My Grandmother’s 100th Birthday
Speech to Text app: https://speechnotes.co/
So I am going to talk about my first trip ever to put on an Alaskan cruise and it is very special because I went with my family and my grandmother who is turning a hundred in the beginning I was I didn’t want to go on the cruise because I felt I just felt that it wouldn’t be as fun but in reality I really enjoy it a lot we went on several stops it was 7 Days Juno Ketchikan the ice I was in all seeing all and basically this time from a ship’s perspective I even so Stanley Park the Lions Gate Bridge Paterson from a ship’s perspective surface it was really nice it reminded me I think it’s reminded me or the reminded me of a all-inclusive resort water because they still had a lot of food available and pools and entertainment the most memorable things I I am looking back I thought about was the topper show the topper show was you know one of those Live Theater had a great singing and dance describing it as well as I’m doing now but if you Google it and YouTube it is it is really really fun amazing and uplifting a few other momentous events were I treated my grandmother to that Le Petit Chef Restaurant and it is the first restaurant were going to have to describe it to you but it’s 3D animated so you see images of the Petit chef making your food on your on the table and then when he’s done cooking the real food is there i’m not I’m not making a I’m probably not describing it as well but if you Google it I guess I guess you can see it is it is one of a kind restaurant that I’ve never ever I’m headaches. Something that I felt was like a movie theatre and an entertainment as well as dinner it was the 3D images then Le Petit Chef the the how they would go through the process of making your food so let’s they would you could see him getting the weed from the fields and then his little pet sheet Pig would go around needing the wheat and then he would get the protein and he would put it on and then you’d have like baby I ravioli or lasagna so it was if I had to go back I would love to go back and see that the Petit Chef again I also really enjoyed which is on my bucket list I really enjoyed watching the glaciers while they’re still there and it is to see it so up close was amazing it was nice for my grandmother to see it too because my my relatives were from from LA and so anything that we have a BC and I’m up North it’s just amazing to them my grandmother couldn’t see a really really spacious cabin it had it sleeps about for 5 people able to watch the glaciers without going out just inside and having these big Windows to watch the glaciers and it is amazing it’s it’s towering when you see a piece of the ice fall and break it has this thunderous Thundurus sound other things were the food was amazing I was I was always skeptical about cruises so I never I that’s why I never went on one but it was a great experience the food was amazing they had breakfast there were different places that you could eat lunch dinner and I’m late night snack let’s just say it’s true you do gained a pound I believe a week is the pound a week or a pound a day I can’t remember so I was I was really happy to enjoy my first cruise with my grandmother who turned a hundred last year really really enjoy the food also somehow I ate a lot a lot of creme brulee which is my favourite dessert sometimes I would just skip lunch and have life creme brulee for lunch and creme brulee for dinner so I think that ironically that’s one of my most memorable experience I did get sea sick during the Tropic Waters just kind of funny because my grandmother didn’t and she was looking at me lying in bed but you know I I felt like everything was such an adventure and even going down on that Under the Boardwalk to look around the different shops of from Ketchikan to Juneau which is really really nice a date I was surprised as I went in August and I thought that it was it what places would be really cold and it’s wants us to get close to Glacier I did get cold but in other places it was such a nice kind of spring whether you could wear just like wake clothing
How does the text deviate from conventions of written English ?
This is my first time using any voice to text app and I realized that my writing was like a post-modern poem that was fragmented and free form. It was difficult to understand where one idea started or ended because it lacked Capitalization and punctuation. There were capitals, but it was inconsistent. Some names the app correctly capitalized such as ‘Le Petit Chef’ but a lot of times, capitals appeared randomly sprinkled in. Also, there wasn’t any type of punctuation so it was difficult to read the story and know where there was more emphasis on an idea. All the words seem somewhat flat. It is strange to think that markers, such as a little dot or a line and a dot can convey emotion, the cadence and tone of voice.
What is “wrong” in the text? What is “right”?
The app transcribed my words verbatim. However, I find it interesting that when you are just having a conversation with a friend, it is easy to meander from one topic to another or go back to clarify or add more details. What the app lack was the sensitively to grammatically edit sentences from a culture that is English speaking. This is difficult because when I taught ESL students in the past, it was easy for them to memorize vocabulary words and put them together, but correcting the sentences for grammar mistakes was always a difficult part.
What are the most common “mistakes” in the text and why do you consider them “mistakes” ?
Looking at my writing, a most common mistake I felt where the addition of “filler” words such as so/ um/ and/ you know. When I am talking, somehow, I don’t think about them and it doesn’t diminish from the story. But it does in writing. Another mistake was the app was not thoughtful enough to recognize my dialect or to take into account where I read some ending words softly. There was a lot of spelling mistakes due to this.
What if you had “scripted” the story? What difference might that have made ?
I think if I had scripted the story, it would be more organized and it wouldn’t meander. It was extremely difficult not to brainstorm using a web and write down key points. It was also difficult not to edit my writing. I find that without editing, there is more of a chance of losing or frustrating my audience. I also don’t know if my ideas were getting across to my viewers. When I create a lesson plan, there is always an objective and then the execution of it which entails the hook, the middle, and the ending points.
In what ways does oral storytelling differ from written storytelling ?
I feel that oral storytelling is more of a journey where you lead the audience like a tour guide through unknown paths that curves in different places. This is true of written storytelling, but it lacks the guide. Oral storytelling is a guide against a setting that evokes mood and who tells the tale with voice, body language, and movement of the hands. There is a connection with the audience. Another different thing is the lack of specific details in oral storytelling and that the story can change as the narrator “reads” the audience. The story is fleeting, captured at the moment, and can never be repeated but in your mind and how you interpret it.
Written storytelling is somehow more “grounded” because the words appear stamped onto white pages. It can withstand time. You can read it and read it again five years from now and the words won’t change. As well, the reader can read, re-read parts for clarification, and pause in the middle of the story and continue it again later. Written storytelling is more organized to move the reader from point A to point B. Perhaps a difference stem from time as Boroditsky mentioned. Oral storytelling is a tale that captures the audience in that moment for that culture. Written storytelling can last through time and but the words can be interpreted in a different way as society changes.