about 2 or 3 years ago, i developed the habit of watching DVDs, either
TV shows or movies, with subtitles. i like actually seeing what
the script called for the actor to say (b/c sometimes it's
different). and a few weeks ago, while on the phone w/ a friend
whose young child was watching a movie, i realized that it might be
helpful for the kid's language skills to see the dialogue as well as
hear it.
now, as someone w/ an interest in writing, it's interesting to me to
see what professional screenwriters put in the mouths of actors, but
this secondary use never occurred to me until then.
do you ever use subtitles when watching DVDs? if so, why?
ed
silverwhisper posted on Nov 14, 2006
| views: 361
Comments
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lioneljay said on Nov 14, 2006....
I watched Top Gun with French subtitles once; it was quite funny to see how badly the translator mangled much of the jargon-laced dialogue. But I'v enever thought of watching with English subtitles. Heck, I just started watching some of the extra features recently.
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Morden said on Nov 14, 2006....
One of the reasons why Scandinavians generally have a better accent in English than, for example, Italian or Spanish people, is that we subtitle movies in stead of dubbing them :)These days when I watch movies in English, I use subtitles to make sure I understand everything the actors say. The background noise (in the movie or in the room) sometimes drowns out the words.
I'm so used to subtitles that they don't consciously register anymore. -
Zayda said on Nov 14, 2006....
For me, it depends on the movie to be honest. But I have started turning the sub-titles on ceratin DvDs for my child as well as occassionally turning on the closed captioning on the television.
The problem that I have with closed captioning is that they type the letters for certain sounds like "unf" or "umph" or "garlg". While the use of onomotopeia is nice sometimes, it's difficult to explain to a 5 year old that those aren't really words.
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rayni2day said on Nov 14, 2006....
ΓΏI started using subtitles when my kids were little. I thought seeing the words as they heard them talking would help them learn how to read quicker.I also do it because everyone likes to be loud when I am trying to watch tv or a movie so I just read everything now. I tried to watch something the other day without captions and thought I was gonna go nuts without them!It's pretty much a requirement for watching anything now. -
IFMU said on Nov 14, 2006....
Hate subtitles. They literally give me a headache when I dont need them.
The only time they dont is when I have to have them for the movie. Like Hero, great movie btw... lol
Cant stand 'em really.
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angstywin said on Nov 14, 2006....
yes, i do use subtitles because there's a chance i'm going to skip or not catch what the actor said when there's noise, distraction while watching, etc. or when my train of thought would've wandered and the subtitles would let me catch up with what's happening on tv. -
harriedpsychmajor said on Nov 14, 2006....
The only time I do subtitles is when I'm watching anime or foreign film. It's often better than dubbing. English voice acting in anime generally (forgive my lack of elocution here) sucks. In one foreign film I watched, it was a Japanese murder mystery with cartoonish British dubs. Besides, I learned more Japanese watching subtitled movies than I did with some books on the language.
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MissMimi said on Nov 14, 2006....
Occasionally I turn on closed captioning when I'm watching TV in bed so I don't wake my husband. But it's disconcerting because I find I can't watch the action and read the dialogue at the same time.
I didn't even know you could do it on DVDs. Shows you how often I even watch DVDs.
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nytquill17 said on Nov 14, 2006....
My husband and I have different native languages - English for me and French for him. So the captions are always on at our house for one or the other of us! I don't even really notice them anymore. I like having them, to notice differences in the written vs. spoken script, and to catch dropped or muffled words. Though I am a fast reader and sometimes I get impatient waiting for the actor to say what I've already read and move on to the next thing. I have to remind myself often to relax more and appreciate the delivery as much as the words being delivered. All in all I enjoy having the subtitles on and I'm so used to it now that I would feel weird watching a movie without them. Sometimes I turn them on on the TV during the day, when my husband isn't even home, because personally it's a better experience for me - interesting observations to be made, easier comprehension, and less "ear strain".
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tbs230 said on Nov 15, 2006....
