The value of audio description for the therapy of speech-communicative disorders

The article aims at presenting the potential of audio description (AD) as an efficient tool to support the speech-language and social-communicative skills of children with developmental disorders. It includes information for both speech therapists and parents on what they may expect from AD, and how they can use it in their everyday work with children. It may also serve as a set of guidelines for AD creators for making their products more effective. The considerations assembled in the article are based on a literature review. Remarks on the possible uses of AD are presented in the context of various problems to be remedied during speech therapy of a child; they range from incorrect articulation of sounds, through hearing problems such as auditory processing disorder, to developmental disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) characterized by difficulties with social interaction and repetitive behaviors including pretending play. The existing evidence proves that audiovisual (AV) materials are an attractive starting point for exercises with a child. Video-modeling, in turn, has proven to be one of the best tools for therapy of individuals with ASD, allowing for better understanding of interpersonal interactions. Therefore, AV materials accompanied with an AD track – which itself is perceived as a tool for enhancing information processing by children – need to demonstrate similar value for mastering communicative competences. AD can be an effective tool in speech therapy. However, to meet the needs of practitioners, caregivers and beneficiaries in a useful manner, it must be prepared with care regarding both its content and form.

Evaluating the effectiveness of machine translation of audio description: the results of two pilot studies in the English-Dutch language pair

The field of translation is undergoing various profound changes. On the one hand it is being thoroughly reshaped by the advent and constant improvement of new technologies. On the other hand, new forms of translation are starting to see the light of day in the wake of social and legal developments that require that products and content that are created, are accessible for everybody. One of these new forms of translation, is audio description (AD), a service that is aimed at making audiovisual content accessible to people with sight loss. New legislation requires that this content is accessible by 2025, which constitutes a tremendous task given the limited number of people that are at present trained as audio describers. A possible solution would be to use machine translation to translate existing audio descriptions into different languages. Since AD is characterized by short sentences and simple, concrete language, it could be a good candidate for machine translation. In the present study, we want to test this hypothesis for the English-Dutch language pair. Three 30 minute AD excerpts of different Dutch movies that were originally audio described in English, were translated into Dutch using DeepL. The translations were analysed using the harmonized DQF-MQM error typology and taking into account the specific multimodal nature of the source text and the intersemiotic dimension of the original audio description process. The analysis showed that the MT output had a relatively high error rate, particularly in the categories of Accuracy – mistranslation and Fluency – grammar. This seems to indicate that extensive post-editing will be needed, before the text can be used in a professional context.

Strategies of planning online scientific projects for blind and visually impaired students

The paper describes distance learning opportunities for blind and visually impaired students. The research aims at analyzing various tools and techniques that are necessary for their participation in online scientific projects and conferences. Methodology includes analysis of pedagogical studies, the survey carried out during International Conference for Students at Samara State Technical University, examination of educational activities performed for blind and visually impaired students all over the world, in particular the experience of American Foundation for the Blind. The findings show that distance learning programmes for blind and visually impaired people are becoming popular in many countries, but in Russia there are only a few of them. The authors prove the necessity of doing research in this sphere. It is recommended that more distance learning opportunities are created for such students at Russian universities. The analysis shows that it is even easier to plan the inclusion of blind and visually impaired students in the online scientific events that are not new and have already been held for wider public. The authors conclude that it is essential to adapt the existing system of distance learning using special tools and techniques, which are described in the article. These are accessible platforms, software used with assistive technologies, keyboard controls, audio description, smartphone apps, etc. Special emphasis is laid upon planning webinars for blind and low vision participants. This research can serve as a guide for making online scientific events accessible for all people.

Insights From Mental Model Theory and Cognitive Narratology as a Tool for Content Selection in Audio Description

One of the main questions in audio description (AD) to which no systematic answers have been provided yet, is how to decide what information you include in your description and – if there is not enough time to describe everything – how you prioritize that information. In the present paper I want to propose an answer to this problem by asking the question: how do audiences process (filmic) stories and what information do they need to process them? The basic idea underlying this question is that people process and interpret stories by creating mental models (Johnson-Laird, 1983) of these stories. The paper explains how these models are created, what information is necessary to create them and what is optional, thus helping describers to decide what information in their description is “need-to-have” and what is “nice-to-have”. The theoretical explanation will be applied to the opening of the film Slumdog millionaire (Boyle, 2008), to illustrate how the theory works and can be used in daily practice. Lay summary Audio description (AD) for film is a service for people with sight loss that weaves a verbal description of visual elements and unclear sound effects they do not have access to, between the dialogues of the original production. Since this description cannot interfere with the dialogues, there often is very little time for AD and describers will have to decide what to include and what to leave out of their descriptions. In this article, I present a way to tackle this problem, based on the basic idea that films generally tell stories and that the audio description should allow the target audience to recreate that story in their minds. More specifically I focus on two questions, namely a) how do audiences mentally recreate stories and b) what elements do they need to do so. Insights into these two questions will show audio describers what information the target audience needs to recreate the story told in the film, and hence will help them to decide what information they really need to include in their AD. After a theoretical exploration of these two questions, the approach will be illustrated by means of a concrete example, taken from the film Slumdog millionaire (Boyle, 2008).

