Velotyping in foreign languages

Velotyping, used to transcribe oral speech in writing, is having its moment.

Since the dawn of time, humanity has sought ways to use writing to represent speech for record keeping purposes. From the Greek philosophers to the present day, we have always tried to capture fleeting words on paper. Monk copyists used abbreviations to expedite the job, and the first systematic input system, stenotype, appeared in the early 20th century. Velotype is inspired by this method and is used to produce real-time subtitles.

Velotypists use a chorded keyboard known as the Velotype, which allows them to type at the speed of speech. Syllables and entire words are produced by pressing several keys at once, rather than typing out one letter at a time, as with the AZERTY or QWERTY keyboards.

There is some overlap between Velotyping and conference interpreting:

• Velotypists must master a certain technique, but also make choices and adjustments. Just like conference interpreters, velotypists must prepare for assignments by researching technical vocabulary, learning to spell proper nouns, and being able to reformulate spoken passages without hesitation.
• They must also have perfect mastery of their working language and excellent memory and concentration.
• They must also follow a strict code of ethics: confidentiality (respecting absolute professional secrecy), accuracy (required to accurately convey meaning) and impartiality (never intervening or sharing personal opinions in the transcription).

The added value of int-conf.com

We have partnerships with the best French-language velotypists, and we have also created teams that work with several European languages. You can make all of your online and in-person multilingual events in these languages more professional and accessible to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, or speakers of a foreign language.

Subtitling can be done on site and remotely, as long as there is access to the live event in the chosen language, whether that is the language of the conference or an interpreted language.

On site, we generally provide Velotype services for large-scale events such as Shareholders General Meetings or other public events (conferences, symposia, roundtables, etc.).

For webinars and all other online events, subtitling via Velotype ensures their accessibility in real time for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing in the language of their choosing.

As for the technology used, over time we have established partnerships with the best secure platforms for disseminating text in real time. We offer high-end technology developed by top engineering talent to disseminate content written promptly and elegantly. Our platforms also offer simplified dashboards, which you can use to plan sessions with just one link.

You can also overlay translucent or background legends onto your PowerPoint or video without the added cost of video switchers or encoders.

THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF VELOTYPING

• Velotyping involves using a Velotype keyboard to transcribe speech in real time. It can be used for live subtitling.
• The keyboard has two copies of each letter on the left and the right. Velotypists use both hands to type, the left hand for the first part of each syllable, and the right hand for the end.
• There is no spacebar, and instead you can press the “no space” key to connect two syllables (it’s faster!).
• Typing speed is very important, and top velotypists can produce up to 750 characters per minute (or even more) in nearly flawless French. When they make a mistake, they correct it in real time while continuing to memorize what followed.
• Their training mostly consists of improving proprioception (here, the memory of where their fingers are on the keyboard) to increase speed, allowing them to keep up with the fastest speakers when subtitling.

VELOTYPE VS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

The Velotype allows operators to transcribe spoken language in real time with a high degree of accuracy. While typing in real time, velotypists identify repetitions, syntactical errors, signs of hesitation, onomatopoeia, and redundant words, which will not appear in the final subtitles. Velotypists throw out everything that does not help with understanding, retaining only the meaning of what was said. Efficiency, speed, and understanding improve as a result.

When possible, they respect the phrasing of the original but may adjust the structure or opt for a style more consistent with the general meaning. Oral speech is sometimes ill-adapted for writing, and some passages may need to be reformulated, as they are too long or redundant to be transcribed.

This is where human inspiration and spontaneity are an essential dimension that cannot be replaced by modern AI technology. Velotype is a way of understanding and reformulating oral speech, which requires linguistic and domain knowledge, as well as the capacity for linguistic adaptation. The stages of the process (understanding the original, navigating culture and language, editing the final text) go far beyond repeatedly decoding and recoding messages, the current limitations of AI technology.

Image : Pixabay / A Velotype keyboard © Voxa Direct