Understanding the Key Differences Between Captions and Subtitles (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: What's the difference between captions and subtitles? Captions and subtitles are distinct, but they overlap in many ways. They both display text on screen, but the purpose for using each is different. It's a thing you need to know if you're planning to add text to your videos or if you want to hire a captioner or subtitler. So without further ado, let's dive into this video and take a closer look at the differences and similarities. But first, let me briefly introduce myself. I'm Antonino, I'm an Italian video translator and I help companies reach their Italian-speaking customers by translating English videos. Captions are a text version of the spoken audio of a television, movie or video content. They are in the language of the medium rather than a translation to another language. Captions are either open or closed, and I made a video about their differences that you can find here. But just to help you get the idea, open captions are always in view and cannot be turned off, whereas closed captions can be turned on and off by the viewer. Subtitles are translations for people who do not understand the language of the medium. These are the ones that accompany foreign movies, for example. So the main difference is that subtitles involve translating the video's language into an alternate language, whereas closed captions are in the same language as the audio. But another crucial difference that distinguish them from each other is their purpose. As a matter of fact, closed captions are mostly created to allow deaf and hard-of-hearing people to experience the video. So they include background sounds and speaker changes. On the other hand, subtitles assume that the viewer hears the audio. So as a result, they do not include background sounds or some kind of notifications for speaker changes. Also, another thing is that the American with Disabilities Act, a couple of sections of the Rehabilitation Act, and the International Web Content Accessibility Guidelines all require captions for multimedia. These laws and guidelines apply to most video content to prevent discrimination against people with disabilities. So captions are mainly used to ensure accessibility, but they're actually also useful for a variety of other reasons. And you can find a whole playlist about the benefits of captions and subtitles right here. Subtitles, on the other hand, were developed to make multimedia available to viewers who may not speak the language used in the video. Globalization has increased the use of subtitles, and more and more video producers are seeing the value in making video content available in more than one language. Also, the rise of smartphones has led more people to seek out videos with captions or subtitles. And what's more is that there's actually a kind of blend between captions and subtitles, or at least between their main goals, which are the Subtitles for Deaf or Hard of Hearing, or SDH. SDH are intended for viewers who are both deaf or hard of hearing and do not understand the language being spoken in the video. In fact, there are subtitles in an alternate language that do include non-speech elements, like sound effects and speaker identification. So that's it. I hope this video has helped you clear your head about the basic differences between captions and subtitles. And if you're interested in more content about translation and subtitling, don't forget to subscribe to my channel. Now, if you run a successful business in your home country, or you work in a healthy company, and you want to expand your video communication beyond your domestic borders, make sure to click on the link below to get your videos translated into Italian and get access to the Italian market. I look forward to seeing you soon. Take care.