Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!think.com!yale!bunker!wtm From: richardd@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Richard Dallaway) Newsgroups: misc.handicap Subject: Re: Sign films Summary: filmakers please treat Sign as a langauge Keywords: lassie factor Message-ID: Date: 10 Apr 91 05:06:47 GMT References: <18501@bunker.isc-br.com> Sender: news@bunker.isc-br.com Reply-To: richardd@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Richard Dallaway) Organization: Univ. of Sussex, Brighton, UK Lines: 48 Approved: wtm@hcap.fidonet.org Fidonet: Silent Talk Conference Index Number: 14654 Ann.Stalnaker@p0.f14.n385.z1.fidonet.org (Ann Stalnaker) writes: > Richard - these films were made knowing that the majority of > us have telecaptioned decoders - however, I can't keep > up with signing either! (grinning) I loved both of the above > movies you are referring to and thought they were well done. > Both had a point and were trying to educate the public. Agreed. More Deaf movies the better. But maybe I didn't quite make myself clear. I wasn't thinking about the signing/subtitling in terms of allowing the Deaf to enjoy the movie. [That's another very important issue. Here in the UK subtitles for the Deaf are provided by a teletext service. They have a Subtitle Department which puts subtitles on. There were letters of complaint because they didn't put subtitles on "Love is never silent". And as for captioned Signing... well it just doesn't happen here!] Anyway, I was thinking about subtitles from a "Sign is a language" point of view (and from a hearing point of view, I might add). I was just trying to say that the Sign sequences in the film should have been subtitled rather than translated back (=the Lassie factor). It's the Lassie factor I don't like (subtitling the Lassie factor-ness would be just as bad). Think about it this way: Just imagine how (extra) tedious one of those old 1950s war films would be if the Lassie syndrome was rife: German: Ich warne Sie. Sollten Sie mit dem Gedanken spielen zu fliehen, schlangen Sie es sich lieber gleich aus dem Kopf. Die Eniziegn die es biher versucht haben, h\"angen dort hinter Ihnen im Stacheldraht. English: What's that? You shot Ben... Ridiculous! Replace the German with Sign, and that's the situation I'm annoyed about. Subtitle the German if you want, but the technique being used to communicate what the German is saying is just naff. [My solutiuon to the above situation would be to have both parties speaking German, with subtitles for people like me who don't understand German. There would be no need for the stupid unnatural comment from the English...the information would be in the subtitles.] Thanks for your comments. Keep them coming, Richard PS. Our news machine is playing-up. Please post replies directly to me to be sure I get them.