The Use of Condensation Strategy in Audiovisual Translation: A Pedagogical Study of Modern English-Arabic Subtitles

استخدام استراتيجية الاختزال في الترجمة السمعية المرئية: دراسة بيداغوجية للترجمات الحديثة للنصوص الإنجليزية-العربية                    

  محمد أكرم يونس     محمد جاسم محمد                 

¹قسم الترجمة، كلية الآداب، جامعة الموصل، الموصل، العراق

 الخلاصة

تتناول هذه الدراسة استراتيجية الاختزال (Condensation) التي تعمل على تقليص نص المصدر مع الحفاظ على المعنى المقصود، باعتبارها إحدى أكثر الاستراتيجيات شيوعًا في ترجمة العناوين الفرعية (Subtitling) لضمان عدم الاخلال بقيود المكان والزمان. ومع ذلك، فإن سوء استخدام هذه الاستراتيجية قد يؤدي إلى فقدان المعنى أو تقليل الوضوح أو إساءة تكييف البعد الثقافي. تهدف هذه الدراسة إلى تحليل تطبيق استراتيجية الاختزال في الترجمة السمعية المرئية بين الإنجليزية والعربية، بالاستناد إلى نموذج استراتيجيات الترجمة المرئية الذي وضعه جوتليب (1992)، وذلك ضمن دراسة بيداغوجية على عشرين طالبًا من المرحلة الثالثة في قسم الترجمة، كلية الآداب، جامعة الموصل. تم تكليف المشاركين بترجمة مرئية (إنجليزية–عربية) لمقطع فيديو مدته أربع دقائق من منصة TED للكاتبة تشيم أماندا نغوزي أديتشي بعنوان "خطر القصة الواحدة"، وهو مقطع غني بالمصطلحات الثقافية واللغوية. جرى تحليل ترجمات الطلبة باستخدام منهج وصفي . أظهرت النتائج أن تدريبات الترجمة ساهمت في تعزيز قدرة الطلبة على الاختزال مع الحفاظ على المعنى والبعد الثقافي، كما كشفت أن بعض الطلبة لم يستخدموا هذه الاستراتيجية، مما يبرز حاجتهم إلى مزيد من التدريب.

الكلمات المفتاحية: الاختزال؛ الترجمات النصية؛ الترجمة السمعية-البصرية

1. Introduction

Effective translation often depends on the ability to distill the text, a skill particularly vital in practical domains like subtitling. In these contexts, space-time limitations and constraints, particularly when rendering text that contains rich cultural terms or complex linguistic structures, require that meaning be conveyed not just accurately but with the fewest possible characters. To achieve both accuracy and conciseness, subtitlers must use some strategies. One of these strategies is condensation by Gottlieb (1992) )1(, which includes several procedures: simplifying verb tenses, embracing contractions, restructuring text, simplifying idiomatic expressions, and omitting politeness markers. These procedures are important tools for helping audiences fully comprehend the message and preserving the speaker's tone and sense.

Kruger & Steyn (2014) )2(investigated subtitlers’ training within audiovisual translation through classroom case studies. The research examined how students used condensation strategies to overcome space-time limitations. Results indicated that focused training improved students' ability to condense information without altering meaning.

Almahasees (2022) )3(presents English-Arabic translation research that employs a comparative analysis of three software programs that utilize machine translation. The analysis concludes that condensation frequently results in fuzzy or oversimplified texts. This shows the importance of human decision-making in subtitle translation and the need for efficient training of machines to utilize it more specifically.

2.  Theoretical Framework

2.1    Audiovisual Translation and Subtitling

Audiovisual translation (AVT) is the process of conveying verbal content in audiovisual media from the SL to the TL. Subtitling, a core AVT mode, involves presenting written translations of spoken dialogue and other audio elements on the screen. In a similar vein, Gottlieb (2001, p. 219) (4) defines subtitling as the “positioning of text in the lower section of the screen to transcribe spoken material into written format, ensuring alignment with the audiovisual context.”

According to Díaz Cintas and Remael (2007) )5(, subtitling requires not only linguistic expertise but also technical and cultural knowledge to manage the spatial and temporal limitations. Technically, subtitles must appear on two lines on screen and ideally remain visible for no more than 6 seconds to be readable (1).

Subtitling, particularly into Arabic, causes extra challenges due to differences in language structure, writing direction, and grammatical compactness. As Al-Adwan (2015) (6) argues, subtitling in Arabic often requires condensation to maintain the meaning while complying with on-screen constraints.

2.2    Condensation as a Subtitling Strategy

Condensation is a strategy used to reduce the length of the original dialogue without omitting essential meaning. Gottlieb (1992) (1) identifies condensation as a central strategy in subtitling that helps reconcile the tension between verbal excess and limited screen space. This strategy involves reformulating or paraphrasing speech segments to preserve the core message while eliminating redundancy or culturally opaque expressions.

