3.2 Printed vs Audio Text
Let’s look at an example of a printed text adapted for an audio format. Pay attention to the differences. What do you notice? What changes were made?
Printed text
Alcatraz prison had 336 cells but held an average of 265 prisoners at any one time.
Cells measured 1.5 m by 2.4 m. If a prisoner extended his arms, he could easily touch both walls.
From 1934 to 1963, Alcatraz held a total of 1576 inmates.
Audio text
Alcatraz prison held an average of 265prisoners at any one time. Cells were very small, approximately the size of a small bathroom.
If a prisoner extended his arms, he could easily touch both walls.
Over its 29 years as a federal prison, Alcatraz held over fifteen hundred inmates.
Source: MEQ, "Writing for the Ear", [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bafRT6Rh95t_ai6zGPpkM-ht1uroxg_y/view?usp=sharing]. Consulted on 03/04/2022.
3.2.1 Let’s practice!
Read the following printed text. Adapt the text to an audio format taking into account the characteristics of a podcast.
“The Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Montreal, Canada, located at Olympic Park in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of the city on Sherbrooke St.
Built in the mid-1970s as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics, it is nicknamed "The Big O", a reference to both its name and to the doughnut-shape of the permanent component of the stadium's roof.
It is also disparagingly referred to as "The Big Owe" in reference to the high cost to the city of its construction and of hosting the 1976 Olympics as a whole.
The tower standing next to the stadium, The Montreal Tower, is the tallest inclined tower in the world with an angle elevation of 45 degrees.”
Source: Wikipedia, "Olympic Stadium (Montreal)", [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Stadium_(Montreal)]. Consulted on 03/04/2022.
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