Subtitling for deaf and hard of hearing on streaming platforms: An analysis of the availability of interlingual and intralingual subtitles

Abstract

Thanks to the Internet, it is nowadays possible to access audiovisual content produced in numerous countries. For this reason, it appears relevant to ascertain whether video-on-demand platforms currently provide accessible subtitles also for foreign-language productions. The objective of this study is, thus, to describe trends regarding the provision of accessible intralingual and interlingual subtitles on video-on-demand platforms. Díaz Cintas (2020) asserts that accessible interlingual subtitles are available for some multimedia content on these platforms, although several other scholars (Arias-Badia, 2022; Chaume, 2018; Szarkowska, 2020; Zárate, 2021) argue that this practice is not commonplace; however, such claims do not seem to be backed by data. This study follows quantitative methods (frequency analysis), and the sample is composed of 276 series and films selected on the basis of five parameters: their genre, popularity, language, release year, and the platform where they are available. After collecting the sample, the accessibility options for each audiovisual product were examined to determine how many are provided with accessible subtitles and whether these are intralingual, interlingual or both options are available. The data analysed seems to indicate that the provision of intralingual accessible subtitles predominates, even though the number of products that offer both options is noteworthy. Additionally, the provision of accessible subtitles for audiovisual material produced in Spanish and of such subtitles in Spanish for audiovisual material created in other languages were examined. Regarding the former, it has been found that intralingual accessible subtitles also prevail and whenever accessible subtitles are offered in more than one language, these are generally only available in Spanish and English. In both cases, the number of products with no accessible subtitles available is rather prominent, though this number is remarkably higher in the second case. In conclusion, this study contributes to corroborating the statements previously outlined and provides new data.