Gaze behaviour and linguistic processing of dynamic text in print interpreting

Abstract

Print interpreting is a form of communication that allows deaf and hard of hearing people to get access to speech. We carried out an eye tracking experiment where twenty participants read print interpreted text presented dynamically on a computer screen. We compared regression landing points on reread words between two dynamic text presentation formats: letter-by-letter and word-by-word. Then we investigated the gaze behaviour from a linguistic point of view in order to discover whether the dynamic presentation has an effect on linguistic factors. In particular, we have examined the parts of speech of the first and the second landing points of regressions. The findings suggest significant difference between the presentation formats. There is also a relationship between the gaze behaviour and the linguistic processing of dynamic text. Being conscious of this lexical hierarchy may help to develop supporting print interpreting tools and consequently may also help print interpreters to improve the presentation of dynamic text to the user.