Guide to Cataloging DVD and Blu-ray Discs Using AACR2r ... - OLAC

B. Languages
DVD-Videos may have only the soundtrack from the original film. In this case, a
language note is made only if the language of the content is not apparent from the rest
of the bibliographic description.
546 $a In French.
More often though, closed-captioning, one or more additional soundtracks, and/or
subtitles in one or more languages have been added. In any such case, language notes
are needed.
Information about languages can be found on the container or a menu from the screen
display. Languages are described in MARC 21 field 546 and coded in field 041.
Subtitles
The purpose of subtitles is to provide a translation of the soundtrack for nonnative
language speakers. Subtitles assume the listener can hear the audio,
thus include only a translation of the dialog or phrases summarizing the dialog.
546 $a Soundtracks for the feature film in English, Spanish, and French,
with optional subtitles in each language.
Captioning
Captioning serves a wider purpose and includes not only a translation of the
dialog but also descriptions of sound effects, musical notes when there is music,
and any other sounds that would be missed by someone who cannot hear the
audio. Closed captions, utilized in many DVD-Videos, are not visible unless the
viewer activates them via the TV remote control, TV menu or computer DVD
player software menu. Open captions are always visible.
When the container or DVD insert shows the following symbol, the DVD is
closed-captioned:
Captioning information is entered in the 546 field.
546 $a Closed-captioned.
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