ISSN: 1579-9794

Hikma 23(1) (2024), 345 - 349

ZÁRATE, SOLEDAD. CAPTIONING AND SUBTITLING FOR D/DEAF AND

HARD OF HEARING AUDIENCES. LONDON, UCL PRESS, 2021, 154

., 978-1-78735-712-9.

Clearly stated in its very title, this book focuses on the well-established

practice of Captioning and Subtitling for the d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Audiences, abbreviated as SDH and alternatively termed closed captioning.

This book is the result of many years’ work by Soledad Zárate, a captioner,

researcher and lecturer in the field of audiovisual translation (AVT). As an area

of expertise usually framed within media accessibility (MA) and AVT, SDH has

become a prolific field of study, although its practice is a relatively recent

phenomenon, having emerged in the US and Europe between the late 1970s

and the 1990s. In terms of research, it began to gain recognition in the late

and early 21

centuries. Research has traditionally focused on issues

such as characteristics of SDH as a practice, user reception, audience

preferences, eye-tracking, young audiences, quantity and quality of captioned

content, multilingualism, written language acquisition, and proposals for

guidelines (see Arnáiz, 2012; Miquel-Iriarte, 2014; Neves, 2005; Romero-

Fresco, 2015; Szarkowska, 2020; Zárate, 2014). More recent works have also

covered a variety of other topics, such as immersive environments, subtitles

through automatic speech recognition and creative subtitles (see Agulló &

Matamala, 2019; Romero-Fresco & Fresno, 2023; Sala, 2022).

This book provides an overview of SDH, covering topics such as the

history of SDH and deafness, and offers practical solutions for the creation of

closed captions for different audiences and different types of broadcasts.

Zárate’s experience and expertise allow her to combine research, practice and

theory, while taking stock of the sociological and market implications of this

practice, in a singular way that makes this a unique contribution to AVT and

MA studies. In this way, she is able to position herself critically and does so

with an awareness and understanding of both the strengths and weaknesses

of her own points of view. Indeed, in the preface she acknowledges her own

hearing condition and thus explains that she cannot rely on her intuitions or

first-hand experience when making choices while subtitling. She also states

that her position draws on a social model of disability (see Palacios, 2008 for

a deep understanding of this model). These two clarifications are perfectly

aligned with researchers’ growing awareness of their own positions and their

need to show accountability. In this spirit, the author expresses her opinions,

positions herself towards certain recommendations from guidelines and

standards, and discusses the topics from her own perspective and

experience.

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Hikma 23(1) (2024), 345 - 349

The book is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 offers a general

approach to SDH and presents a refreshing perspective on the history of

subtitling. Throughout the chapter, Zárate acknowledges the progress that has

been made in the field, yet also raises some concerns as to a number of steps

that are not currently being taken, such as the untapped potential of digital

technologies (p. 8). In this chapter, and indeed throughout the book, she

focuses primarily on the UK but also reviews the role of SDH in other

European countries, as well as in the US and Canada. One of the most salient

characteristics of the chapter is the well-defined way in which Zárate links the

history of SDH with industry practices in cinemas and existing software.

Chapter 2 goes on to offer a detailed review of deafness, models of deafness

and disabilities, hearing devices, and methods of communication.

Chapter 3 provides a concise review of linguistic considerations in the

field, after which Chapter 4 presents a summary of the technical aspects of

SDH. In these two chapters, Zárate considers different audiences and media

when addressing the issue of text editing, synchronisation, orthotypographical

conventions and segmentation, among other parameters. In my opinion, these

chapters are clear and an easy to follow for specialists that seek a detailed

account of SDH as a professional practice. SDH practitioners will herein find

a variety of highly relevant linguistic and technical recommendations, and I

found section 4.7 on formats of SDH particularly useful. Indeed, many other

research literature on SDH often lack such information, probably due to the

fact that those of us researching on SDH do not always have extensive

knowledge of or exposure to the innerworkings of the industry and operate

within an exclusively academic context. In both Chapter 3 and Chapter 4,

readers from outside the UK or those who work with languages other than

English would perhaps have appreciated an explanation as to how the

conventions and guidelines discussed in these chapters might be applicable

to other languages and settings. Moreover, a brief review of non-conventional

practices currently being implemented or researched, such as SDH in

immersive environments and creative, unconventional or free-form subtitles

(see Agulló & Matamala, 2019; Sala, 2022), would also have been a welcome

addition to these chapters.

Chapter 5 focuses on the specific requirements of SDH, such as the

captioning of paralinguistic features, speaker identification, and music, among

other issues. A notably enlightening section in this chapter is in the

discussions on music and silence, but a further instructive aspect of this

chapter is the fact that Zárate addresses other senses that might be involved

in making audiovisual products accessible for the deaf (e.g., touch). Although

this chapter focuses mainly on practices in the UK, the concepts covered here

can be readily extrapolated to other countries and language communities. As

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Hikma 23(1) (2024), 345 - 349

a reader, I value Zárate’s willingness to explain her own position as a

practitioner. She provides her expert opinion on practical SDH, which is both

appealing and inspiring for those who read this academic monograph.

Chapter 6 delves into live captioning, mainly for theatre performances.

