No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Incidental Language Learning through Subtitled Cartoons: Is it Possible in a Dubbing Country
Abstract
Research on subtitling in relation to language learning has gained momentum in recent years, since interlingual subtitling has proven to be a useful didactic tool in incidental foreign-language acquisition. However, are these results applicable in a predominantly dubbing country, where the habit of reading subtitles is reportedly low? The aim of this study is to take a first glance at the habits and attitudes towards sub-titled cartoons in a group of 118 Spanish children aged 9 to 12. For the data collection, the methodology of triangulation was used. Three sources of information were analysed: self-report data, the conversations arisen during discussion groups and the teacher's observation notes during the screening. After viewing a 22 minute cartoon, the participants filled a self-report survey in which they were asked about habit, readability of subtitles and acceptance of the subtitled cartoon. A few days later, they discussed these same topics with the teacher in more detail. Before the experiment, specific subtitling parameters for this age range were established, which are also presented in this paper. Results indicated that older participants were mainly familiar with subtitles, especially those born into immigrant families. Acceptance, on the contrary, was very high at all ages. Three conditions seem to influence this: habit, readability and an enjoyable show.
... While this study focuses on the controlled and instructed environment of the classroom, it is possible to notice that cartoons could be a viable option in generating language acquisition in an out-ofclassroom environment. Torralba and Mazra (2015) determined new details on incidental learning through cartoons in ELLs by involving children from emigrant families of several age groups in the experiment. According to the study results, older children were mainly familiar with subtitles, and the acceptance was very high in all age groups (Torralba & Mazra, 2015). ...
... Torralba and Mazra (2015) determined new details on incidental learning through cartoons in ELLs by involving children from emigrant families of several age groups in the experiment. According to the study results, older children were mainly familiar with subtitles, and the acceptance was very high in all age groups (Torralba & Mazra, 2015). Furthermore, the same research showed that the level of efficacy of incidental learning through cartoons was predetermined by habit, readability of subtitles, and level of interest in the cartoons (Torralba & Mazra, 2015). ...
... According to the study results, older children were mainly familiar with subtitles, and the acceptance was very high in all age groups (Torralba & Mazra, 2015). Furthermore, the same research showed that the level of efficacy of incidental learning through cartoons was predetermined by habit, readability of subtitles, and level of interest in the cartoons (Torralba & Mazra, 2015). Not only could young children learn through cartoons, but all age groups could also retain vocabulary. ...
Incidental learning is a well-known process of acquiring new knowledge, vocabulary, or information without intention. Traditional or intentional learning is widely practiced in classroom environments, while incidental one receives less attention from educators, schools, and scholars. English Language Learners encounter various problems when they start learning the second language, including culture shock, lack of understanding of foreign culture, different contexts, and ineffective teaching strategies implemented by teachers. Many English Language Learners cannot communicate in a second language outside the classroom, yet, they are exposed to a variety of media, including cartoons and animated films, when they are at home. By using cartoons as the means of incidental learning among English Language Learners to acquire second language vocabulary, students could learn a foreign language faster. The current paper critically analyzes the benefits of incidental learning, the evidence of its effective implementation in the classroom with English Language Learners, and the results of previous studies using cartoons as the method of incidental learning among students, including English Language Learners. The paper recommends using incidental learning as one of the strategies to acquire second language vocabulary among English Language Learners. However, teachers must pair this practice with intentional learning to retain the results. Also, it is recommended to use cartoons with subtitles for students with basic or limited knowledge of a second language for effective accommodation and scaffolding of English Language Learners in general classrooms.
... While this study focuses on the controlled and instructed environment of the classroom, it is possible to notice that cartoons could be a viable option in generating language acquisition in an out-ofclassroom environment. Torralba and Mazra (2015) determined new details on incidental learning through cartoons in ELLs by involving children from emigrant families of several age groups in the experiment. According to the study results, older children were mainly familiar with subtitles, and the acceptance was very high in all age groups (Torralba & Mazra, 2015). ...
... Torralba and Mazra (2015) determined new details on incidental learning through cartoons in ELLs by involving children from emigrant families of several age groups in the experiment. According to the study results, older children were mainly familiar with subtitles, and the acceptance was very high in all age groups (Torralba & Mazra, 2015). Furthermore, the same research showed that the level of efficacy of incidental learning through cartoons was predetermined by habit, readability of subtitles, and level of interest in the cartoons (Torralba & Mazra, 2015). ...
