Vahid Mardani; Masood Khoshsaligheh
Abstract
Audiovisual translation has received considerable attention from translation scholars in recent years. However, subtitling and specifically non-professional subtitling, due to the dominance of dubbing in Iranian national and state media, has received less attention in Iranian academia. This study examines ...
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Audiovisual translation has received considerable attention from translation scholars in recent years. However, subtitling and specifically non-professional subtitling, due to the dominance of dubbing in Iranian national and state media, has received less attention in Iranian academia. This study examines the attitudes of non-professional subtitlers towards ethical principles in subtitling English language films into Persian. The statistical population included all non-professional subtitlers active on the Internet, among whom 15 individuals were selected through purposive sampling. A semi-structured interview was conducted as the main research tool, and its items were online-based and available to the interviewees by email or in person. Findings showed that the ethical principles were limited to faithfulness to the original audiovisual translation (AVT) material and avoiding any manipulation, resulting in the transfer of many Western cultural and linguistic taboos in subtitling. Moreover, novice translators placed more emphasis on complete faithfulness to the original text regardless of any cultural and linguistic filters.
Sima Imani; Masood Khoshsaligheh
Abstract
Dubbing is the prevalent modality of audiovisual translation in Iran. Although dubbing uses both acoustic and visual channels, the acoustic dimension has not been thoroughly researched. Since dubbing primarily deals with voice, researching paralinguistic code (e.g., voice quality and tone) is of primary ...
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Dubbing is the prevalent modality of audiovisual translation in Iran. Although dubbing uses both acoustic and visual channels, the acoustic dimension has not been thoroughly researched. Since dubbing primarily deals with voice, researching paralinguistic code (e.g., voice quality and tone) is of primary significance as changes in voice quality play a pivotal role in recreating the character differently in the dubbed version and affect dubbing overall quality and audience perception. Therefore, this mixed-methods research aims to determine effects of voice quality change through dubbing on characterization from audiences’ viewpoint by examining the official Persian dubbing of the BBC One’s Sherlock series. In doing so, Van Leeuwen’s (1999) categorization of voice quality characteristics was selected to design a self-made questionnaire and compare the original actor and the dubbing actor’s voice qualities. Accordingly, the views of 32 participants were collected and analyzed. Finally, the comparison of the actor and dubbing actor’s voice quality characteristics showed that out of seven pairs of voice quality features (tension, breathiness, vibrato, nasality, roughness, loudness and pitch), the dubbing actor’s voice was similar to that of the original actor in only four features, and it was different in three features (roughness, loudness and pitch). Based on the current research findings, these slight changes in the dubbing actor’s voice quality resulted in minor changes in the dubbed version’s characterization, as it made the dubbed character look more aggressive and less attractive to the target audiences’ eyes. The results suggest that voice is a significant quality issue for the audience and the right choice of dubbing talent can enhance audience reception of cinematic products.
Hamideh Nemati Lafmejani
Abstract
There are numerous films that the director or scriptwriter decides to use bilingual characters in them. Moreover, a foreign language may be observed because of shooting a film in a foreign country. In this case, the translator and the dubbing team may face difficulties. The aim of the present study is ...
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There are numerous films that the director or scriptwriter decides to use bilingual characters in them. Moreover, a foreign language may be observed because of shooting a film in a foreign country. In this case, the translator and the dubbing team may face difficulties. The aim of the present study is to examine the translation strategies in multilingual films. To this end, 713 minutes from six films were scrutinized to gather all the third language instances based on Zabalbeascoa and Corrius’s (2014) model. Then, their counterpart translations were extracted from the dubbed versions and classified based on Corrius and Zabalbeascoa’s (2019) model. The results revealed that the third language was maintained in most cases. In this sense, the character’s voice was repeated or the voice actor read the phonological translation. The results could be useful for translator trainees to become familiar with the possible translation strategies in multilingual films. Moreover, further research on this issue can improve dubbing quality, at least at linguistic level. However, further investigations are demanded to have a comprehensive list of possible alternatives for dubbing or subtitling multilingual films.
