Teacher(s)
Language
French
> English-friendly
> English-friendly
Main themes
Theoretical and practical introduction to interlingual subtitling.
Learning outcomes
At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to : | |
| Contribution of teaching unit to learning outcomes assigned to programme This unit contributes to the acquisition and development of the following learning outcomes, as assigned to the Master's degree in translation:
On completing this unit the student is able to:
|
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Content
The course will analyse the main AVT modalities: subtitling, surtitling, dubbing, voice-over, subtitling for the deaf and hard of hearing (SDH), and audio description. The theoretical component will introduce key concepts (multimodality, source and target texts, translation problems and solutions), the history and typology of AVT practices, as well as national and international formatting conventions. Students will also study practical challenges such as rendering cultural references, humour and language varieties. Recent research and developments will be addressed, including creative subtitling, templates, machine translation and post-editing, cloud-based tools, and the impact of technologies on workflows and quality. The course will further explore the professional ecosystem of AVT (client relations, negotiation, project management, quality assurance) and ethical issues (cloud-based software, crowdsourcing, fansubbing, artificial intelligence). The practical component, mainly using EZTitles©, will allow students to train in spotting, time-cueing, creating and revising subtitles and audio descriptions. Outputs will be discussed and corrected by the instructor to ensure a direct link between theory and practice.
Teaching methods
In-person classes, computer lab equipped with EZTitles© software.
Attendance is compulsory.
Individual and group work for learning and formative feedback.
Attendance is compulsory.
Individual and group work for learning and formative feedback.
Evaluation methods
For the January examination session, the summative assessment is organised during the semester and consists of three complementary individual components.
An individual oral presentation of a commented subtitled translation (40%) will require students to present and justify their translation choices using concepts, models and theoretical research discussed during the course. The aim is not only to present a completed translation, but also to demonstrate the ability to identify translation problems, explain the strategies adopted and critically assess the proposed solutions.
An individual written theoretical test (30%) will assess students’ knowledge and understanding of the concepts, conventions and issues covered during the course.
Finally, an individual practical subtitling exercise (30%) will assess students’ ability to apply their translation and technical skills to a concrete audiovisual translation task.
Individual and group activities will be carried out during the semester for formative purposes and will receive regular feedback. Group work does not form part of the summative assessment.
In the event of failure, the September examination session will consist of an individual practical assignment.
Attendance is compulsory.
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), if used, must be used responsibly and in accordance with the principles of academic and scientific integrity. Since scientific integrity requires sources to be acknowledged, any use of GenAI must always be reported precisely and in detail. GenAI uses that comply with academic standards are defined in the institutional document “Utilisation des Intelligences Artificielles Génératives. Note à l’attention des étudiantes et étudiants de l’UCLouvain”.
Whether disclosed or not, the use of GenAI tools will be considered inconsistent with academic standards when it leads, in particular, to citing bibliographical sources that have not been consulted or to including references whose validity has not been verified or that do not exist. Where inappropriate use of GenAI is suspected, the course holder may verify the authenticity of the submitted work and, pursuant to Article 148 of the RGEE and with the agreement of the examination board, require an additional assessment. Any unauthorised use of GenAI may be considered an irregularity within the meaning of Article 107 of the UCLouvain RGEE.
Rules on plagiarism: in assessed work, students must strictly comply with academic referencing rules. In particular, they must not copy text without quotation marks and/or acknowledgement of the source; reproduce graphs, data or illustrations without acknowledging the source; reformulate or summarise an author’s original idea without acknowledging the source; translate a source, in whole or in part, without referencing it; present another person’s work as their own; or purchase work. Failure to comply with these rules may result in the sanctions provided for by the RGEE where an irregularity or plagiarism is established by the examination board.
An individual oral presentation of a commented subtitled translation (40%) will require students to present and justify their translation choices using concepts, models and theoretical research discussed during the course. The aim is not only to present a completed translation, but also to demonstrate the ability to identify translation problems, explain the strategies adopted and critically assess the proposed solutions.
An individual written theoretical test (30%) will assess students’ knowledge and understanding of the concepts, conventions and issues covered during the course.
Finally, an individual practical subtitling exercise (30%) will assess students’ ability to apply their translation and technical skills to a concrete audiovisual translation task.
