Full Description
Speech-to-Text Interpreting: User-Centred Communication Support for Equal Access explores speech-to-text interpreting (STTI), providing essential insights for practitioners, trainers, and decision-makers ensuring equitable communication access for deaf and hard-of-hearing communities.
Grounded in Translation & Interpreting Studies, the book demonstrates user-centred STTI implementation across typical interpreting settings. Drawing on video recordings, comparative text analysis, and interviews with users and over 30 interpreters, it provides practical assessment tools considering user expectations and multimodal communication contexts. The book addresses critical professional challenges from stress management to ethical dilemmas, outlining essential competences for user-centred service delivery. Each chapter features enriching activities and problem-solving exercises, with additional resources. Particularly timely amid advancing AI transcription technology, the book articulates human STTI's continued value through user support, individualized orientation, trust-building, and data security. A global survey of STTI service provision further informs the analysis.
Beyond equipping interpreters with theoretical and practical tools, the book supports training development and guides policymakers in establishing communication support guidelines. The text highlights DHH advocacy while advancing STTI understanding as a profession and an academic discipline. An essential text for students, teachers and researchers working in STTI , this is also a valuable resource for public institutions and private individuals employing STT interpreters.
Contents
List of illustrations
List of abbreviations
About the book
Overview of chapters
PART I
1.1 Fundamentals
1.1.1 Speech-to-text interpreting for deaf and hard-of-hearing people: What's in a name?
1.1.2 The history of STTI
1.1.2.1 The origins of speech-to-text: Written notes and print literacy
1.1.2.2 STTI after 1900
1.1.2.3 The emergence of a profession
1.2 Translation & Interpreting Studies and intralingual speech-to-text conversion: From the margins to the centre - with help from accessibility legislation
1.2.1 STT and the impact of accessibility legislation
1.2.2 TIS and accessibility studies: Recent trends
1.2.3 Speech-to-text interpreting: Still a marginal field in TIS
1.2.4 Opening the TIS door to STTI research
1.2.5 Further pertinent research
PART II
2.1 STTI methods and equipment
2.1.1 'Basic kit'
2.1.2 Conventional keyboards
2.1.3 Stenotype and CART
2.1.4 Palantype
2.1.5 Velotype
2.1.6. Repeaking
2.1.7 Automatic speech-recognition (ASR)
2.1.8 Live interpreted text and transcript
2.2 Configuring the physical and virtual STTI meeting space
2.2.1. Display devices and audio sources
2.2.2 Room configurations and seating setups
2.2.3 Preparing for the assignment
2.2.4 Remote speech-to-text interpreting (R-STTI)
2.2.4.1 Research into R-STTI
2.2.5 Practising R-STTI
2.2.5.1 Possible configurations for R-STTI
2.2.5.2 Technical preparation for R-STTI
2.2.5.3 Technical management at location of participants
2.2.5.4 Recommendations for meeting organisers
2.3 International and national standards pertinent to STTI service provision
2.3.1 Standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
2.3.2 Standards developed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
2.3.3 National standards
2.4 The STT interpreters' working language(s)
2.4.1 Classifications of levels of language proficiency
2.4.2 Language skills for STTI: Listening, writing, reading, speaking
2.4.3 Enhancing your linguistic competence
PART III
3.1 Accessibility, disability and universal design
3.1.1 The evolution of disability rights and accessibility legislation
3.1.2 Accessibility, accessible design and universal design
3.1.3 Legislative ideals and DHH people's daily reality
3.1.4 Resurgence of the 'medical model'?
3.1.5 Proactive and user-led as new approaches in communication access
3.2 Accessibility and user-centred STTI
3.2.1 From audience design to user-centred translation
3.2.2 User-centredness and accessibility in speech-to-text practises
3.2.2.1 Readability
3.2.2.2 Legibility and the reception of subtitles
3.2.3 Verbatim versus edited - and user-centred STTI
PART IV
4.1 Assessing STT quality
4.1.1 Defining quality and quality assessment
4.1.2 Models of live-subtitling quality assessment
4.1.2.1 WER method
4.1.2.2 NER model
4.1.2.3 Concept-based rendition assessment
4.1.2.4 WIRA model
4.1.2.5 QIT model
4.1.3 Summary and appraisal
4.2 Practising user-centred STTI
4.2.1 Conduits versus active participants with their own agency
4.2.2 STTI as a discourse process within a socio-cultural context
4.2.2.1 Communicative transaction within a socio-cultural context
4.2.2.2 Interpreting as interaction
4.2.2.3 Interpreting as a discourse process
4.2.2.4 The multimodal nature of interpreter-mediated interaction
4.2.3 Analysing and assessing STTI-mediated events
4.2.4 Pedagogical approach and format of activities
4.3 STTI as single-speaker events
4.3.1 Introduction
4.3.2 Learning units
4.4 STTI for conversational encounters
4.4.1 Introduction
4.4.2 Learning units
4.5 STTI at multi-party events
4.5.1 Introduction
4.5.2 Learning units
4.6 STTI in educational settings
4.6.1 Introduction
4.6.2 Learning units
4.7 User-centred STTI: A possible model of assessment
4.7.1 Assessing STTI
4.7.2 Appraisal of the interpretations as a product and communicative process
4.7.3 User-centredness?
4.7.4 Appraisal of the interpretations as a service
4.7.5 Protocols and instruments for ensuring user satisfaction
PART VI
5.1 Codes of ethics and STTI as a professional practice
5.1.1 Fundamentals
5.1.1.1 Codes of ethics and professional associations
5.1.1.2 Codes of ethics: Help or hindrance?
5.1.1.3 Deontological, teleological and virtue-based codes
5.1.1.4 Contents of codes of ethics
5.1.1.5 Arguments against a wider conception of the interpreter's role
5.1.2 Codes of professional ethics for STT Interpreters and the Demand Control Schema
5.1.2.1 Four codes of professional ethics for STT interpreters
5.1.2.2 Resolving ethical dilemmas using DCS
5.1.3 Ethics and the concept of Role Space
5.1.4 Codes of ethics and professional practice revisited
5.2 Cognitive processing and interpreting strategies
5.2.1 Cognitive research into interpreting
5.2.1.1 Daniel Gile's effort model
5.2.1.2 Sylvia Kalina's cognitive and pragmatic discourse model of interpreting
5.2.2 Research into cognitive processing in STT
5.2.2.1 Cognitive models of respeaking
5.2.3 How can the models support STT interpreters?
5.2.3.1 Pre-task preparation and cognitive load: Some examples
5.2.4 Team collaboration analysed from a 4E(A) perspective
5.2.5 Investigating team collaboration
5.2.5.1 Explorative study of team collaboration
5.2.5.2 A wider conception of collaboration
5.3 Interlingual live subtitling and transpeaking (on the PORTAL)
PART VI
6.1 Knowledge skills and competences: From novice to professional expert
6.1.1 TI competence research: An overview
6.1.2 TI competence models
6.1.3 Modelling STTI competence: the LiveTextAccess project
6.1.4 Learning outcomes for STTI
6.2 Initial STTI education and professional development planning
6.2.1 Principles of interpreter education
6.2.1.1 Learning environments and instructional formats
6.2.2 Curricula design, implementation and attainment
6.2.2.1 Assessment practices
6.2.3 Certification and accreditation
6.3 Practice and self-care
6.3.1 Practice makes perfect
6.3.2 Deliberate practice
6.3.3 Professional development planning
6.3.3.1 Skills audit and interpreter profile
6.3.4 Self-care
7 The future of STTI
References
