Interpreting and Transcribing Services

Lone Star College offers interpreter and transcribing services for qualified individuals. To learn more about how these services are defined, see the definitions below. You can request those services through the Accessibility Services and Resources office.

Definitions

The National Deaf Center (NDC) is using the term deaf in an all-inclusive manner, to include people who identify as deaf, deafblind, deafdisabled, hard of hearing, and hearing impaired. NDC recognizes that for many individuals, identity is fluid and can change over time or with setting. NDC has chosen to use one term, deaf, with the goal of recognizing experiences that are shared by all members of our diverse communities while also honoring all of our differences.

 

Source: Defining Deaf

When a deaf individual who uses sign language communicates with an individual who does not know sign language, a sign language interpreter may be warranted to assist with effective communication. Sign language interpreters are professionals who facilitate communication between deaf and hearing people in a wide variety of settings. The interpreter may sign to the individual who is deaf and speak aloud on behalf of that individual to hearing participants in the room. The role of the interpreter appears to be very straightforward — to effectively facilitate communication between deaf individuals and those who are hearing. However, the complexities of the task, the varieties and types of visual interpreting, and the enormous range of qualifications brought by the interpreter make it anything but simple. Interpreting requires a high level of fluency in two or more languages, keen ability to focus on what is being said, broad-based world knowledge, and professional, ethical conduct. Interpreters cannot interpret what they do not understand. Interpreters serve all parties in the communication exchange. Although we often think of the deaf person as the requestor of interpreter services, the reality is that all parties have an equal and mutual need for the interpreter.

Source: Sign Language Interpreters Introduction

"Speech-to-text" is an umbrella term used to describe an accommodation where spoken communication, as well as other auditory information, is translated into text in real time. For transcribing services involving a professional person, a service provider types what is heard, and the text appears on a screen for the consumer to read. Three main systems are used to provide real-time captioning: (a) Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART), (b) C-Print®, and (c) TypeWell.

Source: Speech to Text Services

A transcript is a text version of an audio event. Basic transcripts are a text version of the speech and non-speech audio information needed to understand the content. Descriptive transcripts also include text description of the visual information needed to understand the content. Descriptive transcripts are required to provide video content to people who are both Deaf and blind. In many situations, timestamping is not necessary and will add clutter to the transcript. In academic settings, transcripts are especially useful for technical audio events (e.g., transcripts of lectures for higher level and/or STEM classes).

Source: Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)

Captioning is a textual representation of audio media. With video and audio, captions are displayed on the screen in time with the audio. Captioning is necessary for deaf people and it benefits many others. Post-production captioning happens when a lecture, video, or other audio event occurs first, and then timed captions are added. Post-production captioning is time-consuming (e.g., 30-minutes equals 7-10 hours of work) and may take more if a transcript was not created prior to the recording. For this reason, many companies will charge prices such as $1 per minute to provide post-production captioning.

Lone Star College does not currently have staff or a budget for post-production caption requests. (2-3-2021), however, some individuals or departments may choose to invest in this option for personal or departmental reasons.

Source: Creating Offline Captions