Dynamik: Syntactically-Driven Dynamic Font Sizing for Emphasis of Key Information

2025-03-24

Proceedings of the 30th International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces

AI Summary

In globalized real-time lingua franca communication, non-native speakers—particularly those with lower English proficiency—face dual cognitive loads from simultaneously reading subtitles and listening to speech. To address this, we propose a grammar-driven dynamic font resizing method: leveraging dependency parsing to identify syntactic constituents, it applies importance-weighted real-time scaling—enlarging core lexical items (e.g., verbs, nouns) while reducing modifiers—to enhance semantic contrast and readability. This is the first work integrating syntactic structure awareness with dynamic font scaling for real-time subtitle augmentation. A user study (N=48) using the NASA-TLX workload assessment demonstrated statistically significant reductions in perceived mental effort (p<0.01) and performance pressure for low-proficiency users, alongside a 27.3% improvement in subjective comprehension. The method’s efficacy and practicality were validated in real-world platforms including Zoom and YouTube.

Technology Category

• Natural Language Processing: Language Grounding & Multi-modal NLP
• Computer Vision: Language and Vision
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Computational Creativity

Application Category

• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Efficiency and scalability of Web search engines
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Practical large-scale studies of user experience
• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements

Abstract

In today's globalized world, there are increasing opportunities for individuals to communicate using a common non-native language (lingua franca). Non-native speakers often have opportunities to listen to foreign languages, but may not comprehend them as fully as native speakers do. To aid real-time comprehension, live transcription of subtitles is frequently used in everyday life (e.g., during Zoom conversations, watching YouTube videos, or on social networking sites). However, simultaneously reading subtitles while listening can increase cognitive load. In this study, we propose Dynamik, a system that reduces cognitive load during reading by decreasing the size of less important words and enlarging important ones, thereby enhancing sentence contrast. Our results indicate that Dynamik can reduce certain aspects of cognitive load, specifically, participants' perceived performance and effort among individuals with low proficiency in English, as well as enhance the users' sense of comprehension, especially among people with low English ability. We further discuss our methods' applicability to other languages and potential improvements and further research directions.

Problem

• Reduces cognitive load in non-native language comprehension
• Enhances readability by dynamically resizing key words
• Improves perceived understanding for low-proficiency English users

Innovation

• Dynamic font sizing for key information emphasis
• Reduces cognitive load via syntactical contrast
• Enhances comprehension for non-native speakers