Subtitling: Some Strategies – IELTS Reading Answers, Vocabulary & Translation

As the cinematic world blurs all national borders, bringing a work of art to a global audience always encounters an invisible yet massive barrier: Language. The reading passage Subtitling Some Strategies offers an in-depth look behind the scenes of the film translation industry, where a quiet battle takes place between two classic methods—subtitling and dubbing. By dissecting an Italian feature film, the author not only exposes core cultural challenges but also systematizes five ingenious translation strategies that help translators navigate strict time and display space constraints.

For test-takers conquering the IELTS exam, this text features advanced academic vocabulary alongside a highly challenging question system. To help you prepare with a precise study roadmap, the ECE language center has translated, provided vocabulary, and delivered accurate answer keys for this reading passage. Let’s dive right into the article!

Reading Passage

Subtitling Some Strategies

[Paragraph 1] When movies made in one language are shown to speakers of another, the two methods of resolving the language barrier are subtitling and dubbing. Subtitling is the written translation of the words, usually appearing discreetly at the bottom of the screen, while dubbing is the recording of voices in the target language.

[Paragraph 2] Dubbing, although seemingly more accessible to movie watchers, comes with many disadvantages. For a start, it is expensive, hence it needs a large audience to justify the cost, yet even big films carry no guarantee of such commercial success. In addition, the dubbed voices may seem detached or inappropriate to the characters, or otherwise, the absurdity of having an undereducated American ruffian saying, ‘Je voudrais déclarer un vol’ becomes too much, affecting appreciation of the film. Finally, films and TV programs now have an increasingly rapid turnover rate, and subtitling is faster and more practical in such situations.

[Paragraph 3] However, one should not assume subtitling is easier than dubbing. Subtitling requires careful strategies, and here I will outline some of them. In order to do this, a sample movie is needed, and the one examined here is an Italian movie subtitled into English. Comprehension of subtitles will always be affected by lack of familiarity with the values, beliefs, and interactive differences between the host and viewing cultures. The subtitlers need to be aware of this in order to translate the true meaning. Thus, before beginning any work, a brief ‘cultural audit’ is absolutely necessary, involving a comparison of the two cultures in relation to the storyline of the movie.

[Paragraph 4] The movie is set in the late 1960s, at a time when the wealth and materialism of American society was very high, contrasting the relative poverty of Italian village life. The plot tells the story of a poor couple who dream of winning large sums of money by gambling in a card game against a wealthy elderly American woman, who occasionally visits Italy just for that purpose. The final thematic assertion that there are more important factors than money reflects the warmth and solidarity of the Italian village in the face of adversity. Although these themes are universal, one could speculate that a Western audience might not like or identify with them as much, given the increasing urbanisation and materialism of their own society.

[Paragraph 5] The most immediate translation issue relates to the movie’s title, ‘Lo Scopone Scientifico’, translated as ‘Scientific Scopone’, whereas the English title is, ‘The Scientific Card Player’. ‘Scopone’ is the name of a traditional Italian card game of great antiquity. Obviously, the translators could not use this name, obscure to the Western viewers, but they inserted a bland and inappropriate term. An even clearer subtitling lapse is that the betting is always done using, apparently, ludicrously high figures. Subtitles such as, ‘Let’s start with a million’ regularly jump out. This is a literal translation of the figures (in Italian lira), yet it is the dollar with which the English-speaking audience would associate. The result is an apparent lack of plausibility, changing the comedic nature of the film.

[Paragraph 6] With respect to the specific subtitling used, there are five. Let us begin with the subtitle, ‘The old bag’s here.’ This is idiomatic in English, being an insulting term for an elderly woman. However, it is a simple expression comprising only two words, one of which is literally intended (‘old’). I would speculate that the same idiom occurs in Italian (that is, the direct translation of ‘old’ and ‘bag’ in Italian carries the same idiomatic meaning). This is the strategy of Transfer, where the full expression without time or space consideration is given. Otherwise, there could well be a closely aligned idiom, in which case the strategy would be Imitation, where there are similar lexical elements between both languages.

[Paragraph 7] Continuing with idioms, we read, ‘Catches win matches’. This derives from certain ball games, such as cricket, where catching the ball after it is struck by the batsman contributes towards winning the game. There are no such sporting cultures in Italy followed. Thus, one can be certain that other words were used in the original Italian, but that these have a similar pragmatic effect (in meaning and idiomatic nature). The strategy used is Paraphrasing, where different expressions specific to the source language (Italian) and target language (English) are required.

