Task 3.4 – Voice to Text

This is the story of how I met the wizard so before I became a teacher I was in several bands and one of those we used to tour all throughout western Canada BC and Alberta for the most part and we play sure it’s not just in the big cities but the small little towns as well and saw the story takes place in the town of Golden BC which is a lovely little town right on the BC Alberta border in the Rocky Mountains for a lot of people it’s just a rest stop in a place to get gas and travel between the two provinces but your restaurants near two and one of these places we would regular labor foreman on our tours so we were at this venue called the rock water bar and grill and we’re setting up for our show that evening and all the time is a huge influx of people And we realize or a tour buses pulled up out front and all the tours from my boss on now coming into the restaurant to eat when you was only gonna play us A flat rate to perform well but a bigger crowd now that we can sell more CDs and merchandise and getting some new fans which is why I think that we’re looking to do one tour so this is awesome so we play the show that night and it’s a good showing  what is this one guy who was really really loving what we were doing he was on his feet the whole night he was clapping and cheering and dancing like crazy and singing along to the cover songs that he knew this guy was absolutely loving us and he stood out not just because he was so enthusiastic but also because of the way he was dressed long hair down his shoulders and a beard but he was wearing his blanket wrapped around him of the cake and had all these patches an emblem sewing on it and a boy had to add I don’t quite remember he certainly stood out in the way that a yes and also in between sets we had to go talk to this guy we always love it when someone’s really enjoy your shower only like to go talk to people who like what we do so I go up to the scheduling a break I asked him hi I noticed you were really enjoying the show what’s your name and he says to me infinity solstice great wizard of destiny and I said what and he said infinity solstace white white wizard of destiny and mashed repeat it back to him after a couple tries so this guy he’s got a very interesting name and he says yeah I really enjoy the music and I always love bringing my customers here because they are bands playing at this restaurant and it turns out he’s actually the bus driver for the tour bus that had shown up and ask him about that and how long is been doing that and apparently Tour bus driving is just one of the many things that infinity solstice great wizard of destiny does he is also a provincial he went to tennis player he is a musician and it’s own right he writes and produces his own music and he is the owner and proprietor of the Goh organic sports Ranch which is not too far away from the town that we were playing in that night and he describes his sports ranch is a combination of Farm organic‘s Farm and the sports facility tennis court there as well as an a Normas frisbee golf for this golf course golf course is all connected together in one massive one also has an art gallery on the property and yeah so this guy he sounds like a very interesting character so at the end of the night he actually went out to Boston and came back in before we gave us a couple of his CDs of his music and he said if we’re ever in the area again his organic sports ranch is just a little ways down the valley from where we were that night and he would love to see this place that he’s created and so of course the next day we show that we cannot get enough of infinities music it is very different it’s kind of unusual it was just fascinating to listen to it started out as sort of an ironic thing that we did but we actually got to know a lot of his songs very well as we listen to that album for the rest of the tour fast forward another six months or so maybe a year later we’re on another tour and we realize that we have a spare day every Tuesday when you don’t really find any good gig supplies and we’re gonna be in again not far from i’m in Chinese sports Ranch and we realize we look at each other we go should we should we call him if we actually go visit the sky and so we did I can’t remember if it if we got off on him or emailed him touch with them somehow and he said yeah I am I’m around the directions to this place and invite us to meet him there detour and a little town called Barcelos BC I think I just always something south of Golden again driving force 3040 minutes outside of us what was already really small patch of spices really kind of in the middle of nowhere and finally become across his buildings in the clearing the middle of a forest and huge property on so he can meet us in Princess and then invite us to play some disc golf with him and this guy has an in Normas and super complex course set up in the forest working on 40 years and there’s so many cool decorations and art pieces and obstacles and trick shots to be made and it is really something for the casually enjoys this golf once in a while this was an absolute paradise of a course and so he steps up First hole is and I’ll show you and then he pulls back is this fire is it off into the trees and nails hole in one on this whole that’s got to be half a kilometer away on the first shot it was absolutely incredible I don’t know how Long this guys been practicing but absolutely nothing and so after a long afternoon of playing a disco invited us to see his recording studio in his home and then his art gallery on site and has this whole small building it looks like a small barn that is dedicated to our paintings by this artist named man woman and he also gave us a bunch of his organic produce to take with us and enjoy the rest of the tour as well I think you gave us one more album as well I think you gave us some fresh music chair to enjoy the rest of the tour as well and so that’s the story of how we met the wizard and I had the opportunity to go explore the wizards world one day and then very cool guy who lives in a very interesting life and it was very neat to have the opportunity to be able to have a cool story to tell about meeting

  • How does the text deviate from conventions of written English?

