“Originally created for people who are Deaf and hearing impaired, captions today are widely used by all kinds of TV watchers. Could captions also help endangered languages survive?
If you don’t know what “tentacles undulating moistly” or “creatures mewl pathetically” refers to, then you’re probably someone who can hear their “hand unfurling creakily” – old.
The Netflix show Stranger Things has not only wuthered Kate Bush up the charts and ensured Metallica doesn’t fade to black, it’s also made captions cooler.
Earlier this year, season four of the science fiction-horror-drama saw its captions go viral, with fans sharing screen shots with bizarre phrases “tentacles roiling wetly” (think agitating a squid in the sea) and “guttural gurgling” (evidently when your stomach sounds like it’s farting through its skin).”
Read the rest of Samson Samasoni’s article about captions here.
