Alongside the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC) and the 2022 Bruce Baker award winners, PRC-Saltillo is excited to announce the release of two AAC vocabularies in Mandarin!
As part of the Bruce Baker AAC Globalization Initiative, 2022 award winners HauKei Lam, Yahui Lin, Yusa Liu, and Kewei Jiang worked with the support of our AAC apps team to adapt MultiChat 15 and Communication Journey: Aphasia in Mandarin Chinese (spoken) and Simplified Chinese (written). Celebrate the winning team’s dedication and these new vocabularies by sharing the news with someone who is eager to have a voice in their language.
“We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the Bruce Baker team’s invaluable contribution to this project,” said Cara Hubers, Director of Mobile Apps at PRC-Saltillo. “Their attention to detail, linguistic proficiency, and commitment to delivering high-quality work were instrumental in ensuring the project’s success. The impact of their efforts extends far beyond the completion of the project; they have played a crucial role in bridging communication gaps and fostering understanding.”
Mandarin MultiChat 15 and Communication Journey: Aphasia are included in the TouchChat® iOS app (version 2.50 or newer). These files feature around 400 new culturally appropriate symbols from SymbolStix and eight new Almagu voices representing adult and child, male and female.
MultiChat 15, or 多聊15 青少年 (MC15), offers multiple forms of communication:
Preview the adapted home page of MultiChat 15 (Adolescent) below.
Communication Journey: Aphasia, or 沟通之旅：失语症 (CJA), is designed to support people with aphasia – a disorder caused by damage to the parts of the brain where language is stored. It’s adaptable for use by people with different types of aphasia and a range of cognitive levels and degrees of severity. You’ll find pages that facilitate:
Customization to reflect the individual’s life, experiences, and abilities is strongly recommended. This vocabulary file was originally created by a group of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) working in a rehabilitation hospital (G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre) and the community (CAYA – Communication Assistance for Youth & Adults). The adaptation into Mandarin continues their work to help more people with severe aphasia or traumatic brain injury.
Preview the adapted home page of Communication Journey: Aphasia below.
The Bruce Baker team’s winning proposal shared the great need in the Mandarin-speaking community for a Mandarin Chinese AAC system. They noted an increase in professionals raising awareness for communication disorders and AAC as a valuable voice output solution for children who are minimally verbal and adults with acquired communication deficits such as aphasia.
MultiChat 15 Adolescent and Communication Journey: Aphasia have been adapted both linguistically and culturally to better suit the needs of Mandarin-speaking individuals. They are the first Mandarin vocabularies on PRC-Saltillo AAC solutions. The team said, "We hope these Chinese files will expand more communication options for multimodal communicators and users and we are honored to be part of this project! 我们希望这些汉语词表能让多模态沟通的使用者有更多的沟通选择。 我们感到非常荣幸能参与这个项目！"
With more than one billion speakers worldwide, Mandarin ranks as the second most spoken language after English. Mandarin speakers can be found in countries like Malaysia, United States, Singapore, New Zealand. We’re excited for more individuals to successfully communicate and interact in their environment with these two Mandarin vocabularies.
The Bruce Baker AAC Globalization Initiative pays tribute to the dedicated linguist’s contributions to the field of AAC and creates an opportunity for materials to be adapted in languages in which AAC is under-represented. The inaugural award was given to a team with extensive experience implementing high- and low-tech solutions for clients of all ages. PRC-Saltillo supported their work through software for creating vocabulary sets and translating materials as well as a financial stipend.
PRC-Saltillo is pleased to partner with ISAAC for this prestigious award. Formed in 1983, ISAAC is a membership organization working to improve the lives of children and adults with complex communication needs. ISAAC’s goal is to create worldwide awareness about how AAC can support individuals without speech by promoting innovative approaches to research, technology, and literacy through AAC.
与国际辅助沟通系统学会（ISAAC）以及 2022 年布鲁斯·贝克奖获奖者们携手，PRC-Saltillo 很高兴地宣布推出两款普通话 AAC 词汇！
作为布鲁斯·贝克 AAC 全球倡议的一部分，2022 年奖项得主 HauKei Lam、Yahui Lin、Yusa Liu 和Kewei Jiang 在我们AAC应用程序团队的支持下，成功改编了普通话和简体中文版本的“多聊15” 和“沟通之旅：失语症”。请与渴望用母语沟通的人分享这条消息，庆祝获奖团队的奉献精神和这些新词汇。
“我们对布鲁斯·贝克团队在这个项目中的宝贵贡献表示衷心的感谢，” PRC-Saltillo 移动应用程序部主管 Cara Hubers 说。“他们对细节的关注、语言的精通以及对高质量工作的承诺是确保项目成功的关键。他们的努力不仅帮助完成了项目，还在弥合沟通差距和促进理解方面发挥了重要作用。”
普通话版的 “多聊15” 和 “沟通之旅：失语症”已包含在 TouchChat® iOS App 中（2.50或更高版本）。这些文件包含约 400 个新的符合文化背景的 SymbolStix 符号和 8 种新的 Almagu 语音，分别代表成年和儿童、男性和女性。
多聊15 青少年普通话（简体中文）
多聊15 青少年提供多种交流形式：
“沟通之旅：失语症” 普通话（简体中文）
“沟通之旅：失语症” 支持失语症患者的沟通。失语症是一种由大脑语言存储区损伤引起的障碍。“沟通之旅：失语症” 可以帮助不同类型的失语症患者以及不同认知水平和需求程度。您会看到以下页面内容：
我们强烈建议个性化使用者的词汇，以反映个人生活、经历和能力。这个词汇文件最初由一群在康复医院（G.F. Strong 康复中心）和社区（CAYA – 青少年及成人沟通辅助）工作的语言病理学家（SLP）创建。他们的普通话改编版将继续帮助更多严重失语症或脑外伤患者。
布鲁斯·贝克团队的获奖提案展示了普通话社区对中文普通话 AAC 系统的巨大需求。越来越多的专业人士正在提高对沟通障碍的认识，并将 AAC 系统视为对语言表达能力有限的儿童和患有失语症等获得性沟通障碍成年人的重要的语音输出方案。
“多聊15 青少年”和“沟通之旅：失语症”加入了字词上和文化用语上的改编，以更好地满足普通话使用者的需求。这个是 PRC-Saltillo AAC 解决方案中首个普通话词汇。团队表示：“我们希望这些汉语词表能让多模态沟通的使用者有更多的沟通选择。我们感到非常荣幸能参与这个项目！”
全球有超过十亿的普通话使用者。普通话是全球使用人数第二多的语言，仅次于英语。普通话使用者遍布马来西亚、美国、新加坡、新西兰等国家。我们很高兴看到更多人能够在他们的环境中使用这两个普通话词汇交流和互动。
布鲁斯·贝克 AAC 全球倡议向敬业的语言学家布鲁斯·贝克在 AAC 领域的贡献致敬，并创造了机会发展 AAC 系统中缺乏的语言。获得该奖项的是一个为各年龄段使用者创造高科技和低科技系统的经验丰富的团队。PRC-Saltillo 提供制作词汇集的软件、翻译材料的软件以及财政补助来支持了他们。
PRC-Saltillo 很高兴与 ISAAC 合作，颁发这一备受推崇的奖项。ISAAC 成立于1983年，是一个致力于改善有沟通需求的儿童和成人生活的会员组织。ISAAC 的目标是通过推广 AAC 的创新研究、技术和读写方法，来提高全球对 AAC 如何帮助有沟通需求的人的认识。