Translation for the Visually Impaired: A Study of Kinetic Units, Implicature, and Coherence in Persian Audio Descriptions

The present study aimed to examine kinetic units, implicature, and coherence in Persian audio descriptions. To this end, ۱۰ Persian audio-described movies, totaling ۱,۰۰۴ minutes, were analyzed, and their audio descriptions (ADs) were documented, resulting in ۳,۴۸۵ records. These records were filtered for descriptions related to characters’ movements, yielding ۲,۰۹۵ ADs, which were analyzed in three phases. First, the type of kinetic unit in each AD was identified. Second, the implicature of kinetic units was examined to determine whether it was included in the ADs or ignored. The final phase addressed coherence in ADs. The results revealed that gesture was the most frequent kinetic unit in Persian ADs, followed by manner and posture. Moreover, ۹۶% of kinetic units lacked implicature, and only ۲.۵% of implicatures related to characters’ movements were ignored in audio descriptions, which does not raise serious concerns about accessibility for blind and visually impaired audiences. Regarding coherence, ۹۷% of Persian ADs were found to be coherent, highlighting the substantial accessibility they provide to their target audience. However, accessibility was not solely contingent upon linguistic and pragmatic factors. Technical challenges, such as background music overshadowing ADs, posed additional barriers to media accessibility.

کلیدواژه ها:

Audio description ، kinetic unit ، implicature ، Coherence ، media accessibility ، Persian