Creating subtitles can be very challenging. Not only do you have to ensure your target audience has the same emotional experience as those familiar with the source language, but you also have to tailor your subtitles to align with cultural expectations.
I'ma fan of Japanese films, and I always enjoy seeing how the subtitle artists interpret — or reinterpret — the source language. A neat example of this occurs in Kiki's Delivery Service, the Studio Ghibli masterpiece from the late 1980s.
Osono-san offers Kiki a drink and, by doing so, throws up a conundrum for the subtitle creator.
Kiki — the 13-year-old apprentice witch — finds herself in the kitchen of the warm and welcoming baker Osono-san. In this scene, Osono-san offers Kiki a drink and, by doing so, throws up a conundrum for the subtitle creator. She offers Kiki instant coffee, scooping the granules from a container marked with a "C."
The easiest thing to do would be to translate directly, but culturally, the idea of offering a 13-year-old instant coffee really jars.
It turns out the person subtitling the film also felt uncomfortable and came up with a bright idea — they switched out coffee for cocoa. In one deft move, they managed to avoid the distracting culture clash while working within the boundaries of on-screen context.
Bravo!
Subtitles can be hard to get "right," but I always respect the thought and ingenuity that goes into creating them.
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