READ ME File For 'Dataset for [Re-subtitling the West: A Comparative Study of Simplified Chinese Subtitles of Anglophone Television Series and Their Retranslations (2000s-2020s)]'

Dataset DOI:https://doi.org/10.5258/SOTON/D3893 

ReadMe Author: Xuesi Yang, University of Southampton

This dataset supports the publication:
Re-subtitling the West: A Comparative Study of Simplified Chinese Subtitles of Anglophone Television Series and Their Retranslations (2000s-2020s)
Yang, X., 2026, Southampton: University of Southampton. 244 p.


Description

This dataset contains subtitle files analysed in Yang’s (2026) doctoral research on English–Simplified Chinese re-subtitling.

The data consists of aligned subtitle versions, including:

- initial subtitles
- one or more retranslated subtitles
- for comparative analysis.

The dataset supports a product-oriented, norm-based study of subtitling practices, with a particular focus on the translation of cultural references (CRs) and their role in revealing shifts in subtitling norms over time. The analysis of this dataset is presented in Chapters 6–8 of the associated doctoral thesis.


Data Sources

All subtitle files were collected from major online subtitle repositories:

- ASSRT (https://assrt.net)
- SubHD (https://subhd.tv/)


Files are provided in formats compatible with Excel and Numbers.


Geographic location of data collection: University of Southampton, U.K.


Date of data collection 2021-09-30 to 2025-03-31


Dataset available under a CC BY 4.0 licence


Publisher: University of Southampton, U.K.


Date: March 2026