Task 3: Voice to Text

Recorded using Speechnotes –

Voice to text message unedited: below is the version of my speaking that has not been changed/edited.

Thought I’d give task three a try and do the voice to text text assignment and see how that goes I’ve never used it but I’m using speech notes to see what happens and I’ve set my alarm for my timer for 5 minutes and I’ll see what happens what I thought I would do is I thought it might be kind of cool to see some posts on Facebook and do it that way and see cuz I have 5 minutes to to use up so might as well do two things at the same time look at Facebook and do my assignment so I don’t usually post a whole lot I’m more of a Voyer so I’m going to see what other people have been posting and see what we got share some stuff with you okay Versace kind of an ad for a summer camp wild School camp for summer camp ooh droopy eyes I can’t smell nothing taste nothing and been sneezing a lot that’s a colleague of mine she ain’t coming to work tomorrow that’s for sure oh a child wearing a princess costume with butterfly wings loving it somebody who’s talking about the weather that’s a typical thing we always get the weather and oh Game of Thrones is back it appears so somebody’s posting Game of Thrones as a meme oh somebody put what my neighbors do you see as I emerge from my house once a week to get it to the enemy that’s pretty funny little Amazon with precious it’s pretty creepy but I appreciate that I think I’m going to have to give him a little bit of a what besides pretty funny ooh cats we always have cats that’s obvious so my friend who has a cat I can’t visit them they live well they live in Nova Scotia for one thing but they also have a cat I’m allergic so we’ll put a little like on that one why not a colleague of mine who’s kindergarten teacher right across the hallway students if you ever want to know what a teacher’s mind feels like imagine a web browser with $2,8 aBS open all the time huh cool somebody’s selling a sewing machine it looks pretty old I don’t know how to sew I don’t even know how to sew buttons with a needle and thread oh a Meme here ask my dad for a cordless drill and this is what I got it’s a oh it’s like a bunch of gadgets stuck together like a an old mixer attached to a screwdriver attached to I don’t fishing line I don’t know the only one comment ooh cucumber avocado salsa oh I can make that tonight I won’t but I could but I won’t I tend not to post a lot of things about school I try to stay away from that while I’m at work or when I’m at work obviously but when I’m at home too well my husband went to a Lunar New Year celebration that myself and my colleagues did through kindergarten and grade one two and three we had like a luncheon and he liked it so much that he posted himself saying I feel good and he did he posted himself with one I don’t know what he always used to G barometer I don’t know what happened good for you Gary it’s pretty cool it’s funny and somebody’s got well wishing birthday wishes that’s good Chris happy Birthday Chris and my time is up so I will let it go there I’m not sure how it’s done I used as you know speech notes so we’ll see what we got for speech notes maybe I’m too articulate and it may have worked out really well so if that’s the case maybe I need to speak a little bit more like this to see what happens all right we’ll see what happens (End of edited voice to text)

Voice-to-text message edited version: below is how the same message should read when grammar and punctuation are added, still keeping the integrity of the casual manner I spoke. I broke it into sections to make it easier to follow. Sentences are a bit strange because I’m speaking about various items as I’m scrolling through the posts.

Thought I’d give Task 3 a try and do the voice-to-text assignment, and see how that goes. I’ve never used it, but I’m using Speechnotes to see what happens. I’ve set my alarm for [on] my timer for 5 minutes and I’ll see what happens.

What I thought I would do is I thought it might be kind of cool to see some posts on Facebook and do it that way. I have 5 minutes to use up, so might as well do two things at the same time; look at Facebook and do my assignment.

So, I don’t usually post a whole lot. I’m more of a voyeur. So, I’m going to see what other people have been posting and see what we got. I’ll share some stuff with you.

Okay, so this is a, some kind of an ad for a summer camp — Wild School Camp for summer camp.

Ooh, “Droopy eyes. I can’t smell nothing, taste nothing, and been sneezing a lot.” That’s a colleague of mine. She ain’t coming to work tomorrow, that’s for sure.

Oh, a child wearing a princess costume with butterfly wings — lovin’ it.

Somebody who’s talking about the weather. That’s a typical thing. We always get the weather.

And, oh, Game of Thrones is back it appears. So, somebody’s posting Game of Thrones as a meme.

Oh, somebody put, “What my neighbors see as I emerge from my house once a week to get a delivery”. [meme of Gollum from Lord of the Rings holding an Amazon package at a doorstep]. That’s pretty funny. It’s a little Amazon package with “Precious”. It’s pretty creepy, but I appreciate that. I think I’m going to have to give him [the friend who posted the meme] a little bit of a “What?!” face. Pretty funny.

Ooh cats! We always have cats [posted on Facebook], that’s obvious. So, my friend who has a cat — I can’t visit them [grammatically incorrect]. They live, well they live in Nova Scotia for one thing, but they also have a cat. I’m allergic. So, we’ll put a little “like” on that one, why not.

A colleague of mine who’s a kindergarten teacher right across the hallway – [she posts] “Students, if you ever want to know what a teacher’s mind feels like, imagine a web browser with 2,879 tabs open. All. The. Time.” Huh?

Cool, somebody’s selling a sewing machine. It looks pretty old. I don’t know how to sew. I don’t even know how to sew buttons with a needle and thread.