The most noticeable deviation from written English is the lack of punctuation. This story, as written, reads like an enormous run-on sentence (one that isn’t internally grammatically consistent if analyzed that way). Additionally, much of what I spoke often didn’t adhere to written grammatical conventions such as using complete sentences. My spoken unscripted speech features many sentence fragments. I also use several vernacular conventions that are not common in formal written English, such as beginning sentences and sentence fragments with “so” and creating long, list-like phrases linked together by an unusually large number of “and”s. The structure of this text was also originally delivered with tone of voice, expression, hand gestures, and other non-verbal cues that provided additional meaning. Conventional written English is structured in such a way that these additional cues are unnecessary, and so this transcription loses a lot of meaning when the non-verbal cues are removed without the addition of conventional writing structures to replace what wasn’t transcribed.

  • What is “wrong” in the text? What is “right”?

In addition to the lack of punctuation already mentioned, there are many words and entire phrases that were entirely omitted during the transcription process, and many more that were incorrectly transcribed. One thing that the transcription got “right” was not transcribing the many “um”s and other space-filling sounds that I used in my speech. This text fails to use written equivalents to convey any moments when certain words or phrases were meant to be emphasized or de-emphasised to elevate or diminish their importance within the context of the story, such as when some words were spoken more emphatically to denote how they were really important, or when some descriptions were meant to be more of an additional aside or example (like this). Also, on one or two occasions I attempted to to correct or revise what I had spoken on-the-go, using “I mean…” “or…” with a particular inflection to indicate to the “listener” that I had “misspoke” the previous word or phrase and that I intended them to disregard that particular choice of words in favour of something else I then offered as a substitute, but the transcription software does not allow for that sort of “live editing” and instead tries its best to record everying verbatim.

  • What are the most common “mistakes” in the text and why do you consider them “mistakes”?

The lack of punctuation is probably the most common and most notable “mistake”. I can understand the technical difficulty that would come from using software to interpret punctuation based on grammatical conventions and the ambiguous nature of interpreting the meaning of a length of a pause in spoken English (was that a comma or a period?). Nonetheless the lack of any punctuation at all stands out in this text not just for its frequency of occurrence but also in how difficult interpreting the text becomes as a result. The second-most common mistakes are instances in which the words I intended to convey were transcribed as something with a completely different meaning. In most cases I can recognize the phonetic similarities (“Goh organic sports Ranch” instead of Go Organic Sports Ranch, “a Normas” instead of enormous), but it really highlights how the transcription software has no ability to make a more educated guess at what the word or phrase should actually be based on the context of the story (for example, a listener would likely assume they has misheard or misunderstood during the telling of this story if they had interpreted “he actually went out to Boston and came back in” the same way the transcription software did).

  • What if you had “scripted” the story? What difference might that have made?

A scripted version of the story would certainly be easier to read and interpret than the transcribed text because it would have followed the conventions and structures of written English first. These features would have made the story less reliant on the nonverbal cues that become omitted during transcription. Additionally, I feel like reading from a script likely would have made my speaking slower and more clear to understand, resulting in fewer transcription errors.

  • In what ways does oral storytelling differ from written storytelling? 

Oral storytelling interacts with time differently. The story is received in a linear fashion in the same order as how it is delivered, with the speaker choosing how fast or slow they the words will flow. A good speaker will be aware of this and can adjust their speech patterns to promote clarity. With a written story, the reader can choose to go back and re-read passages at will. The reader, not the writer, gets to dictate the speed of progression.

Oral storytelling is traditionally interactive. Even if the listeners are not directly commenting or asking questions, the storyteller can see facial expressions and body language of their listeners that can inform and influence how they tell the story. Written stories are presented to an “invisible audience” that the writer will likely not see or hear interacting with their story.

