Continuity errors

The third subcategory under covert errors is continuity errors. The number of the continuity errors found from the five episodes in the material was 28, accounting for 0.3 per cent as the number of translations that included a continuity error. The continuity errors also accounted for 4.8 per cent of all of the translation errors.

As the subscriber is able to watch as many episodes on Netflix as they want, it could be argued that continuity would be an important aspect of the to the subscribers‟

viewing experience. This is further enforced by Netflix‟s guidelines for subtitling (Netflix2), as the consistency through episodes and seasons is expected. The continuity errors in Netflix‟s

72 translations of Gilmore Girls can obviously be associated with the changes of translators during the series, however, this cannot be proven as the episodes S01E16, S03E07 and S07E18 did not reveal the name of the translator, and episodes S08E01 and S08E02 were translated by the same person. However, the use of more than one translator during the series is more than likely, when taken into consideration that the translations of many of the nicknames, running jokes, place names and even names are not consistent. This will be indicated in the following examples. For the purposes of this study, the continuity errors are calculated from the five, randomly selected episodes for this study, but to gain more information, other episodes from the series are used to study if the translation of a continuous verbal element is consistent. Furthermore, if the term is used continuously in an episode, it is calculated as one error, but if the term changes throughout an episode, each of the different translations are calculated as a separate error within that episode.

As mentioned above, in the five, randomly episodes of Gilmore Girls, many translations of the names of places change during the series‟ subtitling. One of these is the name of a restaurant in Stars Hollow, „Al‟s Pancake World‟, as shown in example 28 from episode S08E01 below.

Example 28.

Al‟s Pancake World won Best Christmas Decorations, again.

Al‟s Pancake World palkittiin taas parhaista joulukoristeista.

Al‟s Pancake World is continuously mentioned during the series as one of the few restaurants in Stars Hollow. In this translation, the name of the restaurant is kept in its original language.

However, during the course of the series, the restaurant has many names in the Finnish subtitling. For example, in S01E05, it is translated as „Alin Ohukaispaikka‟ and in S03E1

„Alin pannukakkupaikka‟.

Names of places are not the only one‟s translated differently during the series, as the nicknames are affected by these continuity errors as well. One of the names that keeps changing its form in the subtitling is the town‟s eccentric dance teacher, Miss Patty, as shown in example 29 from S01E16 and example 30 from S03E17 below.

Example 29.

Miss Patty‟s Story Hour 2:00 p.m. Patty-neidin TARINATUNTI – klo 14.00.

73 Example 30.

Oh and this is Miss Patty‟s dance school. Tässä on Miss Pattyn tanssikoulu.

In example 29, the title „Miss‟ has been translated and domesticated by relocating it to come after the proper name, and in example 30, the original foreign form of the name has been preserved, therefore using two very different translation techniques. Additionally, these two are not the only two translations for Miss Patty during the series, as S08E01 uses another translation for the name, „neiti Patty‟. All of these translations, for both Al‟s Pancake World and Miss Patty, would be acceptable on their own. However, as both names are continuously occurring during the series, both in the Original and non-Original episodes, and Miss Patty appearing in 81 episodes (IMDb1, IMDb2), consistency with the translation could be expected.

The continuity errors are not limited to the names of people and places, but also for running themes of the show. One of the prominent continuous events in the series are the Friday night dinners Lorelai and Rory have with Lorelai‟s parents. The translation of this event is not immune to continuity errors, as is shown in example 31 from S01E16 and example 32 from S03E07.

Example 31.

Well, I've got the usual Friday night grandparents' dinner.

Menen päivälliselle isovanhempien luo.

Example 32.

Lorelai, I‟ve told you a hundred times to turn that thing off when you come to dinner here.

Olen sanonut sata kertaa, että tuo on suljettava kun tulee illalliselle.

The different translations for the word „dinner‟ in these instances are „päivällinen‟ and

„illallinen‟, both acceptable translations for the original. However, the use of the terms to reference to a one specific and continuous event, can cause unnecessary attention drawn to the subtitling, therefore not adhering to Vertanen‟s (2007b) idea that the subtitling should be as invisible as possible to best fulfill its purpose.

These examples presented above for continuity errors are mostly errors that occur once in an episode, meaning that even though the translation of a term or name is

74 different during the series, typically only one translation is used continuously during one specific episode, thereby offering a slight suggestion that each of those episodes are translated by different translators. However, some continuity errors also occur when a term is translated differently during a single episode, such as in examples 33 and 34 from episode S07E18 below.

Example 33.

Growing up in New England, it‟s like you're told over and over

Kasvaa Uudessa Englannissa.

Meille jankutetaan, Example 34.

- It‟s like, "suck it, New England." -Se haistattaa New Englandilla pitkät.

These translations from the same episode are only seven translations apart, in the same scene.

It could be argued, that a continuity error occurring in the same scene, and this close to the different translation of the same term, is likely to confuse the viewer and draw unnecessary attention to the subtitling, therefore drawing the focus from the show.

As mentioned before, in a subscription service, where the viewer is able to watch as many episodes of a series as they want in one sitting, the continuity of the translations of especially notable and continuous themes and names of the characters would cause confusion and draw attention from the plot to the subtitling, therefore not fulfilling the purpose of the subtitling to work as an invisible aid. This can be further concluded from Netflix‟s general guidelines for subtitling (Netflix2), where the consistency across episodes and seasons is demanded, and the translators are encouraged to use formality tables to ensure the consistency. The continuity errors can potentially be explained with the different translators, although this cannot be confirmed, as the non-Original episodes did not disclose the names of the translators in.