The author discusses some innovative solutions such as open captioning,

caption glasses, automatic captioning, captioning through mobile devices, and

other initiatives for live captioning. The chapter focuses on Zárate’s own

experience as a captioner for a puppet theatre. She discusses practices such

as creative captioning and icons, live cueing, the use of software not designed

for captioning (such as PowerPoint), as well as tasks and timing that need to

be undertaken before, during, and after captioning. The chapter engages with

the feedback the author collected over the years at the puppet shows for which

she created and displayed the captions. The analysis of the data serves to

improve her own SDH practice and research. As a scholar, I found section

6.3, on how to reach and engage audiences, of particular relevance. Zárate

stresses the importance of having a good marketing strategy and announcing

accessibility and inclusion measures before each performance. She also

raises concerns that some accessible events are not always attended by deaf

viewers, an issue that has already been pointed out by other practitioners

(Willmington, 2017, for example). This is an underestimated problem that is

not addressed sufficiently by the industry and which calls for further

examination. Lastly, I warmly welcomed the author’s distinction between

accessibility and inclusion and the continuing social need to sensitise hearing

audiences to the fact that accessibility and inclusion remain a pressing

concern for all.

All of the chapters in this book end with discussion points that I found

interesting and stimulating. Readers who aim to improve their captioning

practice or their very understanding of SDH will find useful discussions

alongside some practical exercises or points for discussion and reflection. The

reader is thus invited to reflect on SDH and to take action, with many sections

including external links to videos and practical exercises. The book also

contains several appendices, including a questionnaire, the feedback

collected during the puppet shows, and an example of a subtitle template for

a clip from School of Rock, all of which have great potential for researchers

and practitioners alike.

Unlike many other publications in the field of AVT, this monograph

solely focuses on SDH. Even when the author discusses topics such as the

history of subtitles, she always focuses her attention on SDH, rather than the

traditional approach of using interlingual subtitles for hearers as a starting

point to explain the advent and evolution of SDH. Moreover, the book’s

contents do not solely stem from theoretical and academic discussions;

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Hikma 23(1) (2024), 345 - 349

instead, Zárate uses scholarship to work towards a better understanding of

the practice. It is therefore a refreshing read that provides practical examples

and stimulates critical thinking.

Published in 2021, the book naturally omits some important

developments from more recent years, among which are the increased

accuracy rates of automatic speech recognition for intralingual live subtitling

(at least in Spanish and English, e.g., see Romero-Fresco and Fresno, 2023),

legislation including video-on-demand platforms (for example, the 13/2022

Law in Spain on Audiovisual Communication), and the availability of artificial

intelligence for users. Nevertheless, the author is keenly aware of the

uncertain future of a rapidly changing industry such as AVT (p. 19) and

unequivocally acknowledges that everything she has written in her book is

likely to change in the near future.

In sum, this is an excellent contribution to AVT and MA literature. SDH

specialists, or those wishing to embark on specialised courses in SDH, will

find this book very useful. Readers should be aware that basic subtitling

concepts (such as subtitling speed or segmentation) are not fully explained,

thereby allowing expert readers to focus on the most specialised and highly

technical aspects of SDH. As the author herself notes, “this book will appeal

to anyone with an interest in captioning” and “is intended to act as a

companion for subtitlers and captioners” (p.

XIX). This book is therefore far

from an introduction to subtitling, and I remind readers that there are many

other publications that meet that need (e.g. De Linde & Kay, 1999; Díaz-Cintas

& Ivarsson & Carroll, 1998; Remael, 2021). Be advised that this book goes

directly to the main points of SDH and delves into some of the most salient

topics of this AVT practice, such as verbatim vs. edited subtitles, music,

audiences, etc. Zárate is both an experienced SDH practitioner and a skilled

researcher, and she visibly excels at combining both roles in this monograph.

EFERENCES

Agulló, B., & Matamala, A. (2019). Subtitling for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

in immersive environments: Results from a focus group. The Journal

of Specialised Translation, 32, 217-235.

Arnáiz, V. (2012). Los parámetros que identifican el subtitulado para sordos:

Análisis y clasificación. MonTI. Monografías de Traducción e

Interpretación, 4, 103–132. https://doi.org/10.6035/MonTI.2012.4.5

De Linde, Z., & Kay, N. (1999). The Semiotics of Subtitling. St Jerome.

Díaz-Cintas, J., & Remael, A. (2021). Subtitling: Concepts and practices.

Routledge.

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Ivarsson, J., & Carroll, M. (1998). Subtitling. TransEdit.

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Boletín Oficial de Estado, 163, de 8 de julio de 2022.

https://www.boe.es/eli/es/l/2022/07/07/13/con

Miquel-Iriarte, M. (2017). The reception of subtitling for the deaf and hard of

hearing: Viewers’ hearing and communication profile & subtitling

speed of exposure. [Doctoral dissertation, Universitat Autònoma de

Barcelona].

Neves, J. (2005). Audiovisual translation: Subtitling for the deaf and hard-of-

hearing. [Doctoral dissertation, University of Roehampton].

Palacios, A. (2008). El modelo social de discapacidad: Orígenes,

caracterización y plasmación en la Convención Internacional sobre

los derechos de las personas con discapacidad. Cinca.

Romero-Fresco, P. (Ed.). (2015). The reception of subtitles for the deaf and

hard of hearing in Europe. Peter Lang.

Romero-Fresco, P., & Fresno, N. (2023). The accuracy of automatic and

human live captions in English. Linguistica Antverpiensia, New Series:

Themes in Translation Studies, 22, 114–133.

https://doi.org/10.52034/lans-tts.v22i.774

Sala, È. (2022). Rendering tone and mood in creative subtitles for deaf and

hard-of-hearing: A proposal. Między Oryginałem a Przekładem, 28(1

(55), 73–91. https://doi.org/10.12797/MOaP.28.2022.55.04

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2_13

Wilmington, A. (2017). Deaf like me. Engaging ‘hard to reach’ deaf audiences

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Zárate, S. (2014). Subtitling for deaf children: Granting accessibility to

audiovisual programmes in an educational way. [Doctoral

dissertation, University College London].

[ANA TAMAYO]