With Closed Captioning, Words Can Get in the Way

Closed captioning may be a boon for people with hearing issues, as well as for folks who are trying to watch TV in noisy kitchens, workshops and so on -- but the process by which the spoken word is translated into text is far from an exact science. As evidence,...
By Michael RobertsJuly 24, 2007
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Closed captioning may be a boon for people with hearing issues, as well as for folks who are trying to watch TV in noisy kitchens, workshops and so on — but the process by which the spoken word is translated into text is far from an exact science. As evidence, check out some recent closed-captioning gaffes that were sent to us by a regular Westword reader:

Spoken version: “…it’s not only futile…”
CC version: “it’s not only few tile…”

Spoken version: “…Hillary Clinton tactics…”
CC version: “…Hillary Clinton tact aches…”

Spoken version: “…Korean war came to a stalemate…”
CC version: “…Korean war came to a stale meat…”

Spoken version: “…a centrist position…”
CC version: “…a scent tryst position…”

A “scent tryst position”? That’s one smelly affair. — Michael Roberts

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword‘s news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor’s degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master’s degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

michaelrobertscolo@gmail.com

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