Linguist expresses concern over grammatical errors in some Nigerian movies subtitles

A linguist, Mrs Olufunmilayo Awoyoolu, on Sunday in Ilorin, expressed concern over grammatical errors in subtitles in some Nigerian movies.

She told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that spelling and grammatical errors have become
common in movie subtitles in Nigeria, saying “this does not portray our educational standards well.’’

She explained that subtitles were printed translation of dialogue in foreign-language movie, usually appearing at the bottom of the screen.

She said that she had noticed over time that movie producers never took time to translate and subtitle words correctly.

According to her, this is especially common with Yoruba and Hausa movies.

She added that “most subtitles in these movies are direct translation from mother tongue and for
a person who does not understand the language used in the movie, it becomes confusing.

“I think time should be taken to subtitle sentences, professional hands should be sought and there is no need to rush the production of movies.

“In the western countries, they have come to a point that it may take a year or years to produce a movie just because they want the best out of it.’’

She, therefore, advised Nigerian movie makers to pay attention to subtitling, noting that
using wrong expressions would portray those in the industry as not well educated.