Speech-to-text reporter

This article is about Speech-to-Text Reporters who are human beings reproducing speech into a text format onto a computer screen at verbatim speeds for deaf or hard of hearing people to read. It is not about speech recognition or predictive text which are computer systems.

A Speech-to-Text Reporter (STTR), also known as a "captioner", listens to what is being said and inputs it, word for word, onto an electronic shorthand keyboard. The keyboard is linked to a computer which converts the shorthand syllables to properly spelled words.

There are two types of keyboard used in the UK, the Palantype system and the Stenograph system. Unlike a QWERTY keyboard, not every letter in a word is pressed, but several keys will be pressed at once which represent whole words, phrases or shortforms. Specially designed computer software will then convert these phonetic chords back into English which can then be displayed for someone to read. The text is displayed either on the screen of a laptop for a sole user, or projected onto a large screen or a series of plasma screens for a larger number of users. An STTR produces a verbatim account of what is said at speeds in excess of 200 words per minute and also gives extra information, such as {laughter} or {applause}, to keep the user informed of the mood of the hearing, meeting or conference. This system can also be used for subtitling and closed captions in television broadcasts or Webcasts.