Oh, a meme here… “Asked my dad for a cordless drill and this is what I got”. It’s like a bunch of gadgets stuck together, like an old mixer attached to a screwdriver, attached to, I don’t, fishing line? I don’t know. Only one comment.

Ooh, cucumber avocado salsa. Oh, I can make that tonight. I won’t, but I could. But I won’t.

I tend not to post a lot of things about school. I try to stay away from that while I’m at work; when I’m at work obviously, but when I’m at home too.

Well, my husband went to a Lunar New Year celebration that myself and my colleagues did through kindergarten, and grade one, two and three. We had, like, a luncheon and he liked it so much that he posted himself saying “I feel good!” He posted himself with one, I don’t know, G barometer singing. I don’t know what happened. Good for you, Gary. It’s pretty cool. It’s funny.

And somebody’s got well-wishing birthday wishes. That’s good, Chris. Happy birthday, Chris.

And my time is up, so I will let it go there. I’m not sure how it’s [Speechnotes] done. I used, as you know, Speechnotes, so we’ll see what we got. For Speechnotes, maybe I’m too articulate and it may have worked out really well, so if that’s the case, maybe I need to speak a little bit more like this (changed my tone). All right we’ll see what happens. (End of edited voice to text)

Q1: How does the text deviate from conventions of written English?

The text deviates in a number of ways:

• Omission of punctuation (period, comma, exclamation mark, etc.).
• Omission of paragraphs to indicate a new thought/theme.
• No break between sentences due to omission of punctuation.
• No use of uppercase letters to indicate the beginning of a sentence.
• No quotation marks to express a quote.

Q2: What is “wrong” in the text?

The program does not benefit from facial expressions to interpret my meaning or pick up on any nuances in my message, therefore, is unable to notice quotations, excitement in my voice, sarcasm, etc. For example, Speechnotes:

• Chose a word that I did not say “Versace” (I believe I was saying “this is a”).
• Spelled “voyer” instead of “voyeur”.
• Did not correctly indicate a number. Program typed “$2,8 aBS”. The program used a dollar sign and letters to express the number 2,879 even when currency was not mentioned.
• I said “quote” and “unquote” but it typed the words rather than add quotation marks

Q3: What is “right” in the text?

Because the program is recording and typing your words verbatim, it picks up on every sound spoken. For example:

• Included all the words I said, including the ones we typically wouldn’t want to share in a written or typed message (i.e. “oh”, “so”, “like”).
• Correctly identified many uppercase words (i.e. Lunar New Year, Nova Scotia, Game of Thrones).
• Very few spelling errors.
• People’s names were spelled correctly (i.e. Chris, Gary)
• At the end of my voice message, I tried changing the way I spoke to see if that would make a change – the program was able to correctly identify the text.

Q4: What are the most common “mistakes” in the text and why do you consider them “mistakes”?

• In language, both written and spoken, we rely on punctuation to convey a message. If someone speaks too fast, does not articulate, or does not use expression, the receiver may find the message difficult to decipher.
• The most common mistake in my voice message is the lack of punctuation. It’s very difficult to read. It’s difficult to understand the message without the use of punctuation; every thought blends together making it difficult to tell when one idea stops and another one starts.
• The program’s inability to provide quotations makes the message difficult to decipher. The reader has to figure out the message, at times make an educated guess. This can lead to misunderstandings.

Q5: What if you had “scripted” the story? What difference might that have made?

To some extent the message may have been easier to follow if it were scripted. It would have eliminated “extra” words spoken (i.e. oh, so). However, the lack of punctuation would still cause the reader to question where the break is in each thought. In the sentence “All. The. Time.” I paused intentionally. Due to the program’s inability to provide punctuation, it did not pick up on this.

Q6: In what ways does oral storytelling differ from written storytelling? 

Written – Written language can be used as a reference. The original text can be viewed at any point. Author Walter J. Ong points out that written word could be universal and allowed for record keeping, approaches in government, science and medicine, for example, could be shared. Ong notes that writing (the new medium) is able to reinforce the old medium (oral storytelling). Written versus oral storytelling can have more in-depth plots, character development, descriptive language and imagery. Written storytelling allows for stories to be passed down to generations. Once it’s in print, it can be copied for the masses. Technology then allows the stories to be easily and instantaneously shared.

Oral – Oral language typically requires spoken word which includes facial expressions, body language, gestures, rhythm, repetition, and nonverbal cues. It often requires interaction between the sender and receiver. Oral storytelling is organic and changes over time; previous versions of a story are never fully recaptured. According to Ong, oral stories can never be verbatim and are always told a little bit different each time (Ong, 2014). Oral storytelling relies on individuals to pass stories and wisdom down to others who will then continue the tradition and legacy of storytelling.

In his book, The Orality of Language, Ong remarks that, “Written words are residue. Oral tradition has no such residue or deposit”. Words that are written down and kept will last, while words that are only spoken and not recorded will disappear.

Will I use Speechnotes in the future? There are features that I really like and would find helpful, for example, if I’d prefer to read or speak instead of type. It would also alleviate some tension on hands and eyes that comes from working directly from a keyboard and screen.

References:

Abe Aboud. (2014, September 8). Walter Ong – Oral cultures and early writing [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/uvF30zFImuo

Ong, W.J. (2002). Chapter 1: The orality of language. Links to an external site.In Orality and literacy: The technologizing of the word (pp. 5-16). Routledge. (Original work published 1982).