Speech to Text Support

Speech to Text is a form of accessibility that is essential to many people with a hearing loss but especially vital for those who become deafened and do not receive any help from a hearing loop or have trouble understanding speech.

Verbatim speech to text 

It is the role of the Speech To Text Reporter (STTR)  to facilitate communication between deaf / deafened / hard of hearing people and hearing people.

Speech to Text Reporting is a process of Verbatim Computer-Aided Transcription for deaf people.

It is NOT voice recognition or predictive text.

The job is to simultaneously translate the spoken word into English and ensure that it is displayed for a deaf, deafened, or hard of hearing reader to view. This enables the deaf, deafened, hard of hearing person to follow proceedings on an equal footing with their colleagues.

STTRs cover exactly the same kinds of events as sign language interpreters and lip speakers i.e., conferences, interviews, one on one sessions, etc.

Speech to Text Reporters or Text Writers mostly use machines which enable them to achieve a high speed, they are Palantype, Velotype or Stenotype machines.

Some writers use laptops with special software. Recently, in some countries, voice recognition software is used to provide Speech to Text support as well as a trained ReSpeaker.

Birgit Nofftz (Germany) published a study on Speech to Text in Europe. To view the study, please click here

If you plan to host a European event and need to organize accessibility with Speech to Text, please contact us