Ukrainian Timed Text Style Guide
*This document covers the language specific requirements for Ukrainian. Please make sure to also review the General Requirements Section for comprehensive guidelines surrounding Timed Text deliveries to Netflix.
1. Abbreviations
- Abbreviations are written with periods in most cases. Exceptions:
- Measurements: кг (kg), см (cm).
- In a few cases, a hyphen is used between the first letter of the word and the last letter: м-р (Mr.), д-р (Dr.).
2. Acronyms
- Acronyms should be written without periods between letters.
3. Character Limitation
- 42 characters per line
4. Character Names
- Proper names should be transliterated. Do not translate unless approved translations are provided by Netflix.
- Nicknames should be transliterated. Only translate if the nickname conveys a specific meaning relevant to viewers.
- Use language-specific translations for historical/mythical characters.
5. Continuity
- Do not use ellipses when a sentence is split between two continuous subtitles.
Subtitle 1 Коли війна закінчиться,
Subtitle 2 він не зможе повернутися
Subtitle 1 до нормального життя,
Subtitle 2 як би вона цього не прагнула.
- Use ellipses to indicate a pause or an abrupt interruption:
-Що б тобі сказати...
-Я не знаю.
- In the case of a pause, if the sentence continues in the next subtitle, do not use an ellipsis at the beginning of the second subtitle.
Subtitle 1 Я така рада, що...
Subtitle 2 не знаю, що й сказати.
- Use ellipses without a space to indicate that a subtitle is starting mid-sentence:
...на цьому й закінчимо нашу програму.
- Only translate a speaker’s title once, the first time the speaker appears in the documentary.
- When ongoing dialogue is interrupted by a speaker’s title, use 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.
- 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 in a documentary. 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.
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 screen
- Font color: White
- Forced narrative titles 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.
- Forced narratives 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.
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).
- Foreign words and expressions, such as bon appétit, rendez-vous, doppelgänger, zeitgeist, persona non grata, should be translated.
11. Italics
- Italicize the following:
- Dialogue that is heard through electronic media, such as a phone, television, or computer
- Only use italics when the speaker is not in the scene(s), not merely off screen or off camera
- Song lyrics (if rights have been granted)
- Voice-overs
- For albums, books, films and program titles do not use italics -quotation marks should be used instead.
- Do not use italics to indicate emphasis on specific words.
12. Line Treatment
- Maximum two lines.
- Numbers from 1 to 10 should be written out.
- Numbers above ten 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
- Quotes should be used only at the start and at the end of a quotation, not at the start of every subtitle.
- Use chevrons («») without spaces for regular quotations.
- Use double straight quotation marks ("") for quotes within quotes.
- Use chevrons («») without spaces for the following:
- Album, book, film and program titles
- Foreign words
- Periods should be outside the quotes e.g. «Hello».
- All other punctuation should be inside the quotes e.g. «Hello!», «Hello?», «Hello…»
15. Reading Speed
- Adult programs: 17 characters per second
- Children’s programs: 13 characters per second
- 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.
- 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 ellipses when a song continues in the background, but is no longer subtitled to give precedence to dialogue.
- Punctuation: same as for normal dialogue.
- Main titles: do not subtitle the on-screen main title card.
- Episode titles: do not subtitle episode titles if they do not appear on screen/are 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, please transliterate.
19. Special Instructions
- Dialogue must never be censored. Expletives should be rendered as faithfully as possible.
- Plot-pertinent dialogue always takes precedence over background dialogue.
- Deliberate misspellings and mispronunciations should not be reproduced in the translation unless plot-pertinent.
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.
- Reading speed can be increased to:
- Adult programs: 20 characters per second
- Children’s programs: 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" playing] - Song lyrics should be enclosed with a music note (♪) at the beginning and the end of each subtitle.
- 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 [man] or [woman], or [male voice] or [female voice], so as not to provide information that is not yet present in the narrative.
- Use a generic ID to indicate and describe ambient music (e.g., rock music playing over a stereo).
- Sound effects should be plot-pertinent.
- Sound effects that interrupt dialogue should be treated as follows:
Subtitle 1: However, lately, I've been...
[coughs, sniffs]
Subtitle 2: ...seeing a lot more of this.
- Never italicize speaker IDs or sound effects, even when the spoken information is italicized, such as in a voice-over:
[narrator]
Once upon a time, there was…
- In instances of foreign dialogue being spoken:
- If foreign dialogue is translated, use [in language], for example [in Spanish]
- If foreign dialogue is not meant to be understood, use [speaking language], for example [speaking Spanish]
- Always research the language being spoken – [speaking foreign language] should never be used
Change Log:
2018-03-09
Revised section 6 Documentary - 3rd, 4th and 5th bullet points added
Revised section 9 Forced Narratives – 2nd and 3rd bullet points added, 5th bullet point revised
Revised section 13 Numbers - 4th and 5th bullet points revised
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
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