Parina Ghomi; Farzaneh Farahzad
Abstract
The present article draws on Ghomi and Farahzad’s (2020) model of renarration in audiovisual translation to explore different types of reframings effected in the interlingual dubbing of animated films broadcast on Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. Given that audiovisual narratives are of multimodal ...
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The present article draws on Ghomi and Farahzad’s (2020) model of renarration in audiovisual translation to explore different types of reframings effected in the interlingual dubbing of animated films broadcast on Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. Given that audiovisual narratives are of multimodal nature and involve nonverbal sites as well as verbal sites, they provide audiovisual translators and audiovisual translation institutes with more opportunities to reframe the target narrative. Therefore, Ghomi and Farahzad’s (2020) Multimodal Narrative Analysis is used to compare and contrast original and dubbed animations at the micro-level of verbal and nonverbal sites. The results of the study revealed 15 types of reframings that participated in the construction of reality in the target animations. They were categorized under 3 groups of reframing through selective appropriation, reframing through labelling and reframing through repositioning characters. Temporal and spatial reframing was found to be underlying all types of reframing. The study concludes that Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting has an active role in constructing reality in the target language and uses translation as a tool for accentuating or undermining certain narratives in the target animated films.
Masood Khoshsaligheh; Shilan Shafiei
Abstract
A survey of recent studies in audiovisual translation reveals that audio description (AD), as a service of empowerment and accessibility to media for blind or partially sighted audiences, has been increasingly investigated and researched internationally mostly in European counties and the United State, ...
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A survey of recent studies in audiovisual translation reveals that audio description (AD), as a service of empowerment and accessibility to media for blind or partially sighted audiences, has been increasingly investigated and researched internationally mostly in European counties and the United State, however. This service is newly developing and rarely offered in Iran. This article aims to initially introduce developments and advancements in AD globally and discuss its production process in the world. The article then explores the current status of AD in Iran and reviews the preliminary measures which have recently been taken in this regard. Within an exploratory approach, the required data were obtained through document analysis and semi-structured interviews with AD practitioners in Iran. The findings are classified and presented in six categories. The findings show that the highest proportion of AD production goes to radio and a non-governmental group, Sevina, respectively, and television as a national mass media has not taken any measure in this regard. Besides, the production of AD on the radio has been limited to Iranian feature films, while the products of Sevina group are more diverse. A number of suggestions for future investigations are also presented.
Nosrat Hejazi; Roya Shirin
Abstract
Translation of movies, telecasts and any other audiovisual product is associated with special procedures and techniques which become more challengeable and complex when facing the culture and cultural elements. Due to the fact that the translator who writes the subtitles is confronted with myriads of ...
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Translation of movies, telecasts and any other audiovisual product is associated with special procedures and techniques which become more challengeable and complex when facing the culture and cultural elements. Due to the fact that the translator who writes the subtitles is confronted with myriads of technological restrictions, linguistics requirements and stylistic challenges, the question arises as follows: are subtitles essentially able to reproduce or duplicate the cultural elements? For studying the modalities of the transfer of the cultural messages from the original text (oral statements in Farsi) to the translated formats (subtitles in French) we have proposed a descriptivo-analytic approach applied on a case study. After giving a brief definition and an outlook of the concept, we move toward the possibility or impossibility of transferring cultural elements via the classification of cultural elements furnished by the Polish ethno-cultural theoreticians. Once the classifications are laid out, the analytical study of cultural elements in French subtitles of the “In the Eye of the Wind”, will be implemented. The results will lead us to the initial question: Translatability or untranslatability of cultural elements and the way by which they will be perceived by the audience.
