Interlingual subtitling for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

Considerable mileage has been covered since the early days, in the late 1950s, when audiovisual translation (AVT) began to be addressed as a subject in its own right. Concerns have moved from the dubbing/subtitling debate to more specific domains such as the analysis of issues pertaining to discourse analysis, technical constraints and audience design. Comprehensive lists of audiovisual translation typologies (Luyken et al., 1991; Gambier, 1996; Díaz Cintas, 2003) have reflected the gradual change in scope and are making space for newer forms of language transfer within the audiovisual context. Indeed, the lines once drawn between language transfer types in the media are becoming less and less visible. Principles and techniques are merging to give way to specific offers, directed to specific audiences. This implies that the very concept of ‘mass’ media is changing; technology is now allowing masses to be broken down into smaller groups and products are tailor-made to the expectations and the needs of defined sub-groups. AVT will inevitably need to follow the general trend in the audiovisual market and, rather than aiming to cater for a general audience, audiovisual translation now finds itself focusing on the needs of smaller distinct audiences in order to respond to them in a more adequate manner.