Toward Language Justice: Exploring Multilingual Captioning for Accessibility

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Accessibility Research
• Linguistic Studies

Background:

• Existing research on captioning accessibility primarily focuses on English.
• Multilingual users, representing a significant population, are underserved by current captioning practices.
• There is a need to explore the accessibility of captioning beyond a single language.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the accessibility and user experience of multilingual captions for disabled individuals.
• To understand the linguistic and cultural factors influencing the effectiveness of multilingual captions.
• To advocate for a language justice approach in captioning research and development.

Main Methods:

• Conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 participants who utilize multilingual captions.
• Employed diary logs to gather in-depth user experiences and feedback.
• Analyzed qualitative data to identify key themes related to accessibility and cultural relevance.

Main Results:

• Multilingual captions are crucial for accessibility, impacting language learning, community building, and cultural preservation.
• Linguistic features (scripts, orthography) and cultural context significantly affect caption accessibility.
• Participants highlighted the importance of multilingual captions despite current limitations in quality and availability.

Conclusions:

• Captioning research must adopt a language justice agenda, decentering English and embracing diverse linguistic needs.
• Future captioning development should prioritize multilingual support to ensure equitable access for all users.
• Recognizing and celebrating varied communication styles is essential for inclusive technology design.