When the language of a video is primarily spoken in a foreign language, the equivalent accessible version would reflect captions in the same foreign language and should not be translated into English. For example, a deaf student is taking a Spanish course that has practice videos of individuals speaking Spanish. These videos should be captioned in Spanish for accessibility purposes.
The Described and Captioned Media Program’s (DCMP) Captioning Key offers guidance on addressing foreign language and recommends the following under Special Considerations:
Foreign Language, Dialect, Slang, and Phonetics
- If possible, caption the actual foreign words. If it is not possible to caption the words, use a description (e.g., [speaking French]). Never translate into English.
- If possible, use accent marks, diacritical marks, and other indicators.
- Indicate regional accent at the beginning of the first caption.
Additional Resources:
- Web Accessibility Initiative: Captions/Subtitles
- DCMP Vendor List (identifies foreign languages companies can caption)