Getting the Full Picture in English and Spanish?

Drawing on the mental model theory of fictional characters (Schneider, 2001) applied to audio description (Fresno, 2016), this paper examines the audio description (AD) of characters in English and Spanish for the Netflix series Élite. The study is based on the premise that semantic descriptions of characters, rather than merely visual descriptions of physical traits, contribute to a better understanding of the narrative complexities of a film, favour AD users’ memory, and reduce cognitive effort (Fresno et al., 2016). This contrastive analysis shows how pertinent description of action movements and appearances together with lexical accuracy can trigger helpful semantic meanings that reveal characters’ psychological features. Because Élite is a thriller in which the majority of the characters are murder suspects, accessing all types of information about them is essential to fully understand the plot. In addition, this analysis indicates that the English AD emphasizes certain character attributes which are absent from the Spanish AD, a distinction that influences the semantic domains, filmic cohesion and coherence of the narrative. This finding underscores the fact that cross-linguistic and cultural differences actually affect the reception of a fictional character by AD users (Orero, 2008; Mazur & Chmiel, 2012) and consequently, their appreciation and enjoyment of the program in question. Lay summary This paper examines the audio description (AD) of characters in English and Spanish for the Netflix series Élite. Based on previous studies (Fresno, 2014; Fresno, 2016), this analysis shows that not only physical traits, but also the description of action movements and looks can trigger helpful semantic inferences that reveal crucial characters’ psychological features. Because Élite is a thriller in which most of the characters are murder suspects, grasping all types of information about them is essential to fully understand the plot. In addition, this paper indicates that the English AD emphasizes certain character attributes which are absent in the Spanish AD. This finding underscores the fact that cross-linguistic and cultural differences actually affect the reception of a fictional character by AD users (Orero, 2008; Mazur & Chmiel, 2012) and consequently, their appreciation and enjoyment of the show in question.

Transmettre aux aveugles le comique d’une production multimédia. Étude d’un cas

In this paper the author demonstrates the limits of audio description in the transfer of the humorous effects of a film comedy which constitute the “semantic dominant” of this kind of production. The analysis is illustrated by examples from Philippe de Chauveron’s film, À bras ouverts (2017). In this form of intersemiotic translation, the lack of certain visual data can block the possibility of understanding the comic by blind or visually impaired people. The author tries to propose some solutions to this problem in the form of creative audio description.

Audiodescription des arts plastiques. Autoportrait de Dora Maar

The article addresses the problem of intersemiotic translation: translating images into words. The first part deals with the issue of image hermeneutics. Following this, eye tracking research is briefly described and museum audio description for the blind and visually impaired is introduced. A case study of Self-portrait of Dora Maar is carried out, highlighting the importance of sight in the artist’s work. The text tries to answer the following questions: Who and using which techniques and strategies should translate images into words for recipients with visual disabilities, so that the translation is satisfactory and adapted to their perception? How to provide a visually impaired person with an aesthetic experience without imposing our own perception of the image on them?

MULTIMODAL METAPHORS IN VERBAL DESCRIPTION

Статья посвящена анализу метафор в аудиовизуальных произведениях. Метафора, построенная на взаимодействии аудиального и визуального канала получения информации, понимается в работе как аудиовизуальная метафора. Последовательный анализ аудиовизуальной метафоры позволяет представить верную вербализацию метафор и образов в аудиовизуальных произведениях при создании аудиодескрипции - словесного описания для незрячих. Являясь инструментом смыслопорождения, такая метафора призвана актуализировать связи между языком и мышлением. The article dwells on the analysis of metaphors in audiovisual content. Multimodal metaphors in films, understood as audiovisual metaphors, represent a combination of elements referring to different channels of information and semiotic codes, and require special attention when compiling the script of audio description for sight-impaired people. Multimodal audiovisual metaphor is viewed not only as a part of the imagery of the film but also as a tool facilitating cognitive mechanisms.

Electronic guide-translator program for independent tourists

The article discusses the creation of a multimedia electronic guide-translator program, which includes an electronic catalog and an audio description of a tourist object, as well as electronic functions for a convenient stay of a tourist in Uzbekistan. The paper presents the priorities of the multimedia electronic guide-translator program in the development of domestic tourism and the creation of an innovative approach in the tourism environment that facilitate the travel process by improving the quality of the development of the tourism sector in the Republic of Uzbekistan and providing services to visiting tourists.

Art paintings accessible to the blind

The purpose of the article is to explore in what ways visual arts can be brought closer to blind persons in the postmodern society, in which sight is perceived to be the highest of the senses and in which most information is based on images. The basic methods of presenting a work of art involve the remaining senses, mostly those of hearing and of touch. It is of course not enough just to deliver a factual description of a painting or to transform it into tactile graphics – more complex techniques such as audio-description, method of associations, participating in role-playing, all with the aim of a holistic experience of the work of art, must be sought instead.