WHAT ARE CAPTIONS

Captions? Subtitles? Speech-to-text? Transcript?

While they may seem interchangeable, we acknowledge that each term is a lot more complex than most people realise and can be dependent upon the purpose (and origins) of the message conveyed. For the purposes of our work, Hear With Us ultimately aims to promote a visual, text-equivalent access to audio and adopts the term “captions” broadly and holistically.

For example, they may typically be:

  • Subtitles – provide transcription or translation of spoken dialogue in written form. Subtitles are designed for viewers who do not understand the spoken language (i.e. foreign language translation) and, in the case of the d/Deaf and hard of hearing, who do not hear the audio (SDH). Subtitles provide an accessible way for speakers of any language to watch.
  • Captions – are subtitles plus text equivalents of other audio, such as sound effects, music, laughter. Captions provide an accessible way for viewers who cannot hear audio to understand the content.
  • Automatic speech recognition and speech-to-text – artificial intelligence technologies that translate speech into text form.
  • Transcript – large sections of (verbatim) text, which may have been translated from one language into another language

When captions are readily available to those who need them, appearing simultaneously to corresponding audio, more people can meaningfully understand the message.

WHY ARE CAPTIONS IMPORTANT

Your messages are important.

Access to your information is about more than compliance; it’s about people. With the shift towards social inclusion for people with disability as part of the human diversity, efforts to promote dignity, rights and access is becoming the norm. The human diversity including people with disabilities; various degrees of hearing, audio processing disorders, dyslexia, attention and focus; multiple languages and different learning styles, information relayed auditory alone presents challenges.

Did you know?

85%

of videos are viewed without sound

71%

of people with disabilities leave immediately if your content is not accessible

20%

(1.5 billion) people live with hearing loss worldwide

7000

spoken languages in the world (approximately)

65%

of the population are visual learners with people retaining only 10 percent of what they hear

By adding captions to your auditory communications, presentations and videos, you’re not only increasing your message’s reach but also ensuring that everyone can enjoy and understand you.

The benefits are for everybody. 

Captions help:

improve comprehension and clarity, especially important for people learning a new language, non-native language or speakers with accents 

improve focus and retention of information, making your message more engaging 

improve connection and engagement

support live and pre-recorded communications in-person and on streaming platforms 

support flexible viewing in sound-sensitive environments, such as on public transport or a crowded cafe 

support inclusive, flexible and remote working, education and learning 

support accessibility and discrimination laws, including Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 

compensate for poor quality in video/audio 

transcripts to be repurposed into other mediums to improve your content’s discoverability

A note on privacy

Each company has its own practices for how it manages its privacy obligations with the personal information collected when using their products and services. A primary purpose of captioning is to provide equitable access to information relayed auditorily in real-time. Where the captions are recorded and retained for post-event purposes as a transcript, privacy considerations can be addressed, including through restricted access, editing or generic identification through the transcription process, for example. 

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