multimodal and multimedia texts into another language and/or culture. In simpler terms, they write subtitles for films and shows in other languages.

David Buchanan, the guest commentator in the article, studied audiovisual translation at the University of Roehampton and frequently handles subtitles from French into English, from Spanish into German, and Japanese into Swedish. 

Buchanan says that as an audiovisual translator, he pays attention to cues provided by the actors, which adds extra layers of meaning and must be accounted for in the translation.

“We pay close attention not only to the meaning of the words, but to the actors’ emotions, the cadence of their speech, their body language, the themes and narrative structure of the script, the historical period, and the social context,” Buchanan said. 

Buchanan feels that his job is easier when he is hooked on the plot and can empathize with the characters, and sometimes wishes audiovisual translators could sing their own praises a little louder, however, enjoying the sense of anonymity at the same time.

“Translation is about helping people to understand each other, and it feels good to be able to do that on a daily basis.”