... According to the study results, older children were mainly familiar with subtitles, and the acceptance was very high in all age groups (Torralba & Mazra, 2015). Furthermore, the same research showed that the level of efficacy of incidental learning through cartoons was predetermined by habit, readability of subtitles, and level of interest in the cartoons (Torralba & Mazra, 2015). Not only could young children learn through cartoons, but all age groups could also retain vocabulary. ...
Incidental learning is a well-known process of acquiring new knowledge, vocabulary, or information without intention. Traditional or intentional learning is widely practiced in classroom environments, while incidental one receives less attention from educators, schools, and scholars. English Language Learners encounter various problems when they start learning the second language, including culture shock, lack of understanding of foreign culture, different contexts, and ineffective teaching strategies implemented by teachers. Many English Language Learners cannot communicate in a second language outside the classroom, yet, they are exposed to a variety of media, including cartoons and animated films, when they are at home. By using cartoons as the means of incidental learning among English Language Learners to acquire second language vocabulary, students could learn a foreign language faster. The current paper critically analyzes the benefits of incidental learning, the evidence of its effective implementation in the classroom with English Language Learners, and the results of previous studies using cartoons as the method of incidental learning among students, including English Language Learners. The paper recommends using incidental learning as one of the strategies to acquire second language vocabulary among English Language Learners. However, teachers must pair this practice with intentional learning to retain the results. Also, it is recommended to use cartoons with subtitles for students with basic or limited knowledge of a second language for effective accommodation and scaffolding of English Language Learners in general classrooms.
... Work on this topic include publications by scholars such as Markham (1989Markham ( , 1999, Yoshino et al. (2000), Talaván (2009), Tsai (2010, Winke et al. (2010), Wang (2014) and Vanderplank (2016). Research has also been done on the acquisition of L2 speaking skills (Borrás and Lafayette, 1994;Arslanyilmaz and Pedersen, 2010;Jin, 2015), on the improvement of grammar (Van Lommel et al., 2006), on reading comprehension skills (Guillory, 1998;Chen, 2012) and the potential that subtitles have in promoting incidental learning among viewers (Van de Poel and d 'Ydewalle, 2001;Marzà and Torralba, 2015). ...
Audiovisual translation (AVT) has been hailed by many as one of the most prolific and fast-growing areas of research in the field of Translation Studies and as the quintessential translation practice of the 21st century. This is hardly surprising in a society like ours, saturated with screens and mediated by the constant presence of moving images, as we turn to audiovisual productions for entertainment, to secure information, to carry out our work, to keep in touch with our peers, to learn and to study. As a result of the exponential boom in audiovisual texts and formats over recent decades, today’s language learners are typically very familiar with a range of digital formats that crop up, and indeed they use, in their everyday life for very many different purposes. This exposure, in which social media and interactions are also instrumental, means that language learners are also versed in the interplay of the different codes on which audiovisual material draws in order to construct meaning.
... Work on this topic include publications by scholars such as Markham (1989Markham ( , 1999, Yoshino et al. (2000), Talaván (2009), Tsai (2010, Winke et al. (2010), Wang (2014) and Vanderplank (2016). Research has also been done on the acquisition of L2 speaking skills (Borrás and Lafayette, 1994;Arslanyilmaz and Pedersen, 2010;Jin, 2015), on the improvement of grammar (Van Lommel et al., 2006), on reading comprehension skills (Guillory, 1998;Chen, 2012) and the potential that subtitles have in promoting incidental learning among viewers (Van de Poel and d 'Ydewalle, 2001;Marzà and Torralba, 2015). ...
El uso de los subtítulos y de la subtitulación como prácticas didácticas que ayudan a diversificar la enseñanza y aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras ha crecido en popularidad en las últimas décadas, especialmente en Europa, donde la Comisión Europea ha fomentado, entre otros, proyectos como ClipFlair, una plataforma de subtitulado en la nube para el aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras. Enmarcado dentro de este auge investigador, el estudio empírico que aquí se documenta se ha llevado a cabo en China, donde el uso de la subtitulación en el aula de idiomas extranjeros apenas si ha recibido atención por parte de los académicos. El experimento, que ha contado con diecisiete estudiantes de grado y chino como L1, explora el impacto de la subtitulación en la adquisición de vocabulario en inglés (L2). Los resultados demuestran que la práctica activa de subtitular videos interlingüísticamente, de L2 a L1, puede conducir a una mayor adquisición de vocabulario que cuando las tareas se centran en la subtitulación intralingüística (de L2 a L2) o son actividades que no tienen nada que ver con la subtitulación.
