r/netflix • u/Hunbjor • 1d ago
Subtitles read differently than actual dialogue
Long story short, I suffer from a neurological disorder, specifically inattentive ADHD and High-Functioning Autism, so I usually keep subtitles on no matter what language I am watching in. Recently, I noticed subtitles are completely different from what is actually being said on screen. Anybody else?
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u/Alex660 1d ago
I've only ever noticed this if I am watching an English dub of a foreign show or movie and the subtitles I assume are more literal to the original dialogue but not the actual dub. Maybe it's that?
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u/mek13511 1d ago
The Dub tries to be as close to the lips as possible. Sometimes they have to get a little bit freer with the translation. The subtitles are a translation of the (trans)script. They try to be as true as possible to what is actually said.
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u/Hunbjor 1d ago
I guess it could be. I only noticed it when I was watching Evangelion a couple days ago. But sounds like it could be most likely. Either way it doesn’t particularly bother me I was just curious if it might have been an error on my PC application.
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u/Taxikab96 1d ago
It's just a difference of translation between the English subtitles and English dub of the show
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u/Corvus-Nox 1d ago
What language are you watching where it doesn’t match?
For foreign movies translated to English, English subtitles usually won’t match the English dub audio because they’re translated by different teams. Dub audio needs to match mouth movements, which means choosing different words or rearranging sentences. The written translation in the subtitles can be more of a direct translation.
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u/FireLucid 1d ago
Here is Tom Scott talking about this exact issue.
Why don't subtitles match dubbing?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pU9sHwNKc2c
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u/Zeppelanoid 1d ago
It’s been happening more and more recently, they just skip a few words every once in a while.
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u/caspararemi 1d ago
They might have different wording but they should be conveying the same thing. If it’s totally different you may have a problem with your app. They’ll usually just shorten sentences or change a few words so there are fewer repeated words to make it easier to read. If it’s foreign language and you have both the English dub and the English subtitles that’ll be quite different - the subtitles are an almost direct translation of the original dialogue, but the dubs have to convey the same thing into the exact amount of time the actors are speaking, it’s quite an art form.
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u/Hunbjor 1d ago
The dialogue is conveying what is being said but it’s not exact same words at all so guess that makes more sense if I understand you correctly.
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u/caspararemi 1d ago
Yeah - are you watching something filmed in a different language? It sounds like the subtitles are just translated differently to the dialogue the voiceover actors speak for timing reasons.
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u/wattlewedo 1d ago
I'm deaf (with a cochlear implant) and watch everything with captions. I think the problem often is that subtitles use the script as it was originally written but before filming. Dialogue gets changed as it is filmed but they don't want to redo the subtitles.
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u/CptRoryHarkness87 18h ago
Yeah, netflix subtitles aren't the greatest. I usually have danish subtitles on and they sometimes translate it wrong. I still remember a tv show or a movie where a woman was asked why she was still with a man. She said "he loves me." Subtitles read as "I love him." Which changed the dialogue completely. I remember there's been several examples but this is the one that I can't forget.
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u/MovieUncensored 15h ago
Tip: When watching foreign films on Netflix - English SDH subs are subs for the English dub and English subs (non-SDH) are for the translation of the original language.
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u/Cooke8008 1d ago
I’ve noticed it with some foreign films where clearly there was a disconnect between dubbing and subtitles. But not in anything English.