Audiovisual translation (AVT) has always relied on technology to achieve its communicative aims and to help make audiovisual media accessible to all. The present symposium aims to investigate the evolution and possibilities of one particular interface between AVT and technology: speech recognition software and its applications in AVT. Although the focus will be on live subtitling for television, the symposium will also review related developments such as speech-to-text and text-to-speech applications in the media.
A number of socio-economic factors have impacted significantly on developments in speech recognition software and its use in AVT: While our globalised world is becoming increasingly multilingual and new legislation and subtitling quotas are forcing European broadcasters to provide 100% subtitling for deaf and hard of hearing audiences, these same broadcasters are facing critical cuts in their budgets. The problems become even more exacerbated because users of different forms of AVT are demanding better quality translations rather than simply more of the same.
These trends are stimulating research into different aspects of our topic. Research into software development, software training, respeaker training, error analysis at the different stages of the respeaking process, reception research, etc. are the result
The symposium at Artesis University College aims to bring together specialists from academia, software development, broadcasting and the related service industry as well as consumers and those interested in recent developments in media accessibility. |