... Similarly, other works have explored the potential that subtitles have in promoting incidental learning (i.e. unplanned or unintended learning) among the viewers ( Van de Poel & d'Ydewalle, 2001;Marzà & Torralba, 2015). ...
... Fostering the use of these products among Valencian students of all ages could be an initiative that would not generate rejection. As mentioned, the Valencian government is starting to cooperate with the local television stations to offer products for young children in English, and there exists ample research that connects the consumption of subtitled media with language learning among kids (d' Ydewalle and Van de Poel 1999;Koolstra and Beentjes 1999;Marzà and Torralba Miralles 2015), as well as the use of audiovisual translation in language teaching (Incalcaterra and Lertola 2011;Ibáñez Moreno and Vermeulen 2013;Talaván 2013;Marzà et al. 2018). Research that connects school projects and extramural exposure to media to learn English could be a fruitful avenue of research in the Valencian context. ...
This article analyses a CLIL experience in initial teacher training in the bilingual Valencian region (Spain). The main aim of the course under study is to provide future Early Education teachers with the essential tools to implement CLIL methodology in a multilingual context. At the same time, the subject is taught in English to bilingual Spanish and Catalan speakers, and thus the methodology used is CLIL, resulting in a meta-approach to this methodology. Different qualitative data collection strategies have been implemented: direct participatory observations of the researcher-trainer, analysis of the specific materials developed for the course included in the Moodle Virtual Seminar, a questionnaire addressed to students and the analysis of linguistic autobiographies. Results examine the students' past experiences and feelings as English learners, their present experience in a subject mediated through English, the trainers' strategies to deal with affective factors and the most successful CLIL strategies at scaffolding access to content. This research can contribute to the establishment of quality standards for CLIL training and strategic educational policymaking.
... El aprendizaje incidental de LE en niños ha quedado demostrado en numerosos estudios llevados a cabo en países con tradición subtituladora como Holanda (Koolstra y Beentjes, 1999) y Bélgica (Van de Poel y d'Ydewalle, 2001). A pesar de que la presencia de programas infantiles subtitulados en países de tradición dobladora como España es todavía reducida, parece que su utilidad como herramienta para el aprendizaje del inglés cobra cada día más relevancia en las televisiones y más aceptación entre el público potencial (Marzà y Torralba, 2015). ...
The aim of this study is to analyse the role of subtitling when learning a foreign language ─English─, and improving mother tongue. Besides, subjects ─a group of third year Primary Education undergraduates─ assess the role subtitles could play in the classroom. A questionnaire was used to collected data, which suggest that subtitling is a really useful tool for grammar and vocabulary acquisition, as well as for improving writing skills. Furthermore, they remark the importance of ICT and self-learning when teaching both a foreign language and a mother tongue. For another thing, trainee teachers' opinions give the chance to explore subtitles didactic role in a primary class. Palabras clave Subtitulación, aprendizaje de una lengua extranjera, perfeccionamiento de la lengua materna, TIC, didáctica, estudios universitarios RESUMEN El objetivo de este estudio es analizar el papel de la subtitulación en el aprendizaje de una lengua extranjera (LE), el inglés, y en el perfeccionamiento de una lengua materna, (L1). Así mismo, los sujetos, estudiantes de tercer curso de Maestro en Educación Primaria, evalúan el rol que puede jugar el subtitulado en el aula. Los datos recogidos a través de un cuestionario de opinión indican que la subtitulación resulta realmente práctica para aprender gramática y léxico, así como para mejorar la expresión escrita. Además, revelan la importancia de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) y el aprendizaje autónomo en la didáctica tanto de lengua extranjera como de lengua materna. Por otra parte, las opiniones de los futuros maestros abren la posibilidad de explotar el carácter didáctico de los subtítulos en el aula de primaria.
... A publication worth mentioning in this area is Lertola's (2012), which she devotes to incidental vocabulary acquisition via subtitling activities for students of Italian as an L2. Sanderson (2015) and Marzà and Torralba (2015) examine language learning on the basis of subtitled cartoons. Whereas the former analyses the way foreign idioms can be taught, the latter approach their study to incidental learning in Spain, which is a dubbing stronghold. ...