Condensation does not mean omitting words; it demands the translator’s skill in simplifying structure, rephrasing ideas, and distilling meaning. As Perego (2008) (7) emphasizes, successful condensation enhances comprehension and viewer engagement by offering clarity and fluency.

2.3    Pedagogical Relevance of Condensation

In a subtitling classroom, teaching condensation assists students in using summarization, prioritization, and rephrasing competence. These are especially crucial in the process of English-Arabic subtitles, as Arabic is known for redundancy as compared to English. Talaván (2013) (7A) stresses the role of subtitling in language education, noting that teaching strategies such as condensation help students’ textual analysis and decision-making skills.

Furthermore, Díaz Cintas (2021) (5) indicates that subtitling training helps the students to balance fidelity to original meaning with the technical demands of the medium. This balance is especially critical when subtitling high-density or abstract discourse, as shown in the two samples analyzed in this study.

2.4    Condensation and Meaning Preservation

The primary goal of condensation is meaning preservation, not content omission. When students must render complex expressions—such as “I had become convinced that books by their very nature had to have foreigners in them”—they must identify the sentence’s core idea and retain it in a shorter form. Gottlieb (2004) (8) refers to this as a micro-strategy in which omission and reformulation are subordinate to communicative efficiency.

In cross-cultural subtitling, this strategy is even more necessary. As Gottlieb  (1992) (4) notes, cross-linguistic and cultural asymmetries often necessitate text reduction to maintain accessibility and relevance for the target audience.

2.5    Condensation and Technical Limitations in Subtitling

One of the important factors affecting appropriate subtitles is technical limitations, which are greatly influenced by the use of the condensation strategy. Technical limitations, however, have been reduced in recent years due to the large number of subtitling software options such as Aegisub, Subtitle Edit, and others (Karamitroglou, 2000, p. 59) (9). The technical constraints can be summarized with the following: -

A-     Character number per line

B-   Font type and size

C-   Synchronization and time adjustment

D- Subtitling display time on-screen

2.6    Challenges of Applying Condensation in English-Arabic Subtitling

Applying condensation in English-Arabic subtitling is a pedagogical and linguistic challenge. Arabic typically requires more words to convey ideas that are expressed concisely in English. According to Khuddro (2010) (10), this expansion often leads novice subtitlers to struggle with how much to omit or simplify without distorting meaning. For example, “You should not have done that.”, might be rendered as “ما كان ينبغي عليك ان تفعل ذلك “which shows more words used in Arabic.

Moreover, Arabic script direction (right-to-left) and font size can further limit subtitle space. Therefore, as Al-Adwan (2015) (6) suggests, teaching condensation becomes not only a strategic skill but also a necessity for producing effective Arabic subtitles within real-world AVT constraints.

2.7    Linguistic Condensation Procedures in Subtitling

Subtitles often simplify complex verb tenses to improve readability and reduce subtitle length, a necessity given time and space constraints; for example, “She had been working on the report all night” is rendered to “عملت طوال الليل على التقرير".

In the same vein, Pedersen (2011, p. 92) (11) notes that reducing complex modality procedures improves subtitle clarity and viewer comprehension. In English-Arabic subtitling, this simplification is particularly important due to Arabic’s rich modal system and syntactic differences (Al-Adwan & Yahiaoui, 2015, p. 107) (6). For example, rendering the phrase “It  might have been a mistake” into "ربما كانت غلطة"

Likewise, shifting from direct to indirect speech and changing passive to active voice. These procedures improve readability while retaining meaning. Gottlieb (1992, p. 165) (1) notes that using the active voice helps reduce character count, as long as it does not affect comprehension. E.g., Rendering the phrase “He was told to leave the building” into" طلبوا منه ان يغادر."

2.8    Cultural Adaptation Procedures in Subtitling

The procedure for replacing idiomatic and culturally specific expressions is essential for enhancing clarity and fitting space constraints. Baker (1992, p. 270) (12) notes that idioms are challenging and often require shortening or substitution in subtitles. Chiaro (2009, p.118) (13), emphasizes reducing idiomatic expressions in audiovisual translation to prevent confusion and avoid length. E.g., “He kicked the bucket.” is rendered into " توفي "

Similarly, omitting politeness markers and honorifics is a common condensation procedure in subtitling. Díaz Cintas (2003, p. 86) (5) notes that such forms are often dropped when the communicative intent remains clear, enhancing readability. Karamitroglou (2000, p. 59) (9) adds that this omission reduces visual clutter and keeps the focus on the main message. Similarly, Shunnaq (1993, p. 89) (14) points out that formal titles and polite particles are frequently omitted in Arabic subtitling when they are redundant. E.g.