Elnaz Pakar; Masood Khoshsaligheh; Zahra Khozaei Ravari
Abstract
The present article investigated the themes and topics, which were deemed unsuitable to the Iranian society, in an American film series The Godfather, which has been broadcast on Iranian mainstream Television several times. This series contains many controversial issues such as love, violence, religion, ...
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The present article investigated the themes and topics, which were deemed unsuitable to the Iranian society, in an American film series The Godfather, which has been broadcast on Iranian mainstream Television several times. This series contains many controversial issues such as love, violence, religion, and politics that have undergone heavy censorship in order to adhere to the target ideological and cultural norms. The film is however the greatest films of all time. A comparative study of the original and dubbed versions revealed that discrepancies between the two were at visual, content, and auditory levels, and at each level, numerous instances of religious, political, and moral appropriations were detected and classified. For example, scenes or dialogues that promote Christianity and American values, or contain illegitimate relationships, sexuality, violence, dancing, singing, women’s smoking, women’s inappropriate clothes, and alcoholic beverages were eradicated or concealed through substitution strategies. Then, five interviews were conducted with outstanding dubbing artists and dubbing directors to see if they confirm the findings as recurrent censorship themes in Persian official dubbing and to ask why this series was broadcast with such heavy censorship.
Farzaneh Khodabandeh
Abstract
Translating verbal humor in audiovisual texts poses a serious challenge to translators, so this study investigated the nature of challenges which affect the translation of humor. For this purpose, the translators’ perception of humorous expressions from fourteen episodes of an animated comedy entitled ...
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Translating verbal humor in audiovisual texts poses a serious challenge to translators, so this study investigated the nature of challenges which affect the translation of humor. For this purpose, the translators’ perception of humorous expressions from fourteen episodes of an animated comedy entitled “The Boss Baby” were identified and the selected expressions were compared to their dubbings conducted by Nahal and Gem Junior channels and the translation strategies were analyzed, then the impact of the reception environment and the reasons for using each strategy were investigated. The frequency and percentage of strategies applied were calculated and the findings revealed that while literal translation was the most frequently used strategy in Gem Junior channel, substitution and omission were the dominant strategies used in the other one. Nahal channel naturally rendered the dialogues in a way which is familiar to the Iranian children’s culture; therefore, it’s translation was target-oriented. On the other hand, Gem Junior channel's translation opted for a method which was between domestication and foreignization. Finally, the results showed that the tra
Saeed Ameri; Maryam Ghodrati
Abstract
Given the prominence attached to watching foreign films and TV shows in learning a language, the present study aims to identify out-of-class language learning opportunities and activities in which university students are engaged, and to examine students’ attitudes towards watching foreign programs ...
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Given the prominence attached to watching foreign films and TV shows in learning a language, the present study aims to identify out-of-class language learning opportunities and activities in which university students are engaged, and to examine students’ attitudes towards watching foreign programs with the aim of learning a language. In doing so, the data were quantitatively and qualitatively gathered a select group of undergraduate students. Initial results suggest that a large number of students watch foreign programs with Persian subtitles in their spare time. Additionally, watching foreign programs, along with listening to songs were found to be the most frequent out-of-class language learning activities. As a result, informal learning may take place from extensive watching of foreign cinematic programs. Other findings illustrate that students perceived the use of foreign films and TV shows relatively positive, more specifically from three aspects: improving pronunciation, learning new vocabulary and enhancing listening skills.
Samir Hassanvandi; Abouzar Kazemi; Akbar Hesabi
Abstract
This study aims to investigate the challenging issue of impoliteness in audiovisual translation. The main question is how the observerd Linguistic Impolite Behaviors (LIB) were subtitled in English. To do so, the researchers extracted LIBs observed in the two movies A Separation and Life and One ...