Sao Tome and Principe (STP) is a developing country where several languages coexist, although only one of them, Portuguese, serves as the official language. The rest of the languages are limited to private use and many of them are at risk of disappearing. As a pilot experiment to find formulas for the preservation of these languages, this work takes Forro Creole as a reference. Forro is no longer transmitted from parents to children, nor is it studied in schools, and it is mainly the elderly who maintain it. At the same time, elders form a social group that suffers abandonment and discrimination from their community. In this context, we wondered whether subtitling would be useful to preserve and promote Forro Creole and to contribute to the integration of the elderly into society; what the linguistic perceptions of Forro-speaking elderly and non-elderly Santomeans are; and, finally, what experts in International Cooperation (IC), Audiovisual Translation (TAV) and Linguistic Cooperation (LC) think of the possibilities of subtitling in this area. The results show the participants’ perception of Forro, the situation of elders and subtitling, and lead to a final proposal: the recording of videos in Forro, subtitled in Portuguese and aimed at children whose protagonists would be elders who would encourage Forro learning and the ancestral culture through stories or songs that could be screened in schools or in the communities as a mobile cinema.
Subtitling in a community setting such as healthcare can satisfy the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) members of the community. It consists of a variety of stages such as transcription, spotting, translation and review. This qualitative study utilising content analysis aims to measure the quality of transcriptions by students of translation and interpreting (T&I) in Turkey as well as speech recognition tools against that of a native speaker. The data was analysed manually. The findings show that in transcribing authentic content on healthcare, student translators experienced challenges including parts of speech and textuality due to the lack of expertise in healthcare translation, poor bilingual skills as well as the speaker’s pace and accent. Speech recognition tools produced better results than student translators, but occasionally had some discrepancies which can be attributed to such reasons as collocations and speaker-related issues. T&I students can be trained with the aid of speech recognition tools to make sure that transcriptions are done more effectively or post-editing skills are improved. Further studies can focus on students at varying levels of language or who have taken a course in AVT, on professional translators, or on other settings of community-based translation.
This article discusses research into the role of audio-visual input for second language (L2) or foreign language learning. It also addresses questions related to the effectiveness of audio-visual input with different types of on-screen text such as subtitles (i.e., in learners’ first language) and captions (i.e., subtitles in the same language as the L2 audio) for L2 learning. The review discusses the following themes: (a) the characteristics of audio-visual input such as the multimodal nature of the input and vocabulary demands of video; (b) L2 learners’ comprehension of audio-visual input and the role of different types of on-screen text; (c) the effectiveness of audio-visual input and on-screen text for aspects of L2 learning including vocabulary, grammar, and listening; and (d) research into L2 learners’ use and perceptions of audio-visual input and on-screen text. The review ends with a consideration of implications for teaching practice and a conclusion that discusses the generalizability of current research in relation to suggestions for future research.
This article presents the SONAR project (Subtitulación sOcial para proporcioNar Accesibilidad audiovisual en la univeRsidad [SOcial subtitliNg to provide Audiovisual accessibility at the univeRsity]). Conducted to assess the validity of the creation of social subtitling networks, its ultimate goal is to better understand the role that social subtitling, as a non-professional translation activity, can play in increasing access to audiovisual materials in academic environments. Following a task-based approach, 55 students from a translation module taught in the third year of the Degree in English Studies at the UNED worked online for two months and subtitled 82 videos. The videos had been selected from the audiovisual repository of the institution. The impact of this practice on the students’ general translation and foreign language competences as well as the participants’ degree of motivation for future related practices were quantitatively and qualitatively analysed. The results obtained from the experience are an encouraging starting point for the creation of similar collaborative subtitling experiences in higher education environments and confirm the potential impact of such a novel teaching approach.
After years of rejection and criticism blaming on their entertaining nature as a source of distraction within the classroom, in recent decades audiovisual translation has been accepted as a tool for language learning. Real-life needs have shown that watching subtitled audiovisual materials enhances language acquisition and foster varied skills, so that it has gained a place in the classroom. Recently, one step forward has been taken in the use of this resource, moving from passive subtitles to active subtitling, in order to turn the target receiver —the foreign-language student— into a subtitler. The present article reviews the didactic possibilities of both activities, analyses the benefits of active subtitling, and presents some subtitling programmes whose features make them feasible for use as a teaching tool.
