For this assignment, I used a free app on my iPhone called speech to text. I recorded myself telling an unscripted story about my journey towards a plant-based diet. Additionally, I have provided many recommendations of where to find plant-based food in Vancouver.
My Story that was Transcribed from Voice-To-Text Digital Technology
“Hi clouds and as you know I am on a plant-based diet so I just wanted to share some of my favorite places that I like to get desserts from the favorite places that I like to eat at and some places that you can find vegan items when you’re going shopping as well the reason I just wanted to share a little bit about my cultural upbringing so I’ve been vegetarian my entire life and since I’ve been born my parents we’ve never had any meat or any fish or any seafood any meat products inside the house I am and I’m East Indian and am I follow him attend and when I became vegan it was not too much of a change for me personally because there was just only the dairy products that it was removing from my every day food that I was eating and the reason that I did become vegan is I think I always had that idea in my mind that I wanted to become vegan and I was definitely inspired by those that were weekend and one day if my husband said about two years ago I do you want to become vegan and he told me to watch game changers on from Netflix and after watching that we both decided the next day OK we’re going to become vegan and ever since then we’ve been on a plant-based diet so I’m going to start with the desserts because you guys know that I love desserts a lot I’m so one of my favorite places to get vegan donuts is cartons donuts and they actually have them two locations so I usually go to the one on Main Street because that one is closer to me and they have really great baked options as well as fried options and the chocolate donut is pretty good and they always have a different variety when you go there so if you are heading out there make sure that you go earlier because sometimes they sell a lot of donuts before they actually close another place that I like to go to is on level V bakery which is not too far from carotenes it’s on Kingsway and it’s attached to the Community Center, Mount Pleasant community center and they have a good tiramisu cake and they have a vegan cake pops and they have a vegan cupcakes and they have many with different vegan options as well edible flowers is located I’m in Vancouver as well on Broadway Street and so they have some vegan cupcakes if you would like to go there and to pick them up or they can make a specially ordered a vegan cake for you as well focus is really yummy they’re actually the best place though I’m ordering a cake from right now and the best flavor that I love at the moment is the hazelnut want it actually taste like coffee roasters ortho super soft the cake and it’s super creamy and super delicious and you can also find out their products as well at first Street so they carry some of the mini cupcakes for the vanilla with strawberry frosting and then also the chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting as well too and I’m the Carrie some love that frustrate as well and then other places that I like to get desserts from is sweet and sassy and they do delivery as well so they have amazing vegan macaroons and so those are really yummy and they have vegan Croscill and they have many different vegan French pastries if you’re interested in French pastries and Dairy Queen also has a new plant-based dilly bar so if you do want to try a vegan option there that one is not too expensive some restaurants that I eat out that have lots of vegan options or are vegan so the first one is pizzeria grande also this one is fully vegan and it actually taste like you’re eating regular pizza so they make their own vegan cheese and the one that I enjoy the best is the spicy margarita pizza and then Milla is really great as well I’m at located near Chinatown and this place is also fully vegan as well and they have amazing vegan sushi and many different really tasty items on their menu as well a virtuous pie is actually a pizza place but I don’t prefer their vegan pizzas as well because they don’t put any vegan cheese however I love their vegan mac & cheese and their vegan cannoli and that one is also located in the Chinatown area as well in Vancouver I don’t see they have many vegan options and they have a few vegetarian options as well too so mostly we get there and they have amazing food and they have two different locations as well I’m here loom juice far is located on Granville Street and I just recently went to the place and just try it out there vegan mac & cheese with a taken take to go mac & cheese for two people and it had truffle oil as Cincinnati’s was amazing so I would highly recommend that one if he just want to have some vegan food at home I’ll meet on Main is always a good option and Sumit on Main and they have many different locations three to be precise and they have amazing fries the nacho fries I really like they have a lot of balls and they also have a pretty good burger and one of the burgers as an option to put the mac & cheese in there too soon if you like that you might like that option as well where do I shop so some of the specialty items I go to Chinatown and they have a shop called vegan supply and so I get my items from there and they also you can also get items like vegan items at any grocery store as well many are caring a lot of vegan options is days I’m vegan supply also has like their daily goodies I get delivered to them so the desert so one of the products I like that they carry is from bonus bakery and there’s cinnamon bun is amazing so definitely try that one out and also get him items from Sweden sassing other places as well Larry’s market is also on one that I just started ordering the vegan egg from and they are located in Vancouver and it’s a vegetarian place and so we just tried the new vegan and egg which is the liquid one and so they do the delivery and it’s a fully vegetarian place and they have quite a few vegan options are they also have vegan croissants Balto and some of my favorite products from the Vietnam stores that are vegan is the day aligned and so they have cheese so many varieties of cheese cheese stick and also ice cream as well and they also have cheesecake as well too and the ice cream that I like is the Dejan fudge crunch that ones on the bars that one’s pretty tasty as well many options for a plant-based milk I would recommend a milk that is oat because that one has a bit more nutrition and then vegan butter a brand that is but I like the Earth balance brand OK guys that’s it and hopefully I’ve given enough recommendations if you guys need some vegan items If I were to ask my two daughters what are the favorite vegan places to go to you and my daughter loves the desserts from karting donate sound so karting donuts when we buy a pack of six it is finished within a day so my two daughters and me and everybody we all take like a little piece of the donate and it’s finished within one day and second place that I am my daughters were definitely a lot of desert if I had to ask area which is my oldest daughter and what is her favorite place to eat vegan food as she would say different options that I’ve mentioned so her first option would be Pokémon which is located on Kingsway other Buddhist restaurant and they have a lot of imitation items for example imitation chicken and imitation drumsticks and the other option she would mention is if I’m doing a delivery chows veggie and they’re located on Main Street and they have a location on Granville Island and they have an amazing golden temple curry soup which she loves to have at any time and it’s really delicious and they also have an amazing Saturday sauce they have an amazing satay sauce which I add to the golden temple curry”
How does the text deviate from conventions of written English?
