Subtitle reading speeds in different languages. The case of "Lethal weapon"

This paper presents results of subtitle reading speeds in five languages (Spanish, English, German, French and Italian), for subtitles both ripped from a commercial DVD and downloaded from an Internet site of the film "Lethal Weapon" (Richard Donner, 1987). The reading speed calculations are shown in the parameters most widely used in the field: CPS (characters per second) and WPM (words per minute). The research questions posed in this descriptive and quantitative study have been two-fold. In the first place it is intended to find out which of the two above mentioned parameters is best suited to express reading speeds which are language-independent. Secondly, the possible difference, as far as reading speed parameters is concerned, between more commercial DVD-ripped and more "fan-oriented" and downloaded from Internet subtitles is investigated as well. The reading speed calculations were carried out by a new application developed by the author and some other researchers. A total amount of about 5000 subtitles were statistically evaluated.