[Paragraph 8] Later on, we read, ‘A sign of destiny’. When this subtitle appears, there are actually two to three people speaking with equal force at the same time. Space and time constraints render it impossible to have them all translated, so only the quoted subtitle appears, using the strategy known as Condensation. Finally, we read scopa – an Italian word referring to a variation of the central card game. Being unique to Italy, there is no equivalent word in English, so the strategy used here is Resignation, where the subtitler leaves the word in the original language. The meaning remains obvious from the context, and only in such minimal and unlikely situations does this strategy become acceptable.

Questions

Questions 14 – 17

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Write your answers in boxes 14-17 on your answer sheet.

14. Dubbing can

A. appeal to larger audiences

B. seem silly

C. increase appreciation of the film

D. be faster

15. Cultural audits

A. look at one culture

B. are long and involved

C. help comprehension

D. are not normally required

16. The movie which was examined

A. has common human themes

B. has a surprising ending

C. is set in an Italian city

D. involves two main actors

17. Scopone

A. is a relatively new game.

B. is known to the Western audience.

C. is a bland term.

D. has a variation called scopa.

Questions 18 – 22

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?

In boxes 18-22 on your answer sheet write:

TRUE — if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE — if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN — if there is no information on this

18. The English title is a subtitling lapse.

19. Transfer and imitation are interesting strategies.

20. Paraphrasing is often used.

21. Resignation can be used in many situations.

22. Almost all Italians love scopa.

Questions 23 – 26

Match the translation example with its associated fact.

Write the correct letter, A – D, next to the questions.

A A practical decision

B Clarified by the situation

C Using other words, but with the same meaning

D Probably exists in the source language

23. ‘The old bag’

24. ‘Catches win matches’

25. ‘A sign of destiny’

26. ‘Scopa’

Complete Reading Translation

When movies made in one language are shown to speakers of another, the two methods for resolving the language barrier are subtitling and dubbing. Subtitling is the written translation of dialogue, usually appearing discreetly at the bottom of the screen, whereas dubbing is the recording of voices in the target language.

Dubbing, although seemingly more accessible to moviegoers, comes with numerous drawbacks. First and foremost, it is expensive, and thus requires a large audience to offset the costs; yet even blockbusters offer no guarantee of commercial success. Additionally, dubbed voices can feel detached or mismatched with the characters—or conversely, the absurdity of having an undereducated American ruffian uttering the French line, “Je voudrais déclarer un vol” (I’d like to report a theft), becomes too extreme, detracting from the audience’s appreciation of the film. Finally, contemporary films and television programs have an increasingly rapid turnover rate, making subtitling both faster and more practical in such situations.

However, one should not assume that subtitling is easier than dubbing. Subtitling demands careful strategies, and I will outline several of them here. To accomplish this, a sample movie is required, and the one examined here is an Italian film subtitled into English. The comprehension of subtitles is invariably influenced by viewers’ unfamiliarity with the values, beliefs, and interactive differences between the host culture and the viewing culture. Subtitlers must remain aware of this in order to convey the true underlying meaning. Consequently, before initiating any work, a brief “cultural audit” is absolutely essential, involving a comparison of the two cultures in relation to the film’s storyline.

The film is set in the late 1960s, a period when the wealth and materialism of American society peaked, contrasting sharply with the relative poverty of Italian village life. The plot follows a poor couple who dream of winning large sums of money by gambling in a card game against a wealthy, elderly American woman who occasionally visits Italy solely for that purpose. The final thematic assertion that there are more important factors than money reflects the warmth and solidarity of the Italian village in the face of adversity. Although these themes are universal, one might speculate that Western audiences may not appreciate or identify with them as strongly, given the escalating urbanization and materialism of their own societies.

The most immediate translation challenge concerns the movie’s title, “Lo Scopone Scientifico,” roughly translated as “Scientific Scopone,” whereas the official English title is “The Scientific Card Player.” “Scopone” is the name of a traditional, ancient Italian card game. Naturally, the translators could not use this name as it would be obscure to Western viewers, yet they inserted a bland and inappropriate term instead. An even more glaring subtitling lapse is that the betting is consistently portrayed using ludicrously high figures. Subtitles like “Let’s start with a million” regularly leap out at the viewer. This is a literal translation of the figures (in Italian lira), whereas US dollars are what an English-speaking audience would naturally associate with. The result is a glaring lack of plausibility that undermines the comedic nature of the film.

