The BBC has asked for swearing in the subtitles of series two of hit Danish import The Killing to be toned down.
That followed a complaint from a viewer that, in series one, softer expletives were translated as the f-word.
In a memo, the BBC asked the outside translation firm to “err on the side of caution and use the less strong word”.
Programme acquisitions editor Simon Chilcotttold the Radio Times the BBC “did feel the need to rein them in if they are being a bit edgy”.
Mr Chilcott said the memo was “a reminder to keep it consistent with the character” and within the context of the original script.
The new series of crime thriller Forbrydelsen, or The Killing, complete with English subtitles, will be shown on BBC Four on Saturday night.
See: BBC
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I've spent a few months researching subtitling guidelines in Brazil. There are a lot of restrictions, not only on swearing. I wrote an article on this subject, with will soon be published in a special issue of 'Meta'.
This BBC piece shows that such standards are quite universal. It's a bit funny that only now this is news, though. Maybe because they are not massive importers of films and TV shows as we are in South America, where this kind of di... See more
I've spent a few months researching subtitling guidelines in Brazil. There are a lot of restrictions, not only on swearing. I wrote an article on this subject, with will soon be published in a special issue of 'Meta'.
This BBC piece shows that such standards are quite universal. It's a bit funny that only now this is news, though. Maybe because they are not massive importers of films and TV shows as we are in South America, where this kind of discussion is more common.
Regards,
Carol. ▲ Collapse
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:18
Italian to English
This was debated recently in discussion entries for an Italian to English KudoZ "may be considered offensive" question, since what the English call "four letter words" are far more commonly accepted in Italy than in (most sectors of) UK society.
Some took the view that it is not the translator's job to make such value judgements, while others held that it is our job to use terms that would be used in an equivalent situation amongst native speakers of the target language.
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