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j(0cSY/{ YJournal cf c.9-lUmanities--......
and cSocial cScience
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International Organization 2
of Scientific Research
•
e-ISSN : 2279-0837 Volume: 12 Issue: 1 p-ISSN : 2279-0845
•
Contents:
Empowerment of Women in Rural Odisha through Microenterprises 01-08
Sandhya RaniMohanty, BijaylaxmiDas and TruptiMoahanty
Yoruba Movies and the Problem of Subtitling 09-13 V
Jacob Fado· Ro· Oludare
Jesus in the Bible and the Qur'an: a comparative study. 14-19
Ndongo Kamdem Alphonse
An Analysis of the Causes of Regional Migration Using Garrett's Scale 20-23
Dr .Uma,H.R. Madhu.G.R. Mahammad Habeeb
Reflecting on error treatment in speaking among EFL Moroccan learners 24-28
Sana Sakale, Doctorate in Education
Food Security in India: Scientific Solutions and Apprehensions from Genetically 29-33
Modified Crops
Ch. Sruthi, CH. Srinivas and T.Ramesh
Don't Kiss My Bumper: Investigating Tailgating Driving Behaviour in Botswana . 34-40
Kagiso N. Tlhabano, Monde Kote, Mpho M. Pheko, Nicole Monteiro,
Shyngle K. Balogun
Awareness and Willingness to Pay for Health Insurance: A Study of Darjeeling 41-47
District
Maumita Ghosh
Impacts of the Demonstration Method in the Teaching and Learning of Hearing 48-54
Impaired Children.
Chingombe Sharniso IIine
Environmental effects of mining from Qorveh city mines(Withemphasis on ·55-63
Galali Iron are)
Amjad Maleki, Peyman Karimi soltani, Sara Mohammadi
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lU.lJ\ sournai VJ rtumunuies nna oocua octence (IV.lJ\-Jfl.l.l,
Volume 12, Issue 1 (May. - Jun. 2013), PP 09-13
e-/SSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 2279-0845 .
.www.I.osrjoumals.Org.'
Yoruba Movies and the Problem of Subtitling
Jacob FadQrQOludare
Department Of Linguistics and African Languages, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Abstract: Yoruba movies producers seem to have devoted much attention to the visual quality and the thematic
thrust of their works to the detriment of some seemingly unimportant aspect of their products. One of these neglected
or underestimated aspects is the issue of subtitles, the written translations of the dialogues in English Language.
Thispaper selects seven Yorubd movies for a detailed evaluation. Errors in concord, spelling, tense, aspect and
wrong selection of words are very rampant in these movies such that one wonders why such neglect and
carelessness should be allowed in such movies that are very rich in thematic thrusts and excellent in visual quality.
These errors are not only highlighted, they are discussed, analysed and attempts have been made to propose what
should have been the correct versions of the wrong translations that are pointed out. This paper throws a big
challenge to films producers to pay attention to this important issue and allow specialists in different areas so that
theirproducts will not be lacking in quality.
1. Introduction
Subtitles are textual versions of the dialogues in films and television programmes, usually displayed at the
bottom of the screen. They can take the form of written translation of a dialogue in a foreign language, or a written
rendering of the dialogue in the same language, with or without added information to help viewers who are deaf or
hard of hearing to follow the dialogue, or people who cannot understand the spoken dialogue or who have accent
recognition problems. In the South-Western Zone of Nigeria, where Yoruba is the predominant language, there is a
need to do proper subtitling of movies produced, since these movies have audiences across and beyond the nation.
This paper takes a look at some of these movies with the aim of identifying the errors committed in the process of
subtitling them and proposing what ought to be the correct expressions. The paper also calls all stakeholders,
especially, Yoruba film producers, the Association of Nigerian Theatre Practitioners (ANTP) as well as the Nigerian
Filmand Video Censors Board to ensure quality production.
II. Methodology
Seven Yoruba movies were selected for examination. These are: Bamitade, AYQ,Kulende, lgberaga, Aarin
Qta,Ogidl QmQ and Ile QkQ. These movies were carefully watched in order to sort out the faulty subtitles. Having
identified and analysed the errors that were contained in them, the researcher proposed what he thought should be
thecorrect translations of the expression. Errors identified are concord, spelling, tense/aspect and wrong selection of
words.
III. Research Problem
The Nigerian movie industry has come a long way in cinematographic transformation Okome, O. 1997;
Olusola, S. 1981; Oyewo, G.B. 1998. It is without doubt occupying a centre stage as it has, over the years, taken
different dimensions of showcasing what the industry knows how best to do. Ekwuazi, 1991; Ogunbiyi, Y. 1981;
Dasylva, A.O. 2004. However, many of these movies are produced without any iota of professionalism in the
business of the theatre. It is commonly observed that there is no clearly defined space for specialisation. An
individual actor can be a producer, director and scriptwriter. This is done in order to reduce the unavoidable cost of
production. The negative consequence of this is that Nigerian audience is fed with a body of junks. The most
embarrassing aspect is the attempt made at subtitling these movies. These subtitles are marred with grammatical
blunders that could be avoided if specialists in translation are allowed to handle the job Sunday, 2009.
