Subtitling for d/Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children: Current Practices and New Possibilities to Enhance Language Development.

Ana Tamayo,Frederic Chaume

doi:10.3390/brainsci7070075

Abstract

In order to understand and fully comprehend a subtitle, two parameters within the linguistic code of audiovisual texts are key in the processing of the subtitle itself, namely, vocabulary and syntax. Through a descriptive and experimental study, the present article explores the transfer of the linguistic code of audiovisual texts in subtitling for deaf and hard-of-hearing children in three Spanish TV stations. In the first part of the study, we examine current practices in Spanish TV captioning to analyse whether syntax and vocabulary are adapted to satisfy deaf children’s needs and expectations regarding subtitle processing. In the second part, we propose some alternative captioning criteria for these two variables based on the needs of d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children, suggesting a more appropriate way of displaying the written linguistic code for deaf children. Although no specific distinction will be made throughout this paper, it is important to refer to these terms as they have been widely used in the literature. Neves (2008) distinguishes between the “Deaf”, who belong to a linguistic minority, use sign language as their mother tongue, and usually identify with a Deaf community and culture; the “deaf”, who normally have an oral language as their mother tongue and feel part of the hearing community; and the “hard of hearing”, who have residual hearing and, therefore, share the world and the sound experience of hearers. In the experimental study, 75 Spanish DHH children aged between 8 and 13 were exposed to two options: the actual broadcast captions on TV, and the alternative captions created by the authors. The data gathered from this exposure were used to analyse the children’s comprehension of these two variables in order to draw conclusions about the suitability of the changes proposed in the alternative subtitles.

Highlights

There is little doubt that, nowadays, audiovisual products lead the way we access and consume culture and information from an early age [1], and as such, are essential to how oral and written language is acquired and developed
This research presents two clearly differentiated but complementary studies describing current practices in the captioning of the linguistic code, both concerned with vocabulary and syntax, and experimenting with alternative solutions based on previous research and existing technical resources to enhance language acquisition and development
Omission or simplification of difficult vocabulary might entail a loss in pragmatic reward [61], on receiving audiovisual content, results for this variable prove empirically that some of the recommendations on simplification [14,38] and the use of orthotypographic resources [26] are useful for young Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) audiences

Summary

Introduction

There is little doubt that, nowadays, audiovisual products lead the way we access and consume culture and information from an early age [1], and as such, are essential to how oral and written language is acquired and developed. Brain Sci. 2017, 7, 75 features of the voice, sounds, music, gestures, film shots, lighting, etc. It is only one of the many codes that create meaning, the linguistic code is usually the most essential to understanding audiovisual material, and will have major implications in the language development of any audience. Spoken language in audiovisual products has traditionally been conveyed in two ways for DHH audiences: sign language interpreting (SLI) and subtitling for the DHH (SDH). Of these two, SDH seems to have gained importance in the audiovisual translation field, essentially for two reasons. 90% of children and teenagers use oral language at school and, in a study with 586 families, the Spanish

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