We were very clear about these requirements when Ra\u00fal Monge entrusted us to subtitle his short film <\/span>La ley del m\u00e1s fuerte<\/span><\/strong><\/em> from Spanish <\/span>to <\/span>English.<\/span><\/p>\n In the short film there is this climactic scene in which one of the characters recites a poem to the protagonist. The poem is <\/span>Sonnet of the Sweet Complaint<\/span><\/strong><\/em> by <\/span>Federico Garc\u00eda Lorca<\/span><\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n Never let me lose the marvel<\/strong> I am afraid of being, on this shore,<\/strong> If you are my hidden treasure,<\/strong> never let me lose what I have gained,<\/strong> To find it out, we have used DeepL<\/strong><\/span>, <\/span>one of the best-rated and most recommended <\/span>AI-based<\/span><\/strong> automatic translation services on the Internet.<\/span><\/p>\n Original<\/strong> version of the poem in Spanish:<\/p>\n %91caption id=%22attachment_3472%22 align=%22aligncenter%22 width=%22981%22%93 English version by DeepL<\/strong> vs. Ponle Subt\u00edtulos<\/strong>:<\/p>\n As we suspected, <\/span>AI <\/span><\/strong>translates the poem <\/span>word-for-word<\/span><\/strong>. <\/span>DeepL<\/span><\/strong> fails to take into account the musicality, rhythm, or structure of Lorca\u2019s poetry. The first thing you’ll notice is the choice<\/strong> of words. While \u201cwet<\/span><\/em>\u201d and \u201c<\/span>dampened<\/span><\/em>\u201d share the meaning of \u201cmoist\u201d, the latter term is way more lyrical and common in the field of poetry than the former. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n And if you look at the <\/span>structure<\/span><\/strong>, the poem has an ABAB, ABAB,<\/span> CDC, DCD rhyme scheme. The AI <\/span>completely ignores<\/span><\/strong> this structure. Given that the original stanza rhymes \u201c<\/span>m\u00edo<\/span>\u201d with \u201c<\/span>se\u00f1or\u00edo<\/span>\u201d, the English adaptation should look for a translation of \u201cse\u00f1or\u00edo\u201d that rhymes with \u201c<\/span>treasure<\/span><\/em>\u201d, but <\/span>DeepL<\/span><\/strong> simply uses \u201c<\/span>lordship<\/span>\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n Clearly, an alternative like \u201c<\/span>master<\/span><\/em>\u201d would be way more accurate and<\/span>the correct literary equivalent<\/span><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n When Ra\u00fal contacted us this summer to subtitle his short film, we received the order with great excitement because we had already worked on another of his projects and meeting this new \u201ctranschallenge\u201d quickly triggered our creativity. As you can see, the short film not only made it to the Sitges Film Festival <\/strong>in time, but also managed to premiere in the Special Screening section of the festival.<\/p>\n In the face of such joy, we couldn\u2019t help but imagine what would have happened if a climactic moment in the film, such as the recitation of Lorca\u2019s sonnet, would had been left to the fate of an automatic translator. After making the comparison, we have reached a very clear conclusion: the translation of literary texts is not just about solving problems of meaning<\/strong>. What differentiates professional human translation from AI translation and, above all, good from bad literary translation, is the correct translation of all kinds of euphonies<\/strong>: alliteration, rhyme, and rhythm.<\/p>\n If you find yourself immersed in a complex audiovisual project and need the help of our team of expert native translators in the target language, do not hesitate to contact us.<\/p>\n
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of your statue-like eyes, or the accent<\/strong>
the solitary rose of your breath<\/strong>
places on my cheek at night.<\/strong><\/p>\n
a branchless trunk, and what I most regret<\/strong>
is having no flower, pulp, or clay<\/strong>
for the worm of my despair.<\/strong><\/p>\n
if you are my cross, my dampened pain,<\/strong>
if I am a dog, and you alone my master,<\/strong><\/p>\n
and adorn the branches of your river<\/strong>
with leaves of my estranged Autumn.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nWhat Would Have Happened if Ra\u00fal Had Subtitled His Short Film with AI?<\/span><\/h3>\n
We have restructured the lines to condense them into a single frame: a good subtitle segmentation should have a maximum of two lines<\/strong> and must be synchronised<\/strong> with the cadence with which the poem is recited.%91\/caption%93<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nPath of La ley del m\u00e1s fuerte <\/em> with Professional English Subtitles<\/h3>\n
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