IV. Data Presentation
Table 1: Concord
Movie Utterance Subtitle Correct Error Analysis
Version
a. Aarin Qta a ye ki a kuro ni Our lives Ii Our lives ~ Lives is in plural so
ibi MyH cos our in gander in danger the linking verb 'is'
lives is in danger should be 'are'. The
word 'danger' is
wrongly spelt as
gender.
b. Bamitale Ironu 0 san gbese Thinking Thinking does Thinking is singular, it
don't pay not pay debts attracts singular 'do'
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.l VI UUL.4JY.lUyu:;tl nil" .l II&; .I I VUIt;.1I1VJ ..,"UIUUIIO
debts verb, which is 'does'.
c. Ay¢ Nnkan ti n baj~ Things ~ Things -are The subject 'things' is
getting bad. getting bad plural, it attracts a
plural verb 'are'.
d. He QkQ Bf 6 se maa n se That is how That is how She attracts a singular
nlyen, she behave. she behaves. verb "behaves' and
not 'behave'.
e. Ay¢ Qr¢ ti b(>sort, Things ~ Things are 'Things' is plural. It
getting out of getting out of attracts 'are' and not
hand. hand. 'is' .
f. Kulende L(>w(>l(>w(>,a nf Presently, we At present, we 'We' attracts 'have'
pulotl il~ mejl. has two plots have two plots and not 'has'. Also,
of land. of land. presently is wrongly
used. 'At present' is
better.
The word concord refers to 'agreement' between the different components (words) used in a piece of writing.
Mainly, it refers to agreement between the parts of a sentence in forms of number and person to ensure accuracy or
correctness. Basically, there are four dimensions:
(i) Subject-verb concord.
(ii) Time reference concord
(iii) Gender concord
(iv) Pronoun-antecedent concord
The concord problem highlighted in the data above has to do with the relationship between the subject and the verb.
The rule of concord states that a singular subject must attract a singular verb, while a plural subject must attract a
plural verb. Items a, c, e and f have plural subjects - lives, things, things and we respectively, thus they should
attract the linking verbs are, are, are and have respectively. On the other hand and, items so and d - thinking and she
are singular, so they should attract the verb phrase of does not and the verb behaves respectively. So that we have (b)
thinking does not pay debts. (d) that is how she behaves.
Tabl e 2: SIpeiiinJ{
Movie Utterance Subtitle Correct Version Error Analysis
AQamrin Inu n run ml, I have stomarch I have stomach Stomach is wrongly spelt aspain. pains. 'stomarch'. Also, pains
should also be used instead of
pain.
Ay¢ Maa blmiu I'm soory. I'm sorry. The word 'sorry' is wrongly
spelt as 'soory'
Ay¢ T6 0 ba kuro lekoo, If Lagos deport you, If you depart from The verb 'depart' is wrongly
ko ye kekoo kuro you should not Lagos, Lagos spelt as 'deport'.
lara re. deport Lagos. should not depart
from you.
Igberaga Maa kunle mQ Do not go on your Do not go on your The word 'knees' was
kneels. knees. wrongly spelt as 'kneels'
Ay¢ o ba ti SQ fun You should have You should have The word 'abort' was
dokita ki 6 ba oyun asked the doctor to told the doctor to wrongly spelt 'about'.
naa i~. about it. abort it.
Ay¢ Mo ni lati be Q pe I need to beg you I need to beg you The word 'betray' was
kt 0 maa da mf mo. not to betrQYme. not to betr1!Yme. wrongly spelt as ' betroy'.
Kulende Nigba ti nkan ba n May you not die May you not die The word 'rosy' was wrongly
dim 0 0 ni kit. when things are when things are spelt as 'rousy'.
rousv. rosy.
Igberaga a ti borf lsoro, You have overcome You have overcome The word 'obstacle' was
the obstance. the obstacle. wrongly spelt as obstance'.
Arm ~yin gan an le g¢ You are a big full You are a big fool. The word 'fool' was wrongly
Qia j!u' . spelt as 'full'.
Table 2 above highlights rune spelling errors. The words stomach, sorry, depart, knees, abort, betray, rosy, obstacle
and fool are misspelt as stomarch, soory, deport, kneels, about, betroy, rousy, obstance and full respectively. These
errors could have been prevented if the translators had made use of a simple dictionary. Every dictionary shows the
correct spelling of every word in the very first column. Translators should therefore make good use of dictionaries as
a good guide in spelling.
