Video: Learn Italian with Subtitles

Posted on: 4 November 2020 by Alix Beagley in 2020 posts

BA in Modern European Languages graduate Alix Beagley introduces the Learn Italian with Subtitles module, newly available to final year students in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures.

Last year the University of Liverpool Italian Department introduced a new module for final year students: Learn Italian with Subtitles.

During this module students learn about the sector of audiovisual translation, a specialised branch of translation which deals with the transfer of multimodal and multimedia texts into another language and/or culture.

The project particularly focuses on interlingual translation, in which students write subtitles in English for videos in Italian, such as in the video above.

However, they also get to practice translating from English to Italian, as well as creating intralingual subtitles, otherwise known as closed captions, which are subtitles in the same language as the audio, for the D/deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Over the course of the module, students study the rules and regulations of subtitling in Italy, the UK, and the US.

They also get the opportunity to develop their translation skills, as well as their ability to listen, understand, and write in Italian, with the additional constraints of line length and timings to think about.

The final examination for this module consists of writing and producing English subtitles for an extract of an Italian film, using specialist subtitling software.

The department decided to offer this module in order to prepare students for the rapidly developing world of work, in which they will need to rely on not only their language skills, but also the technical skills and knowledge required to excel in an increasingly digital society.

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Study in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures at the University of Liverpool.

Learn Italian at the University of Liverpool.