English-language dubbing: challenges and quality standards of an emerging localisation trend

Abstract

The availability of a significant amount of non-English audiovisual content on streaming platforms gave rise to a new localisation demand: English-language dubbing of films and TV series. This paper examines English lip-synch dubbing vis-à-vis the norms and quality standards that generally govern dubbing in other cultures and languages. It proposes an empirical analysis based on a selection of English-dubbed fiction series episodes streamed on Netflix. These are analysed in primis as target culture audiovisual texts in their own right and only later in comparison with their original counterparts. The intent is to identify: (1) recurrent patterns across English dubbed products; (2) challenging factors specific to English dubbing; and, (3) possible explanations to such challenges. The study reveals that due attention is given to dialogue synchronisation in terms of matching duration, pauses and lip movements, even though the last-mentioned also presents inconsistencies. Naturalness in the target language and speech tempo are pursued, sometimes affecting other quality parameters, such as rhythmic synchrony that turns out to be one of the major challenges throughout. Other patterns that emerge include unnatural intonation, in particular, speech melody, and instances of hollow sound quality, especially in outdoor scenes. The ultimate aim of the study is to lay the groundwork for further research into strategies that could possibly meet the identified challenges.