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CWUAAT 2006 :http://rehab-www.eng.cam.ac.uk/cwuaat/06/desmondboksancullen.pdf

INSCiT 2006 http://www.instac.es/inscit2006/papers/pdf/13.pdf

4th European Conference on Interactive Television - Proceedings

CAL 07 - 'Development, Disruption and Debate'
26 - 28 March 2007
Trinity College Dublin, Republic of Ireland, paper will be uploaded over Christmas

ABSTRACT from Research Conference 2005

 Captioning for Deafened people -A Semiotical Approach

By Desmond P Bokšan-Cullen, MPhil Research Student , CMIS

In visual media such as television drama and motion pictures, captioning is used extensively to reproduce dialogue whereas narrative both spoken and other sounds such as music and sound effects are largely ignored. Narrative is based on sequential (and causal) relationships; Narrative is the most widespread form of syntagmatic structure and one which dominates structuralist semiotic studies. There are other syntagmatic forms used in television such as spatial relationships (long shots establishing the scene, computer generated images using juxtaposition etc.,) and conceptual relationships which are used in argument and exposition.
 
The deficiencies of the present captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing largely stem from the fact that they are used to replace the spoken dialogue and are added long after the film has been made.

In my paper I will argue that a semiotical approach is needed. Christian Metz(Mertz 1974)[1] stated that  'a narrative has a beginning and an ending, a fact that simultaneously distinguishes it from the rest of the world'. Semiotic narratives focuses on the “grammar of the plot”(Lévi-Strauss,1972) which can also be described as “story grammars”. Its origins lie with the great French Anthropologist Lévi-Strauss[2].

 When a deafened person watches a programme, they rely on more than just the captions (where provided). Visual clues (signs), such as facial expression, lighting, set design, shadows, costume all provide clues to what is happening. Hearing people often fail to notice these signs, as incidental music is played to invoke atmosphere and mood. Deafened people cannot depend on this use of music. Another aspect that I will address is the issue of silence. A deaf person (someone who is born deaf) is more likely to use sign language, deafened people tend to lip-read, as they can still speak easily. Conveying the feeling of silence is at present described as “a silent pause” in most captioned programmes.
[1] Metz, Christian (1974): Film Language: A Semiotics of the Cinema (trans. Michael Taylor). New York: Oxford University Press

 [2] Lévi-Strauss, Claude (1972): Structural Anthropology (trans. Claire Jacobson & Brooke, Grundfest Schoepf). Harmondsworth: Penguin

EXTENDED ABSTRACT  for Living in Later Years RESEARCH CONFERENCE

By Desmond P Bokšan-Cullen
 
Brief Biography: Desmond P Bokšan-Cullen is a mature research student at the University of Brighton. He is also the Disability Liaison Officer for the British Computer Society, Sussex region. He is severely dyslexic, and as such appreciates the difficulties that people can have with small print and other low- vision difficulties.  His family have been involved with television since 1919, his great grandfather was the great Edgar T Larner, friend and colleague of John Logie Baird, Jack Tadworth, and Philo Farnsworth.

Everybody knows someone either as a friend or member of the family who suffers from some level of hearing loss. There are over 80 million deafened and hard of hearing people in the European Union (European Commission,2003)[i], of whom 8 million live in the United Kingdom. Deafened and hard of hearing people are those who experience partial or total (profound) hearing loss in adulthood, either suddenly or gradually over a period of time. The UK has like other countries in Europe a falling birth rate and an ageing population, which will mean that the numbers suffering hearing loss looks, set to increase. 
 
The planned digital television switchover in 2010 is more than about providing televisual entertainment. The interactive features of digital television allows for users to: access, the internet, shop, send and receive e-mails, home banking, access government information and even the possibility of voting. Yet, with an ageing television audience, who may develop visual and hearing difficulties, action is needed now to ensure no-one is deprived of the possibilities that such technology can offer. 

Sound on television is more than just replicating dialogue and the odd sound effect or music title, which captioning at present offers.  It should be capable of evoking some of the atmospheric and emotional aspects of the programme being transmitted. For the hearing population this is normally done through music, the accent and the way dialogue is spoken. Deaf people (those born deaf or suffer loss of hearing in childhood), can have these emotional aspects transmitted to them through sign language. The eight million deafened and hard of hearing people have to rely on captions and lip-reading. This paper reflects some of the work of a research study into this aspect of captions and how they could be improved, to benefit all the viewing public.

 
[i] European Commission statistical data ,2003.