Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education Advance Access published online on March 27, 2008
The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, doi:10.1093/deafed/enn003
Parameters in Television Captioning for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Adults: Effects of Caption Rate Versus Text Reduction on Comprehension
MARCS Auditory Laboratories, University of Western Sydney
Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children and University of Newcastle
University of New England
MARCS Auditory Laboratories, University of Western Sydney, and University of Wollongong
MARCS Auditory Laboratories, University of Western Sydney
Media Access Australia
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Abstract |
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Caption rate and text reduction are factors that appear to affect the comprehension of captions by people who are deaf or hard of hearing. These 2 factors are confounded in everyday captioning; rate (in words per minute) is slowed by text reduction. In this study, caption rate and text reduction were manipulated independently in 2 experiments to assess any differential effects and possible benefits for comprehension by deaf and hard-of-hearing adults. Volunteers for the study included adults with a range of reading levels, self-reported hearing status, and different communication and language preferences. Results indicate that caption rate (at 130, 180, 230 words per minute) and text reduction (at 84%, 92%, and 100% original text) have different effects for different adult users, depending on hearing status, age, and reading level. In particular, reading level emerges as a dominant factor: more proficient readers show better comprehension than poor readers and are better able to benefit from caption rate and, to some extent, text reduction modifications.
Correspondence should be sent to Denis Burnham, MARCS Auditory Laboratories, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, New South Wales 1797, Australia (e-mail: d.burnham{at}uws.edu.au).
Received November 10, 2007; revised January 30, 2008; accepted January 30, 2008