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？


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?




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)




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)

