subtitles vs. captions

Question

Can anyone explain to me the differences between "subtitles" and "captions" if there are any? I'm trying to find the suitable term describing text added to a television programme (below the image) rendering literally everything that is being said in writing, in the same language as the speech. The literature doesn't seem to be very consistent in using one term or the other. It's for a thesis so it's rather important.

Thanks in advance ;-) Chrissy

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi Chrissy,

Generally, I'd understand 'subtitle' to be at the bottom, and 'caption' to refer to any writing on the screen.

However, like you, I look forward to seeing an answer from someone who understands what these mean in TV terminology.

Best wishes, Clive

Khoff · Answer

In the U.S., tv shows, videos and DVDs that provide written text of everything being said, as well as sound effects (dogs barking, phones ringing, etc.), are usually described as "captioned for the hearing-impaired."  The word "subtitles" would usually refer to a translation from one language to another: "French, with english subtitles."  Subtitles do not usually include the sound effects.  So "captions" are usually there to help the hearing-impaired (as well as families who can never get the kids to stop talking when the movie is on, and Americans who can't understand certain British accents) and "subtitles" are usually for the purpose of language translation.  Some DVDs and videos would offer both.

Anita_a · Answer

I would say that it is again the difference between the Br.E and AE. In Br.E it is called subtitles and in AE it is called captions....

Mister Micawber · Answer

My dime (or rather, One Look's dime):

Caption (noun): translation of foreign dialogue of a movie or TV program; usually displayed at the bottom of the screen.

Subtitle (noun): translation of foreign dialogue of a movie or TV program; usually displayed at the bottom of the screen.

\
And in addition, I'd like to add:

Closed caption (noun): a system for displaying the text of a broadcast as subtitles; a text version of the spoken part of a television, movie, or computer presentation; also written closed-caption; abbr. CC

and

'The term "closed" in closed captioning means that not all viewers see the captions – only those who decode or activate them. This is distinguished from open captions, where the captions are visible to all viewers. Open captions are sometimes referred to as "in-vision" in the U.K. Captions that are irreversibly incorporated into a video, film, or other medium are called "burned-in" captions.

In the U.S. and Canada, "captions" are distinguished from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subtitle." In these countries, "subtitles" assume the viewer can hear but cannot understand the language, so they only translate dialogue and some onscreen text. "Captions" aim to describe all significant audio content, as well as "non-speech information," such as the identity of speakers and their manner of speaking. The distinction between subtitles and closed captions is not always made in the and Ireland, where the term "subtitles" is a general term.'

I'll go away now.

LanguageLover · Answer

Wow! Good job MM. I have to read some of them a few more times to figure them out!

And what about the text contining the main highlights of an interview, a piece of news, ..., that appears at the bottom of the screen? Does it have any specific name?

Mister Micawber · Answer

No idea. But there are [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubtitle]DUBTITLES[/url] and [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supertitle]SURTITLES[/url].

LanguageLover · Answer

Thanks MM, those were also new to me!

Clive · Answer

Hi,

And what about the text contining the main highlights of an interview, a piece of news, ..., that appears at the bottom of the screen? Does it have any specific name?

In N. America, I hear the term 'the crawl' being used for the kind of constant stream of news writing across the bottom of the TV screen, as with CNN. The words, of course, seem to 'crawl' across. I think this is a term used by TV people that is now entering wider use.

Clive

LanguageLover · Answer

Thanks Clive. So the words that do not crawl have to be referred as something else.

News ticker

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

(Redirected from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=News_crawl&redirect=no)

A News Ticker is a small screen space on News television networks dedicated to headlines or minor pieces of news.
News stations (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNN for example) will have the bottom tenth of the screen devoted to a horizontally scrolling banner giving off news mini news stories. Use of well known abbreviations optimizes the performances of such systems.

Financial news channels often have two or more tickers progressing at different speeds.

Networks that focus on often use a slightly different system, where the scores and status of current and finished games are displayed one by one, along with minor sports highlights.

The name ticker comes from the paper http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ticker_tape_machine which once printed news on to a moving paper tape.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_ticker "

Chrissy · Answer

Thanks you all, that was helpfull and it's nice to see my questions invoked other questions. I guess I'll stick to "subtitles" for the time being since it seems to be the general term in British Eng at least.
I think I'm going to make more use this forum in the future, Chrissy

subtitles vs. captions

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

News ticker

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Related Questions