Writing & StyleStyle guide

Writing Caption Emphasis

Writing Caption Emphasis records a distinct W3C-supported caption-writing task while keeping implementation mechanics and unsupported house-style rules outside the guidance.

Quick answer

Do not use all capital letters merely to emphasize a word in captions; W3C WAI lists all caps as a cue for yelling.

Key details

Core IssueDo not use all capital letters merely to emphasize a word in captions; W3C WAI lists all caps as a cue for yelling.
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Important caveats

Scope Boundary

The guidance is about caption wording conventions, not every visual styling mechanism a player may support.

Further guidance

Content

Keep ordinary emphasis out of all caps; reserve all-cap styling for the narrow speech cue documented for yelling when that distinction matters.

Purpose

This avoids turning ordinary emphasis into a false vocal cue while still conveying relevant delivery.

Sources and evidence

Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.

  1. Transcribing Audio to Text — W3C WAI (opens in a new tab)World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative · W3C WAI guidance for identifying speakers and representing relevant audio information in transcripts and captions.

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