Among languages used on the internet, 25.9 percent (2020 data) of the users speak English as their primary language – a fall from 80 percent in 1996. With key advancements in digital media and the internet and smartphones, content today is created, produced, and published in multiple languages yet English appears to be the most adopted language on the internet today. The gap is widespread and clearly evident in terms of the reach and consumption – and the demand. This poses a challenge: how can content creators reach non-native English speakers (viewers)? Simple: Subtitles. When looking domestically, subtitling videos using vernacular Indian languages has become popular to reach a wider audience in the country.

From a broader perspective, the future of multilingual subtitling and the Indian language market appears strong and in demand. However, we probe into its exact appearance in this article.

What are multilingual subtitles?

Let’s try to understand the meaning of subtitles before we jump into multilingual subtitles.

Subtitles are the descriptive texts in a video, meant for the viewer who isn’t familiar with the language of the audio. For instance, audiences in India who do not speak or understand English might find it impossible to understand audio when watching an English movie. However, with Indian language subtitling embedded into the video, they can easily comprehend its context.

Now, let’s head over to the meaning of multilingual subtitles.

Essentially, multilingual subtitles are textual conversions of the speech in a video into different languages. Such an element dynamically increases the accessibility of a video to multiple countries, regions, and cultures. Thus, bringing the media owners extensive returns on investment (ROI).

For instance, subtitling Indian languages into a video makes it highly accessible for all domestic audiences living in all parts of the subcontinent.

Let’s take a look at some of the renowned Indian language markets.

Indian language market for translators and educational publishers

The Indian subcontinent and its linguistic diversity have always been a potential market for translators and educational publishers.

Closely inspecting the entire Indian language market size, we find it to be worth INR 99.9 billion. However, the landscape is continuously evolving and transitioning to become more robust than ever.

Presently, 9 out of 10 Indian internet users do not consider English as their primary language. It implies that almost 90% of India’s population would prefer regional translations and subtitles.

As digital and traditional content flood the Indian subcontinent, especially in rural areas, the demand for regional translations would exponentially grow. So, according to our Indian language market forecast, it will continue flourishing with the test of time.

Does the immense expansion of the Indian linguistic market have any impact? Below is a detailed discussion of a striking consequence of the rise of the Indian language industry.

Multilingual subtitles encourage global understanding of Indian languages

We had enough of introspecting “how to do subtitles work” through the conventional lens. The top-down approach of the Indian language subtitling horizon surfaces numerous striking revelations.

One of the most prominent pieces of information is that the pressure on multilingual subtitles encourages global subtitle translation services to understand Indian languages in a much better way.

Also, as video is the most consumable media format among the masses, subtitles in Telugu, subtitles Hindi, subtitles Tamil, subtitles in Malayalam, and other subtitles will have an everlasting impact on international audiences.

Challenges of multilingual subtitling in Indian languages

The vernacular language market in India is ever-growing. It’s producing a massive global impact and assisting the by-gone Indian languages in thriving for eternity. However, the root cause of such a transition, multilingual subtitling, encompasses immense challenges.

Here is a detailed dive into the common roadblocks to creating Indian language subtitles.

1. Variations in spelling names

Names have the same meaning but can have different pronunciations in different regional languages. Mere translation of the names can cause distortion and produce an improper subtitle format for Indian languages.

2. Translating humorous and pun-intended statements

Puns, idioms, and humor make a video more consumable and exciting for the audience. However, it is challenging to translate them and generate the same tonality in different vernacular languages.

3. Getting deviated by colloquial synonyms

A word might have two or more colloquial synonyms in a particular regional language. Although choosing one among them solely depends on the translators, creating standard Indian language captions only supports the correct form.

How do overcome some of these challenges and produce meaningful content?

Overcoming the challenges with subtitling in Indian languages subtitles is not a piece of cake. It requires extensive expertise in subtitling, captioning, and translating to output the exact meaning of statements from audio to textual descriptions while industry experience orchestrates subtitle format for Indian languages song lyrics

Working with certified translation services and subtitling organizations like Infoesearch ensures satisfactory results a production seeks. With over 15+ years of experience in serving global clientele in media, entertainment, news, advertising, and other industries, Infoesearch’s team of professionals understands what it takes to produce meaningful subtitles that complement video production.