Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
47 results found in captioning.
- Algospeak (Algorithm-Friendly Language, Algo-Speak)
- The practice of using code words, creative spellings, or substitutions in online content to avoid algorithmic detection, censorship, or demonetization by social media platforms. Examples include spell…
- Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) (ASR, Speech-to-Text, Voice Recognition, Auto-Captioning)
- Technology that converts spoken language into written text using computational algorithms and machine learning models. ASR powers auto-captioning features in video conferencing, media players, and ass…
- Caption Customization (Caption Personalization, Adaptive Captioning)
- The ability for viewers to adjust caption properties to match their individual preferences and needs. Caption customization can encompass visual attributes like font size, color, and positioning, as w…
- Caption Delay (Caption Latency, Synchronization Delay)
- The time lag between spoken audio and the appearance of the corresponding caption on screen. In live captioning, typical delays are around 5–6 seconds due to the time needed for captioners to hear, pr…
- Caption Density
- The amount of caption text displayed on screen relative to the available display time and screen space. High caption density—common in fast-paced scenes with many sound events—can overwhelm viewers by…
- Caption Occlusion (Caption Blocking, Subtitle Occlusion)
- The phenomenon where captions or subtitles visually block or cover other important information displayed on a video screen. Caption occlusion is a significant accessibility concern for Deaf and Hard o…
- Caption Placement (Caption Positioning, Subtitle Placement)
- The decision of where captions or subtitles are positioned on a video screen, which significantly affects the viewing experience of Deaf and Hard of Hearing users. Poor caption placement can occlude i…
- Caption Readability
- The ease with which viewers can read and process caption text on screen, influenced by factors including font size, display duration, caption density, reading speed requirements, and competition with …
- Captioning Key (DCMP Captioning Key)
- A set of guidelines and best practices for creating high-quality captions, most notably published by the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP). The Captioning Key covers standards for caption a…
- Closed Captioning (CC, Closed Captions)
- Text displayed on a screen that transcribes spoken dialogue, identifies speakers, and describes relevant sound effects in video content. Unlike open captions which are permanently embedded in the vide…
- Closed Captioning (CC, Closed Captions)
- Text displayed on screen that represents dialogue, sound effects, music, and other audio information in video content, which viewers can toggle on or off. Unlike open captions, closed captions are a s…
- Colour Commentary (Color Commentary, Colour commentator)
- In sports broadcasting, the analytical and contextual commentary provided alongside the play-by-play — offering opinions, background on players and teams, strategy discussion, and remarks during gamep…
- Crowdsourced Captioning (Crowd Captioning, Collaborative Captioning)
- Crowdsourced captioning is an approach to creating video captions or subtitles by distributing the work across multiple contributors rather than relying on a single professional captionist. This metho…
- Expressive Captions (Affective Captions, Emotion Captions, Typographic Captions)
- Captions that go beyond literal word-for-word transcription to convey the prosodic, emotional, or speaker-identity information that traditional captions strip out. Expressive captions may modulate fon…
- Extra-Speech Information (ESI, Paralinguistic Information)
- Aspects of spoken language beyond the words themselves that convey additional meaning, including how something is said rather than what is said. Examples include tone of voice (yelling, whispering), v…
- Game Captioning (Video Game Captions, Gaming Subtitles, In-Game Captions)
- The practice of displaying text representations of dialogue, sound effects, and other audio content within video games for deaf and hard-of-hearing players. Game captioning differs from film or televi…
- Gaze Switching (Visual Attention Switching, Split Attention)
- The act of shifting visual focus between two or more information sources, such as between captions and presentation slides in a classroom, or between a sign language interpreter and a speaker. Gaze sw…
- Genre Alignment
- In captioning, the practice of adapting caption style, vocabulary, and tone to match the genre of the media content being captioned. For example, horror content may benefit from captions that emphasiz…
- Graphic Captions (Visual Captions, Animated Captions)
- A captioning approach that uses visual elements such as GIFs, animated stickers, icons, or emojis to represent sounds in audio-visual content, as an alternative or complement to traditional text-based…
- Live Captioning (Real-Time Captioning, CART)
- The process of creating captions in real time as audio content is being produced, rather than from a pre-existing script. Live captioning is used in television news broadcasts, live events, videoconfe…