Captions, subtitles & timed text · Specialist
Subtitle
Also called: subtitles
ELI5
Timed text translating or transcribing speech, usually without representing every relevant sound.
Used in conversation
“The localisation team needs to check the subtitle before delivery.”
Pitch context
Use this when explaining how the story works on the page or across the finished screen experience.
Why it matters: Explains access, language adaptation, care, provenance and emerging synthetic-media responsibilities.
Connected terms
- CaptionCaptions include dialogue and relevant non-speech audio; subtitles often translate or transcribe speech, with regional terminology varying.
- Forced narrative subtitleA forced narrative subtitle appears automatically for selected foreign or inaccessible speech; a normal subtitle track is generally user-selectable or language-wide.
- Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearingOrdinary subtitles may represent speech only; SDH also identifies speakers and relevant non-speech sound for Deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences.
- Sidecar subtitleSidecar subtitle is a narrower kind of Subtitle.
Sources & evidence · 11
Direct term-level sources and supporting source families.
- Adobe — Adobe Premiere Pro User GuideDirect source · institutional · checked 2026-08-14
- Directors Guild of America — DGA Creative Rights HandbookDirect source · primary · checked 2026-08-14
- Writers Guild of America West — No Writing Left BehindDirect source · primary · checked 2026-08-14
- World Wide Web Consortium — Making Audio and Video Media AccessibleSupporting source family · primary · checked 2026-08-14
- Netflix — Partner Help Center Delivery SpecificationsSupporting source family · primary · checked 2026-08-14
- Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity — C2PA Technical Specification and Content CredentialsSupporting source family · primary · checked 2026-08-14
- SAG-AFTRA — Artificial Intelligence ResourcesSupporting source family · primary · checked 2026-08-14
- U.S. Copyright Office — Copyright and Artificial IntelligenceSupporting source family · primary · checked 2026-08-14
- Writers Guild of America West — Artificial Intelligence: Know Your RightsSupporting source family · primary · checked 2026-08-14
- Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity — C2PA Technical SpecificationSupporting source family · primary · checked 2026-08-14
- Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity — C2PA Conformance ProgramSupporting source family · primary · checked 2026-08-14