Welcome to the Panopto Community

Please note: All new registrants to the Panopto Community Forum must be approved by a forum moderator or admin. As such, if you navigate to a feature that is members-only, you may receive an error page if your registration has not yet been approved. We apologize for any inconvenience and are approving new members as quickly as possible.

Misleading Chinese Captioning Options

Samuel ChanSamuel Chan Tyro
in Use Cases

Panopto's AI captioning feature currently offers options for Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese. However, these options are misleading as they only address the written forms of the Chinese language and do not specify the spoken language, which is assumed to be Mandarin. This oversight can cause confusion for users who speak other Chinese dialects such as Cantonese or Hokkien.

It is important to clarify that Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese refer to the two main writing systems used in the Chinese-speaking world. Traditional Chinese characters are primarily used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and many overseas Chinese communities, while Simplified Chinese characters are used in Mainland China and Singapore. These writing systems, however, do not correspond to specific spoken languages.

The Chinese language encompasses a variety of spoken dialects, each with its own phonetic and syntactic characteristics. The most widely spoken dialects include Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien, Hakka, and Shanghainese. While these dialects share the same written forms (Traditional or Simplified Chinese), their spoken forms are distinct and often mutually unintelligible.

For example:

  • Mandarin (Putonghua) is the official language of China and Taiwan and is the most widely spoken Chinese dialect.
  • Cantonese (Yue) is spoken in Guangdong province, Hong Kong, and Macau. It has significant phonetic and lexical differences from Mandarin.
  • Hokkien (Min Nan) is spoken in southern Fujian, Taiwan, and among overseas Chinese communities. It has its own unique phonetic system.
  • Shanghainese (Wu) is spoken primarily in the Shanghai region and Zhejiang province. It is known for its distinctive pronunciation and vocabulary.

The current captioning options in Panopto assume that all Chinese speech is in Mandarin, which is not explicitly stated. This assumption can lead to inaccurate captions for users who speak other dialects, as the phonetic and syntactic structures of these dialects differ significantly from Mandarin.

Here are some recommendations.

Firstly, it is crucial to clarify the current language options in Panopto. The platform should explicitly state that the existing Chinese captioning options assume the spoken language is Mandarin. This clarification will help users understand the limitations of the current system and avoid any confusion.

Secondly, Panopto should expand its language support to include additional spoken Chinese dialects. By offering options for Cantonese, Hokkien, Hakka, and Shanghainese, Panopto can provide more accurate and accessible captioning for a broader range of users. Each of these dialects has unique phonetic and syntactic characteristics that need to be accurately represented in the captions.

Lastly, Panopto should invest in user education. Providing clear information on how to select the appropriate captioning options based on both the written script and the spoken dialect will empower users to make informed choices. This can be achieved through detailed guides, tutorials, and in-app prompts that explain the differences between the available options and how to use them effectively.

Sign In or Register to comment.