Japanese Transcription & Pitch Annotation Specialist

Role Overview

Volga Partners is seeking Japanese language specialists to support a specialized speech evaluation and annotation project. This role is ideal for individuals with strong transcription skills and a deep understanding of natural Japanese pronunciation, mora structure, and pitch.

You will review Japanese audio, validate and correct transcripts and Katakana pronunciation, and assign H/L pitch values at the mora level based on actual speech. The work focuses on evaluation of existing audio recordings , not one-time participation or recording.

This is a remote, freelance, project-based opportunity expected to run for approximately one month, with an engagement of around 15 hours per week .

Responsibilities

- Review Japanese audio and verify transcript accuracy.
- Correct transcription errors (omissions, additions, repetitions, and pronunciation differences).
- Review mixed Kanji/Kana transcription for accuracy, punctuation, pauses, and bunsetsu boundaries.
- Validate Katakana pronunciation lines to match actual spoken audio.
- Apply project-specific pronunciation rules (particles, long vowels, double consonants, syllabic nasals, and contracted sounds).
- Assign H/L pitch values to each mora, aligned with the pronunciation line.
- Represent audible vowel lengthening with additional mora and pitch values.
- Flag unclear audio for review rather than making unsupported assumptions.
- Maintain consistent annotation quality and follow calibration feedback.

Key Skills and Requirements

Language Proficiency

- Fluent or highly proficient Japanese ability.
- Strong transcription knowledge and accuracy.
- Ability to transcribe spoken Japanese using Kanji/Kana.
- Ability to prepare or validate Katakana phonetic transcription.
- Strong understanding of mora structure and pitch perception.
- Ability to identify pauses, sentence endings, emotional speech, vowel lengthening, and pronunciation differences.
- Attention to detail and consistent annotation judgment.

Ideal Candidate Profile

- Experience in Japanese speech transcription or QA.
- Audio or linguistic annotation projects.
- ASR transcription or speech data QA.
- Japanese linguistics, phonetics, phonology, or prosody.
- Speech technology or voice data projects.
- Japanese language teaching.
- Voice acting or narration with strong pitch perception.

Work Structure

- Type: Freelance / Project-Based
- Duration: Approximately 1 month
- Commitment: ~15 hours per week (total workload ~15 hours)
- Recruitment Target: 15 resources

Compensation

- Rate: $18–$20 USD/hour
- Payment: Processed through Deel
- All project hours and assignments must be approved in advance and are based on project needs; contractors should not independently add or work unapproved hours.

Qualification Assessment

- Candidates will complete a short qualification assessment covering:
- Japanese transcription accuracy
- Katakana pronunciation validation
- Mora identification and pronunciation rules
- H/L pitch perception
- Mora-to-pitch alignment accuracy

Note: Strong performance on the practical audio portion is required before moving into production work.