Ask John: What Are “Dubtitles?”

Question:
Can you please explain to me what “dubtitles” are?

Answer:
A “dub” is a version of anime that removes the original spoken Japanese dialogue and replaces it with English (or some other) spoken language. In order to match the timing of the mouth movements and to make the spoken dialogue sound like natural speech, dub scripts may sometimes take liberties with or alter the original Japanese script. Subtitles are a literal translation of the spoken Japanese dialogue printed as text at the bottom of the screen, timed to coincide with the spoken dialogue. “Dubtitles” consist of the dubbed script printed on the bottom of the screen during a Japanese language presentation of an anime series, as though the “dubtitles” were accurate, literal subtitles. Dubtitles are essentially a way to offer an English translation of Japanese dialogue without actually having to literally translate the exact spoken Japanese language. Dubtitles usually will not present an exact, accurate translation of the spoken Japanese dialogue, and sometimes may appear on screen even when there’s no spoken dialogue occuring at all because the dubbed version may include English language dialogue during times when there was no spoken dialogue in the original Japanese version.