scholarly journals Algorithmic Mimesis: Translation, Technology, Resistance

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Slessor ◽  
Anne Sophie Voyer1
Keyword(s):  
Voice Recognition ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Textual Production ◽  
Critical Attention ◽  
Linguistic Transfer ◽  
Semantic Transfer ◽  
Recognition Software ◽  
Cultural Turn

Translation technologies often figure translation as a simple process of linguistic transfer from one code to another or as a question of selecting the correct matching segments from a database. The prominence of such technologies in the digital age has thus renewed discussions of fidelity and equivalence for translators. The critical attention given to broader cultural and textual contexts that came into focus with the cultural turn seems at risk of disappearing into cyberspace. However, the ongoing proliferation of textual production and reproduction also foregrounds the possibilities of variability and difference in repetition. Using the foibles of technology as catalysts for their own creative ventures, digital-age artists such as Urayoán Noel and Malinda Kathleen Reese channel deficiencies productively in their art, revealing the unsuspected potentials of digital technologies. Such a view of translation as creation challenges the commonplace notion that translation is a scientific act of “carrying across,” a purely semantic transfer that results in the (illusion of) identicality of source and target. Echoing Lévi-Strauss’s notion of “bricolage”—the means by which people retrieve and recombine cultural materials to create new content—Reese and Noel shatter the semantic shackles of identicality by using technology to retrieve and transform the material scraps of language and culture. Their art helps us reconceptualize translation and go beyond fixed notions of what a translation should be or do in terms of fidelity and equivalence. Their playful misuse of machine translation and voice-recognition software allows for a critical analysis of the tension between the universal and the particular as it relates to the act of translation, and does so in a way that uses formal experimentation and humour to resist traditional power dynamics.

Comparison of Voice-Automated Transcription and Human Transcription in Generating Pathology Reports

2003 ◽  
Vol 127 (6) ◽  
pp. 721-725
Author(s):  
Maamoun M. Al-Aynati ◽  
Katherine A. Chorneyko
Keyword(s):  
Speech Recognition ◽  
Voice Recognition ◽  
Computer Software ◽  
Continuous Speech ◽  
Continuous Speech Recognition ◽  
Accuracy Rate ◽  
Written Text ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Pathology Reports ◽  
Recognition Software

Abstract Context.—Software that can convert spoken words into written text has been available since the early 1980s. Early continuous speech systems were developed in 1994, with the latest commercially available editions having a claimed accuracy of up to 98% of speech recognition at natural speech rates. Objectives.—To evaluate the efficacy of one commercially available voice-recognition software system with pathology vocabulary in generating pathology reports and to compare this with human transcription. To draw cost analysis conclusions regarding human versus computer-based transcription. Design.—Two hundred six routine pathology reports from the surgical pathology material handled at St Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, Ontario, were generated simultaneously using computer-based transcription and human transcription. The following hardware and software were used: a desktop 450-MHz Intel Pentium III processor with 192 MB of RAM, a speech-quality sound card (Sound Blaster), noise-canceling headset microphone, and IBM ViaVoice Pro version 8 with pathology vocabulary support (Voice Automated, Huntington Beach, Calif). The cost of the hardware and software used was approximately Can $2250. Results.—A total of 23 458 words were transcribed using both methods with a mean of 114 words per report. The mean accuracy rate was 93.6% (range, 87.4%–96%) using the computer software, compared to a mean accuracy of 99.6% (range, 99.4%–99.8%) for human transcription (P < .001). Time needed to edit documents by the primary evaluator (M.A.) using the computer was on average twice that needed for editing the documents produced by human transcriptionists (range, 1.4–3.5 times). The extra time needed to edit documents was 67 minutes per week (13 minutes per day). Conclusions.—Computer-based continuous speech-recognition systems in pathology can be successfully used in pathology practice even during the handling of gross pathology specimens. The relatively low accuracy rate of this voice-recognition software with resultant increased editing burden on pathologists may not encourage its application on a wide scale in pathology departments with sufficient human transcription services, despite significant potential financial savings. However, computer-based transcription represents an attractive and relatively inexpensive alternative to human transcription in departments where there is a shortage of transcription services, and will no doubt become more commonly used in pathology departments in the future.

