Subtitling Guidelines

GERMAN
 German Confidential

Contents
Technical specifications from the client 3

Character limit 3

Reading speed 3

Line treatment 4

Timing 4

Translation approach 4

Style and tone 4

Terminology and consistency 5

Truncation 5

Localization items 7

Titles 7

Proper names 7

Nicknames 7

On-screen texts (OSTs) Error! Bookmark not defined.

Dialogues 7

Profanity 7

Jokes 8

Songs 8

Abbreviations and acronyms 8

Punctuation and grammar 8

Grammar structure 8

Italics 8

Capitalization 8

Basic punctuation 9

Quotation marks 9
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Continuity 9

Segmentation 9

Numerals and symbols 10

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Updates:
Client: Status: Final
File name: Subtitling_Style_Guide_deDE_v1.5 Version: 1.5
Created by: Ana Tejada Creation Date: 5/27/2021
Last updated by: Angel Mercado Last update: 5/8/2021

I. Technical specifications from the client

TIME CODING
TC DATA VALUE VALUE FORMAT
Duration – Max 7 Seconds
Duration – Min 1 Seconds
Row Number - Max 2 N/A
TEXT
TEXT DATA VALUE VALUE FORMAT
Character Limit 42 CPL
Reading Speed 17 CPS
Italics Allowed N/A
Diacritics Allowed N/A
Use top/bottom positioning. Do not use
empty lines. Reposition the subtitles
when they overlap with or touch the on-
Positioning Top/Bottom screen text. Do not reposition subtitles if
there is space between them and the on-
screen text, even if they are both at the
bottom.
Quotation Marks Upper and upper Upper and upper quotation marks “…”
Apostrophes Straight N/A
End Credit No No

1. Character limit
Character limit is 42 characters per line. It MUST NOT be exceeded under any condition.

2. Reading speed
Reading speed should NOT exceed 23 CPS.

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3. Line treatment
In the event of longer sentences, please split subtitles into two lines, even if they can fit under one
line, to prevent motion sickness. In doing so, please use the middle third of the screen.

4. Timing
Subtitles should be in sync with both the image and the audio. Subtitles should be timed to the
audio. If you spot any sync issues in the source file, please contact contentloc@onepeloton.com

If necessary for reading speed reasons, they may appear up to 6 frames (roughly about 1/5th of a
second) before audio. Subtitles may remain on screen up to one second after the audio has ended.
Gaps of less than half a second between subtitles should be closed.

If a subtitle crosses a shot change, the subtitle must appear/remain on screen at least 12 frames
(half a second) before/after the shot change.

If there is one subtitle before and one subtitle after the shot change, the first subtitle should end 2
frames before the shot change, and the second subtitle should start on the shot change.

The minimum frame gap is 2 frames.

II. Translation approach

1. Style and tone
The style and tone of your translation should always reflect the original and be adjusted to the target
audience. DO NOT TRANSLATE LITERALLY, always adapt the content to German language and
audience.
● The Translation should be idiomatic, but not too informal or colloquial.
● Always use positive expressions.
● Write in a relatable, conversational tone.
● Don’t use aggressive, intimidating or condescending language:
● In accordance with the client's Brand Voice Guide try to use pronouns such as ‘wir’, ‘unser’ and
‘uns’. Members are usually addressed with ‘ihr’ by the coaches, not ‘du’.
● In general we use the informal address at Peloton
● Try to avoid passive grammar. Active sentences tend to be shorter, more direct, and more
conversational.
● Some examples in German:
o „Und schüttelt eure Verkrampftheit ab.“
o Better: „Macht euch richtig locker.“

o „Versprüht eine Portion Stolz auf dem Rad.“

o Better: „Spürt, wie stolz ihr seid.“

o „Wenn ihr euch in den Lenker gekrallt habt, schüttelt euch aus.“
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o Better: „Wenn ihr den Lenker zu fest haltet, entspannt euch.“