Thanks to their ubiquitous presence in today’s society and their arresting nature, audiovisual productions have become the quintessential expression of multimodal communication in the 21st century. Video materials are a constant occurrence in an ever increasingly interconnected world, in which translation has become imperative in order to foster global communication across different languages and cultures. Interest in audiovisual translation (AVT) as a proper object of academic inquiry has been growing steadily and exponentially for the last three decades. This paper starts with a discussion of the main developments that, propitiated by technology, are shaping the new digital mediascape and propelling AVT to take centre stage. After exploring the multimodal specificities that set audiovisual material apart from other types of texts, an overview of the main translation modes is offered. The paper then moves to the focal point of this contribution, namely a discussion on the main conceptual, thematic and methodological perspectives that best characterise the research conducted in this domain.
Pop lyrics represent a rich, but underused resource in language teaching in both institutional and informal contexts. This is striking in view of analyses from the fields of motivational and cognitive psychology, didactics as well as linguistics, which all provide evidence for the inherent potential of pop lyrics. This paper will first take a closer look at arguments in favor of exploiting pop lyrics for learning purposes. Next, it will outline gateway steps and potential difficulties on the way toward using lyrics in a video/lyrics app tailored to the requirements of an informal, gamified and learner-centered setting. In conclusion, the authors suggest that pop lyrics can be used effectively to establish a connection to the world of the learner both within and beyond the language classroom. However, there remain a number of technical and methodological challenges that have to be overcome to create a fully adaptable and flexible framework for using lyrics in mobile-assisted language learning.
Filmstrip (a roll of 35 mm positive film containing still images and text) was a medium widely used in educational settings between the 1940s and 1980s. Projected still images were accompanied either by recorded narration or a text read out aloud for the audience, which made filmstrip a unique multimodal medium before videotapes. Filmstrip can be given a special status in the media history of Eastern Europe, where, in addition to education, it was extensively used in home entertainment. This paper presents the technical and sociocultural aspects of this medium and addresses questions about the current trend of digitization, online publishing and translation of filmstrips by amateurs. The paper argues that working with filmstrips offers considerable pedagogical advantages in foreign language teaching and acquisition. It also discusses a survey conducted at Osaka University, where filmstrip translation was used as a preparatory activity of L1 subtitling. The findings show that besides improving learners’ reading and translation skills, the translation of filmstrips might be an optimal didactic tool for sensitizing learners to questions of audiovisual translation, and preparing them for more complex audiovisual translation tasks such as subtitling.
Pop lyrics represent a rich, but underused resource in language teaching in both institutional and informal contexts. This is striking in view of analyses from the fields of motivational and cognitive psychology, didactics as well as linguistics, which all provide evidence for the inherent potential of pop lyrics. This paper will first take a closer look at arguments in favor of exploiting pop lyrics for learning purposes. Next, it will outline gateway steps and potential difficulties on the way toward using lyrics in a video/lyrics app tailored to the requirements of an informal, gamified and learner-centered setting. In conclusion, the authors suggest that pop lyrics can be used effectively to establish a connection to the world of the learner both within and beyond the language classroom. However, there remain a number of technical and methodological challenges that have to be overcome to create a fully adaptable and flexible framework for using lyrics in mobile-assisted language learning.
This article presents results of German and Spanish subtitle reading speeds for three American films. Those results are expressed in the two most common parameters in this particular field: CPS (characters per second) and WPM (Words per minute), and they have been obtained by means of a software application designed to do so by the author and other researchers. This empirical and quantitative study has as an objective to try to prove that the former of the two above mentioned parameters (CPS) is more suited to express subtitle reading speed, since it should be language-independent. An initial hypothesis is formulated: the number of words in German subtitles should be lower, given the fact that German words are (in general terms) longer.
Audiovisual material enhanced with captions or interlingual subtitles is a particularly powerful pedagogical tool which can help improve the listening comprehension skills of second-language learners. Captioning facilitates language learning by helping students visualize what they hear, especially if the input is not too far beyond their linguistic ability. Subtitling can also increase language comprehension and leads to additional cognitive benefits, such as greater depth of processing. However, learners often need to be trained to develop active viewing strategies for an efficient use of captioned and subtitled material. Multimedia can offer an even wider range of strategies to learners, who can control access to either captions or subtitles.
