No right answer? No answer to this conundrum beyond "It depends on the media being translated AND who is doing the translating." I've watched some atrocious Dubs - who hasn't? I've loved watching as the mouth stops moving while the actor keeps speaking, or the character looks obviously perplexed while the actor sounds amused, or the like. But I've also watched some Subs that were so terrible that I couldn't finish watching - subs that were created by people who barely understood English. "I will have come to thwart the evil plans of you!" is one that I clearly remember from a fan-sub of a Sailor Moon episode. Then there was some of the fan subs of Nadesico that were being created so that fans around the world could see the latest show... argh they were terrible.
But I've also seen some fantastic subs, and there are dozens of amazing dubs - when the translation is done properly, when the acting is done properly and when time and care are taken. With all things being equal I do prefer Dubs - I prefer as little distraction as possible. I like to see what is on every part of the screen. I like to focus on the sound of the voices for tones and inflections. I like to be able to concentrate on things (like watching the facial expressions of the characters) that require a great deal of attention. I like to be able to notice the things that the animators and artists do. With subs, this is far more difficult because I am constantly having to keep my gaze on the bottom of the screen to read the text so I can understand the script. The subtitles themselves often obscure large parts of the screen that I would prefer to be able to see - sometimes it's important to see what is going on in the bottom of the screen.
For these reasons I prefer dubbing over subbing.
captcha: Is anyone else getting annoyed that answering "No" to "Are you going to take a vacation?" gets a continual Captcha Error?
But I've also seen some fantastic subs, and there are dozens of amazing dubs - when the translation is done properly, when the acting is done properly and when time and care are taken. With all things being equal I do prefer Dubs - I prefer as little distraction as possible. I like to see what is on every part of the screen. I like to focus on the sound of the voices for tones and inflections. I like to be able to concentrate on things (like watching the facial expressions of the characters) that require a great deal of attention. I like to be able to notice the things that the animators and artists do. With subs, this is far more difficult because I am constantly having to keep my gaze on the bottom of the screen to read the text so I can understand the script. The subtitles themselves often obscure large parts of the screen that I would prefer to be able to see - sometimes it's important to see what is going on in the bottom of the screen.
For these reasons I prefer dubbing over subbing.
captcha: Is anyone else getting annoyed that answering "No" to "Are you going to take a vacation?" gets a continual Captcha Error?