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日本のテレビを見ると、サブタイトルがいつも出てきます。でもサブタイトルじゃなくて。。。何と言いますか？

what does one call Japanese "subtitles" that constantly appear in Japanese
television and to a lesser extent movies? I'm referring to a sentence that
someone on TV says, which is then immediately written onscreen to emphasize
the expression (often for humor).

OK so I asked my friend, and she said it's called テロップ is this right?

On a cultural level, any guesses as to why this phenomena is so frequent in
Japanese media, yet the equivalent is pretty rare in Western countries?
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2011-09-28T02:14:01.967
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2011-12-25T23:22:13.643
2011-12-25T23:22:13.643
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culture
日本のテレビを見ると、サブタイトルがいつも出てきます。でもサブタイトルじゃなくて。。。何と言いますか？
`テロップ` is probably the correct term. The dictionary agrees with you, in any
case.

However, in my daily experience, people are as much or more likely to just
refer to the text you are talking about as `字幕{じまく}("subtitles")`. Yes,
technically subtitles are a different thing in terms of purpose
(translations), but in terms of how they appear (words on a screen), I guess
people don't really differentiate.

For why... I've talked about this with people before, and the most common
theory I've come across that because Japanese has so many homonyms, a little
kanji helps people along. Or at least, that's how it started out, but then
took on a life of it's own and now is just an accepted norm as far as
emphasizing or dramatizing what people say.
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2011-09-28T02:54:41.247
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2011-09-28T02:54:41.247
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I think `テロップ` is right. It is also called `スーパー`. As for its extensive use,
it seems to have started in TV programs in the late 1980s and 1990s such as
探偵!ナイトスクープ, 進め!電波少年, and 天才・たけしの元気が出るテレビ!!, and became widespread under the
influence of these TV programs. The most typical Japanese comedy style
consists of 1. Someone saying/doing a silly thing (ぼけ) and 2. Someone pointing
that out (つっこみ). It looks like テロップ has taken over part of つっこみ under certain
occasions. Or, a more general answer to why such thing developed in Japan
would be that Japanese develop technologies over subtle things that other
people do not care.

Reference: [wikipedia
1](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%90%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A8%E3%83%86%E3%82%A3%E7%95%AA%E7%B5%84#.E3.83.86.E3.83.AD.E3.83.83.E3.83.97),
[wikipedia
2](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%9F%B3%E6%A5%BD%E7%95%AA%E7%B5%84#.E6.AD.8C.E8.A9.9E.E3.83.86.E3.83.AD.E3.83.83.E3.83.97.E3.81.AB.E3.81.A4.E3.81.84.E3.81.A6)

![From one of the links](https://i.stack.imgur.com/4HhPg.jpg)

[日刊ゲンダイ 2010年3月3日](http://www1.axfc.net/uploader/Img/so/74688)
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2011-09-28T03:25:38.607
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2011-09-30T02:48:44.037
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