o „Fügt dieser ebenen Straße 2 Stufen hinzu.“

o Better: „Erhöht den Widerstand um 2.“

o „Und jetzt hinsetzen.“

o Better: „Setzt euch.“

o „Low Impact Ride geschafft.“

o Better: „Der Low Impact Ride ist geschafft.“

a. Gendering & Inclusive language

At Peloton we use inclusive language and avoid gendering at all times. In German we avoid
this issue by addressing our members as a group (plural form) and using Peloton as the non-
gendered brand name. E.g. “Come on Peloton”, “Welcome to the Peloton family” or “You got
this team”. Please avoid using plural forms of address like “Let’s go guys”. We do not use
inclusive spelling in subtitles (Trainer:innen). When in doubt, please reach out to
contentloc@onepeloton.com.

2. Terminology and consistency

a. Terminology has to be consistent across all Peloton materials. For sharing terminology and
keeping consistency, use the Suggested Terms tab of the online glossary. Feel free to suggest
key terms (proper names if applicable, subject area-specific terms, tricky terms and phrases) that
should be a part of the glossary via the commenting function in the doc or via emailing
contentloc@onepeloton.com. This way terminology will be shared and used consistently
between linguists in real time.
b. Terminology has to be accurate to the subject matter. If a term is not covered by the online
glossary, proper research is expected. Share new terminology with the Peloton team as per
point a.
c. The Peloton team will review each terminology suggestion internally, add to the glossary as
applicable and notify all parties involved.
d. Some preferred Peloton verbs for German:
● „aufstehen“ statt „hinstellen“
● „setzen“ statt „hinsetzen“ (please do not use “hinsetzen“)
● „sehen“ statt „schauen“ (please do not use „schauen“. Rephrase like:
„Achtet auf eure Leistung“, „Wir blicken nachher auf eure Werte“, etc.)
● „schütteln“ vs. „lockern“: „Arme schütteln“ is okay to use if it fits the
context, „Beine schütteln“ however is not idiomatic, better to use „Beine
lockern“.

3. Truncation
Truncation does not mean skipping what seems unimportant but leaving out the content that has no
meaning to the context, and editing the speech so that the final output is shorter:
● Leave out unnecessary repetitions or fillers like yeah, well, you know, whoo, etc.
● Do NOT translate word for word but find the essence of a sentence to convey its meaning.

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● Avoid repeating the same content with different words. Most of the terms are technical words,
so feel no shame in using them again and again. If the Coach uses the same vocabulary, so are
we.
● Avoid repeating the same word (or name) in one sentence: “Na los, na los!” – Unnecessary. Only
write it down once. Avoid these kinds of repetitions.
● Try to express the meaning using short words.
● Avoid complex language; be simple and concise in style, but try to be idiomatic, not colloquial.
Do NOT over-truncate the content. The goal is not to make the subtitles as short as possible, but to
convey as much as possible in as few words as possible, within the given character limit and reading
speed.

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4. Localization items
a. Titles
● The English Class Titles should be written out in English: “5-minute post-ride stretch” should
be “5-minütiger Post Ride Stretch”.
→ The name of the Rides should be in English: “Cool Down Ride”
● Titles of series and episodes should be translated, unless the original version is commonly
used in your country. Make sure they are translated consistently across all episodes. Always
check if an officially approved translation of the titles is available.
Put the main title if it is part of narration in upper quotation marks, e.g. Tonight on
“Saturday Night Live”.
Put the episode title in upper and upper double quotes “…”, if it is part of narration.
● Titles of published works (books, albums, films, TV shows, works of art etc.) should be
translated according to official or well-known translations, unless the original version is
commonly used in your country. Those titles should be put in quotation marks.

b. Proper names
Proper names such as characters’ names should not be translated, unless there is an official
translation commonly known in your country. All other names (e.g. historical names,
geographical names) should be treated as per the convention in your language.

c. Usernames
Usernames (Leaderboard names) should be written out in one word: PaulLondon,
TheLoneRider etc.

d. Dialogues
A two-person dialogue in one subtitle should be indicated by a dash without a space at the
beginning of each line.
-Geht es euch gut?
-Ja.

