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Swedish Timed Text Style Guide

This document covers the language specific requirements for Swedish. Please make sure to also review the General Requirements section and related guidelines for comprehensive instructions surrounding timed text deliveries to Netflix.

1. Abbreviations and Titles

  • In most cases, where the original dialogue is in English, Mr., Mrs. and Miss can remain in English but use lowercase and no period: mr, mrs, ms/miss
  • Doktor: dr (without a period and all lowercase unless at the start of a sentence)
  • All titles (e.g. lord, lady, count, mayor, chief) should be in lowercase, except at the start of a sentence.
  • A more complete list of abbreviations can be found here

2. Acronyms

  • Acronyms should be written without periods between letters: BBC, CIA, USA, UK

3. Character Limitation

  • 42 characters per line

4. Character Names

  • Do not translate proper names (e.g. Peter, Suzanne), unless Netflix provides approved translations.
  • Nicknames should only be translated if they convey a specific meaning.
  • Use language-specific translations for historical/mythical characters (e.g. Santa Claus).
  • Transliterate uncommon or unfamiliar letters/characters which appear in names or proper nouns when working from a Roman alphabet language into Swedish if they may cause confusion or be hard to understand or pronounce. Note that diacritics should be kept in proper nouns and names. For example: If the Icelandic name Þór appears, please transliterate as Thór (following relevant KNP and guidance about handling character names). If a German street name such as Torstraße appears in the source, please transliterate as Torstrasse (following relevant KNP and guidance about handling character names).

5. Continuity

  • When including ellipses in subtitles, please use the single smart character (U+2026) as opposed to three dots/periods in a row.
  • Do not use ellipses or dashes when an ongoing sentence is split between two or more continuous subtitles.

Subtitle 1   Jag säger till er

Subtitle 2   när han har kommit fram.

  • Use ellipses to indicate a marked pause or an abrupt interruption. In the case of a marked pause where the sentence continues into the next subtitle, use an ellipsis at the beginning of the second subtitle.

Subtitle 1   Jag undrar…

Subtitle 2  …om du vill följa med mig.

Subtitle 1   -Jag tänkte just säga…

Subtitle 2   -Jag vill inte veta!

  • Use ellipses without a space to indicate that a subtitle is starting mid-sentence

…har skrivit på ett kontrakt.

  • Spaces around ellipses should be removed when they appear in the middle of a sentence

Hon ser lite…dryg ut.

6. Documentary/Unscripted

  • Speaker's title: only translate the title. Do not include the speaker's name, company name or character name as these are redundant.
  • Only translate a speaker's title once, the first time the speaker appears.
  • When ongoing dialogue is interrupted by a speaker’s title, use ellipses at the end of the sentence in the subtitle that precedes it and at the beginning of the sentence in the subtitle that follows it.

Subtitle 1   Jag arbetade på filmen…

Subtitle 2 (FN)      REGISSÖR

Subtitle 3  …i sex månader.

  • Dialogue generally takes precedence over on-screen text.
  • If the on-screen text is widely understood in the target market, it can be left out in order to preserve subtitle flow and stay within reading speed.
  • Dialogue in TV/movie clips should only be subtitled if plot-pertinent and if the rights have been granted.
  • News tickers/banners from archive clips do not require subtitles unless plot-pertinent.
  • Avoid going back and forth between italicized and non-italicized subtitles when the speaker is on and off screen. If the speaker is on-camera for at least part of the scene, do not italicize. Leave italics for off-screen narrators.

7. Dual Speakers

  • Use a hyphen without a space to indicate two speakers in one subtitle, with a maximum of one character speaking per line.
  • Text in each line in a dual speaker subtitle must be a contained sentence and should not carry into the preceding or subsequent subtitle. Creating shorter sentences and timing appropriately helps to accommodate this.

-När?

-Aldrig!

8. Font Information

  • Font style: Arial as a generic placeholder for proportionalSansSerif
  • Font size: Relative to video resolution and ability to fit 42 characters across the screen
  • Font color: White

9. On-screen Text

  • Forced narrative titles for on-screen text should only be included if plot-pertinent.
  • When on-screen text and dialogue overlap, precedence should be given to the most plot-pertinent message. Avoid over truncating or severely reducing reading speed in order to include both dialogue and on-screen text.
  • The duration of the FN subtitle should as much as possible mimic the duration of the on-screen text, except for cases where reading speed and/or surrounding dialogue takes precedence.
  • Forced narratives that are redundant (e.g. identical to onscreen text or covered in the dialogue) must be deleted. This also applies to near-identical text where the audience will have a clear understanding of the term(s) in question, e.g. signs reading POLICE, HOTEL, CALIFORNIA, etc.
  • Forced narratives for on-screen text should be in ALL CAPS, except for long passages of on screen text (e.g. prologue or epilogue), which should use sentence case to improve readability.
  • Never combine a forced narrative with dialogue in the same subtitle.
  • When a forced narrative interrupts dialogue, use an ellipsis at the end of the sentence in the subtitle that precedes it and at the beginning of the sentence in the subtitle that follows it. Consider deleting the FN if it is redundant.

