Title
360º. Creation of easy-to-understand subtitles
Conference name
Intermedia. 5th International Conference on Audiovisual Translation
City
Country
Poland
Modalities
Date
20/09/2019
Abstract
The UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD) identifies poor literacy as a risk and explicitly states the necessity to aid understanding. In our digitalised world, audiovisual content forms the basis for communication, education, and full social and democratic participation. Users interact, receive, create, and enjoy content virtually. In this reality, literacy becomes a fundamental skill to participate in an equal basis and to counter one of its major threats, namely disinformation. In the field of Media Accessibility, access services such as audio description and subtitles already bridge the gap for audiences with sensory disabilities. Conversely, access services that target cognitive accessibility are still lagging.
Easy-to-understand information can be created by merging simplification recommendations, such as the guidelines for Plain Language (PL) or Easy to read (E2R), with those that apply for audiovisual modalities. This new easy audiovisual content can meet the needs of varied audiences which include people with low literacy or learning difficulties, persons with intellectual disabilities or those who struggle with reading and understanding. However, at the moment, there is still a lack of comprehensive guidelines for implementation, trained experts and data on users’ reception.
Under the umbrella of the European Horizon 2020 project Immersive Accessibility (ImAc), a first attempt to provide guidelines on easy-to-understand subtitles was undertaken. The process was divided into two stages: creation and end-users validation. The creation stage aimed to identify parameter candidates for paratextual and linguistic adaptation. The reference guidelines used were the Spanish standard UNE 153010:2012 on subtitling for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing and the Easy to read guidelines Information for all published by Inclusion Europe. The validation stage aimed to evaluate the comprehension and reception of the easy-to-understand subtitles. To do so, two validation groups of end users evaluated the easy-to-understand content. Each group was moderated by a facilitator who gathered the input in an evaluation form. The presentation at the Intermedia Conference will describe the hybridisation process, elucidate the validation process, and report on the results.
Easy-to-understand information can be created by merging simplification recommendations, such as the guidelines for Plain Language (PL) or Easy to read (E2R), with those that apply for audiovisual modalities. This new easy audiovisual content can meet the needs of varied audiences which include people with low literacy or learning difficulties, persons with intellectual disabilities or those who struggle with reading and understanding. However, at the moment, there is still a lack of comprehensive guidelines for implementation, trained experts and data on users’ reception.
Under the umbrella of the European Horizon 2020 project Immersive Accessibility (ImAc), a first attempt to provide guidelines on easy-to-understand subtitles was undertaken. The process was divided into two stages: creation and end-users validation. The creation stage aimed to identify parameter candidates for paratextual and linguistic adaptation. The reference guidelines used were the Spanish standard UNE 153010:2012 on subtitling for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing and the Easy to read guidelines Information for all published by Inclusion Europe. The validation stage aimed to evaluate the comprehension and reception of the easy-to-understand subtitles. To do so, two validation groups of end users evaluated the easy-to-understand content. Each group was moderated by a facilitator who gathered the input in an evaluation form. The presentation at the Intermedia Conference will describe the hybridisation process, elucidate the validation process, and report on the results.