Although it is common practice for deaf individuals to use interpreters as a means of accessing spoken information, virtually no quantitative data is available regarding interpreter intelligibility (amount of message correctly received by the user) or the factors that govern interpreter intelligibility. This information is essential for characterizing the level of communication access afforded to deaf individuals by interpreters and could be of particularly serious consequence for deaf children still in the process of acquiring language. Because English-based visual communication modes are used by more than 95% of interpreters who work in K-12 educational settings, the proposed work begins investigation of interpreter (transliterator) intelligibility with three English-based communication modes: Conceptually Accurate Signed English (CASE), Signing Exact English (SEE), and Cued Speech (CS).
The specific aims of the work are to determine what accuracy levels (percent of message correctly produced) and presentation rates (words produced per minute) are required of transliterators in order for receivers to have access (adequate intelligibility at processing effort levels that do not impair the receiver's message comprehension) to the message. These relationships will be examined in three ways. First, """"""""typical"""""""" transliterators will be characterized via accuracy and lag time (interval between spoken and transliterated message) measurements at three presentation rates. Second, the intelligibility of these transliterators will be evaluated as a function of accuracy and presentation rate. Third, the processing effort, or amount of concentration required for receivers to parse transliterated messages, will be assessed as a function of intelligibility, accuracy, and presentation rate. Results will establish characteristics of highly intelligible transliterators, an important first step toward long-term goals aimed at improving: 1) transliterator training and services, 2) communication access for deaf individuals who use transliterators, and 3) scientific understanding of intelligibility and perception across all modes of sensory communication. ? ?
| Krause, Jean C; Lopez, Katherine A (2017) Cued Speech Transliteration: Effects of Accuracy and Lag Time on Message Intelligibility. J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ 22:378-392 |
| Krause, Jean C; Tessler, Morgan P (2016) Cued Speech Transliteration: Effects of Speaking Rate and Lag Time on Production Accuracy. J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ 21:373-82 |
| Krause, Jean C; Pelley-Lopez, Katherine A; Tessler, Morgan P (2011) A Method for Transcribing the Manual Components of Cued Speech. Speech Commun 53:379-389 |
