The accessible filmmaker and the global film

As well as an alternative approach to audiovisual translation and media accessibility, accessible filmmaking (AFM), the integration of translation and accessibility into the filmmaking process through the collaboration of filmmakers and translators, is a new approach to filmmaking. The aim of this article is to ascertain what filmmakers need (in theory and practice) to become accessible filmmakers. Firstly, the reason for the gap between film and translation/media accessibility is explored and a new translation-oriented notion of film studies is presented. A new concept (the global film) is then introduced to help filmmakers widen their perspective beyond the original version of their films. Examples are provided of pioneering filmmakers who have already considered the global film and applied a similar approach to the AFM model. Finally, the article looks at how the concept of the global film and the AFM model were applied to the feature-length documentary Where Memory Ends.Además de un enfoque alternativo al modelo actual de traducción audiovisual y accesibilidad a los medios, la producción audiovisual accesible es una nueva forma de hacer cine. El objetivo de este artículo es determinar qué precisan los cineastas para ser cineastas accesibles. En primer lugar, se exploran los motivos que explican la separación actual entre el cine y la traducción/accesibilidad y se propone una visión de los estudios de cine que considere la traducción. Se introduce un nuevo concepto (la película global) para contribuir a que los cineastas amplíen su perspectiva más allá de la versión original de sus películas. Se proporcionan ejemplos de cineastas pioneros que pusieron en práctica modelos similares al de producción audiovisual accesible. Por último, se reflexiona sobre cómo el concepto de película global y el modelo de producción audiovisual accesible se aplicaron al documental Donde se acaba la memoria

A corpus-based study on the naturalness of the Spanish dubbing language : the analysis of discourse markers in the dubbed translation of Friends

Research on dubbing has traditionally focused on the description of the dubbing process, its relation to subtitling and the different dubbing constraints. Few authors have undertaken the study of the language used in dubbing and even less have tackled the issue of its naturalness, often regarded as the main potential loss in this type of translation (Gottlieb 2006) and the most important parameter to assess its quality (Chaume forthcoming). With a view to start filling this gap, if only partially, the present thesis aims to investigate whether or not there is lack of naturalness in the use of discourse markers in the Spanish dubbed script of the American sitcom Friends. The choice of discourse markers as objects of study is justified by their condition as key units in the achievement of naturalness in both fictional (Fox Tree and Schrock 1999) and spontaneous dialogue (Gregori-Signes 1996). The naturalness of the dubbed dialogue is analysed by comparing the use of these markers in the dubbing script (parallel corpus) to their use in non-translated fictional dialogue (comparable corpus) and especially in naturally-occurring conversation (reference corpus). The study has been conducted both quantitatively and qualitatively, which includes the application of a specific model for the analysis of audiovisual texts from a translational viewpoint. The results obtained suggest that even though discourse markers seem to be used by the dubbing translator to provide the dubbing script with naturalness, they often add formality to the dialogues, creating a distance between the on-screen characters that was not present in the ST and making the already predictable script more predictable and monotonous, even in instances where there is spontaneity and absolute freedom from a translational viewpoint

An empirical analysis on the efficiency of five interlingual live subtitling workflows

Interlingual Live Subtitling (ILS) is an innovative translation and accessibility method where a written text in one language is produced live from an oral source in another language. ILS can be provided through different methods, some of which involve the participation of one or more humans, whereas others are fully automatic. Speech-to-text interpreting (STTI) is a form of human-mediated ILS that is situated at the crossroads of audiovisual translation, media accessibility and simultaneous interpreting, as well as between human-mediated translation and automatic language processing systems. One of the most promising forms of STTI is interlingual respeaking. It builds upon intralingual respeaking (the most common form of speech-to-text captioning, which does not include language transfer) and involves the participation of a human interpreter plus speech recognition software. Although interlingual respeaking is in great demand, there are other approaches to STTI -with different degrees of human intervention- which are currently being used by broadcasters and conference organizers. The purpose of this research is to test the efficiency of five of those methods, namely, (1) interlingual respeaking, (2) simultaneous interpreting plus intralingual respeaking, (3) simultaneous interpreting plus automatic speech recognition, (4) intralingual respeaking plus machine translation and (5) automatic speech recognition plus machine translation. The results provide a useful insight into the current efficiency of five different ILS methods and strengthen the idea that efficiency is not restricted to accuracy, but includes factors such as delay and the type of resources (either human or machine) required. It is hoped that this research may help provide the industry with tools to make informed choices between different forms of ILS (at least for the language combination English-Spanish) while offering employment opportunities for simultaneous interpreters and respeakers in the digital era.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2020-117738RB-I0

Interlingual live subtitling: the crossroads between translation, interpreting and accessibility

