Introduction:
Voice-over plays a crucial role in localizing video content and effectively communicating messages to target audiences. However, English to Tamil translation for video poses unique challenges due to inherent language differences. In this blog post, we will explore the major challenges faced during the process of creating Tamil voice overs for localized or translated content from English to Tamil.
1.Literal Translation:
Striking a Balance One of the primary challenges in voice-over localization is maintaining the essence and meaning of the original content while adapting it to the target language.
Literal English to Tamil translation can be a stumbling block.
Tamil has distinct sentence structures, idiomatic expressions, and cultural nuances that may not directly align with English. Translating word-for-word can result in awkward or unintelligible phrases that fail to convey the intended message.
Therefore, finding a balance between accuracy and naturalness is crucial.
2.Syncing Tamil Voice Over to an Existing English Video:
Another significant challenge in localizing voice-over content is syncing the translated Tamil audio with the existing English video.
The order of sentence formation differs between English and Tamil, making it challenging to match the timing and flow of the original visuals. Tamil, as a Dravidian language, typically follows a subject-object-verb (SOV) word order, while English follows a subject-verb-object (SVO) word order. This difference can lead to longer or shorter spoken segments in Tamil, affecting synchronization with the video.
Moreover, Tamil words often contain more consonants and vowels compared to their English counterparts.
Simply matching the word count of the original English script does not accurately account for the increased speaking time required for Tamil phrases. This can pose challenges in maintaining synchronization accuracy.
Overcoming the Challenges:
1.Experienced translators:
To overcome the challenges faced during voice-over localization from English to Tamil, several strategies can be employed. It is crucial to work with experienced translators who possess a deep understanding of both languages and cultures.
They can provide accurate translations that effectively convey the intended meaning while maintaining cultural relevance.
Their understanding of your target audience helps them in effective decision making.
For example, retaining certain English words in the translation can make a difference by making it more relatable to an urban audience.
2.Translate in line with the existing video:
It is always crucial to provide the translator with your existing English video if any. Clear instructions should be given to keep the translation in sync with the video if you don’t plan to re-edit the video. A good translator would be able to improvise the content without losing its essence and being in line with your video.
Again, simply matching the word count of the original English script rarely does justice to match the speaking time in both languages.
To give you an idea, a 100-word script in English which takes around 40 seconds of speaking time when translated to Tamil will take around double the speaking time, approximately 1 minute and 20 seconds, when the same pace is maintained.
If the video sync is taken care of at the translation level, the next stage of creating a Tamil voice-over in sync with it will be hassle-free. This will eliminate the need for an increase in the pace of the Tamil voice-over to maintain sync and can result in a much more natural tone, closely matching the original English voice-over.
By including this important information, potential clients will gain a better understanding of the time considerations involved in voice-over localization after English to Tamil translation. This can help them make informed decisions and plan accordingly for their localized video projects.
3.Experienced Voice Over Artists:
Skilled audio engineers and voice directors play a vital role in syncing the audio with the video. They can adjust the pacing, timing, and intonation of the voice-over to match the video, ensuring a seamless viewing experience.
Skilled voice over artists working from Home Studios can act as audio engineers and voice directors, multitasking to deliver synchronized voice-over with proper pacing and timing.
Some on the issues with translations can be adjust seamlessly by a voice artist who can judge in a glimpse the length of the original video narration and the length of the localized content. This helps them to pre-determine a pace which will safely cover the narration within the time constraint.
With an inexperienced VO artist the narration can sound incoherent due to incoherent pacing and poor judgement of overall pacing.
4.Re-editing Video:
There are instances where even the most skilled voice artists are limited by translations that do not consider the need to sync with an existing video. a
In such cases, employing re-editing techniques can be effective. This involves modifying the visuals of the English video to align with the translated Tamil script. By re-editing specific scenes or shots, it becomes easier to match the timing, pacing, and lip movements of the voice-over to the visuals.
Collaboration between the voice-over team and video editors is crucial to seamlessly integrate the translated content.
Benefits of Re-editing:
Employing re-editing techniques in voice-over localization brings several benefits:
It allows for precise synchronization of the translated audio with the visuals, enhancing the overall viewing experience for Tamil-speaking audiences. Matching the voice-over to on-screen actions makes the message delivery more cohesive, engaging, and immersive.
Re-editing also helps maintain the authenticity of the localized content by adapting visuals and adding Tamil titles, ensuring a natural and culturally relevant final product.
It ensures that the voice-over does not appear disjointed or out of sync with the video, enhancing the overall quality of the localized video content.
Conclusion:
The process of creating voice-over for language localized video content after English to Tamil translation poses unique challenges that require careful consideration and expertise. Balancing accuracy and naturalness is crucial to resonate with the target audience. Syncing the translated audio with the existing English video demands meticulous attention to timing and pacing due to differences in sentence formation and word length. By collaborating with skilled professionals and utilizing appropriate techniques, these challenges can be effectively overcome, resulting in high-quality localized video content that engages and connects with Tamil-speaking viewers.
Feel free to check out my Tamil Voice Over Reels here and reach out for discussions regarding your upcoming projects at [email protected]. Also check out my full profile on Linktree.
