A reception study: Innovative subtitling

Künzli, Alexander; Ehrensberger-Dow, Maureen

doi:10.1075/btl.94.14kun

In:Methods and Strategies of Process Research: Integrative approaches in Translation Studies
Edited by Cecilia Alvstad, Adelina Hild and Elisabet Tiselius
[Benjamins Translation Library 94] 2011
► pp. 187–200

Get fulltext from our e-platform

Download Book PDF

Innovative subtitling

A reception study

Alexander Künzli | Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland

Maureen Ehrensberger-Dow | Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland

Published online: 20 July 2011

https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.94.14kun

This paper presents the results of an experimental study investigating reception capacity and audience response to subtitled movies. Twenty-seven viewers were shown four movie excerpts, with commercially available standard subtitling or with innovative subtitling. The latter comprised additional information regarding language and culture-specific elements in the original soundtrack. Data were collected simultaneously with eye-tracking and consecutively with questionnaires. Eye-tracking measured fixation duration and percentage of gaze time in the various areas of interest, whereas the questionnaire assessed accuracy on questions about movie content and audience perception and satisfaction. The results show no significant differences in accuracy between the two conditions, indicating that viewers of subtitled audiovisual productions are able to process more information than established subtitling norms suggest.

Keywords: audience response, eye-tracking, questionnaire, reception capacity, subtitling

Cited by (22)

Cited by 22 other publications

Order by:

Bosseaux, Charlotte

2025. Methodological Framework. In A Voice of Their Own, ► pp. 77 ff.

Nettelbeck, Hugh Wilson

2024. Are subtitling norms evidence-based? A narrative comparison of guidelines and subtitling advice with empirical evidence. Perspectives ► pp. 1 ff.

Hu, Bei

2022. Feeling foreign: A trust-based compromise model of translation reception. Translation Studies 15:2 ► pp. 202 ff.

Massey, Gary & Peter Jud

2020. Translation Process Research in Audiovisual Translation. In The Palgrave Handbook of Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility [Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting, ], ► pp. 359 ff.

Ramos Pinto, Sara & Aishah Mubaraki

2020. Multimodal corpus analysis of subtitling. Target. International Journal of Translation Studies 32:3 ► pp. 389 ff.

Wongseree, Thandao

2020. Understanding Thai fansubbing practices in the digital era: a network of fans and online technologies in fansubbing communities. Perspectives 28:4 ► pp. 539 ff.

Gambier, Yves

2018. Translation studies, audiovisual translation and reception. In Reception Studies and Audiovisual Translation [Benjamins Translation Library, 141], ► pp. 43 ff.

Kruger, Jan-Louis & Stephen Doherty

2018. Triangulation of online and offline measures of processing and reception in AVT. In Reception Studies and Audiovisual Translation [Benjamins Translation Library, 141], ► pp. 91 ff.

Ramos Pinto, Sara

2018. Film, dialects and subtitles: an analytical framework for the study of non-standard varieties in subtitling. The Translator 24:1 ► pp. 17 ff.

Teixeira, Carlos S. C. & Sharon O’Brien

2018. Overcoming methodological challenges of eye tracking in the translation workplace. In Eye tracking and multidisciplinary studies on translation [Benjamins Translation Library, 143], ► pp. 33 ff.

Valdeón, Roberto A.

2018. Discourse analysis, pragmatics, multimodal analysis. In Reception Studies and Audiovisual Translation [Benjamins Translation Library, 141], ► pp. 111 ff.

Hvelplund, Kristian T.

2017. Eye Tracking in Translation Process Research. In The Handbook of Translation and Cognition, ► pp. 248 ff.

Vandepitte, Sonia

2017. Recognizing Social Aspects of Translation. In The Handbook of Translation and Cognition, ► pp. 165 ff.

Mangiron, Carme

2016. Reception of game subtitles: an empirical study. The Translator 22:1 ► pp. 72 ff.

Chesterman, Andrew

2015. Models of what processes?. In Describing Cognitive Processes in Translation [Benjamins Current Topics, 77], ► pp. 7 ff.

Eardley-Weaver, Sarah

2015. Opening eyes to opera. In Describing Cognitive Processes in Translation [Benjamins Current Topics, 77], ► pp. 125 ff.

Peeters, Bert

2015. « Il fallut que je sois fusse… » : à la recherche d’un temps perdu (2001-2012). Pratiques :167-168

Orrego-Carmona, David

2014. Subtitling, video consumption and viewers. Translation Spaces 3 ► pp. 51 ff.

Orrego-Carmona, David

2019. A holistic approach to non-professional subtitling from a functional quality perspective. Translation Studies 12:2 ► pp. 196 ff.

Orrego, David

2013. Avance de la traducción audiovisual: desde los inicios hasta la era digital. Mutatis Mutandis. Revista Latinoamericana de Traducción 6:2 ► pp. 297 ff.

Guillot, Marie-Noëlle

2012. Stylisation and representation in subtitles: can less be more?. Perspectives 20:4 ► pp. 479 ff.

[no author supplied]

2017. Reflections on Translation Theory [Benjamins Translation Library, 132],

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 15 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.