6. Analysis
6.2. Qualitative analysis – the characteristics of different error types
6.2.1. Linguistic errors
As the quantitative analysis indicates, linguistic errors are the most common types of
translation errors in the material occurring 86 times. The most typical type of linguistic error
51 is a punctuation error. The Finnish punctuation rules are violated 60 times in the subtitles. The second most typical type of linguistic error is the use of inappropriate verb tense.
Inappropriate verb tense is found in six instances. The third most typical type of linguistic error, in turn, is a misspelling. They occur five times. The last type of linguistic error with more than just a single occurrence is an awkward word choice. Awkward word choices appear four times. These four most common types of linguistic errors are now analysed in more detail.
The first two examples represent typical punctuation errors appearing in the material.
Even though punctuation errors do not usually have a direct relationship with the source text, they arise in the process when source language is translated into the target language and are breaches of the target language system. Thus, they are considered to be translation errors.
Still, as punctuation errors do not have a direct connection to the source text, it is not necessary to provide context for these examples. The line breaks in all of the examples follows the line breaks of the original subtitle. In the examples, dash has been inserted to mark the part where the sentence continues on the next line. The last column on the right tells which set of data the example is taken from.
Example 10.
Speaker Source text Subtitle Translator
Ella Relax. I like Declan but I’m way past the jealous stage.
Älä säiky. Pidän Declanista – mutta mustasukkaisuus on mennyttä elämää.
BTI
In example 10, Finnish punctuation rules would require comma to be inserted after the word
“Declanista” (Maamies 1995). The clauses are both main clauses, which means they are equal in rank and fulfil identical functions. They form a compound sentence which has more than one subject and predicate. In the first clause, the subject is conjugated in the verb “pidän” [I like] which communicates the first person singular. At the same time the verb functions as the predicate. In the second clause, the subject is “mustasukkaisuus” [jealousy] and the predicate is “on” [is]. The two clauses are connected by a coordinating conjunction “mutta” [but], and in Finnish, two clauses of equal rank connected by a coordinating conjunction are separated from each other by a comma if they do not have any shared sentence elements, such as subject, predicate or object. Thus, comma should have been inserted to separate the clauses.
Example 11 is another instance of a punctuation error.
52 Example 11.
Speaker Source text Subtitle Translator
Val Terry, you’re the only one I can rely on. I need your help. I’ve got to get away.
Olet ainoa, johon voin luottaa.
Auta minua. Minun on päästävä pois
MTV
In example 11, the punctuation error arises from the missing full stop from the end of the line.
In Finnish, full stop is always used to mark the end of a sentence.
Based on the material, comma errors are the most typical types of punctuation errors.
Of the 60 punctuation errors, 57 are errors where comma has been left out, whereas three instances involve a subtitle where full stop has been left out. These three instances occur in the subtitles translated by MTV. As there is only few of the instances where full stop has been left out, these can be assumed to be typos. However, the situation is different with comma errors. Comma errors are more common in the subtitles translated by BTI. Of the 57 comma errors, 46 occur in BTI’s subtitles. It seems typical, especially in the subtitles translated by BTI, to leave the comma out if the sentence continues on the next line as in example 10. An explanation to this might be found in the contents of subtitling guidelines or quality manuals that the company provides their translators’ with. As was discussed in Chapter 3.1., some of the subtitling companies’ guidebooks provide the translators very detailed instructions on, for example, typographical techniques or the use of punctuation, while others concentrate on more general topics. For some companies the edge of the screen might serve as a punctuation mark and it might well be that the translators of the episodes analysed here have been
instructed that using a comma in a situation where the sentence continues on the next line is not necessary. It does not, however, seem to be a universal convention in BTI as some of the subtitles follow the Finnish punctuation rules by the book even in cases like example 10.
It was discussed in Chapter 5 that the Finnish punctuation rules allow the comma to be left out if the sentence is extremely short. In the scope of this study, a ‘short sentence’ was limited to be a sentence with less than six words. All sentences that violated the Finnish punctuation rules but had less than six words were excluded from the material. Example 12 demonstrates a case like this.
53 Example 12.
Speaker Source text Subtitle Translator
Aaron Did you know the back light’s out on the van?
Tiesitkö että takavalo on rikki? BTI
In example 12, “että” is a subordinating conjunction which marks the beginning of a subordinate clause and in Finnish main clause and subordinate clause are separated by a comma (Maamies 1995). However, the subtitle consists of five words and even though it violates the Finnish punctuation rules, it has been excluded from the material.
