Kannada Timed Text Style Guide

This document covers the language specific requirements for Kannada. 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 Special Characters

Mr. - ಮಿಸ್ಟರ್/ಶ್ರೀ
Mrs. - ಮಿಸ್ಸೆಸ್/ಶ್ರೀಮತಿ
Miss - ಮಿಸ್
Ms. - ಕುಮಾರಿ
Dr. - ಡಾ.
Prof. - ಪ್ರೊ.
OK - ಸರಿ
etc. - ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ
i.e. - ಅಂದರೆ
e.g. - ಉದಾಹರಣೆಗೆ
a.m. - ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ
p.m. - ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನ
BC - ಕ್ರಿ.ಪೂ/ ಕ್ರಿಸ್ತ ಪೂರ್ವ
AD - ಕ್ರಿ.ಶ/ ಕ್ರಿಸ್ತ ಶಕ
Special characters should be spelled out:
- # - ನಂಬರ್
- % - ಪ್ರತಿಶತ/ ಶೇಖಡ
- + - ಕೂಡು/ಕೂಡಿಸು
- x - ಗುಣಿಸು
- - - ಕಳೆ/ ವ್ಯವಕಲನ
- = - ಸಮ

2. Character Limitation

42 characters per line

3. Character Names

Do not translate proper names (e.g. Peter, Suzanne), unless Netflix provides approved translations.
If no approved translations are provided, please transliterate character names.
Nicknames should only be translated if they convey a specific meaning.

4. 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 when a sentence is split between two continuous subtitles:

Subtitle 1 ನಂಬಿದರೇ ನಂಬಿ, ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೇ ಬಿಡಿ. ಪದವೀಧರರಾಗಲು

Subtitle 2 ನಾವು ಕೇವಲ ಇನ್ನೆರಡು ತರಗತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಪಾಸ್ ಮಾಡಬೇಕಿದೆ.

Use ellipses to indicate a pause (2 seconds or more) or an abrupt interruption. In the case of a pause (2 seconds or more), if the sentence continues in the next subtitle, use an ellipsis at the beginning of the second subtitle.

Subtitle 1 ನನ್ನ ಯೋಚನೆ ಏನೆಂದರೇ…

Subtitle 2 …ಬಹುಶಃ ಬೇರೊಂದು ದಾರಿ ಸಿಗಬಹುದು.

Use an ellipsis without a space to indicate that a subtitle is starting mid-sentence:

...ಒಂದು ಕರಾರಿಗೆ ಸಹಿ ಹಾಕಿದ್ದೇವೆ.

5. Documentary/Unscripted

Only translate a speaker’s title once, the first time the speaker appears.
When ongoing dialogue is interrupted by a speaker’s title, use an ellipsis at the end of the sentence in the subtitle that precedes it and at the beginning of the sentence that follows it.
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.

6. Dual Speakers

Use a hyphen without a space to indicate two speakers in one subtitle, with a maximum of one speaker 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.

-ನೀನು ಮೊದಲು ಬಾ.

-ಇಲ್ಲ.

7. Font Information

Font style: Nudi or Baraha.
Font size: relative to video resolution and ability to fit 42 characters across the screen.
Font color: White.

8. 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 on-screen text or covered in the dialogue) must be deleted.
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 that follows it.

9. 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).

10. Italics

Do not use italics.
Use quotes instead for album, book, film and program titles.
- I went to see Hamilton in the theater today.
- ನಾನು ಇವತ್ತು "ಹ್ಯಾಮಿಲ್ಟನ್" ನಾಟಕ ನೋಡಲು ಹೋಗಿದ್ದೆ.
- Are you watching Love Story?
- ನೀನು "ಲವ್ ಸ್ಟೋರಿ" ಚಲನಚಿತ್ರ ನೋಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದೀಯ?

11. Line Treatment

Maximum two lines.
Text should usually be kept to one line, unless it exceeds the character limitation.
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.

12. Numbers

Numbers from 1 to 10 should be written out.
Numbers above 10 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.
For ordinal numbers, 1st - 9th are spelled out: ಮೊದಲನೆಯ, ಎರಡನೆಯ, ಒಂಬತ್ತನೆಯ
From 10th, ordinal numbers are written out numerically, followed by

ನೆಯ: 10ನೆಯ, 12ನೆಯ. 50ನೆಯ

To express decades, the number is kept as a numeral and the word "decade" is translated as ದಶಕ: 20ರ ದಶಕ, 30ರ ದಶಕ, 40ರ ದಶಕ
For decimals, use periods: 16.8
For large numbers, use commas: 50,000
For clock time, use colon: 8:30 / 20:30
For currency, do not use symbols. Instead, transliterate the word (dollar, pound, cent, rupee etc.): 10 ಡಾಲರ್, 20 ಪೌಂಡ್, 25 ಸೆಂಟ್, 3.25 ಡಾಲರ್, 20 ಮಿಲಿಯನ್ ಡಾಲರ್

13. Punctuation

There should be no spaces after text and before punctuation marks.

