January 2023 – Lubna Yasin

Task 3: Voice to Text Task

For this task, I used the trial versions of two different speech-to-text software: Speechmatics and Amberscripts.
I chose to speak about a recent travelling experience with my family during the winter break of 2022. Unfortunately, the first script cut off abruptly because the free version had a short time limit.

Speechmatics:
Length: 00:01:38

We were. We were meant to travel to the Dubai and we travelled on Christmas Day because thetickets were cheaper. The first thing that happened was we had a layover at Paris Airport and itwas completely deserted. Nothing was open. We couldn't get any food. There was just oneStarbucks coffee shop opened with very limited options and our flight got delayed so wemissed our flight got delayed because of the storm and Toronto. So we missed our connectingflight in Paris and ended up with the layover being even longer than we expected. And our nextflight out to Dubai from Paris was about 12 hours later. So we just spent the whole day 25th ofDecember on Christmas Day at Paris Airport. Eventually, when we did get on the plane, therewas a problem with our seats, but thankfully that got resolved. And then when we arrived atDubai Airport, all our luggage was lost on the fit. We had about eight cases because we wereattending a wedding and we had all our wedding clothes and everything in there. All eightsuitcases got lost and they didn't even find them. Later on, all together. So we didn't get thosefor a couple of days. And that was quite troubling. We got two of the suitcases back later andthen every day, one more suitcase.

Amberscript:
Length: 00:03:43

So the last time we traveled, there was a bit of a fiasco. There were five of us traveling, and it was for the winter break, 2022. We had to go to Dubai to attend my nephew's wedding, and there were five of us. My three children and my partner and myself traveling. So we tried to get the most economically feasible tickets and we ended up flying on on the night of the 24th, but technically the 25th of December, Christmas Day. And there was a storm there was a storm in Toronto that day. So that really added to the whole, you know, experience. And our flight got delayed because of that by several hours. So by the time we finally got on the plane, we arrived late in Paris and live and we ended up missing our connecting flight. So we had to stay there for another. The next flight was we were supposed to catch one in the morning. Instead, we ended up having to take one at 9 p.m. at night. The airport was completely deserted. Nothing was opened. It was hardly any people there. Barely one Starbucks open. And that too, with very little options. Basic coffee and a croissant, perhaps. But, you know, we were all together and we were okay. So that was an experience. Eventually, we got on that flight and ended up in Dubai, where we waited for quite a while before we found out that our bags were lost and actually had been possibly sent back to Canada. And so we had to go home without any luggage. We had eight suitcases and of course the wedding was coming up and all our clothes and preparations were in there. So that took a while because the suitcases did not all arrive back together. We got to after a day or two and then another one and then another one. We had to keep following them. It was quite it was quite hectic and a little bizarre because we had no idea which suitcase was where in the world eventually took a week for all the suitcases to come in. And that was quite an interesting experience. We traveled on Air Canada for part of the flight and Emirates Airline for the other half of the flight to Dubai. The service was all right. I guess once we got to the bye, things got better. And Emirates kind of really handled the situation really well. They they really tried to help us a lot, especially with the luggage. And they had them The luggage was actually then eventually in pieces delivered to the house. I guess traveling on Christmas Day did not help our cause much. Yeah.

There are many grammatical errors in the transcription, but I was impressed with Amberscript’s ability to interpret my speech and add punctuation quite accurately. In addition, both software could eliminate my vocal disfluencies (filler words such as ‘um’ and ‘ah’); perhaps because I speak fast, Speechmatics could not separate many of my spoken words, Amberscript did a much better job of this.

There are more grammatical errors, missing punctuation, incomplete sentences and repetition in speech, which the transcript clearly shows. In addition, the sentences are either too choppy and short or too long and repetitive. This is because writing relies on many conventions to achieve a ‘flow’ in the script, such as subordinate clauses and transitional phrases, which are often missing in speech, a less precise, transient, informal and more immediate medium. We consider these ‘mistakes’ in the written format because we are integrally conditioned in a literate society to write a certain way from a very young age. This literacy is associated with being adequately educated and assimilated as a functioning and cultured member of civilized society. Natural speech does not integrate this ‘literacy’ unless deliberated and practiced.

Also missing from the transcript is the tone, timbre, volume, pace and timing of my voice, which I use to convey the emotional context of this anecdote. It was also interesting to note that the second time around recording my speech, I was more structured in my delivery and remembered more detail.

