My doctorate thesis
is about the use
of interpreters on TV
as an accessibility service.
On international TV shows you'll have seen
that interpretation differs,
it even differs within Spain and Catalonia.
Depending on the channel
the interpreter appears in different formats:
positions, background colour, size...
and this can affect accessibility.
Depending on these characteristics
a service which offers accessibility
can end up being inaccessible.
The aim of my thesis
was to research which characteristics
allow for accessibility
and for the contents to be read correctly.
The research was organized in 3 phases
as part of the design of the investigation.
The first phase was interviews with sign language interpreters from
Catalan television
along with discussion groups
with deaf people who use Catalan sign language
that live in Catalonia.
The aim of these two methods
was to collect opinions
about which characteristics
improve the format.
If accessibility is affected by:
the position, the colour, and the style of clothing,
if sign language interpreters are pushing or not
or to see which of these characteristics
are of importance.
When this phase of the investigation concluded
the characteristics were selected
according to relevance.
The size of the interpretation box on screen
and the position: left or right
with the aim of designing
a second phase of experimental design
in which opinions are not collected
but rather the focus is on the visual
processing of the screen
and how it affects the retention
of the contents that are interpreted and broadcast.
In the first part of the experimental study
the documentary was adapted to Catalan sign language
and then interpreted.
The adaptation was done by a team:
myself as investigator,
an interpreter and a deaf person.
We started by studying the text
and then we adapted the contents.
Then we recorded the interpretation
of the whole documentary
and four versions were edited.
We chose the small and medium size,
the small size and the medium
and the position (left or right)
for a total of four combinations.
On the day of the experiment
the deaf people who participated
saw the four different takes of the documentary.
each in a different format.
After seeing each take
there was a questionnaire.
The viewing
was done with an apparatus
called Eye Tracker.
Which permits the recording
of how the viewer visually explores the screen.
In other words, which area of the screen
the person is looking at.
The area that was looked at the most was recorded
and which areas of the screen were checked the most.
After, a questionnaire was given
to check viewers' memory of the contents that were interpreted
and on the visual content of the documentary.
The aim was to observe if:
the larger or the smaller size
or the position of left or right
facilitated the retention of the information.
The questionnaire
was multiple choice
and had been recorded ahead of time in Catalan sign language.
The results of the study
from the Eye Tracker indicate:
That deaf people mainly,
when watching interpreted content,
watch the sign language interpreter box
whether it is on the left or the right
And only occasionally
do they visualize the documentary.
Either through peripheral vision
or through short glances
do they observe the documentary.
But it makes no difference
if the ILS is on the right or left hand side.
The exploration strategy was the same.
Within the sign language interpreter box
the eyes focus on the face
and not on the body or hands.
But they do observe
the right or left part of the sign language interpreter
which is closest to the documentary.
The results of the memory questionnaire
in which there were two kinds of questions:
about linguistic contents
and about the documentary contents,
visual contents, not linguistic in nature.
The results of the linguistic retention
indicate that the best answers
are obtained when the sign language interpreter format
is smaller in size.
In the medium sized format
there are fewer correct
linguistic retention answers.
In the non-linguistic retention
the fourth format
of medium size (20%)
on the left side of the screen
facilitates peripheral vision
and improves access to the contents
of the documentary.
Even though the eye
is focused on the sign language interpreter
it also correctly accesses
the documentary content.
This indicates that
sign language interpreters in small format
requires concentration
and the eye focuses too much
and the visual field is reduced.
It doesn't allow the peripheral vision
to be used as much.
In relation to the position
we've seen that the left side
facilitates things more.
A possible relation
is that when the interpreter is on the left
the right hand field of view
takes in more
and is processed in the left hemisphere
where we process our linguistic functions.
The conclusion of my research
is that the insertion of a sign language interpreter
so as to guarantee quality,
the size of the box cannot be
smaller than 20%.
In regards to the position
that facilitates viewing the most
is when the interpreter is on the left
with the contents on the right,
to facilitate the right hand
visual field
through peripheral vision.
Finally,
for the signing deaf
accessibility, linguistic rights
to sign language, human rights
can only be guaranteed
if they are also rights
through sign language.
Therefore, an accessibility service
that is inaccessible
must be demanded
higher up than on social media.
Demand that the television channels
serve and attend their audience;
make proposal and explain it.
So that they can make the changes
needed to guarentee these rights. It is important..
Oddly,
neither in Spain nor Catalonia
are there deaf sign language interpreters on TV
Surely the motive
is that socially
deaf people
haven't wanted to.
Not because it isn't possible
in other parts of the world
such as England, on the BBC
or in Germany
there are deaf professionals
on the public TV teams
that interpret the news live
with the help of teleprompters
and other technical solutions
Deaf sign language interpreters
could work professionally
just like the hearing
but deaf people must
first see themselves as capable
and want to pursue this role
in order to achieve these accomplishments.