by Brian Lin
The Academy Awards, affectionately known as the “Oscars”, are now broadcast all over the world within 24 hours of the actual ceremony. We see them in Taiwan with Chinese subtitles added. But have you ever wondered how theevent is translated so well in such a short time? With less than 12 hours for translation, editing and other standard post-production procedures, the first thing to know about this sizable and time-pressing mission is that it is not done singlehandedly. It is a task entailing delicate and utter cooperation. This year’s Academy Awards, aired March 25 on TTV, was divided up into tapes of five minutes each and translated by over 20 people who were assigned instantly as the footage came in over satellite. Then the tapes were passed on to others for final checking and polishing. Of course, great attention is paid to correct translations of movie titles and celebrity names, not to mention technical film-making terms. The famed World Screen Magazine provides references to make sure all personal names and technical terms are translated correctly, and film titles are consistent with the Taiwan release of the picture. So what kind of pay do you get for such a job? Chiang Ming-hsueh , one of the translators involved in the project this year, revealed that the remuneration is quite generous. He received a pay check for NT$4,000 for translating four of the five-minute tapes. However, opportunities like this come only once a year and thus most of the translators involved in the Oscars translation are only temporarily employed for the project. The rest are regularly employed translators of the TV station. Candidates for the job are usually chosen on the basis of a personal recommendation coming from a current house interpreter; otherwise translators involved in the project in preceding years may be called back. So in this particular case, not only ability counts but also experience, and perhaps most of all, connections. a
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May 2024
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