e. Profanity
● Do NOT use profanity.
● Do NOT use “Oh, mein Gott” – “Gott” in general references to deities should be avoided in
these translations. You can say “Oh, Mann” instead.
● Do NOT use “Scheiße” or “Verdammt”. Try to find an alternative, for example “Mist”.
● Do NOT use these expressions:
- meine Güte
- Was geht?
- mega
- Süße
● You can use the following expressions instead:
- Mist (crap)
- Oh Mann
- Wie geht‘s?
- toll, super
- meine Liebe

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f. Jokes & cultural references

Jokes, culturally sensitive references, religious/political matters should be conveyed as per
source, and not censored. Translate jokes creatively, not literally. When in doubt if
something is too offensive, inappropriate or sensitive and you do not feel comfortable
sticking to the source please contact contentloc@onepeloton.com before translating and
delivering.

Example:
EN: Lady Gaga at the Biden inauguration, giving you flag pole realness with a touch of Hunger
Games.

Some might consider the Hunger Games reference culturally sensitive as Lady Gaga has been
struggling with eating disorders. However, since this is solely meant as a statement regarding
her outfit, we would not censor this line.

g. Songs
● Song lyrics should be translated if the content is relevant for the workout. For example: the
song lyrics mention to "always give your best":
- If the instructor repeats that as a sentence not singing along, please leave it EN and put
it in "quotation marks"
- If they comment on it not singing along and not repeating the exact lyric, then please
translate that sentence.
● If the instructor is just singing along, there is no need to mention it in the subtitles.
● Song titles should be put in “quotation marks”.

h. Abbreviations and acronyms

Only common abbreviations that can be easily understood by the viewers can be used, e.g.:
● Herr: Hr.
● Frau: Fr.
● Fräulein: Frl.
● Professor: Prof.
● Doktor: Dr.
● Number: Nr.
● Do NOT use “ok”, “o.k.” or “okey” – Use instead “okay”.

5. Punctuation and grammar

a. Grammar structure
Use short sentences, avoid complicated clauses. Try to avoid passive grammar. Active sentences
tend to be shorter, more direct, and more conversational.

b. Italics (not commonly found in Peloton content)

● Foreign words (unless a common part of the language).
● Dialogue heard through phone, TV, radio etc.

c. Capitalization
● ALL CAPS should be used for on-screen texts.
● Do NOT emphasize a word using all capital letters.

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d. Basic punctuation
● Full stops should always be used at the end of a sentence.
● Hyphenation of words between lines is definitely not allowed in German Subtitling.
● Colons and quotes have to be used before quotation or thought (Ich sagte: “…”)
● Do NOT use Hyphens when there is a pause. Use Ellipsis instead (…)

e. Quotation marks
● Use upper and upper double quotes “…” for regular quotes.
● Use upper and upper double quotes “…” at the start and end of a quoted sentence. Do NOT
open and close them in each subtitle. E.g.
Subtitle 1 And I’m thinking, “You know
I’m just going to be in the pocket.
Subtitle 2 Hopefully it looks like
I‘m in the barrel. ”
● Use upper and upper double quotes “…” for titles of episodes (if part of the narrative).

f. Continuity
● Do NOT use ellipsis to indicate that a sentence continues into the next caption.
Subtitle 1 You’re better off
Subtitle 2 if the first wave is a sick one.
● Use ellipsis when there is a significant pause within a caption, and do NOT put ellipsis at the
beginning.
Subtitle 1 That’s it, so you just got to ...
Subtitle 2 You’re better off
if the first wave is a sick one.
● Use ellipsis at the end of the first subtitle and at the beginning of the second one when there
is a significant pause, but the same phrase continues. E.g.
Subtitle 1 I never thought …
Subtitle 2 … I would meet you here.
● When using an ellipsis, always make sure there is a space between the word and the …

