Subtitling television for deaf children

Experiments reported in this document were intended to shed light on the linguistic and presentational issues surrounding the provision of a subtitling service for deaf schoolchildren. A series of formal experiments was carried out to evaluate deaf children's appreciation of subtitled television programs. (These experiments are described in detail in Appendix II.) Issues explored were the optimum presentation rate for subtitles, and the measurement of program content comprehension using multiple-choice questionnaires. The findings show that subtitles can and do make program content accessible to deaf children, provided they are presented at a manageable reading rate. Reduction to a suitable reading rate is an efficient and effective strategy for simplifying the language level. The studies also show that teachers of the deaf are in a privileged position to carry out suitable subtitle editing. A project designed to meet the demand for school subtitling facilities is currently in progress at the University of Southampton. This six-section report includes discussions of: (l) background; (2) reading; (3) television and children; (4) published guidelines for modifying English for deaf children; (5) summary of experimental research carried out in schools for deaf children; and (6) conclusions, recommendations for broadcasters, and key issues for the future. The report concludes with a three-page bibliography and four appendices that include experiment details, samples of language simplification, and subtitle editing strategies. (THC)