dmimi@uncecs.edu (Mimi Clifford) (02/24/90)
Index Number: 6946 For goodness sakes, let's NOT discourage captining on TV! Add interpreters, by all means, if you wish, but PLEASE KEEP CAPTIONING. First of all, whether or not a hearing impaired person, deaf or not, can speak, he/she certainly should be able to read! Captioning requires READING, not SPEAKING. Secondly, the hard of hearing but not deaf population out numbers the deaf population approximately 4 to 1 at this point and the disparity is probably growning. Many of us (the former) became hard of hearing at or after adulthood--that is in middle or later years and expecting us all to learn sign is not realistic. I, for example, have no argument with the notion that sign is good to know, but at 65 years and with virtually no contact with the deaf community, learning sign would be a BIG project with little return. Thirdly, it is nice to be able to watch the picture as well as to know what people are saying on TV. Captioning allows both for me and many others. All I really need is a couple of words out of the sentence--I can either fill in or hear the rest usually (though the bushy faces, mumbled or fast speech, faces looking the other way, and background music and noise sure make things tough sometimes.)
Greg.See-Kee@p0.f404.n714.z3.fidonet.org (Greg See-Kee) (03/06/90)
Index Number: 7079
MC> PLEASE KEEP CAPTIONING.
MC>
MC> First of all, whether or not a hearing impaired
MC> person, deaf or not, can speak, he/she certainly
MC> should be able to read! Captioning requires READING,
MC> not SPEAKING.
MC> Secondly, the hard of hearing but not deaf population
MC> out numbers the deaf population approximately 4 to 1
...
MC> Thirdly, it is nice to be able to watch the picture as
MC> well as to know what people are saying on TV.
...
FOURTHLY ...
Probably your biggest, most persuasive argument. So powerful, it
should be No. 1.
4) Captioning allows EVERYONE to scan any program in high speed,
via a videotape machine. Those people whose time is valuable
will then see more TV in less time. More viewers will watch the
show. Better for the advertisers, because there are more
viewers.
--
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