語音筆譯：音檔作為筆譯原文之潛能初探

Abstract

筆譯工作者雖能自由選擇工作環境，作業時卻仍需久坐於電腦之前緊盯螢幕，長期容易導致雙眼與背部疾患。本研究旨在提出一套以音檔作為筆譯原文的新翻譯形式，盼能藉此幫助譯者減少用眼比例並降低職業傷害程度。本研究所提出之「語音筆譯」包含一套新的翻譯操作模式。該模式要求譯者先將筆譯原文由文字轉換為音檔格式，聆聽內容後進行英進中口語翻譯，最後再利用手機內建語音辨識工具將譯文轉換回文字格式並進行編修。筆者接著針對語音筆譯模式進行實驗測試，招募7名受試譯者操作語音筆譯並於事後執行個案訪談，希望藉此了解使用經驗並探討該模式之實用潛能。

研究結果顯示，部分受試譯者同意該模式能夠協助譯者降低用眼負擔、減少久坐風險，然其前置作業繁瑣導致譯者難以操作，聽力作業亦為譯者帶來理解困境，因此本模式之可行性仍有待進一步驗證。本次研究發現，譯者操作語音筆譯的實際表現可能與原文類型或譯者本身學習背景、作業習慣、多工經驗、或是科技熟悉程度有關。

While translators are free to choose their work environment, they are still required to sit in front of the computer and stare at the screen for long periods of time, which can easily lead to long-term eye disorders and back pain. The study aims to propose a new form of translation which uses audio files as source text to help translators reduce screen time and avoid occupational injuries.This new form, known as audio translation, suggests a model in which translators first convert the source text from text to audio, listen to the content and orally translate it from English to Chinese, then use speech recognition function on their phone to convert it back to text before it is revised. This model was tested on 7 subjects for its potential to reduce screen time and follow-up interviews were conducted to understand their user experience.

The results showed that some of the subjects believed that this model indeed helped them reduce a certain amount of screen time and avoid health issues caused by sedentary behavior. However, some subjects appeared to struggle with the task due to cumbersome pre-work, while others had difficulty understanding the content without written source text. As a result, further studies will be required to verify the usability of the new model. The study also found that performance of subjects were potentially affected by text-types and their academic background, work habits, multitasking experience as well as familiarity with speech recognition technology.