Whereas prototypical conceptions of translation and interpreting as two separate and distinct entities are still being upheld in different contexts, the professional reality shows a less clear-cut picture. Given the relentless advancement of technological innovation and the important role played by (media) accessibility in society, translation, interpreting and accessibility are in a state of flux, with increasingly blurring boundaries between them. Interpreting is not only concerned with spoken and signed modalities, but also with written target texts, which links it to audio–visual translation. In turn, audio–visual translation is no longer only about dubbing and subtitling films from one language to another. It now covers the provision of intra- and interlingual translation for live programmes and live events for users who have no access to the original version (be it for linguistic, sensory-related or other reasons). Speech-to-text interpreting (STTI), also referred to as live subtitling, is a communication-enabling service that allows the production of written access to live events or programmes for people with and without hearing loss. It thus brings together translation, interpreting and accessibility. The aim of this paper is to introduce STTI for readers who may not be familiar with it and to delve into interlingual live subtitling (ILS), and more specifically to explore the research carried out to date about this new technique, its professional development and the way in which it is being trained.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2020-117738RB-I0

More haste less speed: Edited versus verbatim respoken subtitles

Abstract The choice between edited and verbatim subtitles has always been a controversial 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 legislation 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, especially 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 original 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 information for viewers reading respoken subtitles at the current speeds. Keywords: Edited subtitles, live subtitling, respeaking, SDH, speed, verbatim subtitles. Resumen La elección entre subtítulos editados y literales siempre ha sido un tema polémico en la subtitulación para sordos (SpS). Mientras que los investigadores defienden a menudo los primeros, las asociaciones de sordos suelen pedir subtítu-los literales. Ahora que la SpS ha pasado a ser un derecho de todos, la petición de VIAL n_6 -2009 110 subtítulos literales se extiende también a los programas en directo. Sin embargo, estos subtítulos, producidos actualmente mediante reconocimiento de habla (subtitulación rehablada o rehablado), presentan una situación especial y merecen un análisis propio. El objetivo de este artículo es caracterizar los subtítulos rehablados, sobre todo en cuanto a su velocidad. En primer lugar, se analizan las diferentes partes implicadas en este tema y se repasa la investigación llevada a cabo hasta ahora, incluyendo las normas aplicadas en países como el Reino Unido. A continuación, se incluye un análisis de diez programas subtitulados por rehablado en la BBC, con información sobre la velocidad original del programa, la velocidad de los subtítulos rehablados, el porcentaje de edición de los subtítulos y la cantidad de información perdida en este proceso. Los resultados obtenidos indican que los subtítulos rehablados literales, al menos en estos programas, no son muy comunes. Asimismo, se señala que la edición de estos subtítulos, tal y como la llevan a cabo los rehabladores de estos programas, provoca una pérdida mínima de información, sobre todo si se compara con la cantidad de información que podrían estar perdiendo los espectadores de estos subtítulos a algunas de las velocidades a las que se están mostrando en la actualidad. Palabras clave: Reconocimiento de habla, rehablado, subtitulación rehablada, subtitulación en directo, subtitulado para sordos, subtítulos editados, subtítulos literales

The use of respeaking for the transcription of non-fictional genres : an exploratory study

Transcription is not only a useful tool for audiovisual translation, but also a task that is being increasingly performed by translators in different scenarios. This article presents the results of an experiment in which three transcription methods are compared: manual transcription, respeaking, and revision of a transcript generated by speech recognition. The emphasis is put on respeaking, which is expected to be a useful method to speed up the process of transcription and have a positive impact on the transcribers' experience. Both objective and subjective measures were obtained: on the one hand, the time spent on each task and the output quality based on the NER metrics and on the other, the participants' opinions before and after the task, namely the self-reported effort, boredom, confidence in the accuracy of the transcript and overall qualit

Session 6. Media accessibility

Creative media accessibility / Pablo Romero-Fresco (Universidade de Vigo) ; Is universal ever universal? / Kate Dangerfield (University of Roehampton). Chair: Carme Mangiron (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

La llegada: el procesamiento del lenguaje y la comunicación a examen

Si bien la presencia de la figura de la intérprete en sus más diversas formas y funciones es un componente clásico del cine, incluido el de ciencia ficción, no es hasta el estreno de La llegada (Villeneuve, 2016) que esta se convierte en la verdadera protagonista de la trama y que el problema de la comunicación intercultural adquiere una dimensión central en el argumento de un filme. La llegada plantea una apasionante reflexión – desde una perspectiva científica rigurosa – sobre la relación entre inteligencia, lengua y comunicación, en la que la física se pone a disposición de la lingüística y la traducción y donde la percepción espacio-temporal viene marcada por la cultura y el desarrollo de la lengua. Además, en este capítulo se analizarán aspectos como el rigor de los planteamientos científicos del filme y, muy en particular, la imagen que esta película transmite de traductores e intérpretes, así como de los problemas derivados de la comprensión del otro en la mediación como aspecto crucial de la labor de estos profesionales