This story is about a recent dream I had, which still lingers in my brain in vivid, jewel-like tones. The events of the dream were simple and unfolded quickly within a luxurious, velvety hotel room. My three friends and I booked a room for a few nights vacation (“a staycation” in the city where we reside) during the COVID-19 pandemic. An incredibly exquisite buffet dinner was served on an endlessly long mahogany table in our room. I reenacted my account of this dinner event and the seemingly conscientious decisions made during the meal. I then briefly reflected on what this dream could have meant.
The full transcript is under the cut. I used speechnotes as my voice-to-text generator.
How does the text deviate from conventions of written English?
At first glance, it can be observed that this enormous block of text is unlike standard written English, mostly due to its nonpurposeful, (I say nonpurposeful, as there exists some poetry and prose in this form done deliberately for stylistic effect) singular, block-like structure. Paragraphing and punctuation are completely absent, and the text reads more like a stream of consciousness. The reader may feel tired and confused at some points because the “sentences” do not have a beginning or an end. The text itself resembles a direct transcription of speech, yet lacks the emotion and expression of what was actually orally conveyed.
What is “wrong” in the text? What is “right”?
What is “wrong” in this text can be purely indicated from a prescriptivist perspective of grammar and language. Perhaps the greatest blunders are the transcription inaccuracies (some of which confused meaning) and the lack of punctuation and visual structure of a standard written story. The text is abundant with grammatical and vocabulary mistakes. Interestingly, while there were no visual cues present to indicate dialogue, reported speech, or monologues of thought, these instances could still be understood, or at least inferred. Mistakes and grammatical inaccuracies aside, the text did not stray too far from the intentions of the oral story. Much of the meaning was retained in context, though some parts may need some clarification.
What are the most common “mistakes” in the text and why do you consider them “mistakes”?
This preciseness of the text is very much muddled. Many, many words were incorrectly transcribed, and major turning points were completely skipped over or not picked up. There is plenty of unintentional repetition and colloquial words and phrases used in casual speech peppered throughout the text. Some parts are incoherent and difficult to follow due to these inaccuracies. These “mistakes” could be attributed to a number of reasons. I spoke quickly in some parts and slowed down in others. Sometimes I spoke loudly with enthusiasm or exasperation, sometimes I would mumble and jumble my words in hesitation. My pronunciation of some words may have been muffled or “non-standard.” I often paused to think of the next line or dwindled on remembering the next part. These seemingly minor characteristics of oral storytelling, which are caused by the natural freeflow of human speech, were directly transcribed as “mistakes” in text.
What if you had “scripted” the story? What difference might that have made?
If the story was “scripted”, the visual form of the text would not have changed, due to the already programmed mechanics of the voice-to-text tool. However, the transcription would be much more precise. The repetition, colloquial language, filler words, backtracking, self-correction, and other signs of hesitation, processing, and remembering would be completely eliminated. I would have probably spoken in a more confident and clear manner, and the voice-to-text tool would have picked up my voice more accurately.
However, the story would be purely a written text, with all traits of genuine human speech removed, such as emotion and intonation. As Gnandesikan (2011) clearly illustrates, “[written text] does not record the identifying details of any individual utterance of those words. It records language, but not actual speech” (p. 9). The pristinely written story, while much more clear-cut and deliberately crafted, may lose the the sincere, unfeigned humanness and spontaneity of actual speech.
On a side note, I noticed that the tool did not pick up my filler words such as “um” and “uh,” which I find to be intriguing as these are parts of regular human speech and eliminating them shows the tool’s strong intention to mold the input into a standardized, written form.
In what ways does oral storytelling differ from written storytelling?
There are many aspects in oral speech that cannot be captured in written form. As a matter of fact, there are many features of human communication itself that cannot be expressed as text. In this activity, I realized that my intonation, tones, pauses, expressiveness, volume, and pitch of my speech can immediately impact the perception of my story. The blunders in natural, colloquial speech, such as backtracking, self-correction, repetition, fillers, and other unintentional speech habits are usually edited out in text. If I were to tell this story to someone in-person, my facial expressions, gestures, and body language would also drive meaning into the story in visual ways that written text cannot. I, as the creator and courier of the story, can inject my own style and means of expression into the oral story, which can be more individualized and true to my intentions than a carefully crafted text that has gone through rounds of editing. This is not to diminish the strong influence and power of beautiful literature. Certainly, such vivid expressions can be depicted in the reading experience also. Oral storytelling directly expresses the language of our humanness and the means of how we authentically, spontaneously communicate. It is through speech that we use our mouths and bodies to directly tug out our thoughts and emotions from within the caverns of our minds. How I choose to deliver the story can also very much be the story itself. Perhaps listening to the same story told by two different people can become two completely distinguished experiences.