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: “ನನ್ನ ಎದುರಿನಲ್ಲಿರುವುದು ಚಾಕುನಾ?

Subtitle 2: ಅದರ ಹಿಡಿ ನನ್ನ ಕೈ ಕಡೆ ಇದೆ.

Subtitle 3: ಬಾ, ನಾನು ನಿನ್ನನ್ನು ಹಿಡಿದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತೇ.”

Use double quotation marks (" ") without spaces for regular quotations.
Use single quotation marks (' ') for quotes within quotes.
Direct speech is introduced by a comma.
Use quotation marks when 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.
Closing quotes follow the full stop:

ಈಗ ನೀನು ನನಗೆ ಹೀಗೆ ಹೇಳುವುದನ್ನು ಕಲ್ಪನೆ ಮಾಡಿಕೋ,

" ಇಲ್ಲ, ನಿಮಗೆ ಧನ್ಯವಾದ."

15. Reading Speed Limits

Adult programs: Up to 22 characters per second
Children’s programs: Up to 18 characters per second

16. Repetitions

Do not translate words or phrases repeated more than once by the same speaker.
If the repeated word or phrase is said twice in a row, time subtitle to the audio but translate only once.

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.
Use 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.
Follow this approach for poetry.

18. Titles

Main titles: do not subtitle the main title.
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, transliterate the original title.

19. Special Instructions

Modern standard Kannada should be used for translation (everyday conversational language). Please refrain from using dialectal words. When there is no alternative to the word in Kannada, use the word closest in meaning.
Always use plot/genre pertinent language.
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).
The use of transliterations should reflect the formality of the dialogue. For example, formal dialogue should not include colloquial transliterations.
Dialogue (including expletives) should be rendered as faithfully as possible, without using dialect or words that would otherwise introduce a level of obscenity not implied in the content.
Plot-pertinent dialogue always takes precedence over background dialogue.
Deliberate misspellings and mispronunciations should not be reproduced in the translation unless plot-pertinent.
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.

20. 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 Kannada, 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:

Adult programs: Up to 22 characters per second
Children’s programs: Up to 18 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: "ಪ್ರತಿ ಕ್ಷಣವೂ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಹತ್ತಿರ" ಹಾಡು ಬರುತ್ತಿದೆ.
Song lyrics should be enclosed with a music note (♪) at the beginning and the end of each subtitle.
Insert double space before the subtitle begins and after the subtitle ends:

♪ ಪ್ರತಿ ಕ್ಷಣವೂ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಹತ್ತಿರ ♪

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 a speaker ID is required for a character who has yet to be identified by name, use [ಪುರುಷ] or [ಮಹಿಳೆ], or [ಪುರುಷನ ಧ್ವನಿ] or [ಮಹಿಳೆಯ ಧ್ವನಿ], so as not to provide information that is not yet present in the narrative.
Gender-neutral identifiers like [ನ್ಯೂಸ್ ರೀಡರ್], [ಡಾಕ್ಟರ್] or [ಅಂಗಡಿಯವ] can be used where appropriate.
Use a generic ID to indicate and describe ambient music, e.g. [ರಾಕ್ ಮ್ಯೂಸಿಕ್ ಕೇಳುತ್ತಿದೆ] or [ರೇಡಿಯೋದಿಂದ ನಿಧಾನವಾಗಿ ಜ್ಯಾಜ಼್ ಸಂಗೀತ ಕೇಳಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ] 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: …ಆದರೆ ಇತ್ತೀಚೆಗೆ ನಾನು-

[ನಗುತ್ತ]

Subtitle 2: -ಕಡಿಮೆ ಕುಡಿಯುತ್ತೇನೆ.

Speaker IDs and the corresponding dialogue should ideally be on the same line.

[ವಾಯ್ಸ್ ಓವರ್/ ನಿರೂಪಕ] ಇದು ಆ ಸಮಯದ ಕಥೆ. ಅಲ್ಲಿ-

In instances of foreign dialogue being spoken:

If foreign dialogue is translated, use [in language], for example [ಫ್ರೆಂಚಿನಲ್ಲಿ]
If foreign dialogue is not meant to be understood, use [speaking language], for example [ಫ್ರೆಂಚ್ ಮಾತನಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ]

Always research the language being spoken – [ವಿದೇಶಿ ಭಾಷೆಯಲ್ಲಿ] should never be used

21. References

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

Change Log:

2022-12-22

Revised sections 15 Reading Speed and 20 SDH - sections edited to mention "reading speed limits" and "up to"

2022-11-03

Revised section 18 Titles - "do not subtitle the main title" added, section edited

2022-10-07

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

2022-02-25

First edition of article published

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