6. Segmentation
For this type of content it is preferable to have 2 lines than 1 line in subtitles due to conditions in
which the user reads the subtitles while exercising. Keeping this in mind and also considering the
regular practice of subtitles, use your best judgement when using 1 line or 2 lines.
a. The split should always occur at a logical point (ideally where speech normally pauses), unless it
would exceed the line-length recommendations.
b. The ideal line-break should be at a piece of punctuation like a full stop, comma or dash.
c. If the break has to be elsewhere in the sentence, avoid splitting the following:
● article and noun (e.g. the + planet; a + scorpion)
● preposition and following phrase (e.g. in + the night sky; in + a way)
● conjunction and following phrase/clause (e.g. and + it never tires; or + cystic fibrosis)
● pronoun and verb (e.g. he + is; they + will come; it + comes)
● parts of a complex verb (e.g. have + eaten; will + have + been + doing)
d. Line breaks should be inserted according to German grammar. However, based on the English
examples, look at what kind of words and phrases should not be separated.
GUIDELINE INAPPROPRIATE APPROPRIATE
Do NOT break a modifier Earth’s gravitational Earth’s gravitational pull
from the word it modifies. pull was now greater. was now greater.

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Do NOT break a The water surged towards The water surged

prepositional phrase.
Do NOT break a person’s
name, or separate a title
from the name with which it
is associated.
Do NOT break after a
conjunction.
Do NOT break an auxiliary
verb from the word it
modifies.
Never end a sentence and
begin a new one on the
same line unless they are
short, related sentences
containing one or two
words.
Keep measurements
together.
Try to keep different clauses
on different lines.
the city.
In 1913, scientist Henry
Moseley suggested a new order.
The core shrinks and
becomes hotter.
Without it, none of us would
be here today.
The term ‘chemical’ is
widely misused today. All
substances are made of
chemicals.
Winds of up to 200
kilometres per hour
You’ll be surprised when you
see what I’ve done.
towards the city.
In 1913, scientist Henry Moseley
suggested a new order.
The core shrinks
and becomes hotter.
Without it, none of us
would be here today.
The term ‘chemical’
is widely misused today.
All substances
are made of chemicals.
Winds of up to
200 kilometres per hour
You’ll be surprised
when you see what I’ve done.

7. Numerals and symbols

a. Numerals should be used to indicate numbers.
b. Numbers at the start of a sentence should NOT be written out.
c. From 1 to 10 numbers should NOT be written out; Use: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.
d. We write “einminütige Powerphase” BUT “2-minütige Powerphase”.
e. We write “einmal” BUT “2-mal; 3-mal; etc.”.
f. Only „eins“ gets replaced by „1“, NOT „eine“ – Example: “Eine Minute”
g. Ordinal numbers should be written out: “Erste, zweite, dritte, etc.”
h. A space should be used between a number and an abbreviation or symbol: 10 km, 5 %.
i. Currencies should be converted from the original.
j. Speed has to be written with a comma, not with a dot: “6,5; 8,5; etc.”
NOTE: Speed should never be converted from mph to kmh when talking about the Tread setting
during a class (“Bring your speed up to a 5” = “Erhöht das Tempo auf 5”). Please also avoid
mentioning mph when giving speed indications and mirror the instructor’s speech (“Anywhere
between a 1.5 and 3” = “Tempo zwischen 1,5 und 3”). However, it should be converted when
talking about distance in general (“Today we’ll cover at least 10 miles” = “Heute legen wir
mindestens 16 km zurück).
k. Units of measurement should be converted to the metric system when mentioned in general
and not referring to the speed of the Tread, but rounded up to one decimal.
Keep in mind:
● 1 mile = 1,609 km = 1,6 km
● 2 miles = 3,218 km = 3,2 km
● 3 miles = 4,827 km = 4,8 km
● 4 miles = 6,436 km = 6,4 km
● 5 miles = 8,045 km = 8,0 km
● 6 miles = 9,654 km = 9,6 km
● 7 miles = 11,263 km = 11,2 km
● 8 miles = 12,872 km = 12,8 km
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● 9 miles = 14,481 km = 14,4 km

● 10 miles = 16,09 km = 16,0 km
● 11 miles = 17,699 km = 17,6 km
● 12 miles = 19,308 km = 19,3 km

l. Time should follow the 24-hour system, with a colon between hours and minutes e.g. 21:45.
m. Dates are formatted according to day, month and year. Spell the month out in subtitles.

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