Captioning Key - Special Considerations

1. Intonation, Play on Words, and No Audio
2. Foreign Language, Dialect, Slang, and Phonetics

Intonation, Play on Words, and No Audio

• If the speaker is not visible onscreen, or visual clues that denote the emotional state are not shown, indicate the speaker's emotion.

  Correct Example

  [angrily]
  Well, whatever!
• When a person is whispering, caption as:

  Correct Example

  [whispering]
  Okay, you go first.
• When feasible, describe puns.

  Correct Example

  Why do they call her "Ouisy"?
  ["Wheezy"]
• When people are seen talking, but there is no audio, caption as [no audio] or [silence].

Foreign Language, Dialect, Slang, and Phonetics

• If possible, caption the actual foreign words. If it is not possible to caption the words, use a description (e.g., [speaking French]). Never translate into English.
• If possible, use accent marks, diacritical marks, and other indicators.
• Indicate regional accent at the beginning of the first caption.

  Correct Example

  [Southern accent]
  If y'all want me to.
• Keep the flavor of dialect.

  Correct Example

  You sho' ain't
  from 'round here.
• Caption profanity and slang if in the audio.
• When a word is spoken phonetically, caption it the way it is commonly written.
  

  Original Narration

  "N-double-A-C-P"

  Captioned As

  NAACP

  Original Narration

  "www dot D-C-M-P dot org"

  Captioned As

  www.dcmp.org

  Original Narration

  "eight or nine hundred"

  Captioned As

  800 or 900

  Original Narration

  "a thousand"

  Captioned As

  a thousand

  Original Narration

  "One thousand"

  Captioned As

  1000

Tags: captioning-key