SUBTLE - the Subtitlers' Association

Time for another #SubtlePuzzle! In “The Good Place”, profanity is automatically replaced by harmless words that sound vaguely similar – most famously “fork” for a much less polite four-letter word, but also “shirt”, “bench” or “ash”, creating memorable phrases such as "Holy forking shirtballs!"...

How would you translate this mechanism? Would you look for innocent words in your language that resemble swear words, translate the replacement words literally, or prioritise what the characters were actually trying to say?

Time for another #SubtlePuzzle! In “The Good Place”, profanity is automatically replaced by harmless words that sound vaguely similar – most famously “fork” for a much less polite four-letter word, but also “shirt”, “bench” or “ash”, creating memorable phrases such as "Holy forking shirtballs!"...

Just 2 days to go until our next webinar! Join media localization specialist Javier Rebollo who will dive into the craft, mechanics, and technical execution of subtitles for vertical videos. Register here: www.universe.com/events/subtl...

Over 80% of social media videos are watched entirely on mute on mobiles. In today's fast-paced, multiplatform media landscape, subtitles have become an essential visual hook to grab attention and retain viewers across TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.

On International Translation Day, we would like to remind all AVT translators of their value and the expertise they bring to their work. That's why we're alarmed to see that New Art is offering the following rate for a full-time subtitling position...

This exploits subtitlers and undermines the translation industry. No qualified professional can live under these terms.

On International Translation Day, we would like to remind all AVT translators of their value and the expertise they bring to their work. That's why we're alarmed to see that New Art is offering the following rate for a full-time subtitling position...

Over 80% of social media videos are watched entirely on mute on mobiles. In today's fast-paced, multiplatform media landscape, subtitles have become an essential visual hook to grab attention and retain viewers across TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.

Wednesday 7th October, 5-6:30 pm UK time Free for members / £15 for non-members

Over 80% of social media videos are watched entirely on mute on mobiles. In today's fast-paced, multiplatform media landscape, subtitles have become an essential visual hook to grab attention and retain viewers across TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.

The 2026 Emmys were awarded last week! As in previous years, we want to recognise Subtle members who contributed to the nominated productions by creating subtitles, SDH, voice-over and audio description scripts, or by quality-checking localisation work. See all the details on our blog!

Calling all audiovisual translators living in the UK! We need YOU! Some of Subtle’s committee members are putting together a group of UK-based members to create our own AVT branch within the BECTU union.

If this sounds appealing, or if you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch with David Buchanan, Rachel Jones or write to Subtle at info@subtle-subtitlers.org.uk.

Calling all audiovisual translators living in the UK! We need YOU! Some of Subtle’s committee members are putting together a group of UK-based members to create our own AVT branch within the BECTU union.

Membership fees are means-tested (bectu.org.uk/subscription...), and the first three months are free if we all join as a group! The catch? We need at least 21 of us to form a branch. And we’re not far from reaching it!

Calling all audiovisual translators living in the UK! We need YOU! Some of Subtle’s committee members are putting together a group of UK-based members to create our own AVT branch within the BECTU union.

This would include anyone working in audiovisual localisation and media accessibility: subtitling, dubbing, audio description, captioning, etc. BECTU membership would allow us to…

A reminder for all agencies and direct clients out there: if you want to work with trusted AVT professionals in various language pairs, look no further! You can use a free feature on our website: an AVT job offer form. subtle-subtitlers.org.uk/post-a-job/

We understand it can be very hard to #SayNoToLowRates, especially when you’re just starting out. Maybe you struggle with what to say when negotiating or you’re scared your client will simply go for another, cheaper linguist if you ask for more.

That’s why it’s so important that we are able to recognise our value and push back together. What we accept now will have an impact on the rates we all get in the future. If you need some help with negotiating, here are some resources to help!

In light of recent changes to subtitling workflows, many linguists are onboarding with new agency clients who are offering unsustainable per-minute rates...

Remember you can calculate the rate you need to charge to make a decent living using Subtle’s calculator: subtle-subtitlers.org.uk/subtitling-r...

In light of recent changes to subtitling workflows, many linguists are onboarding with new agency clients who are offering unsustainable per-minute rates...

It's time for another #SUBTLEpuzzle! This time, we chose some of the famous tongue twisters from “BoJack Horseman”, which combine alliteration, rhyme and rapid-fire wordplay, making them a particularly challenging subtitling puzzle... subtle-subtitlers.org.uk/subtitling-p...

3) Glorify your source, but don't make it feel forced, of course, and try the borscht. Smooches!

It's time for another #SUBTLEpuzzle! This time, we chose some of the famous tongue twisters from “BoJack Horseman”, which combine alliteration, rhyme and rapid-fire wordplay, making them a particularly challenging subtitling puzzle... subtle-subtitlers.org.uk/subtitling-p...

1) You probably recall when she soared as the thorny horticulturist in One Sordid Fortnight With the Short-Skirted Sorceress.