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.