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This study aims to investigate the challenging issue of impoliteness in audiovisual translation. The main question is how the observerd Linguistic Impolite Behaviors (LIB) were subtitled in English. To do so, the researchers extracted LIBs observed in the two movies A Separation and Life and One Day in which colloquial speech and LIBs are rich. Having categorized LIBs into different conventionalized impoliteness formulae proposed by Culpeper (2010), the researchers examined their equivalents in the English subtitles. The findings showed that among impoliteness formulae, challenging questions have the most frequent occurrences. This fact indicates characters mostly attack the addressee's negative face wants. Two sub-formulae of insults named personalized negative vocatives and personalized negative references were not observed. Another major finding of the study was that LIBs had the same frequency and type in both the original version and the subtitles.
Milad Mehdizadkhani; Abdullah Nowruzy; Farzaneh Shokoohmand
Abstract
Translation training in audiovisual translation has received a lot of attention, but how students tackle the translation of linguistic taboos for dubbing or subtitling has been under-researched. To fill the gap, this descriptive study aims to examine how students’ strategies differ from those of ...
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Translation training in audiovisual translation has received a lot of attention, but how students tackle the translation of linguistic taboos for dubbing or subtitling has been under-researched. To fill the gap, this descriptive study aims to examine how students’ strategies differ from those of professionals in terms of translating taboos. To do so, a group of fifteen BA students of English was requested to translate Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994) into Persian. The translations made by the students were then compared with the professional translation available for the film. The results of the study indicated that the strategies taken by students in dealing with taboo language is so similar to those of professionals with the exception of decreasing taboo load. The students tended to delete most of linguistic taboos, which is also the commonly used strategy in the professional version of the film. The second frequent strategy employed by students was rendering taboo words into non-taboo words. By contrast, in the professional version, as the second frequent strategy and seemingly in order to retain the taboo load and effect, translators had substituted the taboo words with more culturally accepted taboo or offensive expressions. The results of this paper have some pedagogical implications for translator training classes.
Aida Firoozyan Pour Esfehani
Abstract
The present research attempts to present emotioncy (emotion+ frequency) as a newly developed concept in psychology, which has been employed in various fields including literature, language education, and lexicography. In this research, it is hypothetised that this concept can be employed in the realm ...
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The present research attempts to present emotioncy (emotion+ frequency) as a newly developed concept in psychology, which has been employed in various fields including literature, language education, and lexicography. In this research, it is hypothetised that this concept can be employed in the realm of audiovisual translation as well. Emotioncy deals with sense-induced emotions which can affect viewers’ interpretation of the audiovisual products. It is defined as a hierarchy, ranging from exvolvement (auditory, visual, and kinesthetic) to involvement (inner and arch), to emphasize the emotions evoked by the viewers’ audio and visual senses. In fact, emotioncy deals with the ways (e.g., visually or kinesthetically) individuals experience the world, which can affect and shape their mindsets. Concerning the emotional factors, the major claim of this exploratory study is that high levels of emotioncy can lead to more reception of audiovisual products. In fact, when the users of such products have higher levels of emotioncy for specific words applied in the subtitled or dubbed versions (viewers at the higher levels of emotioncy), they will be more involved in the process of reception. In other words, in the subtitled or dubbed versions of audiovisual translation products, high-emotioncy words are preferred by the viewers, as they seem to be easier for reception on the part of the audience. In the end, emotioncy is suggested as a novel concept in audiovisual translation, which may introduce new lines of research.
Nosrat Hejazi; Sahar Hamidi
Abstract
Due to the advancement of film making technologies, we are witnessing, in this new era, the overabundance of different animations, such as Shrek, Brave, Frozen, etc., whose respondents are majorly children and adolescents. An important feature of these animations is their ironic or their humoristic language. ...