I have noticed that it's getting harder for me to hear the television, so yep, I put on the subtitles, but I then get so involved in reading what is being said, that I find I miss the movie...so, I'll usually read the subs for a bit, then turn them off...just to turn them on a few minutes later because I have no idea what is being said...it's a vicious cycle! It also throws me off sometimes because the actor doesn't say what was written for him...I don't know, it just feels like more work for little old me...but I need them in order to HEAR the movie...does that makes sense, I can't hear the movie unless I can read the subtitles, then I notice everything about the audio in the movie...but miss the action...I do love it for musicals though, yeah, then I can sing alone...so it has its benefits, aside from the loss of hearing thing... -
silverwhisper said on Nov 15, 2006....
i'm finding that subtitles help me just as much due to unnecessarily loud sound effects too. :>
ed
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thenack said on Nov 15, 2006....
My mother first started using them because she is one of those people who keep complaining that things are to loud, but can never hear what you say the first time you say it. The fact that this irritates me endlessly is not the topic. So I got used to it and its sometmes quite interesting. I try to use it to learn some other languages, but I'm never quite sure if the translations are that correct. But its good to learn words at least, if not the grammar.Silver I think its a briliant idea to have your kids wach with subtitles for developement. Just remember that when you have english adio and subtlts, they will end up being weird, saying things like : What a beautifull morning (dog barking). Yeah it sure is (birds singing). Lets go for a walk (sound of schoolbuss approaching) (haha) -
glosta said on Nov 15, 2006....
Foreign films yes and sometimes if it's very late and I don't want to wake someone...I wish my dad could get into the habit...when he visits he cranks up the volume cause his hearing is going (78) but he finds them irritating,
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missb said on Nov 15, 2006....
I'm totally a subtitle freak. Ever since they invented DVD i've been using it, for english movies though, and obviously for foreign films too, not for indonesian movies (besides, they don't have subtitles and i don't really watch them, they suck :/ )I'm quite a compulsive watcher. I can't miss anything. My bf used to go crazy about it. Everytime I get distracted I rewind and pause all the time. So it's the same with subtitles. I hate losing a word. I need to know every single word the actor's saying. That's why I always use the subtitles.Also it's good to keep my english skill and to improve. I get to learn new words and slang words :)Cheers! -
tbs230 said on Nov 15, 2006....
missb, I agree about the new words, just the other day, I was watching seven, the movie with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman? Anyway, I couldn't hear what was being said for the life of me, so I put on the subs, and I learned this new word...can't remember it now, but I did look it up afterwards...darn it, now I really want to know what that word was...never mind, I guess I didn't really learn anything if I can't remember it...another thing I'm losing, my short-term memory...jeez! -
silverwhisper said on Nov 16, 2006....
LJ: a colleague who worked in switzerland once told me that watching south park in french is even funnier. :>
morden: everyone knows that subtitles are superior to dubbing. :>
scaly: give it a shot sometime. you might like it.
super z: ah...onomatopoeia raises its ugly head, eh? i imagine that must be quite confusing for him.
rayni: hey, great minds, and all that! and thanks for visiting my blog!
IFMU: meh. :p
angstywin: yep, i've got the same concern as well.
harried: i've heard that fan subs are popular but i don't know much about anime.
mimi: really? heh...yeah, you always have that option w/ DVDs.
nyt: i never thought about it but that makes a lot of sense. do you ever watch the same movie twice but change the subtitling?
tbs: bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! singing along w/ musicals--how did i miss that one?
nack: er...super z already mentioned that issue. :>
glosta: oo, that's tough. hm...maybe you should get some earplugs and put the captions on for you? :D
miss b: heh...i never considered the usefulness to those who don't natively speak english but of course, that makes perfect sense. :>
ed
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missb said on Nov 17, 2006....
Ed,
Yep. It really does help :) Although i'm not sure "I hate losing a word" is a correct sentence. I shoud've said missing instead of losing :)
Tbs,
LOL... yeah it's easy to forget. I think my memory has deteriorated as well. Not good :/ Anyway, i'm also like you. Sometimes i get carried away reading the subtitles that I kinda miss the movie itself. And what do i do? I rewind :)
Cheers!
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silverwhisper said on Nov 17, 2006....
heh...i tend to do that w/ movies i've seen already. :>
ed
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tbs230 said on Nov 17, 2006....
Silver: It's the best thing in the world, I was watching Grease (for the 50th time) the other day, and the beginning song, appropriately titled "Grease", came on, and I turned on those subs...it was amazing, I was a able to serenade my sister, although horribly. It's better than Karaoke. MissB: I rewind too, it annoys everyone else who may be watching, but I don't care. It's either rewind, or miss more of the movie by asking about what I missed!
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