Bad subtitling

Has anyone else noticed the subtitling getting worse on the Beeb lately? You'll likely have seen me complain about the subtitling on Coronation Street before, but it seems like the Beeb is going the same way.

Just now on Holby City, a character asked for a "three-oh" needle (at least I think that's what he said; admittedly it was a bit mumbled). The subtitler went with "through your arm" for this, which turns it into the equivalent of those Bad Lip Syncing videos on YouTube. Contrast this with a couple of years ago when I saw the subtitles actually correct an actor's mis-speaking of a medical term...

Anyone know if there has been any reorganisation of how subtitling is done?

It's not a recent thing. Subtitling on old episodes of The Bill on Drama get things wrong sometimes (and I don't mean by paraphrasing for timing reasons). It's a shame the subtitlers don't get a copy of the script.

On CBBC's Bear Behaving Badly, Nev's catchphrase "Jibbadeah" is always mispelled as "Shibbadeah", "Shooperdeah" e.g.

On most live programming the subtitling is either voice-activated (sometimes re-read by the subtitler) or is stenographed and that some words, unless pre-programmed by way of a macro aren't available and do come up with the most random of words.

Pre-recorded subtitles can also get things wrong if the speech is muddled, muffled or drowned out by background noise.

The worst subtitles I've seen have been on the Saturday and Sunday afternoon editions of Granada Reports. They are shown to be live (ie word by word) but are that fast the subtitles sometimes finish a good two or three minutes before the bulletin does.

True, and I've noticed on things like Dad's Army that they used to take a lot more liberties with the wording. But it really does seem like standards have slipped recently. Something similar seems to be happening to the BBC News website as well.

I blame the parents of the kids these days who should get off my lawn. No-one knows English proper no more.

A couple of classic subtitle captures from the Challenge thread, though neither are really erroneous:

Some of the strangest subtitles seen in the past few years:

SUBTITLES BY ITFC, WHO DO NOT HAVE A LATIN EDUCATION
- This Morning, ITV, when a musical act at the end sang in Latin

TRANSLATION: Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
- BBC News, BBC News Channel, during a French to English translation

(SPEAKS WELSH)
- Pobol y Cwm, S4C, really?!

The arch bitch of Canterbury
- BBC News, BBC News Channel

Email us, subtitling@redbeemedia.com.au
- Click, BBC News Channel

(SIRENS MIX WITH THEME MUSIC)
- The Bill, Drama

(SINGING)
- TOTP2, BBC Four

Somewhere I have a screengrab from Pam St. Clement's last episode of Eastenders, where one of her dying gasps was subtitled "[PAT CROAKS]"

http://data.whicdn.com/images/153582850/large.jpg

Although I can understand those that rely on subtitles been frustrated/annoyed at the constant errors I do find some of them rather amusing, the last screencap for example.

I remember once during the Daybreak weather seeing 'strong winds' subtitled as 'strong Winnie Mandela'.

I think the live subtitling tends to use macros for names etc, probably something went wrong with that one?