Subtitle reading speed

Ferriol, José Luis Martí

doi:10.1075/babel.59.4.02mar

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Subtitle speed, also referred to as ‘reading speed’ [ 2 ] or ‘presentation rate’ [ 9 ], is usually measured in either characters per second (cps) or words per minute (wpm). Given the differences in the length of words in different languages, in the audiovisual translation industry the cps measure is used more often, as it is considered more accurate across languages [ 10 , 11 ]. Studies on English-to-English SDH, however, have traditionally used the wpm measure [ 12 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most widely known rule on the speed of interlingual subtitles–“the six-seconds rule”–stipulates that a full two-line subtitle should be displayed for six seconds in order for an average viewer to be able to read it [ 3 , 13 ]. The six-seconds rule is equivalent to approximately 140–150 wpm or 12 cps [ 3 , 10 ]. While the origins of the rule are difficult to trace–d'Ydewalle, Muylle [ 14 ] even state that “nobody seems to know how the six-second rule was arrived at”–it is the golden standard recommended in subtitling textbooks [ 2 , 3 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Viewers can keep up with fast subtitles: Evidence from eye movements

Szarkowska

Gerber-Morón

2018

PLoS ONE

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People watch subtitled audiovisual materials more than ever before. With the proliferation of subtitled content, we are also witnessing an increase in subtitle speeds. However, there is an ongoing controversy about what optimum subtitle speeds should be. This study looks into whether viewers can keep up with increasingly fast subtitles and whether the way people cope with subtitled content depends on their familiarity with subtitling and on their knowledge of the language of the film soundtrack. We tested 74 English, Polish and Spanish viewers watching films subtitled at different speeds (12, 16 and 20 characters per second). The films were either in Hungarian, a language unknown to the participants (Experiment 1), or in English (Experiment 2). We measured viewers’ comprehension, self-reported cognitive load, scene and subtitle recognition, preferences and enjoyment. By analyzing people’s eye gaze, we were able to discover that most viewers could read the subtitles as well as follow the images, coping well even with fast subtitle speeds. Slow subtitles triggered more re-reading, particularly in English clips, causing more frustration and less enjoyment. Faster subtitles with unreduced text were preferred in the case of English videos, and slower subtitles with text edited down in Hungarian videos. The results provide empirical grounds for revisiting current subtitling practices to enable more efficient processing of subtitled videos for viewers.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Viewers can keep up with fast subtitles: Evidence from eye movements

Szarkowska

Gerber-Morón

2018

PLoS ONE

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A new system for automatic analysis and quality adjustment in audiovisual subtitled‐based contents by means of genetic algorithms

et al. 2020

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In Spain, the subtitling service on television for the deaf has been improving in quantity since the General Law on Audiovisual Communication was enacted in 2010. This law establishes a series of quality standards that must be followed in the subtitling process. One of the most relevant aspects of subtitle quality is the speed at which they are shown on the screen, due to the fact that a too high speed (less time on screen) will make them difficult to read and the information hard to understand. In order to determine whether the speed at which the subtitles are being shown is adequate, first, it is necessary to process all the information associated with the broadcast of the digital TV channels including data from different sources. In this research, the authors have worked with the data obtained within the time period between July 2012 and December 2017, that is, with more than 950 million records. This article presents a framework for integration and processing of heterogeneous information associated with the subtitling of audiovisual content from different sources. Moreover, the framework will provide an automatic adjustment of subtitles in broadcasting regarding quality indicators by means of a genetic algorithm approach. The results show that the system is able to estimate the best relationship between the time and size of the subtitles and maintaining the quality levels established for this research. These results have been validated by experts and users of this domain.

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The effects of text editing and subtitle presentation rate on the comprehension and reading patterns of interlingual and intralingual subtitles among deaf, hard of hearing and hearing viewers

Szarkowska

Krejtz

Pilipczuk

et al. 2016

Across Languages and Cultures

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Abstract:In this paper we examine the influence of text editing (edited vs. verbatim subtitles) and subtitle presentation rates (12 vs. 15 characters per second) on the comprehension and reading patterns of interlingual and intralingual subtitles among a group of 44 deaf, 33 hard of hearing and 60 hearing Polish adult subjects. The results of the eyetracking study show no benefit of editing down the text of subtitles, particularly in the case of intralingual subtitling and deaf viewers. Verbatim subtitles displayed with the higher presentation rate yielded slightly better comprehension results, were skipped less often, and resulted in more effective reading patterns. Deaf and hard of hearing participants had lower comprehension than hearing people; they also had a higher number of fixations per subtitle and were found to dwell on subtitles longer than the hearing.

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Subtitle reading speed

Cited by 5 publications

References 1 publication

Viewers can keep up with fast subtitles: Evidence from eye movements

Viewers can keep up with fast subtitles: Evidence from eye movements

A new system for automatic analysis and quality adjustment in audiovisual subtitled‐based contents by means of genetic algorithms

The effects of text editing and subtitle presentation rate on the comprehension and reading patterns of interlingual and intralingual subtitles among deaf, hard of hearing and hearing viewers

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