ABSTRACT
This chapter overviews the work that has been done using corpora to research augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) users’ discourse in the workplace and other relevant work that helps researchers understand the reality of the experiences of AAC users in their work environment. According to The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, an AAC system is “an integrated group of components, including the symbols, aids, strategies, and techniques used by individuals to enhance communication. The system serves to supplement any gestural, spoken, and/or written communication abilities”. One important focus of research on AAC has included users’ real-time interactions and communication in workplace contexts. In order to compare the speech produced by AAC users while using their devices and vocalizing, researchers have extracted three sub-corpora from the AAC and non-AAC workplace corpus (ANAWC). The ANAWC is a specialized corpus focusing on AAC users’ and non-AAC users’ talk in the workplace.
