Most South African subtitles are produced and broadcast in English despite the fact that English
is the first language of only 8.2% of the entire population (Statistics South Africa, 2004).
Therefore, current English subtitles are predominantly received as second language text. This
poses questions as to how people perceive these subtitles, and if and how their reading of English
second language (L2) subtitles differs from their reading of L1 (non-English) subtitles.
In recent years, eye tracking has proven to be a valuable method in observing and measuring the
eye movements of people watching and reading subtitles. In order to explain the use of eye
tracking and in order to answer the question at hand, this study comprises a literature review and
an empirical study. The literature review gives an in-depth account of previous studies that used
eye tracking to study reading and elaborates on the parameters used to account for various
findings. The two empirical components of this study examined the accessibility and
effectiveness of English L2 subtitles by presenting native speakers of Afrikaans and Sesotho
with subtitles displayed (a) in their native language, Afrikaans or Sesotho, and (b) in L2 English,
while monitoring their eye movements with an SMI iViewX™ Hi-Speed eye tracker and
comparing the data with that of English L1 speakers reading English subtitles. Participants were
also given static text to read (accompanied by a corresponding comprehension test) in order to
see if there was a relation between participants’ first and second language reading of static text
and that of subtitling. Additionally, participants were given a questionnaire on their reading
behaviour, reading preferences, access to subtitled television programming and reading of
subtitles in order to find explanations for occurrences in the data.
The initial hypothesis was that there would be a difference in L1 and L2 subtitle reading and
attention allocation as measured by key eye-tracking parameters. Using ANOVAs, statistically
significant differences were indeed found, but the differences were much more significant for the
Sesotho L1 than the Afrikaans L1 speakers. After excluding possible confounding factors that
were analysed in attempt to refute this hypothesis, the conclusion was that participants inherently
read L1 and L2 subtitles differently. The hypothesis is therefore supported. However, the
difference in L1 and L2 subtitle reading was not the only significant finding – the Sesotho L1 speakers’ reading data revealed a greater underlying issue, namely literacy. The problem of low
literacy levels can be attributed to the participants’ socioeconomic background and history, and
needs to be addressed urgently.
Recommendations for future research include that the current study be broadened in terms of
scope, sampling size, representativeness and experimental material; that the focus be shifted to
the rest of the languages spoken in South Africa for which the users do not have a shared sense
of bilingualism and for which the L1 skills and levels of L1 literacy vary; and to further explore
the relation between the reading of static text and subtitle reading in order to ensure adequate
subtitle reading in terms of proportional attention allocation. However, the issue of low literacy
levels will have to be addressed urgently; only then will the South African viewing public be
able to gain full access to any form of broadcast communicative material or media, and only then
will they be able to benefit from subtitling and all that it offers. / North-West University (South Africa). Vaal Triangle Campus.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NWUBOLOKA1/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/8315 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Hefer, Esté |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | North-West University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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