Subtitle 1         Vi ska nog inte…

Subtitle 2 (FN) TILLTRÄDE FÖRBJUDET

Subtitle 3        …fortsätta.

10. Foreign Dialogue

  • Foreign dialogue should only be translated if the viewer was meant to understand it (i.e. if it was subtitled in the original version).
  • When using foreign words, always verify spelling, accents and punctuation, if applicable.
  • Foreign words should be italicized, unless they have become part of regular usage (e.g. in English, the following no longer need to be italicized: bon appétit, rendezvous, doppelgänger, zeitgeist, persona non grata) and unless they are proper names (e.g. a company name).

11. Italics

  • Italicize the following:
    • Album, book, film, game, program, etc. titles. Use quotes for song titles.
    • Foreign words (unless they are part of regular usage)
    • Dialogue that is heard through electronic media (e.g. phone, device, television, computer, loudspeaker, AI, AI assistants, voice of a GPS, other digital devices, non-sentient robots, robotic voices, etc.) if the speaker is not physically present in the scene. For instance, if a character speaks into a microphone and their voice is heard through a loudspeaker but they are physically present, italics are not needed. Use good judgement when applying italics, ensuring there is consistency throughout the film or series
    • Only use italics when a speaker is not in the scene(s), not merely off screen or off camera
    • Song lyrics (if rights have been granted)
    • Voice-overs
  • Italics can, on rare occasions, be used for emphasis where the overall understanding and viewer experience is improved.
  • Do not italicize names of newspapers, magazines or vessels.

12. Line Treatment

  • Maximum two lines.
  • Prefer a bottom-heavy pyramid shape for subtitles when multiple line break options present themselves, but avoid having just one or two words on the top line.
  • Two lines may be used to improve readability, even if the character limit has not been met/exceeded. Please apply best judgment on what would give the best viewer experience.

13. Numbers

  • From 1 to 10, numbers should be written out: ett, två, tre, etc.
  • Above 10, numbers should be written numerically: 11, 12, 13, etc.
  • When a number begins a sentence, it should always be spelled out.
  • Note that the above rules may be broken due to space limitations or reading speed concerns, as well as for consistency when listing multiple quantities, for example.
  • Measurements should be converted to the metric system, unless the original unit of measurement is plot-relevant.

14. Quotes

  • Use quotation marks at the start of the quotation and after the last line of the quotation, marking the beginning and end of the quotation (rather than the beginning and end of every subtitle within the quotation), e.g.
    • Subtitle 1: "Är det en dolk som jag där ser framför mig,
    • Subtitle 2: med fästet mot min hand?
    • Subtitle 3: Kom låt mig ta dig!"
  • Use double quotation marks (" ") without spaces for regular quotations:

             Han sa: "Kom tillbaka imorgon."

  • Use single quotation marks (' ') for quotes within quotes:

             Han sa: "'Singing in the Rain' är min favoritsång." 

  • Punctuation should be included within the quotation marks if the quote is an independent clause and outside if it’s not.
  • Song titles should be in quotes.
  • Use quotation marks if a character is seen to be reading aloud.
  • If an on-screen character does “air quotes” when speaking, please apply quotation marks to the equivalent word in the target language in order to retain creative intent and to help ensure clarity about which word or part of the sentence the air quotes apply to.

15. Reading Speed Limits

  • Adult programs: Up to 17 characters per second
  • Children’s programs: Up to 13 characters per second
  • In order to better meet the expectations of a Swedish audience, a condensed translation style is required. 
  • Subtitles should be merged as much as possible, e.g. when a character’s dialogue extends over several subtitles, and superfluous dialogue can be excluded; aim for equivalence rather than a verbatim rendering of the source.
  • Avoid sequences of very short subtitles one after another.
  • Consider closing shorter gaps between subtitles.
  • Character names can be left out once they have been clearly established.
  • Do not include every single utterance (huh, yeah, well etc.) and always aim for idiomatic Swedish.
  • Multiple greetings like "Hello, hey, hi, how are you?" can often be edited down or left out without hindering the viewer’s understanding of a scene.

