Transcribing versus Captioning:
What's in a Name?

 

 

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Many people use the term "captioning" to refer to the very thing a TypeWell transcriber does:  type out what people say, so other people can read it and thus have access to the communication.  Why do we use the terms "transcription", "transcriber" and "transcribing" instead of "captions", "captionist" and "captioning"?  There are two main reasons:

1. Two major federal laws, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) use the term "computer-aided transcription services" to refer to real-time communication access.  In fact, IDEA 2004 added the phrase "transcription services" and named TypeWell specifically as an acceptable interpreting service for deaf and hard of hearing students. 
2. The term "captioning"  has long been used to refer to the text translation at the bottom of TV broadcasts, movies and videos.  There is widespread popular understanding of the word "captioning" to mean this "text below a  picture".  In fact, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act uses the term "captioning" in exactly this way, and not to refer to in-class communication access and notes. 

Thus, "transcribing" is the more accurate term to refer to the communication access and notes mentioned in the federal laws, AND using the term "transcribing"  avoids confusing these two different kinds of access services with the other.  "Transcribing" is real-time communication access; "captioning" is 'on-screen text' below the picture of a TV broadcast, a movie, or other video show.