The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgementTown of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Cape Published by the University ofof Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University University of Cape Town Department of Computer Science Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the award of Masters Town In Information Technology Cape of Evaluation of the Usability and Usefulness of Automatic Speech Recognition among users in South Africa. Idowu Modupeola Florence
[email protected] Supervisor Dr. Audrey Mbogho. University of Cape Town November 18, 2011 DECLARATION I declare that this thesis is not a copy of any other and every supporting paper has been properly referenced. I declare that this work has not been submitted for any degree elsewhere but to the University of Cape Town for the award of Masters Degree in Information Technology in the Department of Computer science. Signature: ……………………………………….. Date: Town Cape of University ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to appreciate the relentless effort of Dr. Audrey Mbogho in making this research study a reality. I appreciate her guardianship throughout this period and her time dedication. Your inputs made a great difference. To my husband, and the best daughters in the whole wide world, Tunmi & Tomi. I appreciate your support and love all the way! Town Cape of University iii ABSTRACT An automatic speech recognition (ASR) system is a software application which recognizes human speech, processes it as input, and displays a text version of the speech as output or uses the input as commands for another application’s usage.