Individual and group activities will be carried out during the semester for formative purposes and will receive regular feedback. Group work does not form part of the summative assessment.
In the event of failure, the September examination session will consist of an individual practical assignment.
Attendance is compulsory.
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), if used, must be used responsibly and in accordance with the principles of academic and scientific integrity. Since scientific integrity requires sources to be acknowledged, any use of GenAI must always be reported precisely and in detail. GenAI uses that comply with academic standards are defined in the institutional document “Utilisation des Intelligences Artificielles Génératives. Note à l’attention des étudiantes et étudiants de l’UCLouvain”.
Whether disclosed or not, the use of GenAI tools will be considered inconsistent with academic standards when it leads, in particular, to citing bibliographical sources that have not been consulted or to including references whose validity has not been verified or that do not exist. Where inappropriate use of GenAI is suspected, the course holder may verify the authenticity of the submitted work and, pursuant to Article 148 of the RGEE and with the agreement of the examination board, require an additional assessment. Any unauthorised use of GenAI may be considered an irregularity within the meaning of Article 107 of the UCLouvain RGEE.
Rules on plagiarism: in assessed work, students must strictly comply with academic referencing rules. In particular, they must not copy text without quotation marks and/or acknowledgement of the source; reproduce graphs, data or illustrations without acknowledging the source; reformulate or summarise an author’s original idea without acknowledging the source; translate a source, in whole or in part, without referencing it; present another person’s work as their own; or purchase work. Failure to comply with these rules may result in the sanctions provided for by the RGEE where an irregularity or plagiarism is established by the examination board.
Other information
Course materials will be available on Moodle.
Online resources
Glossary of Professional Audiovisual Translation:
https://www.ataa.fr/documents/ET-HS2-complet.pdf
Charter on the Quality of Subtitling for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing People (2011):
https://www.arcom.fr/se-documenter/espace-juridique/textes-juridiques/charte-relative-la-qualite-du-sous-titrage-destination-des-personnes-sourdes-ou-malentendantes-decembre-2011
International Guidelines and Policies on Audiovisual Translation (ESIST – European Association for Studies in Screen Translation):
https://esist.org/resources/avt-guidelines-and-policies/
ADLAB – Best Practice Guide and Learning Manual in Audio Description (with Exercises):
http://www.adlabproject.eu/Docs/adlab%20book/
Current Trends in Audiovisual Translation Research:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0907676X.2022.2069226#d1e247
https://www.ataa.fr/documents/ET-HS2-complet.pdf
Charter on the Quality of Subtitling for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing People (2011):
https://www.arcom.fr/se-documenter/espace-juridique/textes-juridiques/charte-relative-la-qualite-du-sous-titrage-destination-des-personnes-sourdes-ou-malentendantes-decembre-2011
International Guidelines and Policies on Audiovisual Translation (ESIST – European Association for Studies in Screen Translation):
https://esist.org/resources/avt-guidelines-and-policies/
ADLAB – Best Practice Guide and Learning Manual in Audio Description (with Exercises):
http://www.adlabproject.eu/Docs/adlab%20book/
Current Trends in Audiovisual Translation Research:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0907676X.2022.2069226#d1e247
Bibliography
- Baños, Rocío & Dallı, Harun & Diaz-Cintas, Jorge. (2025). Pivot subtitling workflows in the age of streaming platforms. The International Journal of Translation and Interpreting Research. 17. 16-37. http://dx.doi.org/10.12807/ti.117202.2025.a02
- Baños, Rocío & Diaz-Cintas, Jorge. (2023). Exploring new forms of audiovisual translation in the age of digital media: cybersubtitling and cyberdubbing. The Translator. 29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2023.2274119
- Bolaños García-Escribano, Alejandro & Diaz-Cintas, Jorge & Massidda, Serenella. (2021). Subtitlers on the Cloud: The Use of Professional Web-based Systems in Subtitling Practice and Training. Tradumàtica tecnologies de la traducció. 19. 1-21. http://dx.doi.org/10.5565/rev/tradumatica.276
- Gambier, Yves. (2019). Audiovisual translation and reception. Slovo.ru: Baltic accent. http://dx.doi.org/10.5922/2225-5346-2019-1-4
Faculty or entity
