Project Website
Duration
2017-2021
Principal Investigator
Pablo Romero Fresco (UVigo, GALMA)
Participants
Luis Alonso Bacigalupe (UVigo, GALMA)
Ana Pereira (UVigo)
Lourdes Lorenzo (Uvigo)
Aline Remael (University of Antwerp)
Isabelle Robert (University of Antwerp)
Wojciech Figiel (University of Warsaw)
Lukasz Dutka (University of Warsaw)
Agnieszka Szarkowska (University of Warsaw)
Franz Pöchhacker (University of Vienna)
VRT (Vlaamse Radio en Televisieomroeporganisatie, Belgium)
Intro PR (Poland)
Parliament of Galicia
Funding body
Erasmus + (European Commission)
Budget
€245,643
Supporters
Background:
Audiovisual translation and media accessibility have become drivers of social inclusion and integration. In the area of subtitling for the deaf, a key priority for the users has always been to access live content such as news and public events. The preferred technique for this is respeaking, where subtitlers listen to the original soundtrack of a programme or public event and simultaneously repeat or rephrase what they hear to a speech recognition software that turns these words into intralingual subtitles. Early on respeaking practices differed greatly across countries and quality suffered as a result of a lack of research and training opportunities. However, the work carried out, amongst others, by the partners in this project has helped to advance research and training in this area, and the industry is now employing respeakers trained at our institutions.
In the meantime a new challenge has emerged: a growing demand for accessibility to live audiovisual content and events conducted in a foreign language. Broadcasters and political institutions have highlighted the need for professionals who can produce interlingual live subtitles (ILS) through respeaking, a new discipline that will require translating, subtitling and simultaneous interpreting skills.
Description:
As a strategic partnership promoting open and innovative practices in the digital era, ILSA will identify the skills and profile of a new professional, the interlingual live subtitler (ILSer), develop, test and validate the first training course on interlingual live subtitling (ILS) and provide a protocol for the implementation of this discipline in three real-life scenarios, namely TV, political/social settings and the classroom. ILSA adopts a wide view of accessibility, as the new ILS provision will benefit not only vulnerable audiences (deaf and hard of hearing viewers, physically/mentally challenged groups, people with special needs and learning disabilities) but also foreign audiences. Migrants, refugees and marginalised groups at risk of exclusion will particularly benefit from the potential to facilitate their integration in the cultural environment of their new homeland, and more specifically on TV, in the classroom and in political institutions such as the Parliament.
The specific activities include an assessment of the current intralingual live subtitling practice and training, on which ILSA will build; the identification of the subtitling, interpreting and respeaking skills required for the job; the development, assessment and validation of a specialised course and its materials; and the creation of a protocol to transfer the results of the project to society for the implementation of ILS on TV, in the classroom and in social/political settings.
