The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2023 - 26

BP
Typing technique may seem like a pretty basic skill-
too basic for established professionals. At least,
that's what I thought when I asked ATA's Business
Practices discussion list how many members knew
how to touch-type.
All in all, when discussing
the advantages of touchtyping,
BP list members
tended to agree with people
in other industries, including
typing trainers. Touchtyping
is regularly credited
for its benefits, including:
y Increased Productivity:
This advantage is closely
tied to typing speed. A
hypothetical typist who
must hunt for the letters
on the keyboard may
type about 20 words per
minute. A 2,000-word
document would take
100 minutes to type.
After learning to touchtype,
our typist's speed
may be up to 60 words
per minute. That same
2,000-word document
would be finished in just
over 33 minutes. This is
a conservative example;
many of the BP list
members reported typing
speeds of 70-80 words
per minute.
y Ergonomics: Since
touch-typists use all 10
fingers, they are less
likely to suffer an injury
by overusing one part of
the hand. Touch-typing
classes also generally teach
correct posture and hand
position on the keyboard,
which can help with
comfort and lessen the
likelihood of wrist strain
and other issues.
26 The ATA Chronicle | May/June 2023
y Accuracy: People who
learn to touch-type well
can generally also type
more accurately, with
fewer misspellings. Any
misspellings that do slip
through can be corrected
more easily because
the typist can look at
the screen while typing
and catch the errors
immediately. This should
help, at least marginally,
when proofreading and
running quality assurance
steps during translation
jobs. Fewer typos to
catch will speed up
spell checking.
y Other Benefits: Individual
typists may find other
advantages based on
their personal situation.
Personally, I appreciate
the fact that touch-typing
allows me to look away
from the screen when I
start feeling the effects
of digital eyestrain. I can
also type while monitoring
my environment for
disturbances-an
important skill when the
kids are supposed to be
studying but are trying
to disappear.
A few people in my
informal survey expressed
the opposite point of view:
they don't touch-type and
it doesn't bother them. Over
the years they've developed
their own systems, and they
find that their typing speed
and their translation speed
are not closely linked. Their
point is valid: if you have
your own typing system,
being able to touch-type the
" right " way doesn't matter.
A personalized approach may
indeed work for you, but if
you're not happy with your
production, or if you struggle
with sore wrists or fingers,
consider learning to touchtype.
You might discover
hidden advantages.
Why not just use dictation
software and not worry
about typing skills? It's
true that dictation works
well-for some people.
Aficionados may love
being able to dictate their
work, but others struggle
with the learning curve or,
especially in our industry,
language support and accent
recognition. The professional
version of Dragon Naturally
Speaking, the frontrunner in
speech-to-text software, is
currently available in only six
languages including English.
Translators or interpreters
working into any language
that's not supported will
have an uphill battle and may
find the program a waste
of money. Even dictating in
English can be a struggle if
the software doesn't work
well enough with your
microphone or other factors,
including your accent.
As far back as 2018, two
voice recognition companies
claimed they had used
artificial intelligence to help
close the " accent gap " for their
software. That gap, however,
was not fully closed; it just
became not quite as big as
it used to be. In 2021, the
gap persisted in most voice
recognition applications,
www.atanet.org

https://nuance.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/6280/~/what-languages-are-available-for-dragon-15-desktop-products%3F https://nuance.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/6280/~/what-languages-are-available-for-dragon-15-desktop-products%3F https://www.atanet.org/business-strategies/protect-your-career-by-protecting-your-eyes/ https://venturebeat.com/ai/using-ai-and-big-data-to-address-the-accent-gap-in-voice-recognition-systems/ http://www.atanet.org

The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2023

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