From: cockburn@edieng.enet.dec.com (Craig Cockburn)
Newsgroups: sci.lang,soc.culture.europe,soc.culture.celtic,sci.anthropology,rec.arts.tv,rec.arts.tv.uk
Subject: Info sought on attitudes to TV subtitling
Summary: Gaelic college researching minority language subtitling attitudes
Date: 9 Sep 92 21:58:26 GMT
Organization: Digital Equipment Co. Ltd., DEC/EDI Engineering group


The message below is in Scottish Gaelic with a following translation in
English and is a request for information on attitudes to subtitling
TV programmes for minority languages. Please reply to the original poster
who is caoimhin@smo.ac.uk, and not to me.

many thanks
	Craig

From:	VBORMC::"GAELIC-L%IRLEARN.bitnet@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU" 
Name:	"GAELIC Language Bulletin Board"  
Subj:	Rannsachadh mu dheidhinn fo-thiotalan
Date:	8-Sep-1992 
Time:   16:35:02.30
To:	Multiple recipients of <GAELIC-L%IRLEARN.bitnet@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>

   <Request for references to research on TV sub-titles>

Am b'urrainn do dhuine sam bith fios a tho\irt dhomh mu rannsachadh sam
bith a chaidh a dhe\anamh mu fo-thiotalan air telebhisean - gu h-a\raidh
fo-thiotalan air programan ann an mion-cha\nain.  Bidh fa\s mo/r a
dh'aithghearr air li\on nam programan Ga\idhlig air TV an Alba.  Bho chionn
bliadhna no dha\ to\iseachadh air fo-thiotalan ann am Beurla a chur air na
programan Ga\idhlig.  Tha cuid den obair seo ga de\anamh a-nis aig aonad
u\r fo-thiotalan ("Ca\nain Earranta") a tha ste\idhichte bho chionn beagan
mi\osan aig Sabhal Mo/r Ostaig.  Tha "Ionad Rannsachadh" ga chur air chois
an-dra\sda cuideachd aig an t-Sabhal Mho/r.  Tha fhios gum bi e 'na pha\irt
den obair aig an ionad rannsachadh seo, rannsachadh a dhe\anamh air buaidh
nam fo-thiotalan.  Tha deasbad ann mun de\idhinn an-dra\sda.  Tha cuid ann,
mise nam measg, a tha ag ra\dh gur deagh-rud ar fad a tha sna fo-thiotalan.
Chan eil Ga\idhlig idir aig a' chuid as motha de sluagh na h-Alba sna
laithean seo, ach tha feum againn air taic a' mho/r-shluaigh ma tha
na programan Ga\idhlig gu bhith a' cumail a dol.  Tha cuid mho/r de
dhaoine gun Gha\idhlig toillichte a bhith a' comhad air programan Gha\idhlig
fhad's a tha na fo-thiotalan ann.  Ach tha cuid eile de mhuintir nan Gael
nach eil toillichte idir leis na fo-thiotalan - tha iad a diu\ltadh, fiu\,
comhad air programan Ga\idhlig ma tha fo-thiotalan ann.

(Tapadh leat, a Chraig, airson fios a chur gu GAELIC-L mu na duilgheadasan
 Email a bh'againn.  Tha am modem ag obair ceart gu leo\r an-diugh, ach chan
 eil mi a' tuigsinn fhathast carson nach robh e ag obair an-de/.)

   <Can anyone give me references to any research which has been done into
    TV sub-titles?  There is about to be a major expansion in the number of
    hours of Ga\idhlig TV broadcasting in Scotland.  A year or two ago the
    TV companies start putting English sub-titles on Ga\idhlig TV programs,
    and in fact some of this work is now being done by the TV subtitling
    unit of Ca\nain Ltd, the Gaelic media support unit under the wing of
    the college here, Sabhal Mo/r Ostaig.  Another offshoot of the college,
    just about to start operating, is a Research Unit for socialogical
    and educational matters concerning Ga\idhlig.  One topic they will
    certainly be asked to look into is the effects of subtitles, and I have
    benn asked to appeal on GAELIC-L for any references to work which has
    already been done in this field, particularly if it concerns majority-
    language subtitling of minority-language programs.  Apart from the
    usual questions of timing and quantity of sub-titles, there is a debate
    at the moment as to whether sub-titles are a good thing at all.  Some
    people, myself included, think that English sub-titles are a very good
    thing - if you are fluent you don't notice them; if you not so fluent
    they are useful as a prop; but most importantly they are necessary to
    allow Ga\idhlig TV programs to be accepted by the majority population
    of viewers in Scotland, who (unlike the situation in Ireland) do not
    know any Ga\idhlig at all.  Other people, however, including some native
    Gaelic speakers, hate the programs being polluted with subtitles, the
    language being labelled as a minority language, and even refuse to
    watch programs with sub-titles.  If anyone knows any other liosts or
    newsgroups to which this message could usefully be forwarded, please go
    ahead, asking people to respond direct to me.>

  Caoimhi/n O/ Donnai/le,
   Sabhal Mo/r Ostaig, An t-Eilean Sgithean, Alba

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Craig Cockburn, Digital Equipment Co. Ltd, Reading, England.     Suas
  Electronic Data Interchange Engineering                          leis
                                                                   a'   
  Internet: cockburn@edieng.enet.dec.com                           Gha\idhlig!
  Views here are my own, and are not necessarily those of Digital
Newsgroups: sci.lang