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Due to the advancement of film making technologies, we are witnessing, in this new era, the overabundance of different animations, such as Shrek, Brave, Frozen, etc., whose respondents are majorly children and adolescents. An important feature of these animations is their ironic or their humoristic language. Given that the transmission of humor (formally and functionally) varies in each culture and that the same message in two different linguistic-cultural spheres would not have the same effect (perception) and that the loyalty of dialogues in the translation of the films and animations is of less importance than the coherence of dialogues, audio and video, the question may be raised is that what translation techniques the translator adopts to translate the humoristic language. This paper, therefore, aims to investigate how humorous elements are translated within in Incredibles 2 (2018). First, we present the specified features of the multifaceted world of animation and its translational challenges. Then we examine the function and perception of humor in both the original and dubbed versions. Finally, the translator’s techniques for the transmission of humoristic references in the Persian version of Incredibles 2 are discussed.
Milad Mehdizadkhani; Masood Khoshsaligheh
Abstract
1. IntroductionOne of the four channels of expression of meaning in audiovisual translation (AVT), with which translators have to deal, is verbal information in written forms on the screen. Although it has also been referred to in terms such as “integrated subtitles” (Fox, 2016) and “TELOP” ...
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1. IntroductionOne of the four channels of expression of meaning in audiovisual translation (AVT), with which translators have to deal, is verbal information in written forms on the screen. Although it has also been referred to in terms such as “integrated subtitles” (Fox, 2016) and “TELOP” (O’Hagan & Sasamoto, 2016), Chaume (2004a) prefers to use the term “graphic code” borrowing from the school of Film Semiotics for such verbal visual information on the screen. This school claims that cinema is composed of several meaning codes, thus Chaume (2004a, 2012) has worked on a taxonomy of film codes which apply to translation operations. Despite the considerable significance and rising number of graphic codes in an accurate understanding of the course of a dubbed movie, it has received relatively little attention in the literature on AVT. Hence, this study aims at examining and comparing the rendition of graphic codes in two of the methods, namely voice-off and insertion in two Persian versions of the new Sherlock Holmes TV series dubbed by an official Iranian TV network and a BBC Persian TV network. The study also attempts to provide answers to the research questions adopted from Chaume (2012).The audiovisual text is a complex medium and the audiovisual translator ought to handle verbal and non-verbal information, meanings openly expressed and meanings that are inferred by subtler forms of communication such as a rise in intonation or a gesture accompanying the utterance (Pettit, 2004). Therefore, the screen products are made up of complex visual codes comprising elements such as costumes, gesture, body movements, and facial expressions, or as Chiaro (2009, p. 142) names them “polysemiotic” elements. In general, graphic codes may be classified into two categories: static graphic codes – written information in newspapers and on computers which cannot be separated from the screen – and moving graphic codes – pop-up written information on the screen (O’Hagan, 2010) which can be possibly separated from the screen. Most studies have only focused on graphic codes as one of the communication channels in AVT (e.g., Chiaro 2009; Delabastita 1989). Other studies have also investigated graphic codes from a non-translational and filmmaking perspective (Pérez-González 2013; Sasamoto 2014); a few others have also examined them in terms of translational functions (Khoshsaligheh & Fazeli Haghpanah, 2016; O’Sullivan, 2013). Additionally, some research has also studied graphic codes using eye tracking (Fox, 2016; O’Hagan & Sasamoto, 2016). They have also been the focus of some experimental research as well (Mehdizadkhani & Khoshsaligheh, 2018 in-press).2. MethodologyThis qualitative research is a case study which