Oral storytelling is composed at the same time as it is delivered. Even when rehearsed, each telling is a re-construction rather than an exact duplication (with the exception of a recording of an oral story). A written story can be re-read after being written once, and can also be copied (even by hand) so that the meaning of the words can be duplicated exactly.

Oral storytelling uses devices beyond just words to construct meaning. Tone of voice, volume, expression, actions, sound effects, and even props can be used to enhance an oral story. A conventionally written story in English uses words, punctuation, and grammar for most of the meaning-making. Text modifications such as bold and underline features can be used to some extent to fill in the meaning-making gaps that are created when words are divorced from oral delivery, but there is no universal or direct correlation for perfectly translating  these extra-textual meanings between delivery modes.

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Task 1.7 – What’s In My Bag?

This is image represents my “work bag” that I carry with me every day in my role as an elementary music and band teacher. Included in addition to the literal contents of my work bag are other items that also accompany me to and from my school.

click to enlarge image

Contents and Daily Use

  • The backpack itself was a gift from my sister. It is designed to be highly water resistant, an important need for me given that my typical commute consists of transit and walking in all types of nasty weather.
  • The saxophone has been an important part of my identity for many years before I became a teacher. Although I am no longer packing it with me on long tours with bands, I use it almost daily in the music classes I teach. Recently, I was lucky enough to acquire a spare saxophone that now resides in my music room, so I am no longer actively transporting my primary instrument with me every day.
  • The reusable shopping bags are a permanent fixture in my bag, as I often include a bit of grocery shopping on my commute home that happens to take me right by a grocery store.
  • The travel mug is an essential part of my daily routine because it will not be a good day if I do not have my coffee.
  • The ibuprofen bottle is something that, as a lifelong sufferer of headaches, I have extras of stashed away inside every bag and instrument case I own.
  • The instant coffee packets are intended for emergency use only. It is generally not a good day if I find myself using those.
  • The tea bags are nice to have on days when my voice starts to feel worn out from overuse from constant speaking and singing at work.
  • The multitool mostly gets used for minor instrument repairs, but it always becomes useful in other unexpected situations.
  • The granola bars are mainly intended for emergency use, typically when I need some food to go down with my ibuprofen.
  • The pocket notebook is my “second brain” at work. I use it to keep quick notes of what material I have covered each day with the thirteen different classes I see every week.
  • The mechanical pencils are for use with the notebook. I always keep 2 for the inevitable occasions when the first one stops working.
  • The sharpie is because I can never find one at work when I need one.
  • The keys are keys for the school and my filing cabinet there.
  • The roll of dog poop bags are because I never want to find myself in a situation when I need them as a dog owner but don’t have them, and so like the ibuprofen I have them stashed everywhere.
  • The external battery charger is because my phone is old and its battery sucks, but otherwise it works well enough that I can’t justify replacing it.
  • The laptop computer (with charging cable) is the device provided to me by my school district. I use it constantly at work in conjunction with a projector for audio-visual and text resources for my lessons.
  • The earbuds are for listening to podcasts during my commute.
  • The phone case represents my phone, which was used to take this photo.
  • My wallet contains all the usual things most wallets usually carry, including my transit pass, ID, credit card, and some cash as a backup for emergencies.

While the majority of items in my bag are used on a daily or near-daily basis, many of the items that I regularly carry are intended for “emergencies”.

Items as texts: What they say about me

These items speak to my habit of trying to be well-prepared for unexpected or unplanned circumstances. Although I am far from the most eco-conscious person, these items to point towards more sustainable habits (public transit instead of driving, reusable shopping bags instead of single-use plastic, reusable coffee mug instead of purchasing disposable) that I have integrated into my routine. The saxophone represents not only my current job as a music teacher but also reflects a past career as a professional musician when I would be carrying one or more instruments with me to every job I did.

 

“Text technologies” in my bag and the literacies I have

The notepad and pencils are what I use for personal notes and reminders to aid my memory. I find the process of writing on paper feels more “fluid” and “natural” for directly translating my thoughts to some sort of visual form, especially given that it does not require any correction of typos or fiddling around to open the correct app. Although I grew up with access to a computer at home when I was young, the majority of my education placed a heavy emphasis on writing with pencils and pens as opposed to typing.

