Dictation is the process of speaking while someone writes down the words. It can be used to practice grammar and listening skills in language learning. Some people dictate due to inability to write, and technology can also transcribe spoken words.
Dictation is the process of speaking to another individual while that individual writes down the spoken words. In some cases, the writer, or the individual taking dictation, would have to write down the precise words that the speaker says while in others he would have to transfer the words spoken into a structure more appropriate for the written work. This is especially true in languages that have drastically different written and spoken grammar. In some cases, this process is used as an exercise to practice grammar and listening skills, particularly when learning a new language. In other cases, individuals who cannot write themselves may dictate their thoughts to other individuals who are able to write their words.
Many language learning exercises involve an instructor speaking a text to students attempting to transcribe the dictation. This tests students’ ability to hear and understand words and to keep up with the speaker well enough to write it all down. This can be particularly difficult if the student is expected to alter the grammatical structure of spoken text, as is often necessary when converting speech to writing. Many languages actually have formally different grammatical structures in speech and writing, so for complete correctness, it is often necessary for the writer to make substantial changes.
Some people are unable or unwilling to write for themselves, so they find people willing to take dictation for them. John Milton, the author of the epic poem Paradise Lost, for example, went blind and had to dictate some of his later works due to his inability to write them himself. While it is possible to hire someone to write dictation, many people choose to find people they know they can trust, particularly if the content they wish to annotate is sensitive in nature.
There are a few technological alternatives that provide somewhat functional substitutes for humans that eliminate dictation. Many word processing programs, for example, can transcribe spoken words into written text through the use of a microphone connected to a computer. Such programs often have programs that allow them to “learn” the details of an individual’s speech pattern, allowing for clearer replication of the dictation. However, such programs often have problems with accents and are unable to accommodate drastically different speech patterns. They are also unable to transfer spoken grammar into a form more suitable for writing.
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