Because there is no study in the existing literature to address a combination of receptive and productive foreign language (FL) skills via quantitative and qualitative methods, the present article has tried to close this research gap. The study reveals the impact of unassisted video exposure with reversed subtitles-L2 on incidental FL lexis and grammar acquisition, reading-based general comprehension and writing skill. In terms of FL skills, quantitative results indicate that a writing skill shows greater acquisition effects than reading-based general comprehension skill. FL grammar was the least impacted upon, whereas vocabulary acquisition shows the most beneficial effects. The interviewees’ reflections from in-depth interviews suggest that by exposing native speakers of Slovenian to reversed subtitles-L2 optimal conditions for them to lower their cognitive overload were created and that the learners who learned the most in the study were the ones who were adequately predisposed towards FL stimuli to improve their FL performance. Furthermore, video viewing induced lower levels of anxiety compared with normal apprehension in FL class and the feeling of being able to claim responsibility for their own FL learning. These findings echo the outcomes of the studies that reinforced the positive effects of a low affective filter of FL learners, anxiety-free learning environment and learners' high involvement in a FL stimulus that enables FL input to be internalized in form of FL intake. Moreover, exactly enhanced performance without any conscious knowledge of the underlying system may be seen as evidence of implicit FL learning.
The choice between edited and verbatim subtitles has always been a controver-sial issue in subtitling for the deaf and hard-of-hearing (SDH). Whereas scholars often support editing, deaf associations tend to demand verbatim subtitles as the only way to have full access to audiovisual programmes. Now that European legisla-tion is making SDH no longer a privilege but a right for all viewers, this demand for verbatim subtitles has also been extended to live programmes. Yet, live subtitles, nowadays mostly produced by speech recognition (respeaking), present a different situation and require a different analysis. The aim of this article is to provide a description of respoken subtitles, espe-cially with regard to their speed. First of all, an overview is given of the different parties involved in the issue of subtitling speed, followed by a review of the research carried out so far and of the guidelines that have been implemented as a result, with particular focus on the UK. Then, an analysis is presented of ten respoken programmes broadcast by the BBC, providing data regarding the speed of the origi-nal soundtrack, the speed of respoken subtitles, the amount of editing carried out and the information lost in this process. The results obtained in this analysis show that verbatim respoken subtitles, at least in the programmes analysed, are rarely produced. It is argued that editing, as currently carried out by respeakers, causes a minimal loss of information, especially as compared to the potential loss of infor-mation for viewers reading respoken subtitles at the current speeds.
https://www.casadellibro.com/libro-teoria-y-practica-de-la-subtitulacion-ingles-espanol/9788434468122/912469
PREFACE Translation Studies is nowadays overwhelmed by a number of attempts to discard prescriptive standpoints and adopt new, descriptive directions. As a consequence, the research effort has been shifted from an investigation of things that should be done to an investigation of things that are being done. Audiovisual/Screen Translation is not left out of the trend. In Europe, current research into subtitling is oriented towards an attempt to describe the various subtitling practices around the countries of the continent rather than to dictate what practices should rather be followed. In other words, the attempt nowadays is rather to describe the various subtitling conventions being followed throughout Europe, rather than to impose new ones. However, there are a few undeniable realistic parameters that cannot pass unnoticed: a) the movement towards a United Europe necessitates the adoption of common practices that would enable the participating countries to operate as a unified body, b) new technological developments in mass media and communication (e.g. digital TV) are bound to overcome the limited physical borders of the participating countries, leading to the creation of a pan-European market audience. In such a unified framework of European mass communication, subtitling—as a means of overcoming linguistic barriers between the nations—will come to play a critical role. Large satellite broadcasting companies around the continent have already stressed the need for a unifying code of subtitling practices, a code that would enable them to reach the various individual country audiences through a unique set of subtitling standards that would not violate the already established conventions within the various countries. At a first glance, such an attempt or a "desire" looks rather futile. It is impossible to deviate from an already established convention without causing some turbulence amongst the subjects/recipients of the convention. This, however, does not mean that the deviation from the current convention will not be gradually accepted, replacing old practices with new ones and gradually formulating a new ruling convention, provided that the transition is smooth both in quantitative and qualitative aspects. This would mean that a limited number of the new set of suggested practices are initially introduced into a limited number of situations, steadily expanding to cover the whole set of the new suggested practices, as well as all of the applicable situations. Considering the above, I believe that what satellite broadcasting companies demand nowadays is both reasonable and feasible, especially since the already existing number of descriptive studies on human social viewing behaviour, as well as on human physiological eye movement and brain function, are sound enough to provide the basis for such an initial attempt. The following paper departs from such descriptive studies but goes on to adopt a clearly prescriptive perspective. Its aim is to provide a unifying formula based on thorough scientific research that could bridge the different subtitling conventions currently operating within the various European countries, to cater for the needs of the individual European viewer and address the European audiovisual audience market as a whole.