“Would you mind stepping outside, sir?” into   "ممكن تطلع؟"

2.9    Textual Condensation Procedures in Subtitling

Simplifying complex or compound sentences into shorter, clearer ones is an essential procedure in condensation. Chaume (2012,p.189) (15) emphasizes that breaking down complex structures leads to more accurate and accessible subtitles. For example, the sentence “He came in, sat down, and started talking about his day,” can be rendered into “دخل وبدأ الحديث عن يومه.”

Replacing nouns with pronouns is a common subtitling procedure and a key aspect of condensation. This technique simplifies subtitles, improving readability while preserving clarity. Laviosa (2000, p. 96) (16) notes that pronoun substitution supports textual cohesion and coherence. E.g., “The manager gave the manager’s opinion at the meeting.” is rendered into" اعطى المدير رأيه ".

3.       Methodology

After receiving instruction in subtitling strategies, third-year students from the Department of Translation, College of Arts, University of Mosul, were selected to participate in a subtitling task. They received a three-minute English video via their Google class, where they often do their assignments, in May 2025. The students have been informed about the subtitling task, but not about the video's title. Moreover, a post-task questionnaire was sent to them, asking about translating linguistic and cultural elements expected to pose problems for the students. They used Subtitle Edit as a subtitling tool, which served as the main software for training during the course. They completed the task individually and uploaded the video with subtitles to the Google Classroom. All the videos and questionnaires were collected by the instructor and sent to the researcher by email.  Gottlieb’s (1992) (1) model was applied to analyze five extracts that included linguistic and cultural embedded content. The students’ outputs were qualitatively analyzed to align with the descriptive translation studies (DTS) approach and Gottlieb’s focus on function-oriented strategies. Moreover, the effectiveness of training on the use of condensation, which works well when evaluated through Gottlieb's strategy-based lens, was identified through the analysis of the subtitles.

4.  Data Analysis

The following extracts were analyzed using Gottlieb (1992) (1) strategy of condensation.

ST (1):

“I had become convinced that books by their very nature had to have foreigners in them ….”

TTs:

1.  “لقد اصبحت على قناعة ان الكتب بطبيعتها يجب ان تحتوي على شخصيات اجنبية”
2.  “لقد صرت مقتنعة ان الكتب بطبيعتها على طبيعتها يجب ان تحتوي على شخصيات اجنبية داخلها”
3.  “لقد اقتنعت ان الكتب يجب ان تحتوي على شخوص اجنبية “

Discussion

The essential SL meaning that must be preserved in the subtitles is “all books had to include foreign characters”.  This seems to be the core idea that the subtitle must include. Other components like “by their very nature,” or (Al-Adwan, 2015) (Al-Adwan, 2015) (Al-Adwan, 2015) (6)had to have” are deemed to be condensed depending on constraints.

The analysis shows that most students applied condensation effectively by omitting or simplifying nonessential phrases such as “by their very nature.” In other words, 9 students applied simplification and omission when they produced “اعتقدت أن كل الكتب فيها أجانب,” meaning “I believed that all the books have foreigners.” Similarly, 5 students used reduction when they provided ظننت أن الكتب دائمًا تحتوي على أجانب “I believed the books always include foreigners.” In the same line, 4 students applied heavy condensation when they rendered this extract into اعتقدت أن الكتب فيها أجانب “I believed the books have foreigners.”.  In contrast, 2 students used no condensation when they rendered the SL literally. أصبحت مقتنعة أن الكتب بطبيعتها يجب أن تضم أجانب  

“I became convinced that the books with their nature should include foreigners.”

Text No. (2)

“Power is the ability not just to tell the story of another person, but to make it the definitive story of that person.”

TTs

1. “القوة هي القدرة ليس فقط على رواية قصة شخص آخر، بل على جعلها القصة الحاسمة لذلك الشخص “
2. “القوة هي القدرة ليس فقط على القاء القصص لشخص آخر فقط، بل على جعلها القصة المحددة لهذا الشخص “
3. “القوة تعني فرض رواية واحدة على الآخرين “

Discussion

Based on the context, power allows one not only to narrate someone else's story but also to define or control that narrative and make it the only accepted version. Thus, power is the main idea that should be conveyed, even if the language is simplified or shortened. Other additions, like "not just... but also" or the repeated phrase "of that person", are supposed to be condensed to fit within the constraints of subtitles.

The analysis of the students' renderings shows that 8 students resorted to condensation using reduction and simplification of the TL. They produced القوة هي القدرة على رواية قصة الآخر وجعلها القصة الوحيدة “Power is the ability to tell someone else's story and make it the only story.”. Along the same lines, 6 students used heavy condensation while reportedly maintaining the core meaning. Hence, they provided القوة في رواية قصة الآخر وفرضها “Power lies in telling someone else's story and imposing it."