Regarding the specific subtitling techniques employed, there are five. Let us begin with the subtitle: “The old bag’s here.” This is an English idiom used as an insulting term for an elderly woman. However, it is a simple expression consisting of only two words, one of which is used entirely literally (“old”). I would speculate that a similar idiom exists in Italian (meaning that a direct translation of “old” and “bag” in Italian carries the same idiomatic sense). This is the strategy of Transfer, where the complete expression is rendered without regard for time or space constraints. Conversely, if a closely aligned idiom exists, the strategy becomes Imitation, which involves similar lexical elements across both languages.

Continuing with idioms, we encounter the line: “Catches win matches.” This originates from certain bat-and-ball sports, such as cricket, where catching the ball after it has been struck by the batsman contributes to winning the match. No such sporting culture is followed in Italy. Therefore, we can be certain that different phrasing was used in the original Italian, but that it achieved a similar pragmatic effect (in terms of meaning and idiomatic quality). The strategy applied here is Paraphrasing, which requires distinct expressions specific to the source language (Italian) and the target language (English).

Later on, we read the phrase: “A sign of destiny.” When this subtitle appears, two or three characters are actually speaking simultaneously with equal volume. Space and time constraints make it impossible to translate all of them, so only the quoted subtitle is displayed, utilizing the strategy known as Condensation. Finally, we encounter “scopa”—an Italian word referring to a variation of the primary card game. Because it is unique to Italy and has no direct English equivalent, the strategy used here is Resignation, where the subtitler leaves the term in its original language. Its meaning remains clear from the context, and only in such minimal and unlikely scenarios does this strategy become acceptable.

Academic Vocabulary

Vocabulary / Phrase	Part of Speech	Meaning in Context
Language barrier	Noun phrase	Rào cản ngôn ngữ
Rapid turnover rate	Noun phrase	Tốc độ xoay vòng / Thay thế nhanh chóng
Cultural audit	Noun phrase	Kiểm định văn hóa / Đánh giá văn hóa
Solidarity	Noun	Sự đoàn kết, tính gắn kết
Subtitling lapse	Noun phrase	Lỗi sai / Sơ suất khi làm phụ đề
Lack of plausibility	Noun phrase	Sự thiếu hợp lý / Thiếu thực tế
Pragmatic effect	Noun phrase	Hiệu quả thực tế / Hiệu quả sử dụng thực tế
Space and time constraints	Noun phrase	Những giới hạn về mặt không gian và thời gian

Detailed Explanation of Reading Answers: Subtitling Some Strategies

Questions 14 – 17: Multiple Choice

14. Answer: B

Explanation: Paragraph 2 outlines various limitations of dubbing, pointing out that: “…the absurdity of having an undereducated American ruffian saying, ‘Je voudrais…’ becomes too much…”. The noun “absurdity” directly corresponds to the idea that dubbing can sometimes “seem silly”.

15. Answer: C

Explanation: The beginning of paragraph 3 states that subtitle comprehension is always heavily affected by cultural unfamiliarity between two countries (“Comprehension of subtitles will always be affected by…”). Therefore, the concluding sentence asserts: “…a brief ‘cultural audit’ is absolutely necessary…”. The core purpose of this cultural audit is to bridge that gap and “help comprehension”.

16. Answer: A

Explanation: After introducing the film’s plot in paragraph 4, the author concludes: “Although these themes are universal…”. The adjective “universal” perfectly matches the option “has common human themes”.

17. Answer: D

Explanation: The end of paragraph 8 specifies: “…we read scopa – an Italian word referring to a variation of the central card game.”. The central card game running throughout the movie is Scopone, introduced in paragraph 5. Consequently, Scopa is a variation of Scopone.

Questions 18 – 22: True / False / Not Given

18. Answer: TRUE

Explanation: When analyzing the movie title in paragraph 5, the author writes: “…but they inserted a bland and inappropriate term. An even clearer subtitling lapse is that…”. The use of the transitional phrase “An even clearer subtitling lapse” confirms that the author considers the previous title translation to be a subtitling lapse.

19. Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: Paragraph 6 provides thorough definitions for the strategies of Transfer and Imitation. However, the writer maintains an objective tone and offers no personal opinion on whether these strategies are “interesting”.

20. Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: Paragraph 7 mentions the Paraphrasing strategy when handling sports idioms. However, the text provides no statistics or evidence to confirm whether this strategy is “often used” in actual translation practice.

21. Answer: FALSE

Explanation: The statement claims that the Resignation strategy can be used in “many situations”. Comparing this with the final sentence of paragraph 8: “…and only in such minimal and unlikely situations does this strategy become acceptable.” The words “only”, “minimal”, and “unlikely” directly contradict “many”. Therefore, the statement is FALSE.

22. Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: Carefully analyze the original text in paragraph 8: The author writes “scopa – an Italian word referring to a variation of the central card game. Being unique to Italy…”.