ABSTRACT
The two most common forms of screen translation are dubbing and subtitling and, historically, most countries have tended to adopt one or other of these two language versioning methods to the virtual exclusion of any other. This article offers some possible explanations for past trends and outlines likely reasons for the changing fortunes of both interlingual and intralingual subtitling within the EU. It also evaluates the relative suitability of a variety of types of screen translation in relation to such variables as audience age, sex, education and social class as well as programme genre and, of course, linguistic, economic and political considerations.
