I care less what any expert wants to tell me about it not being of any or little benefit to the hearing impaired, I say let me be the judge!

It’s damn crazy what all this ‘under-the-rock’ experts all of a sudden creap out with. These and many societies need to graduate, the so deemed ‘normal beings’ are not the only ones making up this society.

Viva Subtitles!

The French people tend to dub films, as do the British, so we and they don’t tend to learn Foreign languages so well, because we just don’t hear them! I think I’m pretty good at several languages, but only because I grew up in Belgium and lived there until I was 19, so I had a good all-round exposure, and learned Polish at home from my Grandfather until I was about 14.

By the way, do you know much about the different kinds of spoken Polish? I’ve been accused of speaking “old” Polish when I’ve been to Poland on holiday. It would be like someone coming to the UK and saying “thou art a nice person” I guess?

Researches estimate that tv’s subtitles do have a positive effect on a child’s reading abilities. Expecially in the early phases of learning.

PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) research shows that children living in countries where the sub-tit.es are used, have better reading abilities than average (in OECD countries). And also the other way around..

Well, this only as a fact..

Strangely I usually don’t mind real dubbing which does have some advantages over both subtitles and voice-overs (it allows for the most complete translation as little to no info has to be discarded for time constraints). I’ve been watching the Simpsons dubbed (finally) into Polish and enjoying it well enough (despite some rough patches which woulnd’t necessarily be any better with subtitles or lektor). In a show with _dense_ and rapidfire dialogue subtitles (or lectors) just don’t work.
Also, strangely enough, I enjoyed Friends dubbed into Polish far more than I ever enjoyed the original.

But (getting to my point) I don’t think my personal preference should take precedence over general market preferences.
And in Poland the market choice is audio translation in the form of (ugghh) … voice-over. It also means that I don’t watch much Polish tv because a voice over translation ruins a movie for viewers whose first language is the same as the original language of the movie. I can stand to watch a non-English language movie with a lector but it’s just awful with American stuff.

And sub-titles can aid in language learning when used right. But just watching a show with subtitles in real time and forgetting about it afterward is not using it right.

Actually what I _would_ support is selected programs (not just English-language ones) shown with subtitles of the original language (but complete dialogue whenever possible and not the abbreviated versions that are usually employed). That is much more conducive to language learning.

Alternately, show the program with Polish and English (or whatever) titles and then go over selected parts with a qualified lecturer who can elaborate on linguistic or cultural points of interest.

Thomas,
Opera, you say? When watching any opera, subtitles are ESSENTIAL! Even when it’s sung in a language I’m supposed to know, I still find it hard to understand. And your quote sums up nicely how I feel about people stuck in their old ways and afraid of learning something new. Thank you for sharing!

I am all for subtitles. Why? Because I like opera. I especially like the music, and I like the beautiful costumes, and sets (scenery) and the beautiful and talented people singing but not always the singing. When sung in a different language - sometimes all I hear is noise. And that noise destroys any enjoyment of the music or anything else. But with subtitles I can understand what is going on and because I understand then I can enjoy the music and everything else.

I have watched ‘Battleship Potemkien’, ‘Seven Samuri’, and other foreign films with subtitles. And because of those subtitles I was able to enjoy the films.

For those who say”I don’t go to the movies to read.” I would say that they are missing out on many good films. However, ‘they’ remind me of verse seven from chapter one of Proverbs: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Incidentally, the same problem can be seen in the US. Many people refuse to watch foreign films, because as one guy put it “I don’t go to the movies to read.”

1. This will address no unmet need in the country (except maybe encourage people to not watch TVP2). There is no real market desire for compulsory subtitles in Poland. Anyone who’s really interested in subtitles (or not hearing the godawful voice-overs) can get a dvd player and have at it.
Interestingly at the dvd rental place I use the most common question from other customers is “is there Polish audio?” (expressed in a variety of ways, including ‘czy jest dubbing?’ since most Polish people don’t distinguish voice-overs and full dubbing).

2. There’s something deeply creepy about the mentality behind this that thinks that millions of Polish people need to reorganize their lives around learning a foreign language. American tv shows are not educational aids, they’re entertainment and trying to use them for educational purposes is bound to have lots of unforeseen consequences.

3. Subtitles aren’t a good way to learn a language. For technical reasons, subtitles have to leave out about 20 % (at least, often more) of the original content. Good translations will often diverge from the original source material in other ways as well which reduces their propaedeutic effectiveness. Related to this, is the fact that the general level of subtitling in Poland …. isn’t very good. This is not entirely (or even mostly) the fault of translators but it’s another nail in the coffin of the myth that subtitles will help Poland become an English speaking country (and not have to worry about Polish spelling rules anymore).