In written English, the text pays close attention to grammar. The text generated from the oral input provided to my iPhone did not pay close attention to grammar. This is evident as there is no punctuation in the text, for instance, there are no commas or periods. The entire text is one very long sentence.
What is “wrong” in the text? What is “right”?
Items that I have considered right in the text are words that are spelled correctly. Additionally, words that are right in the text had correct capitalization, for instance, Main Street and I. For the most part, the meaning is not lost in the text as most of the text can be understood even with all the mistakes using the voice-to-text digital technology.
Many restaurant names and brand names are wrong in the text. I have considered them as wrong as they are misspelled. Additionally, some of these words are not at all like the original word and therefore the meaning gets lost. Furthermore, there are some homophones that are wrong in the text. The written output of caring was provided for my oral input of carrying. Additionally, there are words added to the text which I considered wrong, as I did not say those words. Most of the names that are wrong in the text are listed below.
Names:
- Cartons donuts/ Carotenes/ Karating donate sound so karting donuts (instead of Cartems donuts)
- Edible Flowers (instead of Edible flours)
- Coffee roasters (instead of Ferro Rocher)
- First Street (instead of Fresh Street)
- Dejan fudge crunch (instead of Daiya fudge crunch)
- Pizzeria grande (instead of pizzeria grano)
- Sumit on Main (instead of Meet on Main)
- Pokemon (instead of Po Kong)
- Here loom juice far (instead of Heirloom juice bar)
- Sweden sassing (instead of Sweet and Sassy)
What are the most common “mistakes” in the text and why do you consider them “mistakes”?
My most common mistakes in the text include Cartems. As I mentioned this word quite a few times in the text, there were many different versions for that word, and all were written incorrectly.
What if you had “scripted” the story? What difference might that have made?
If I had scripted the story, there may be fewer mistakes as I would be focused on reading the words correctly. As the story was not scripted, I was focused on sharing my experience, and not how I was pronouncing my words. I was also not focused on taking breaks between each sentence. When you read a written story, you pay attention to punctuation and pause when you see a period, when you read the story aloud. I noticed when my tone altered and I had more enthusiasm in my voice, there were more errors in the text. Furthermore, there would be more flow, if my story was scripted. At times when I was sharing my story, I would lose my train of thought and sometimes I would forget some details I wanted to share.
In what ways does oral storytelling differ from written storytelling?
According to Ong (2002), “oral expression can exist and mostly has existed without any writing at all, writing never without orality” (p. 8). Furthermore Ong (2002) explains “human beings in primary oral cultures, those untouched by writing in any form, learn a great deal and posses and practice great wisdom, but they do not study” (p. 8). These quotes express the power and value that oral storytelling can have. From using oral expressions, stories can be passed on from generation to generation. For instance, in Indian culture, there are many stories that I have only heard of from my mother or grandmother that have been shared orally. Some of these traditions perhaps could be found in written stories; however, I have not read the written stories about them. Additionally, most of the stories I have heard orally about Hinduism are from my parents or from listening to the teachings of priests. Though there are many books available that explain the stories through written words, they were not easy for me to understand as a child. Many of the texts in Hinduism were originally in Sanskrit. Many of these texts have been translated into different languages. A text that is important to the religious culture (Iskcon) that I am associated with is the Bhagavad Gītā.
Written storytelling or texts can possess the quality of authority as “though words are grounded in oral speech, writing tyrannically locks them into a visual field forever (Ong et. al, 2002, p. 11). The way text is used in modern society is where written text has authority in comparison to oral literature. Ong (2002) states, “oral art forms were essentially unskillful and not worth serious study” (p.10). However, I believe to share a story verbally, it requires talent, and it is not easy to become a great storyteller. When you are an oral storyteller, you must engage with your audience and capture their attention. Using your body language and tone, you can creatively add elements and enthusiasm to your story.
The tone of my written script was monotone. There are limits to expression in written text, for instance using exclamation marks. Writing has evolved which is evident from text messages where emojis are used to add emotions to the text. “In e-mail text, users invented emoticons, graphic symbols that inventively combined punctuation marks to add emotional or intonational context to a writer’s text (such as 🙂 to denote a positive or happy remark)” (Schmandt-Besserat, 2009).
Generally, I believe written speech is more formal when compared to oral speech. There are exceptions to this, for instance, personal diaries, or text messages. There is a difference in the way we speak orally and in our writing as most people do not write the way they talk. Usually, there is more reflection when writing, and the text may be edited. Editing can occur more easily in digital text. Gnanadesikan (2011) mentions, through writing, a message can be passed along more accurately, and “finished written pieces are much more carefully crafted than a typical spoken sentence” (p. 5). According to David Olson (1974, as cited in Schmandt-Besserat, 2009) “writing, not speech determine our ability to reflect on ourselves” (p. 20).
References:
Gnanadesikan, A. E. (2011).“The First IT Revolution.” In The writing revolution: Cuneiform to the internet. (Vol. 25). John Wiley & Sons (pp. 1-10).
Ong, W. J. (2002). Orality and literacy: The technologizing of the word. Routledge.
Schmandt-Besserat, D. (2009). “Origins and Forms of Writing.” In Bazerman, C. (Ed.). Handbook of research on writing: History, society, school, individual, text. Routledge.
