Voice to Text Task

For this week’s task, I will examine the differences between oral and written language patterns using a voice-to-text tool called Otter.ai. Otter.ai was used to transcribe my spoken story, which resulted in a text that reflects the casual and informal nature of oral communication (Otter.ai, 2025). According to Ong (2002), oral communication is more relaxed and less concerned with strict grammatical rules, which can be seen in casual phrasing in the voice-to-text story.

Exploring Tehuacán, Puebla, Mexico: A City Full of Life

Otter.ai Voice to Text (Below is the same text Otter generated without Grammarly)

In this particular recording, I’m going to explore te Wakan, which is a city in in Puebla state in Mexico, the city I basically call a city full of life as an traveler or a person from the other side of the world, from India. I was excited to explore a city so different from where I come from. At first instance, I had no idea what to expect, but from the moment I arrived, I feel like a home. The first thing I notice in the city is that everywhere you look in the city, there are bright colors or more else on the walls as well, and the colorful signs over the shop as well, and the paintings everywhere on the streets as well. And same like my city back home from India, I can see a lot of people. Some are standing near to the vendors as well, enjoying their tamale, their corns and coffee and some other things. And I do see two vendors. They got my attention as well. And the first one was, everything is fresh, and they were selling fresh fruits and vegetables on the streets. And on the other side, I can see some handmade craft items as well, which was pretty interesting. And one more thing over here, the market itself, and now I live in Canada from the last seven years. And it reminds me the markets I used to have from my home country as well. And the market, especially in Teo Khan, it’s called Mercado, Mercado, they say CS or 16 de marzo. And this market is full packed with the variety of delicious food as well, and some of the Mexican food I have seen in that market, for example, tacos, tamales, and one interesting food which I have never tried before in my life, That was talaudas. I hope I am pronouncing it correct. So now what exactly is cloud are a big, crispy tortilla and filled with beans, cheese and your choice of protein as well. It was absolutely delicious, and definitely the tacos as well. Often over there, there is a tacos al pastor, and that was incredibly delicious as well. And one thing, which is a similarity from remind my city as well, and why I lost myself in Teo Khan as well, is the flavors of the food, because I’m a kind of a person who like sweet and spicy food, and both were available in the market. Now, one interesting factor the people, even though I don’t speak Spanish and the first and then language over there, the people speak Spanish the same way if you go back to my home country, India. So the very first language is not English. It’s something else. So people were so humble. And when I take a local bus as well over there, and I realized one thing, it was a morning. Everyone say good morning to each other, and in Spanish, it is called Buenos dias. Even though we don’t know anyone, we don’t know the person sitting I don’t know person sitting next to me, but they say good morning to me, and that was very interesting to me as well. Reminds me my city, that how people they they appreciate each other. Now there was a little bit of music as well and over there, and the music was quite interesting. And I do now a little bit of music in in Spanish, but not in the fluent terms as well. And it was very refreshing to me in the morning. And one other interesting factor about the city, I realized the fresh juice, or we call it Hugo, or in the other sense in Spanish language, agua fresca. So one is more or less like a flower. It’s called hibiscus, and that was amazing. I tried before the or chatter as well, but the hibiscus water was something very delicious to me. So what I in order to conclude this as well, the most important thing, what I like about Tio Khan is that how everything felt so alive. So kids were playing. Families are dancing. People are enjoying their fruits and everything seems to me like Pura Vida or organic so people they were enjoying the little they have, the more they have. Everyone is just enjoying the life over there. Now it was a definitely a Christmas time as well. So I can see a lot of lot of lights on the on the streets, and one flower, which, in India we we use a lot in in Mexico as well. It’s called Marigold, and they also put marigold everywhere in the in the city. And by the end of the day, I was little exhausted, but I wanted to see the city more as well. But because for me, it’s not just a city. Is a celebration of life, food and culture, a mix of all these three. And I wish the next time when I will visit the city, my Spanish will be improved so I can connect myself more with the flavors and with the music and with the authenticity of the city as well. And that’s how my conversation with myself throughout this exercise as well that how I lost myself in this beautiful city called Teo kan which is in, in the pub state in Mexico.

1. How does the text deviate from conventions of written English?

1. The text is more like spoken language that deviates from formal written English conventions. For example, it uses a casual, conversational tone, often containing phrasing typical in oral storytelling (Ong, 2002). Grammar is less strictly followed in oral communication, and sentences are usually more spontaneous. This is evident in the text, where sentences like “from the moment I arrived, I feel like a home” don’t follow proper grammar. Another interesting point is that long sentences run together, which is common in speaking but not in writing.

2. What is “wrong” in the text? What is “right”?

2. The text has a lot of grammatical mistakes; for instance, “I feel like a home.” There is also a repetition of phrases like “as well,” which is a little ordinary when I speak.  The text (Otter.ai, 2025) does a great job sharing the excitement and personal feelings of exploring a new city. The descriptions of the people, food, and colors make it fun to read and show an actual experience of the city.

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

3. Some sentences are not correctly structured. Some sentences are too long or run together, for instance, “And same like my city back home from India, I can see a lot of people.” I believe I should have broken this significant sentence into small blocks of sentences. The phrase “as well” is repeated too many times. I should have used different words or cut down this repetition.

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

4. I think a scripted one would have better organization of sentences and proper grammar. The long sentences would have been easily broken into smaller ones, which would have made readers easily understand. Overall, the story would feel more professional.

5. In what ways does oral storytelling differ from written storytelling? 

5. Oral storytelling is a way to express emotions and feelings. It feels like a personal conversation in a informal setting where people can talk without worry about sentence formation or grammatical errors. Written storytelling is usually more formal, focusing on making the language clear and correct (Ong, 2002).

References:

Ong, W.J. (2002). Orality and literacy: The technologizing of the wordLinks to an external site.. Routledge. (Original work published 1982).

Otter.ai. (2025). Otter.ai transcription tool. Retrieved from https://otter.ai