THE LINGUISTIC SEGMENTATION OF SUBTITLES FOR THE DEAF AND THE HARD-OF-HEARING (SDH) OF SOAP OPERAS: A CORPUS-BASED RESEARCH

ABSTRACT

This paper aims at describing the parameter of segmentation in subtitling, that is, the distribution of the lines in two or more subtitles. The data collected in previous projects carried out by the UECE’s Subtitling and Audiodescription (LEAD) group suggests that adequate segmentation could guarantee good reception by the deaf. This is happening even in reception to very fast subtitles. With the theoretical-methodological support of Translation Studies, more specifically of Audiovisual Translation (AVT) and Corpus Linguistics, the methodology involved a descriptive dimension based on quantitative-qualitative analysis. Four soap operas exhibited by Brazilian TV Channels that provide pop-on subtitles, the type used to broadcast prerecorded programs were analyzed. The pop-on subtitle is the one whose phrases or sentences appear as a whole and not word for word as with the roll-up subtitle. The results showed that, for soap operas, the main problems of segmentation found are in the break between the constituents of the verbal phrase.

Keywords:
subtitling for the deaf and hard-of-hearing (SDH); linguistic segmentation; Corpus Linguistics