Tamil and other language subtitles for your audience

Start with who needs the subtitles, then arrange for a reader of that language to review the translation before release. A subtitle that nobody can read and check is a risk, not a help.

Malaysian events often bring together people who read different languages. A temple festival, a school prizegiving or a company dinner may include guests who follow Tamil, Chinese, Malay or English with different ease. Subtitles can let each group follow the same video.

Who actually needs the subtitles?

Do not add a language only because it seems polite. Ask who will watch and how.

Ask a few relatives, members or colleagues which language they read most comfortably. Their answer is more reliable than a guess. If more than one language is needed, start with the one most guests read and add others once reviewers are ready.

If everyone in the room understands the spoken language, a same-language caption may be all you need. Our event video captions and subtitles service covers both. See captions, translated subtitles and transcripts for the difference.

How do you arrange a proper review?

The review is the most important step. You may not read the language yourself, so plan it early.

1. Choose a reviewer who reads the language natively and understands the subject.
2. Share the script or recording in good time, not the night before.
3. Agree what the reviewer checks: meaning, tone, names, titles and event terms.
4. Allow time to fix what the reviewer finds.

W3C guidance says accessibility should be specified during planning, so the reviewer and the review time belong in the brief. Machine translation is only a first draft. As with checking automatically generated captions, a person must read every line.

What about names, script and display?

Settle these points before editing:

• Names and titles: keep the original spelling, transliterate, or show both. Send a list.
• Formal or spoken style: should subtitles follow the exact words or a cleaner written form?
• Line length: some languages need longer lines, so subtitles may split over two lines or appear for longer.
• Script display: check a sample to confirm the letters appear correctly on the screen, with no broken characters.
• Placement: keep subtitles clear of name graphics, as in readable names, titles and on-screen graphics.

For example, a prizegiving where some parents read Tamil might need a Tamil subtitle track beside the main caption track. This is an illustration only.

What we confirm for your event

• Which languages we arrange, and who reviews each one.
• Whether the translation is done by a person, a tool or both, and that a reader of the language checks every line.
• The number of review rounds, written into your quote.
• Whether subtitles are separate files or burned into the picture.
• Whether a sample is shared for you to watch on a phone before the full video is finished.

The caption and language planner helps you list languages and outputs in one place. For Chinese terms and script, see Chinese subtitles for multilingual videos.