In all countries that use subtitles the "six-second rule" is used: The longest possible subtitle - a two-line subtitle with 64 characters and spaces - is shown for 6 seconds and shorter subtitles are shown proportionally shorter according to the decease in the number of characters. Children in Grades 2, 4, and 6 were shown nine-minute segments from an episode of an American action series (Knightrider) and an American situation comedy (Full House), both subtitled in Dutch, in one of the following three conditions: (a) the commonly practiced presentation time of not more than 6 seconds per subtitle; (b) a maximum presentation time of 8 seconds per subtitle; and (c) a maximum presentation time of 10 seconds. While the children watched the program segments, their eye movements were registered in order to measure the amount of time each child spent reading the subtitles. Immediately after viewing the program segments, a multiple choice recognition test was used to measure how many of the subtitles were remembered. Results indicated that children in the condition with the longest presentation time (10-second condition) spent significantly more time reading the subtitles than children in the 6- and 8-second conditions. Children in the 10-second condition also remembered the subtitles better than the children in the two other conditions, but this difference was not statistically significant.
Subtitling a children's programme, especially a cartoon or animated programme, presents the subtitler with specific constraints and challenges. These are due, on a lexico-semantic and visual level, to the nature of the source language text, and on a pragmatic level, to that of the prospective audience. Through the analysis of some examples taken from the Italian subtitled version of the series The Book of Pooh, this article seeks to consider in greater detail both the issues involved and the strategies the translator has put in place in order to deal with such a unique situation.
A number of experimental studies have demonstrated the incidental acquisition of a foreign language by children and adolescents when watching foreign language television. While such experiments can only establish short‐term effects, this article investigates the extent to which children’s foreign language skills benefit from their long‐term consumption of media. An empirical study conducted in the Flemish (Dutch‐speaking) area of Belgium compared the self‐reported use of three English language media by 374 pupils in the last year of primary education with their scores on two oral translation tests: one from Dutch to English and one vice versa. Two general linear model analyses of variance reveal that pupils who frequently watch subtitled English television programs and movies perform significantly better on both tests. Interestingly, the effect of watching subtitled television and movies is stronger with girls than with boys. Furthermore, playing English computer games positively influences the scores on the English–Dutch test.
Subtitled television programs seem to provide a rich context for foreign language acquisition. Moreover, viewers are generally quite motivated to understand what is shown and said on television. The present study investigated whether children in Grades 4 and 6 (N = 246) learn English words through watching a television program with an English soundtrack and Dutch subtitles. Children were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: (a) watching an English television program with Dutch subtitles, (b) watching the same English program without subtitles, and (c) watching a Dutch television program (control). The study was carried out using a 15-min documentary about grizzly bears. Vocabulary acquisition and recognition of English words were highest in the subtitled condition, indicating that Dutch elementary school children can incidentally acquire vocabulary in a foreign language through watching subtitled television programs.
Desarrollo de una herramienta de análisis de los parámetros técnicos de los subtítulos y estudio diacrónico de series estadounidenses de televisión en DVD
- J González-Iglesias
- David
González-Iglesias, J. David 2012. Desarrollo de una herramienta de
análisis de los parámetros técnicos de los subtítulos y estudio diacrónico de series estadounidenses de televisión en DVD, PhD Thesis.
Salamanca: Universidad de Salamanca.
Criteria for elaborating subtitles for deaf and hard of hearing children in Spain: A guide for good practice
- Lourdes Lorenzo
Lorenzo, Lourdes 2010. "Criteria for elaborating subtitles for deaf and
hard of hearing children in Spain: A guide for good practice" In
Matamala A. and Orero P. Listening to Subtitles, Frankfurt am Main:
Peter Lang, 139-148.