Gnandesikan (2011) indicates that speech is ephemeral, and as such, writing turns words, once vanished when spoken, into something tangible and recordable. With written storytelling, I can write the story with much more precision and clarity. For one, “unnecessary” components from speech (fillers, etc.) are removed, and same with grammatical errors. I can take as much time as I need to edit, revise, and ponder on my words and structural choices. I would not have this time when I speak. The words must flow out of my mouth one after another, to replace the one before it. I do not have “breaks,” and I certainly cannot go back and correct myself as seamlessly. The opportunities to revisit a text during this recurring writing process allows me to curate and present the story to my satisfaction. I can incorporate literary devices and a variety of features, analogies, and anecdotes into my piece to provide substance and body. However, many features of oral speech are stripped from text. Many of these features, as expressed above, cannot be detected in text, and may remove important meaning for the reader. This is akin to being unable to detect sarcasm in text messages, for example.
I have also mindfully observed that oral speech is integral to the writing process. When I write, I have a voice in my head narrating the story itself as I go. Is the voice in my head the same voice I use to speak? I don’t believe so. The voice in my head is much more eloquent and articulate than my actual speaking voice. Comparing the consistency, accuracy, and authenticity of a story in oral and written form is worth diving deeper into, especially concerning each mode’s influence on the perception of a story’s meaning and context.
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unscripted, unedited story
Ok so let me tell you about the stream that I had yesterday night so yesterday I dreamed that I along with three other friends went on vacation but it was more like a vacation which is pretty much where we just fine in hotel in in Hong Kong that’s where I live and just stay there for a few days and then after words hang out and just maybe relaxing hotel and I have some nice food may be used or something like that so very expensive hotel beautiful hotel and it was like a five star the room was humongous remember that when I went up there no elevators it was just like these super long spiralling long winding stairs with red velvet carpeting and we went any was room headache is Golden Gates to get inside and then inside everything was so beautiful and very expensive rugs and the first things were made of gold and like golden burgundy and just very very intricate elegant expensive Furnishings and a huge huge beautiful Street and then so no so so it was really really beautiful and and like And then they were just so many different types of food for any type of expensive food I can think all they probably have it on the table like they were cheeses and wines and oysters and seafoods and caviar and lobsters and all these this is of from different countries and it’s like a whole charcuterie board and just all these beautiful pastries and desserts and things I’ve never even tried before and then nZ all these it’s very much look like the table from the platform movie The Platform if you know what I’m talking about the table expensive food is like a motive in in the film and then I remember there was a bit in the middle getting ready vs offer of Us was sitting me and my friends are sitting on the table and then really eat and it was so strange because in the middle of those small squirrel like like the little couple fries just like Regular french fries with like and in a plate of chicken nuggets just looking for some reason that to me and then like eating and I just grab the fries and chicken nuggets my friends got angry and they were wondering why I was eating fries and chicken nuggets out of all these things on the table of these beautiful expensive selection on table french fries and shouting at them remember shouting at them saying just leave me alone let me eat my fries I just want my friends and and they were like this when they were just so many other things that I could eat and it’s just fast food like I can be in fries like for McDonald’s or something and strange and like in that dream that I just for the fries and maybe wonder chicken nuggets and fries because I haven’t eaten fast food for real time in real life so that might be why and I’ve been eating very healthy for the past 7 months and really being mindful of my dietary choices in the food that I eat so that might be why I don’t know maybe should I know I’ve been craving burgers and fast food fries all the time so maybe that’s why very strange I think this might be This may be why I’ve been craving fries and because I’ve only been restrain myself from eating bees but he’s trying to stop my cravings for these foods for trying to be more my phone but I’m eating and my body and I know this fast for me so obviously in real life I would be choosing this more food then and more diverse choices than just fries but it’s very strange maybe some subconscious choice which another know maybe
References
Gnanadesikan, A. E. (2011). The First IT Revolution. In The writing revolution: Cuneiform to the internet (Vol. 25, pp. 1-10). John Wiley & Sons. DOI:10.1002/9781444304671