Overall, writing seems akin to a premeditated, orchestrated murder as opposed to speech that is more of an accidental, brutal, raw, passioned act of violence. In the former, consequences are thought out; clues are still embedded leading back to the perpetrator, but only someone skilled in the craft can interpret them. Reading over the transcription of my speech and then my written notes/analysis on them, it seems like two different voices or personas, the second more controlled and ordered for public consumption. In this sense, this task is similar to the ‘What’s in my bag’ undertaking, juxtaposing two different portrayals of self (one more self-conscious than the other) and what this reveals about the individual.

Task 1: What’s in my bag?

For this task, I chose the everyday handbag I try never to leave the house without. It’s a small (25x20cm) cross-body sling bag because I always like to have my hands free and available rather than fumbling with shoulder bag straps. It is deliberately tiny because, over the years, I have realized I am a terrible hoarder by nature but an aspiring minimalist conceptually. The size forces me to declutter and select my essentials wisely.

The small brown wallet holds all ID needs and other plastic bank, discount and membership cards. There is always cash in my purse (inside the zipped pocket), a mandate passed on from my father, while the folded tissue is a habit inherited from my mother. Always, always (in every bag I own), there will be a pen, pencil or mechanical mark-making device because without the means to write, there is no realization of my self.

Other things are: a smartphone, my foldable instant bag-within-a-bag to avoid unnecessary shopping bags and expand my carrying space as required, Burt’s Bees to help my lips acclimatize to the Canadian cold, recently gifted Beats earbuds from my partner (which I don’t use much but felt compelled to enshroud in a case), as well as a whole bunch of expired ID and bank cards from Jeddah, a previous life that I am not ready to let go off yet.

Also here is the fob with the car, house and mailbox keys, digital library card, as well as a #1MOM keychain from Niagara, a gift from my son which has a domino effect of memories; an Arabian Nights tale within a tale of when we first moved – my entire extended family visiting Canada for a niece’s wedding, mum staying with me, our All-Fam trip to Niagara, multiple fights with my brothers accompanied by plenty of emotional breakdowns.

This keyring also holds a tiny nail clipper bought on a memorable trip to the Toji temple in Kyoto, Japan. It was a gift for my mother, and eventually returned to me; super-useful because I cannot bear my nails to be long, and they just won’t stop growing.

The Blue Ribbon “mouth freshener” is a talisman of my origins in Pakistan. It is never eaten unless I have another to replace it, so at all times, I must always have one. This is a mini-concoction of fennel seeds, coriander, sesame seeds, peppermint flavouring, and an unfortunate trace of saccharin – a cliched taste of home that is vital.

Reflecting on what I can read about myself from these artifacts, I realize I am sentimental even though I deny it to the world. Objects carry value for me based on the emotional content I fill them with and the degree to which I can mentally personalize them in a meaningful way. Each object is a bag, packed away with my values, emotional luggage and memories. Each one might be a book or story waiting to be read.

In a sense, these items tell the stories of my life to someone who could decode them, but like any text, they would change depending on the reader and their prior knowledge of the context and subtext. The Latin origin of the word text, denoting the act of weaving or joining together, thus really resonates with me and applies here.

Fifteen years ago, this bag would have been more oversized, messier and overflowing with bits and pieces of everyday items (trash) carrying immense sentimental value. There would have been a book to read, a copy of the Quran, a small sketchbook, and tons of paper-based items – bills, kids’ artwork and notes, lists, daily planner and calendar etc., most of which are now on my smartphone.

Interestingly, despite immense technological advances in our tools and my pretentious oft-voiced indifference to all things material, I realize I am primal in my outlook. Objects, especially those with texts and writing, inspire awe and a sense of mystery within me, even if it is ‘just’ an auto-generated parking stub from a machine. The weight of the ink, the balance of negative/positive space on the field, and the functional selection of typographic elements all fired with a shared sense of meaning to those who ‘know’ or can decode its purpose is an enchanted feat to me, no less, even though it may often get drowned out in the everyday rush of lives we live.

“How can I know what I think until I see what I say.”

(W.H.Auden)

Text is communication. Text is thinking. Text allows us to express, to imprint, and to develop and create who we are. Text is a living thing that can change, grow and evolve with time. Text has power, and text is sacred. Text-related technology is any means to contain, transport, shape, manipulate or facilitate text.