Glossary

Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.

20 results found in speech recognition.

Automated Speech Recognition (ASR, Speech-to-Text, Voice Recognition)
Technology that converts spoken language into written text using machine learning and signal processing algorithms. In accessibility, ASR is used for real-time captioning, voice control of devices and…
Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) (ASR, Speech-to-Text, Voice Recognition, Auto-Captioning)
Technology that converts spoken language into written text using computational algorithms and machine learning models. ASR powers auto-captioning features in video conferencing, media players, and ass…
Caption quality metric (ACE metric, Caption evaluation metric)
A measure designed to predict how understandable automatically generated captions are for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing users, as an alternative to standard Word Error Rate which correlates poorly with act…
Code-switching (Language switching, Code-mixing)
Code-switching is the practice of alternating between two or more languages, dialects, or communication styles within a single conversation or even a single sentence. It is common in multilingual hous…
DementiaBank
A shared database of multimedia interactions for the study of communication in dementia, maintained as part of the TalkBank system. DementiaBank contains longitudinal recordings of people with Alzheim…
Dialog Act (Dialogue Act, Speech Act)
A classification label representing the communicative intention behind a spoken or written utterance in a conversational system. In the context of accessible technology, dialog acts are used to interp…
Distant speech recognition (Far-field ASR, Far-field speech recognition)
Automatic speech recognition performed on audio captured by microphones positioned at a distance from the speaker (typically 2+ meters), rather than close-talk input from headsets or handheld devices.…
Dysarthric Speech (Dysarthria)
Dysarthric speech is speech that is affected by dysarthria, a motor speech disorder resulting from neurological injury or conditions that affect the muscles used for speech production. Characteristics…
Error-spread modelling (Error propagation modelling, Error radiation)
An approach to evaluating the impact of speech recognition errors that accounts for how a single misrecognized word degrades comprehension of its neighbouring words, not just the word itself. For exam…
Goodness of Pronunciation (GOP, GOP Score)
A computational measure used in automatic speech recognition to assess how closely a spoken utterance matches expected pronunciation patterns. GOP scores are calculated by comparing phone sequences fr…
Hidden Markov Model (HMM)
A statistical model used extensively in pattern recognition where the system being modeled is assumed to follow a Markov process with hidden (unobserved) states. HMMs have been foundational in both au…
SLPAT (Speech and Language Processing for Assistive Technologies)
A special interest group jointly supported by the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL) and the International Speech Communication Association (ISCA), focused on speech and language technolo…
Vocal Programming (Voice Coding, Speech-Based Programming, Voice Programming)
The practice of writing, editing, and navigating computer code using speech recognition rather than keyboard input. Vocal programming is an important accessibility concern because conventional softwar…
Voice Recognition (Speech Recognition, Voice Control, Voice Input)
Technology that identifies and processes human speech to convert it into text or execute commands. Voice recognition serves as a critical assistive technology for people with motor disabilities who ca…
Voice User Interface (VUI, Voice Command Interface, Voice Interface)
An interface that allows users to interact with a device or application through spoken language commands rather than touch, mouse, or keyboard input. Voice user interfaces use automated speech recogni…
Wake Word (Hotword, Trigger Word, Activation Word)
A specific word or phrase that activates a voice-controlled device, such as "Hey Google," "Alexa," or "Hey Siri." The wake word must be spoken before any command for the device to begin listening. Wak…
Word Error Rate (WER)
A metric used to evaluate the accuracy of automatic speech recognition (ASR) and captioning systems, calculated as the number of word-level errors (insertions, deletions, and substitutions) divided by…
Word Lattice (Recognition Lattice, Speech Lattice)
A graph data structure produced by a speech recognizer that represents multiple competing word hypotheses explored during recognition, along with their acoustic and language model scores. Each path th…
Word error rate (WER)
The standard metric for evaluating automatic speech recognition accuracy, calculated as the number of substitutions, deletions, and insertions divided by the total number of words in the reference tra…
iVector (Identity Vector, i-vector)
A low-dimensional representation of voice characteristics widely used in speaker recognition and verification systems. iVectors capture many acoustic aspects of a speaker's voice in a compact form, ma…