In the course of the analysis, when the tendency to leave the comma out when a sentence continues in the next line, the definition of a punctuation error was revisited. In case of subtitling, it might be more suitable to look at the number of characters instead of number of words when exceptions to punctuation rules are applied. It was defined in Chapter 2.1. that a one-line subtitle consists most often of 35–40 characters which means that a two-line subtitle would take up a maximum of 70–80 characters. As I do not have specific knowledge of the character numbers applied at MTV or BTI, I used the average of above mentioned numbers. In other words, a one-line subtitle can take up, in round numbers, 38 characters and a two-line subtitle can take up 75 characters. If the number of characters per line, according to these average numbers, does not allow a comma to be inserted, the line has not been taken into account in this analysis. Example 13 represents a case like this.
Example 13.
Speaker Source text Subtitle Translator
Marlon I’m slightly concerned about some scary bloke turning up when he realises she’s gone off with his kid.
Pelkään, että tänne ilmestyy joku pelottava heppu tajuttuaan – että Kelly vei hänen lapsensa.
BTI
Example 13 is a two-line subtitle and according to the Finnish punctuation rules, comma should be inserted after the word “tajuttuaan” to separate the subordinate clause from the main clause. However, the number of characters in this particular subtitle is 80 which means it falls above the average number of characters calculated and is thus excluded from the material.
54 Punctuation errors are evaluated as minor errors. Even though they might be
noticeable, at least to grammatically aware viewers, and they might annoy some viewers, they do not have a negative impact on meaning. However minor, as Vertanen (2007: 154)
emphasises, subtitles should adhere to the punctuation rules of Finnish. One important reason for this is in learning Finnish. According to Vertanen (2007: 155), teachers of Finnish have noted that it becomes difficult to teach pupils the correct use of punctuation when the subtitles that are read every day do not follow the same rules. Another reason for the correct use of a comma is that comma serves as an important tool for the viewer in conceiving the structure of the text. Especially in cases like example 10, where the sentence continues on the next line, the comma serves as a helpful aid for the viewer to understand the coordination of clauses and structuring the text. However, as was noted, space sets certain limits on whether or not
comma can be inserted which should be taken into account when classifying punctuation errors.
The following two examples are representatives of the use of inappropriate verb tense. In example 14, Debbie is sitting down with Lisa trying to find out why Lisa is being so jumpy. Lisa had been raped by her co-worker the previous night but Debbie does not know that yet.
Example 14.
Speaker Source text Subtitle Translator
Debbie Lisa, what’s happened? Lisa, mitä tapahtui? BTI
In example 15, Debbie is talking to Natasha and admiring Natasha and Mark’s marriage. She seems impressed by the fact that Mark is running errands for Natasha.
Example 15.
Speaker Source text Subtitle Translator
Debbie You’ve got him well-trained. Koulutit hänet hyvin. MTV
In both of these examples, past tense is not the appropriate tense to be used in the Finnish subtitles. Past tense denotes a past action in progress but not completed at the time in question (Lyytikäinen 1997), that is the time when the line is spoken. However, in both of these
examples the past action has already been completed. Lisa has been raped and Natasha has trained Mark well. In such cases, perfect tense would be more appropriate one to use. Using
55 past tense would be correct if the action was still in progress when the line was spoken
(Lyytikäinen 1997).
According to Vehmas-Lehto (2005: 60), these kinds of changes in the verb tenses are quite common in subtitles. However, the space and time limitations of subtitling need to be addressed yet again. There is a limited number of characters each line can contain and by using the past tense, which is a slightly shorter option than the perfect tense, the translator saves valuable space for other information that might be more relevant than correct verb tenses. Alternatively, the use of past tense instead of perfect might result from the translators’
‘compulsion’ to condensate the text. At times, they might condense the text automatically even when there is no need for it.
The use of inappropriate verb tense is evaluated as a minor error because it does not have a negative impact on the meaning of the source text, at least in this set of data. As subtitles are highly context-bound, the viewer can comprehend from the image that the action in progress is not actually happening at the time in question even if the Finnish subtitle uses the past tense. For instance, with regard to example 14, the viewer has seen what has
happened to Lisa in the previous episode even though Debbie does not know it yet. It is highly likely that most viewers might not even notice the error but these kinds of instances are violations against the target language system.
The following example is a representative of a misspelling which is the third most common type of linguistic error.
Example 16.
Speaker Source text Subtitle Translator
Sandy You can’t beat a pint brought to you by a flame-haired temptress.
Mikää ei voita tuoppia
punatukkaiselta kaunottarelta.