Voice/Speech Recognition Software

2013 ◽  
pp. 1005-1011
Author(s):  
Andrew Kitchenham ◽  
Doug Bowes
Keyword(s):  
Speech Recognition ◽  
Assistive Technology ◽  
Special Needs ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Voice Recognition ◽  
Special Needs Students ◽  
Speech Recognition Software ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
Recognition Software

In this chapter, the authors discuss the promise of speech or voice recognition software and provide practical suggestions for the teacher or any stakeholder working with a disabled child. The authors begin the chapter with a brief overview of the legislation mandating the accommodation of special needs students in the classroom and discuss the implications of assistive technology. The authors then move on to an examination of the promise of the software. The authors end the chapter with practical ideas for implementation should the caregiver believe that voice recognition software will assist the disabled child in the learning process.

Addressing Translation Issues as Intercultural Communication Barriers in Tourism

2018 ◽  
pp. 292-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping Yang
Keyword(s):  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
English Translation ◽  
Research Direction ◽  
Communication Barriers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Language Needs ◽  
Linguistic Transfer ◽  
Tourist Information

This chapter examines Chinese-English translation issues that cause intercultural communication misunderstanding in the tourism language. As international tourists are travelling around China, Chinese-English translation services are useful. It plays an important role in facilitating the tourism business operations and meeting the tourist language needs. However, failure to understand cultural differences can result in intercultural communication failure in tourism discourse. The researcher critically analysed the English-Chinese translation issues using tourist information texts collected from a variety of written sources and examining them at cross-lingua-cultural communication level. Translation of tourist information texts from a source language to a target language is more than a linguistic transfer and involves linguistic restructure and cultural imaging re-creation that make sense in a target language and culture. Implications for addressing translation issues as intercultural communication barriers are discussed. Future research direction is also indicated in the conclusion.

The Creative Poetry Translation Method from the Perspective of the Cultural Turn — Longfellow’s A Psalm of Life as a Case Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 946
Author(s):  
Ming Li
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Translation Method ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ◽  
Poetry Translation ◽  
Creative Poetry ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Cultural Turn

A Psalm of Life is a well-known poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and it has been translated into many different versions since the Qing Dynasty. From the 1980s, translation studies have focused on the cultural aspects rather than the literal equivalence. The new perspective takes into account how the translated version is adapted and accepted and influences the target culture. This paper, based on the cultural turn perspective, examines the theoretical background of translation research and analyzes a translated version of A Psalm of Life in light of the target language and culture. This paper concludes that the creative translation method in English-Chinese poetry translation is reasonable and innovative.

Laterality Errors in Radiology Reports Generated With and Without Voice Recognition Software: Frequency and Clinical Significance

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 538-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne T. Luetmer ◽  
Christopher H. Hunt ◽  
Robert J. McDonald ◽  
Brian J. Bartholmai ◽  
David F. Kallmes
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Significance ◽  
Voice Recognition ◽  
Radiology Reports ◽  
Recognition Software

System Integration Methods for Voice-Commanded PLC Controlled Systems

2013 ◽  
Vol 309 ◽  
pp. 280-285
Author(s):  
Judit Maria Pinter ◽  
Attila Trohák
Keyword(s):  
System Integration ◽  
Serial Communication ◽  
Voice Recognition ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Software Module ◽  
Scada System ◽  
Controlled Systems ◽  
Effective System ◽  
Recognition Software ◽  
Speech Recognizer

In our paper we introduce a part of our research where we develop a voice-commanded operator surface which can help to improve the efficiency of the operators work. We want to integrate a voice recognition software module to the control system of a monorail. In the paper we will examine the speech recognizer module and the possibilities of integration to the PLC system of the monorail. The integration can be done via serial communication, via Ethernet or via OPC using a SCADA system. Our aim is to create a reliable and cost-effective system.

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