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YOrUbaMovies And The Problem Of Subtitling
Table 3..Tense and Aspect
a. lgberaga Emi mo iyl re, asc I value you. May I appreciate you. The form 'lose' should
iyl ~ kb de ni ya you not lost your May you not lose be used instead of lost.
mo ~ lara. value. vour value.
b. Igberaga Sebi 0 SQ fun mi Didn't you Didn't you The form 'pretend'
pe ara re ko ya ni? pretended as if you pretend that you should be used since the
were sick? were sick?1 Didn't tense has been reflected
you tell me that on the 'do' verb. The
you were sick? phrase 'as if' is also
redundant.
c. Igberaga Bi Modo bayli ni Beauty is like the Beauty is like the Wrong use of tense
ewa oblnrin ti 6 flower in full bloom flower
.•. in
full 'withered' instead of
ba di akoko kan, at a certain time, it bloom, at a wither. The modal
ododo <)hu.na wa will withered and certain time, it auxilIary 'will'
di ohun tf a Ii fi become letters. will wither and presupposes 'future.'
ese t~ become useless.
d. Igberaga Iranlowo re tf mo the only help I want The only favour I 'Accommodated'
f~ ni kl n sa kan from you is to be need from you is should be use instead of
manage nfbi. accommodate for a to be 'accommodate'.
short while here. accommodated
for a while here.
e. Igberaga To ri ~ nM la lie That's why we That's why we Wrong tense 'decides'
wa lati wa be yln, decides to come and decided to come instead of 'decided'.
apologise, and aoolozise.
f. Ay<) Se 0 SQfun me pe Did you told me you Did you tell me 'Tell' should replace
o f~ r~ntl ile? will rent a house? you would rent a 'told' since the 'do'
house? verb takes the past
form. Also 'would'
should reolace 'will'.
g. Ay<) Kini 0 SQyen? What did you just What did you just 'Say' should replace
said? SlIT? 'said'.
h. Ay¢ Mo ti llAIAye fun I've explain to her. I've explained to 'Explained' should
un. her. reolace 'explain'.
i. Ay¢ Kf 16 de ti gbogbo Why did all these Why did all these The form 'happen'
eleyil fi ll~l~ happened between happen between should replace
laaarln wa? us? us? 'haooened' .
j. Ay¢ 6 ba mQ ti sa You ought not to You ought not to The form 'run' should
jade. have ran outside. have run awayl replace 'ran' since it is
You should not preceeded by 'have'.
have run away.
Table 3 highlights ten errors connected with tense and aspect. Tense and aspect are very important to correct
expressions in English language. In item 'a' lost which is the past tense of lose is selected instead of lose. The whole
expression is a wish or prayer - "May you not lose your value. So the selection of lost is wrong, in the context. In
item b, the verb 'pretended' is selected instead of 'pretend'. Already tense has been reflected on the auxiliary verb
'did'. Once the auxiliary verb has been inflected for past, the main verb should be left in the present form, so we
should have "didn't you pretend" instead of "didn't you pretended." Apart from that, the expression, 'as if' is
already incorporated in the word 'pretend', so the use of 'pretended as if sounds tautologeous. It should be 'pretend'
alone. In item 'c' the modal auxiliary 'will' is in the future tense, so joining a verb in the past tense 'withered'
makes the expression wrong, so we should have 'will wither' and not 'will withered'.
In item 'd', the word 'accommodate' is wrong because it is preceded by the verb 'be'. Once a verb is preceded
by 'be' it must attract the past rticiple and not the simple present again. Therefore it should be rendered as 'be
accommodate' 'd' and not 'be accommodate' as we have it. Item "e' talks about an action which took place in the
past so it should be in the past tense "we decided", and not "we decides." Item 'f', involves the problem of marking
tense twice that is on the auxiliary verbs and the main verb. We have discussed this in item be above. The
expressions should read as follows:
f. 'did you tell, not 'did you told'
g. 'did' you just ill', not 'did you just said.'
h. 'why did these happen., not 'why did these happened. Item 'h' is a problem of aspect. The expression
should be rendered. I've explained' and not 'I've explain'. Item 'j' is also connected with aspect. The
expression should be rendered 'have run' and not 'have ran'.
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foruM Movies And The Problem Of Subtitling
Tabl e 4..W rona SeIectiono fW ords
Ay¢ Mo ti loyun osu I'm too month I'm two months 'Too' was wrongly selected instead
mejl pregnant. pregnant. of 'two',' Months should replace
'month,'
Ay¢ o f¢ da gbogbo You want to You want to 'Middle' was wrongly used instead
nnkan ni. middle things up. muddle up things, of 'muddle'.