. In contrast, 6 students used no condensation when they followed the ST structure: “القوة هي القدرة ليس فقط على القاء القصص شخص آخر فقط، بل على جعلها القصة المحددة لهذا الشخص.

Text No. (3)

“Unable to speak for themselves and waiting to be saved by a kind, white foreigner.”

1.  “لا يملكون صوتا للدفاع عن انفسهم”
2. “غير قادرين على التحدث عن انفسهم”
3. “غير قادرين على التعبير عن انفسهم ضد المعاناة”
4. “مقمعون”

Discussion

The core meaning of this sentence is that there is a group of people who cannot determine their own fate and depend on a foreigner for salvation. This idea must be preserved; the sentence contains a cultural phrase that can be condensed into a single word. Other components, such as “to be,” are expected to be condensed due to subtitling limitations. The analysis shows that 9 students used omission of “white” and “kind”, which refers to condensing the ideological critique. Hence, they provided "غير قادرين على الدفاع عن أنفسهم وينتظرون من ينقذهم "; they were unable to defend themselves and were waiting for someone to save them. Similarly, 6 students applied heavy condensation when they provided لا يستطيعون الدفاع عن أنفسهم وينتظرون المساعدة “they can’t defend themselves and are waiting for help). On the contrary,

students resorted to word-for-word rendering, which has a negative effect on the TL. In other words, they produced غير قادرين على التحدث بأنفسهم وينتظرون أن يُنقذهم أجنبي أبيض طيب.    

This example explains how condensation can affect cultural meaning and predicts that students require training not just in technical condensation, but in critical cultural awareness.

Text No. (4)

“She asked if she could listen to what she called my 'tribal music. '”

Discussion

When subtitling, the core meaning must be preserved in the TL text; here, it is “She asks to listen to my tribal music.” This sentence uses an indirect speech structure, which makes it seem lengthy and less natural. Arabic prefers direct speech, which enhances clarity and comprehension.

The analysis of the students' renderings shows that 10 students effectively applied condensation and simplification by shifting the indirect “she asked” into direct طلبت هي مني  “she asked me; 5 students applied heavy condensation, omitting the clause “what she called”, rendering it into  “طلبت سماع موسيقاي القبلية  “she asked to listen to my tribal music; in contrast, 5 students used no condensation when they applied literal translation in their renderings: هي سألت اذا كان بإمكانها الاستماع لما تسميه موسيقاي القبلية.

Text No. (5)

“People who were fleecing the healthcare system, sneaking across the border…”

Discussion

The TL viewer must retain the core message, "They are fleeing the healthcare, sneaking across the border." This description seems sufficient to come up with a perfect subtitle in the TL; other components, like “people, system, and who were,” are left to be condensed by the subtitle.

The analysis reveals that 7 students successfully applied heavy condensation by shifting the theme from the “people” to the action “fleecing”, rendering it into يهربون عبر الحدود. ويستغلون الضمان الصحي  

Similarly, another 7 students replaced nouns with pronouns as هم يهربون عبر الحدود ويستغلون النظام الصحي,” They are sneaking across the border, fleecing the healthcare system.” which also contributes to simplification and a more concise structure. On the contrary, 6 students kept the structure and the form of the SL, rendering it literally into

"اشخاص يستغلون نظام الرعاية الصحية ويتسللون الى البلاد"

Those students reportedly believed that condensation was not necessary to be applied in this context.

5.       Findings

This study comes up with the following:

1.       After training on the use of condensation strategy when subtitling from English into Arabic, the students have developed condensation skills.  Most of the students showed significant improvement in condensing lengthy spoken SL content into accurate, readable TL subtitles. They were able to maintain the core message while adhering to time and space constraints of subtitling.

2.       It is clearly noticed that the students have enhanced their cultural awareness, as they showed great sensitivity to cultural differences

between the SL and the TL. In this regard, they managed to avoid literal translations of idiomatic or culturally embedded content. This contributed to more precise and appropriate subtitles.

3.       The study revealed that despite the overall improvement in the use of the condensation strategy, there were inconsistent applications of techniques. This reflects differing levels of understanding and skill transfer among the students.

4.       The presence of weak or underdeveloped subtitles by some students stressed the need for more intensive training. It is necessary to engage the students in more strategy use classes to improve their understanding and to learn to avoid literal translation with cultural elements when rendering from English into Arabic.

5.       This study proves the positive pedagogical effectiveness of subtitling classes. In other words, these sessions prove to be an important pedagogical tool in teaching translation. They successfully combined linguistic accuracy with audiovisual limitations, improving students’ practical expertise and cultural awareness

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