Sound effect labelling in subtitling for the deaf and hard-of hearing. An experimental study on audience reception

The present thesis is an attempt towards achieving a better understanding of sound effects in SDH and their appropriate rendering on screen with an addressee-oriented scope. Sound effects have been included in various categorizations in AVT, however, their characteristics and functions in an audiovisual narrative have not been analysed in depth. For this reason, this study proposes a model of analysis for sound effects through a merge with Film Studies that could be useful to SDH practitioners. Still, determining the adequacy of the strategies applied cannot be complete without information from and about SDH users, which is where audience reception studies acquire specific importance. In the present case, audience is approached from the scope of language use, in the sense that deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences can be users of an oral language, a sign language, or both. The degree of familiarity with these representation systems has a series of implications when viewers are presented with verbal or non verbal strategies on screen. The verbal/non-verbal and the sing/oral language dichotomies have been the basis of the experimental design of this study. Meanwhile, the empirical studies carried out in the field of SDH have combined surveys measuring satisfaction and stated preferences mostly with eye-tracking for assessing viewer's perception (see Arnáiz-Uzquiza 2012, Miquel-Iriarte 2014), while viewer experience has not been previously included in a similar mixed-method design. Therefore, the methodology of the experimental part of the study assesses both preferences regarding verbal and non verbal strategies but also viewers' narrative engagement and enjoyment when the above-mentioned strategies are applied. The experiment was carried out in Spain and, specifically, with deaf and hard of hearing viewers coming from the region of Catalonia. Regarding stated preferences, the main findings suggest that both types of users (N = 40) accept verbal strategies, which coincides with the practice commonly applied in Spanish television. However, concerning different parameters that could be included in sound-effect labels, participants seem to be open to diversity, especially when it comes to factors like the source and the volume of the sound. With regard to the second level of reception, namely, the grades of narrative engagement and enjoyment of the audiovisual material, no significant differences were found between oral-language users (N = 21) and sign-language users (N = 25), when presented with verbal and non-verbal representation strategies. Meanwhile, the relationship between the component of engagement and enjoyment has been confirmed, demonstrating the prospects offered by the methodology selected for measuring viewer experience for deaf and hard of hearing audiences. These results suggest that the narrative experience at the level of engagement with and enjoyment of the narrative is similar, regardless of the language profile of viewers and strategy presented. However, there is a positive tendency with respect to preferences towards verbal strategies and the inclusion of different labels for the same sound effect, which could pave the way towards further research in creative SDH. Finally, despite the limitations of the study, it constitutes a first attempt in merging viewer experience and SDH, while providing a wide overview of sound effects and their functions in an audiovisual narrative.