aims to investigate and compare two translation techniques, namely voice-off and insertion in the rendition of graphic codes in two official Persian dubbed versions of the case of Sherlock (Gattis, Moffat, & Vertue, 2010), a British TV series. The main reason for the choice of this case as the subject of the study was the availability of two professionally produced Persian dubbed versions, and in each version the graphic codes are rendered in the two different methods. The second reason was “the prominent role that digital technologies play in the actual adaptation of the series” (Pérez-González, 2013, p. 14) shown by moving graphic codes. Moreover, McMillan (2014) refers to Sherlock as the “best use” of graphic codes in the TV series. The researchers also classified moving graphic codes into three categories: SMS language, Sherlock’s web searches, and his unverbalized inner thoughts. 3. Discussion It was revealed that BBC Persian TV network rendered all of the graphic codes using the insertion technique. Voice-off technique, instead, was used by the Iranian TV network, but it left five scenes with graphic codes untranslated. The most common justification in such situations is the case of “code interaction” discussed by Chaume (2012, p. 107). That is, the voice-off method cannot be applied when graphic codes overlap with a close-up shot in which one or more characters are speaking.The results also indicated that the rendered graphic codes in the insertion technique remained on the screen for a fair amount of time giving the opportunity of rereading (see also Szarkowska, Krejtz, Krejtz, & Duchowski, 2013). Hence, Mehdizadkhani and Khoshsaligheh (2018 in-press) argue that this fair amount of time in the insertion technique could lead to better comprehension of graphic codes in comparison to when the voice-off technique is used. However, if the rendition of graphic codes in voice-off could be considered as normal dubbing (see Koolstra, Peeters, & Spinhof, 2002), the findings revealed that the dubbing team have not dealt with problems such as lip-synchronization (see Chaume, 2004b, 2013). Therefore, in comparison with insertion, this technique allows the dubbing team more freedom in modifying the stress, tone, and accent, and it helps the viewers to better focus on the film content (Mehdizadkhani & Khoshsaligheh, 2018 in-press).Iran is known as a dominantly dubbing country (Khoshsaligheh & Ameri, 2016; Naficy, 2011), but still in some cases, dubbers have to deal with (sub-)titles, intertitles, and written texts on the screen. Despite numerous instances and relying on the significance of graphic codes for the complete comprehension of Sherlock series (Pérez-González, 2013; McMillan, 2014), the findings seem to recommend that when dubbing translators encounter “code interaction” (Chaume, 2012, p. 107), they may use the insertion technique in rendition of graphic codes.4. Conclusions It was beyond the scope of this study to examine the static graphic codes. On the other hand, to the researchers’ best knowledge, no previous study has investigated the translation of these codes in AVT of Iranian context. Therefore, a further study is recommended to explore and compare strategies used in translation of static graphic codes in different modes of AVT, such as in subtitling based on the frameworks introduced by Gottlieb (1992), Bogucki (2004) or Díaz-Cintas and Remael (2014). Moreover, this study did not address the translation quality of translated graphic codes. Although the two versions are professionally dubbed into Persian, the translation approach toward factors such as censorship and cultural references are very likely to be different. A further study on these issues with further focus on graphic codes is therefore suggested. Having divided the moving graphic codes into the three categories, the research questions that could be asked in audio description research area include how audio describers render those moving graphic codes and if the methods of translation of different types of graphic codes are similar.
Masood Khoshsaligheh; Elham Fazeli Haghpanah
Abstract
1. IntroductionThe current advancement of technology has significantly influenced various fields such as audiovisual translation. The emergence of fansub groups is among the most important effects of technological development in the translation world. Easy access to various types of computers as well ...