16. Repetitions

  • Generally avoid repeating words or phrases uttered multiple times by the same speaker. Use your best judgment on whether including a repetition is warranted; this can depend on the time in between the lines in question, the emphasis or importance of what is being said.

17. Songs

  • Only subtitle plot-pertinent songs if the rights have been granted.
  • Opening and ending theme songs should only be subtitled if clearly plot-pertinent (e.g. for children’s content when the lyrics tell a story) or if instructed by Netflix. Normally, adult programs should not have the opening songs subtitled, except for SDH.
  • Italicize lyrics.
  • Use an uppercase letter at the beginning of each line.
  • Use an ellipsis when a song continues in the background but is no longer subtitled to give precedence to dialogue.
  • Punctuation: only question marks and exclamation marks should be used at the end of a line – no commas or periods. Commas can be used within the lyric line, if necessary.
  • Album titles should be in italics.
  • Song titles should be in quotes. 

18. Titles

  • Main titles: Subtitle the on-screen main title for branded content when the approved title for Swedish is available in KNP/Terminology and it does not match the title which appears in the card. Do not translate the main title from scratch: always use the approved title provided.
  • Do not subtitle when the on-screen main title and the approved title for Swedish are identical and fully match. (e.g. the on-screen title is already in Swedish, both read with the exact same words and spellings, etc.)
  • Subtitle when the approved title for Swedish contains a part that is transliterated/translated/transcreated/edited and does not fully match the on-screen main title. (e.g. when the on-screen title is Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey but the approved title for Swedish is Keep Sweet: I polygamisektens klor)
  • When the provided translation of the main title does not work with a line break in a way that fits within the limit, the maximum character count per line or maximum line limit can be exceeded. Do not split the provided translation into multiple subtitle events.
  • Do not italicize the main title event.
  • Episode titles: do not subtitle episode titles if they do not appear on screen/are not voiced-over. If on-screen (either as part of the principal photography or burned into video) or voiced-over, please reference the KNP tool for approved translations.
  • Titles of published works, existing movies and TV shows: use official or well-known translations. If none are available, leave titles in the original language.

19. Poetry

  • Do not use italics.
  • Include quotation marks if someone else's poem is being recited.
  • Do not use quotation marks if a character is reciting their own poem.
  • Follow punctuation and capitalization of original poem, if available.
  • If not available, use uppercase letters at the start of a new sentence only and commas or periods at the end of lines.

20. Special Instructions

  • Dialogue must never be censored. Expletives should be rendered as faithfully as possible.
  • Plot-pertinent dialogue always takes precedence over background dialogue.
  • Always match the tone of the original content, while remaining relevant to the target audience (e.g. replicate tone, register, class, formality, etc. in the target language in an equivalent way).
  • Deliberate misspellings and mispronunciations should not be reproduced in the translation unless plot-pertinent.
  • In order to better meet the expectations of a Swedish audience, a condensed translation style is required. 
  • Subtitles should be merged as much as possible, e.g. when a character’s dialogue extends over several subtitles, and superfluous dialogue can be excluded; aim for equivalence rather than a verbatim rendering of the source.
  • Avoid sequences of very short subtitles one after another.
  • Consider closing shorter gaps between subtitles.
  • Character names can be left out once they have been clearly established.
  • Do not include every single utterance (huh, yeah, well etc.) and always aim for idiomatic Swedish.
  • When brand names or trademarks appear, you may either; use the same name if it is known in the territory you are translating for; adapt to the name that the brand or product is known by that the territory you are translating for; or use a generic name for that product or item. Avoid swapping out names of brands, companies or famous people for other names.

21. Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SDH) Guidelines

  • Include as much of the original content as possible.
  • Do not simplify or water down the original dialogue.
  • Where content has been dubbed into Swedish, please refer to the dubbing script or dubbed audio as the basis for the SDH file and ensure that the two match as much as reading speed and timings allow.
  • Reading speed limits can be increased to:
    • Adult programs: Up to 20 characters per second
    • Children’s programs: Up to 17 characters per second
  • Truncating the original dialogue should be limited to instances where reading speed and synchronicity to the audio are an issue.
  • For TV/movie clips, all audible lines should be transcribed, if possible. If the audio interferes with dialogue, please give precedence to most plot-pertinent content.
  • All same-language audible songs that do not interfere with dialogue should be titled, if the rights have been granted.
  • Use song title identifiers when applicable - song titles should be in quotes: ["Forever Your Girl" spelas]
  • Song lyrics should be enclosed with a music note (♪) at the beginning and the end of each subtitle.
  • Add a space between the music note and the preceding or subsequent text.
  • When a dual speaker subtitle appears in a song, e.g. when there is a duet, each line of sung text should have a music note at the beginning and end to clearly indicate that both characters are singing.
  • Use brackets [ ] to enclose speaker IDs or sound effects.
  • Identifiers/sound effects should be all lowercase, except for proper nouns.
  • Only use speaker IDs or sound effects when they cannot be visually identified.
  • When characters are not yet identified [man], [kvinna], [manlig röst], [kvinnlig röst], so as not to provide information that is not yet present in the narrative.
  • Gender-neutral identifiers can be used where appropriate: [nyhetsuppläsare], [läkare], [försäljare].
  • Use a generic ID to indicate and describe ambient music, e.g. [rockmusik spelas] or [dämpad jazz hörs på radion]
  • Plot-pertinent sound effects should always be included unless inferred by the visuals.
  • Subtitle silence if plot-pertinent. For example, when plot-pertinent music ends abruptly.
  • Be detailed and descriptive, use adverbs where appropriate when describing sounds and music, describe voices, speed of speech, volume of sounds.
  • Describe the sounds and audio as opposed to visual elements or actions.
  • Sound effects that interrupt dialogue should be treated as follows:

Subtitle 1: Men på sistone har jag…

                  [hostar, snörvlar]

Subtitle 2: …sett mycket mer av det.

  • Speaker IDs and the corresponding dialogue should ideally be on the same line.
  • Never italicize speaker IDs or sound effects, even when the spoken information is italicized, such as in a voice-over.

[berättare] Det var en gång en…

  • In instances of foreign dialogue being spoken:
    • If foreign dialogue is translated, use [in language], for example [på spanska], [talar spanska], [spanska]
    • If foreign dialogue is not meant to be understood, use [speaking language], for example [talar spanska]
    • Always research the language being spoken – [talar ett främmande språk] should never be used

22. Reference

For all language-related issues not covered in this document, please refer to (hyperlinked):

Change Log:

2024-10-08

  • Revised section 1 Abbreviations and Titles - section name updated, some examples removed, wording in the new 1st bullet expanded
  • Revised section 5 Continuity - wording around pauses in the 3rd bullet has been refreshed, final bullet added covering mid-sentence ellipses
  • Revised section 9 On-screen text - 4th bullet expanded to cover near-identical/redundant FNs
  • Revised section 11 Italics - "game" added to the 2nd bullet, 4th bullet edited to new standard wording about italics, electronic media/speakers and on-screen/in-scene characters, last two bullets added
  • Revised section 12 Line Treatment - point about keeping text on one line has been removed and replaced with the 3rd bullet point
  • Revised section 14 Quotes - English-language example replaced with a Swedish-language example
  • Revised section 15 Read Speed Limits - final bullet point added covering greetings
  • Revised section 16 Repetitions - all new wording added, please review closely

2022-12-22

2022-11-03

  • Revised section 18 Titles - "for branded content" added

2022-10-07

  • Revised section 18 Titles - rules added/edited to include main title translations

2021-10-22

  • Revised section 4 Character names - 4th bullet point added regarding transliteration of unfamiliar characters in proper nouns/names
  • Revised section 14 Quotation marks - 1st bullet point reworded for clarity

2021-07-11

2021-02-24

2021-02-01

  • Revised section 22 Reference - Svenska Akademiens link changes and hyperlinks added

2020-11-01

2020-07-24

  • Revised section 5 Continuity - 1st bullet added clarifying type of ellipsis permitted
  • Revised section 20 SDH Guidelines - 3rd bullet point reworded

2020-05-08

2018-06-04

  • Revised section 9 On-screen Text - section header revised for clarity

2018-03-09

  • Revised section 6 Documentary - 4th, 5th and 6th  bullet points added
  • Revised section 9 Forced Narratives - 2nd and 3rd bullet points added, 5th bullet point revised
  • Added section 12 Line Treatment 
  • Revised section 13 Numbers - 4th and 5th bullet points revised
  • Revised section 14 Quotes - rewritten for clarity
  • Revised section 15 Reading Speed - words per minute removed
  • Revised section 16 Repetitions - 1st point revised for clarity
  • Revised section 17 Songs - 2nd bullet point added
  • Revised section 18 Titles - 1st and 2nd bullet points revised
  • Revised section 20 SDH Guidelines - renamed and expanded for clarity

2016-05-15

  • Revised section 16 Songs - 5th bullet point revised
  • Revised section 17 Titles - 1st bullet point revised, 2nd bullet point added
  • Revised section 18 Special Instructions - 5th bullet point removed

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