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To investigate
the interaction
between speech
recognition
dictation
technology and
the use of
language by
non-native
speakers of
English, several
language
minority
students from
diverse
ethnolinguistic
backgrounds were
asked to use
speech
recognition
dictation
software to
orally compose a
series of
college level
writing tasks.
The interactions
were videotaped
and transcribed;
the
transcriptions
include the
participants'
verbal
interactions,
their non-verbal
actions, and the
actions of the
computer.
The analysis of
the transcripts
draws on
Halliday's
conceptual
framework of
register (field,
tenor, and
mode),
emphasizing the
relationship
between the
forms and the
features of the
context.
Collectively,
these three
components serve
to predict the
register used
with speech
recognition
dictation
technology and
to establish a
general
principle
governing the
ways in which
the context of
production was
projected onto
the text.
The findings
indicate the
manner in which
the technology
influenced the
development of
text and
patterns of
interaction.
Many of the
participants
adopted a
strategy of
perfecting the
composition as
much as possible
during the
speech
sessions. This
strategy
included making
changes in the
surface features
of their talk in
order to
accommodate the
software. Speech
adjustments,
associated with
what I call
“speech
recognition
talk,” included
changes in
lexical choice,
utterance
length, and
pronunciation.
In addition to
these
modifications in
speech, many of
the participants
gained more
control over
oral phenomena
that did not
translate well
into writing,
such as filled
pauses, false
starts,
meta-comments,
and imprecise
wording of oral
punctuation
commands. As
part of the
two-way
interaction, the
software
improved in its
recognition rate
as these same
participants
updated their
voice templates
during the
editing
sessions.
The conclusions
of this study
offer a better
understanding as
to the
influences of
the situational
features
associated with
speech
recognition
technology on
spoken and
written English.
The
recommendations
include the
expansion of
possibilities
associated with
the transfer of
modes offered by
this technology,
as well as
insights into
the advantages
and constraints
that the
technology
imposes on
communication
for language
minority users.
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