MTV
In example 16, the error lies in the misspelling of the word “mikää” [nothing], where the letter
“n” has been left out. Misspellings are not very frequent in the material which leads to think that these few instances are merely typos. They are evaluated as minor errors because they do not have a negative meaning on the content of the source text.
The following two examples represent awkward word choices which are the fourth most common types of linguistic errors. In example 17, Aaron’s dog has been attacked by another dog and his state is critical. Paddy is explaining the dog’s situation to Aaron.
56 Example 17.
Speaker Source text Subtitle Translator
Paddy He’s covered in bites and he’s lost a lot of blood.
Se on täynnä puremajälkiä, ja se on vuotanut paljon verta.
BTI
The second clause in example 17, “se on vuotanut paljon verta” [he has been bleeding a lot], sounds somewhat unnatural to a Finnish viewer. Based on the example phrases that
Kielitoimiston sanakirja (Kielitoimiston sanakirja: http://www.kielitoimistonsanakirja.fi/, accessed 31 August 2016) gives for the verb “vuotaa” [run, leak, take in water], I would gather that the verb is mainly used to refer to inanimate objects, for example, “hanasta vuotaa vettä” [water is leaking from the tab] and “hänen nenästään alkoi vuotaa verta” [his nose started to bleed]. It is often some part of a person, for example a wound or a nose, which bleeds. However, the verb is also used with reference to humans as in “hänestä vuotaa verta”
[he is bleeding] or “minä vuodan verta” [I am bleeding]. So, with the right pronoun or the right case, the sentence would sound natural. Perhaps what causes the unnaturalness lies in the unnecessary repetition of “se on” [he has]. It is quite difficult to pinpoint what is wrong with the sentence even though it sounds weird. This relates to Vehmas-Lehto’s (1989; 2005) definition of a covert error discussed in Chapter 3.4. Vehmas-Lehto (2005) points out that covert errors are not easy to notice from texts and when they are noticed, it can be difficult to explain what is wrong with them. Thus, this translation error could possibly be classified as a covert error according to Vehmas-Lehto’s model. I would evaluate that this is not an
idiomatic phrase in Finnish which is the reason why this subtitle is categorised as a translation error.
In example 18, Andy is asking Gennie if she has already told Katie that Katie’s ex-boyfriend has been arrested. As Katie has just come back from a holiday, Gennie has been hesitant about telling her.
Example 18.
Speaker Source text Subtitle Translator
Gennie I didn’t want to burst her holiday bubble.
En halunnut tiputtaa häntä lomakuplastaan.
BTI
57 Example 18 is a similar case to the instance that came up in the focus group discussions in Tuominen’s (2013: 162) study which was discussed in Chapter 3.4. The subtitle in example 18 is a creative, if not rather a literal, translation of the source text. The subtitle is not a mistranslation or incorrect Finnish but it does not sound very familiar, at least to this evaluator’s ear. By not being very familiar, this linguistic error might draw the viewers’
attention. Like the error in example 17, this error could be classified as a covert error as well.
The errors in examples 17 and 18 were rather problematic ones to categorise.
Example 18 could have been classified as a stylistic error as well. As I mentioned, the subtitle is a rather literal translation and thus, it could be placed in the category of stylistic errors.
Both of the errors are evaluated as minor errors because even though they might draw unnecessary attention away from the programme, they do not change the meaning of the source text. However, reception studies should be carried out in order to find out whether these kinds of errors draw regular viewers’ attention or is that just in the eye of the evaluator.
One interesting case in the material is the occurrence of a single cultural reference, shown in example 19. The context of the example is that Lizzie has spent the night at the Dingle’s because she has been kicked out of her apartment and is at the moment having breakfast with the family.
Example 19.
Speaker Source text Subtitle Translator
Lizzie So here I am, scrounging for a fry-up.
Olen siis täällä pummaamassa käristystä.
MTV
In this example, the issue lies in the Finnish translation of the word “fry-up”. In my opinion, the word “käristys” has culture-bound connotations in Finland. I dare to claim that when Finns hear the word “käristys”, what probably springs to mind to most of them is sautéed reindeer or sautéed elk. “Käristys” is a dish that is traditionally prepared from thinly sliced pieces of reindeer or elk meat, fried in fat, and cooked until tender. In British English, however, a fry-up is an informal expression for a dish of various types of fried food and it is most often used to refer to a full English breakfast which includes bacon, sausage, eggs, beans and tomatoes. Thus, the Finnish translation seems to be a somewhat unsuitable translation for this cultural reference in this context, as it might invoke totally different connotations to in the Finnish viewers than what was intended. The translation seems to slightly change the meaning of the source text in this context and is, hence, evaluated as a major error.
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