Ogidi o f¢ fi ~mf won You want to You want to 'There was wrongly selected instead
OmQ ~Ofo. waste there lives. waste their lives. of 'their',
Ay¢ Ko y~ kf 6 tun It shouldn't be It shouldn't be too 'Two' was wrongly selected instead
p¢iu two much. much, of 'too',
Bamita o 0 gbodo fowo You don't dare You dare not The verb 'dare' does not co-occur
l¢ kan-an, touch her. touch her. with 'do'.
Aarfn o da mi 16ju I am cork sure. I am cock sure. 'Cork' is wrongly selected instead of
OM ~ 'cock.
Aarin Aburo ~? Your junior Your younger 'Junior is wrongly selected instead of
Ota sister? sister? 'younger'.
Aarin Maa j¢ kf won 6 Avoid being cut. Avoid being 'Cut' was wrongly selected instead
OM mu e, caught. of 'caught.
Table 4 highlights eight cases of wrong selection of words. The expressions month, middle there, two,
don't dare, cork sure, junior sister and cut are wrongly selected instead of months, muddle, their, too, dare not, cock
sure, younger sister and caught.
The Implication of the Findings
The implication of the above findings is that Yoruba films makers are contributing negatively to lowering
the standard of English language in Nigeria. Their products are watched daily by children, young adults, adults, and
males and females throughout the South Western Zone of Nigeria and across the nation. Instead of contributing their
quota towards uplifting the standard of the English language in the country, they are doing otherwise. In so doing,
they are misleading millions of people who daily watch their products many of whom have mistaken them for
models. To reverse this trend, movies producers should henceforth ensure that specialists are involved in subtitling
their words. They should go an extra mile by allowing linguists to do proper editing of such subtitles, even though,
this may involve more costs, "the end will justify the means" as the economists would say. Many of their fans would
not mind spending more to purchase their products once they are sure that they are rich in quality in terms of visual
output, thematic thrust, language and standard translations.
Conclusion
A very careful look at the errors identified in these subtitles suggests that Yoruba film producers only pay
attention to the visual quality and the thematic thrust of the movies. It is not enough for the industry to be concerned
only with the visual quality and the thematic thrust, attention should equally be given to the grammaticality and
accuracy of the subtitles for the benefit of audience who do not speak Yoruba Wilmeth, 2006. This poses a challenge
to the Association of Nigerian Theater Art Practitioners (ANTP) to wake up to its responsibilities. The Nigerian
Film and Video Censors Board usually have a role to play in ensuring that these film producers improve the quality
of the work in all ramifications. Film producers also should allow professionalism and specialisation of processes.
Specialists in different aspects of the profession should be employed to handle the different areas of the work, not
minding the cost. The end would no doubt justify the means if quality is improved.
REFERENCES
[I]. Dasylva, A.O. 2004. Studies in Drama. Ibadan: Stirling-Horden Publishers (Nig.) Ltd.
[2]. Ekwuazi, H. 1991. Film in Nigeria. Jos: Nigerian Film Corporation.
[3]. Ogunbiyi, Y. 1981. Nigerian Theatre and Drama: A Critical Profile. Nigerian Theatre and Drama: A critical
course book. Ed. Y. Ogunbiyi. Lagos: Nigeria Magazine. 3-53.
[4]. Okome, O. 1997. The Context of Film Production in Nigeria: The Colonial Heritage. Cinema and Social
Change in West Africa. Eds. 0 Okome and J. Hagnes. Jos: Nigerian Film Corporation. 26-40.
[5]. Olusola, S. 1981. The Advent of Television Drama in Nigeria. Nigerian Theatre and Drama: A critical course
book. Ed. Y. Ogunbiyi. Lagos: Nigerian Magazine. 357-369.
[6]. Oyeleye, L Ed. Use of English: Tertiary Course Book: Ibadan: Agbo aasREO Publishers P. 58-81.
[7]. Oyewo, G.B. 1998. Professional Theatres in Nigeria: A Personal Memoir. Unpublished M.A. Dissertation,
University of Ibadan, Ibadan.
[8]. Soyinka, W. 2000. Theatre in African Traditional Cultures: Survival Pattern. Modern African Drama. Ed.
Biodun Jeyifo. New York. W.W. Norton.
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YorubO Movies And The Problem Of Subtitling
[9]. Sunday, A.B. 2009. 'Concord and Agreement; Oyeleye, L. Ed. Use of English: A tertiary course book:
Ibadan: Agbo Areo Publishers. pp. 58-81.
[10]. Sunday, A.B. 2009. 'Concord and Agreement.'
[11]. Vivian, A. 2010. The translation of Yoruba proverbs in Wole Soyinka's "The forest ofa thousand demons. A
seminar paper presented at the Department of English, University of Ibadan.
[12]. Wilmeth, D.B. 2006. Theatre. The world book encyclopedia. Chicago: World Book, Inc. 232-233.
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