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1. IntroductionThe current advancement of technology has significantly influenced various fields such as audiovisual translation. The emergence of fansub groups is among the most important effects of technological development in the translation world. Easy access to various types of computers as well as free subtitling software programs have resulted in an increasing number of fansubs on a daily basis. A fansub is a non-professional subtitled version of an anime or movie, carried out collaboratively by an unpaid group of volunteers which will be available to users for free. Several reasons have been mentioned for fansubbing such as: providing translation for people who are not familiar with the source language, reluctance or failure regarding the official and commercial subtitling in portraying cultural issues and unique features of foreign products and also, introducing a cultural product that is not so well-known in other parts of the world. Primary studies in this field have been conducted during the late 1990s; over time, the number of such studies have been increased and their various aspects have been discussed. A number of studies have been conducted during the first decade of the current century, introducing specific features concerning this type of audiovisual translation and explaining the process, people involved, and technical requirements. Furthermore, some researchers have studied fansub from different perspectives such as: its distribution, comparison between the processes involved in fansubbing and professional subtitling, quality of translation, fansubbing norms, and political subtitling networks. 2. MethodThe process of producing fansub for anime and other forms of animations, common challenges, and the applied equipment and facilities in Iran have been investigated in this qualitative phenomenological study. To achieve this purpose, a few number of active users in fansubbing field were selected through the snowball sampling technique. By conducting interviews, a set of descriptive information have been gathered regarding technical dimensions of the production process such as timing, typesetting, encoding, among others. The interviews, consisting of almost 20 questions (general and specialized), were conducted individually through either face- to-face or telephone conversations. The seven participants were anime fansubbers in Iranian online forums who took on different responsibilities such as anime translation, editing, timing. Their educational backgrounds were very different from each other and often irrelevant to translation. Their ages ranged from 18 to 30 years with an average of 23.7 years old. These seven participants including three men and four women, have been working in this field for 7 to 10 years. Moreover, using a sample selection of products with non-professional Persian subtitles, some of the mistakes in translations were presented and discussed.3. ResultsBased on the results of interviews, fansubbers carry out this process through several steps using various software and hardware equipment. These steps include: 1) original anime acquisition, 2) translation, 3) translation check, 4) timing, 5) typesetting and karaoke, 6) final edit 7) encoding, 8) quality control and 9) distribution of final product. Active fansubbers are usually members of the anime and manga fandom who are quite skilled in working with different software programs. Iranian fansubbers’ motivation is to provide top anime masterpieces with Persian subtitles for Persian speakers as soon as possible. In the past, due to the low age range of anime and manga fans, their activities in producing fansubs had also started in an early age; they have been studying in middle school or high school when they began their activities. During the last few years, growth in the age range of anime and manga fans has resulted in older fansubbers working in this field who often study different majors in universities. The majority of active fansubbers in translation and editing sections are older than those active in technical and software related areas. Various software programs are used for different parts of fansubbing process; some are more popular and more useful: a) original anime acquisition: a peer to peer program like Bittorrent or direct link; b) translation: a text editor such as Notepad or Microsoft Word and a video player software like KMPlayer is sufficient; c) timing: Sub Station Alpha has been mostly used in the past but currently, Aegisub, JacoSub and Sabbu are also widely used. However, it is worth mentioning that the timing stage is no longer necessary, because many official companies release English subtitles in softsub format for anime series; d) typesetting and karaoke: Aegisub software has all the requirements for typesetting. Though Sub Station Alpha also meets all of typesetters’ needs; e) final edit: Similar to the translation stage, a text editor and a video player software are needed; f) encoding: softwares such as Format Factory, Freemake Video Converter and Virtual Dub; g) distribution of final product: softwares like Bittorent.4. Discussion and ConclusionThe results of this study reveal the non-professional dimensions of fansubbing process as a voluntary and collaborative activity and indicate that fansubbers are only involved in such a process because of personal interests. They do not have educational backgrounds in fansubbing field and their only intention is to translate their favorite works of anime for their Persian speaking friends who are not familiar with a foreign language. Fansubbers do not expect to make money form this profession and if someone were to do so by selling these products, the fansub community would regard such actions as improper and inappropriate. Due to the non-professional nature of producing this form of subtitling, the products’ quality are often too low and far from professional subtitling standards. Fansubbers usually decide to quit the fansubbing scene after a while; because fansubbing is a complicated and time-consuming task. Furthermore, fansub groups work for free and hence, the activity is not economically viable. However, we have to consider the fact that there is a wide range of audio visual productions including anime, animations, movies, TV series and even educational films with Persian fansub accessible for native Persian speakers. Certainly, Fansub is not a new phenomenon and has a long history in the world; it has been studied extensively in other countries yet in Iran, it seems to have passed unnoticed by our scholars and only a few have studied in this field.
