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Subtitling requires skills above and beyond normal translations: you need to consider the euphony of your wordings (they will be read to replace speech in real time, not just read as a document), there is often a limit on line length and timing, and the work often involves cutting-edge slang and language that a person not living in the target culture might have difficulty keeping current with (and thus requiring a higher level of research or collaboration). It also depends on whether the transla... See more
Subtitling requires skills above and beyond normal translations: you need to consider the euphony of your wordings (they will be read to replace speech in real time, not just read as a document), there is often a limit on line length and timing, and the work often involves cutting-edge slang and language that a person not living in the target culture might have difficulty keeping current with (and thus requiring a higher level of research or collaboration). It also depends on whether the translator is given a script in written or electronic form or is merely given the movie or program on video or in audio form. For these reasons, very often the translator will find that per-minute pricing will be more feasible than per-word.
On the other hand, there are the English subtitles of Hong Kong movies -- I think US$0.03 per word would be high for some of the pathetic quality we see on certain movies of this genre. (I'm not saying ALL of them, mind you.) But then again, US$0.03 for the extra laughs we get from some of the bloopers...maybe that's worth it!
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