The laptop computer serves many text and communication purposes. Its larger screen makes it my preferred device for consuming larger works of text, as as well as image- and video-based content. I use it for creating emails to colleagues, comments for report cards, worksheets and resources to be printed for students, and digital resources to be projected in the classroom. In addition to typed communication, I also use this device to create some image, audio, and video-based resources to communicate ideas to my students in ways other than written language. For engaging with literacies that are more visual in nature, I prefer this tool.

My phone, similarly, acts as a hub for many different literacies and forms of communication. While it is technically capable of many of the same tasks as my laptop, I avoid using it for producing or consuming larger written texts or videos. Because of its portable nature, I do use it frequently for capturing photographs of things I would like to remember (such as how I set up the xylophones for a certain class), and for consuming podcasts while I travel to and from work. I also use my phone for text message and instant message communications with friends and family, and of course for the occasional phone call as well. For literacies that are more audio in nature and/or can be practiced while away from the fixed location of a desk, this is my preferred tool.

The final tool I will mention here is my saxophone. It is not what I would think of as a text tool, but it definitely speaks to my musical literacy generally and my more specific literacy with this particular instrument.

My narrative

The main difference that the actual, uncurated contents of my bag would tell is that I am an extremely messy person. My desk is covered in clutter, as is the inside of my bag. My bag additionally contains old scraps of mystery paper, assortments of additional stationary supplies that really don’t need to be kept in there, and packs of medicine to suppress cold symptoms leftover from a pre-pandemic era when it wasn’t considered unacceptable to come to work feeling a bit sick (especially if the concert was happening that day!).

In the past

A version of my bag from 25 years ago, without a laptop, would probably have done away with the backpack entirely and kept only the most essential items that could fit inside the saxophone case. The reusable shopping bags would not have been present, and the coffee mug may have stuck around only because I find it faster and more convenient to brew my own coffee at home rather than waiting in line at the coffee shop during morning rush hour.

From an archeological point of view

I wonder if an archeologist reviewing these contents would be puzzled by the inclusion of pencils and a notebook when the collection already included a cell phone. Perhaps they might have guessed that those were just another “backup” or “just in case” item, rather than something I actually use very regularly in my daily practice.

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1. Consider the course title, “Text technologies: The changing spaces of reading and writing.” What is text? What is technology? How would you define these terms? Without consulting any resources, record your initial thoughts on these questions.

Text: language in written form.

Technology: a tool or system that enhances or extends human ability.

 

4. Graph the Usage of the terms over time with Google Ngram Viewer[…] what patterns are revealed?

The word “text” was very commonly used in the 1500s, likely in part to additional previous meanings of the word that have since fallen out of favour. I would also guess that some uses of the word “text” being published at this time might have possibly been related to the proliferation of the printing press in Europe. As a result of other “texts” being more widely available, it stands to reason that they would be referenced more frequently in writings at that time.

The word “technology” really does not start to gain traction until the mid 1900s, perhaps related to the incredible rate of technological developments that accelerated during the Second World War that had enormously transformative effects on not only warfare but also politics, further scientific advances, and commercial goods and services that increasingly altered ordinary civilian life inthe following years.

 

5. Consider the following questions…

What does the etymology of these words suggest about their inherent meanings?

The latin origin of the word textus (“that which is woven, web, texture” [The Oxford English Dictionary]) might suggest an idea of weaving words together (such as to “spin a tale”) or weaving letters together to form words with meanings.

I’m not entirely familiar with how to navigate the multiple etymological connections listed in the OED, but it seems that the “techno-” portion of “technology”, borrowed from ancient Greek (to fashion), shares a common root with the Latin word texere, making both “text” and “technology” related in their origins.

How is technology related to text?

I would argue that text, in the sense of written language, is one of the most important technologies ever developed, allowing a human to save ideas in a persistent record so that the information can be passed to another person at another time (and possibly another place).

What does teche (teaching) have to do with technology?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the oldest use of the word technology in English as “A discourse or treatise on an art or arts; esp. (in later use) a treatise on a practical art or craft”. A technology, in its original sense, was a text designed to teach the reader about a particular craft or branch of knowledge.

References:

Google Ngram Viewer. https://books.google.com/ngrams

The Oxford English Dictionary. https://www-oed-com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/

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