AUTHORIZATION



I hereby authorize Donna Belanger, Dawn Fournier, and Jo-Anne Sinclair,
or any one of them, to sign and file on my behalf any and all forms required
by the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Section 16 of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") relating to the
 reporting of beneficial ownership of equity securities of ScanSoft, Inc.
(the "Company"), and of changes in such beneficial ownership, together
with any and all amendments thereto.  This Authorization shall be
effective on and after the date set forth below and shall continue in
effect until I am no longer required to file such forms, unless earlier
revoked by me in writing.

I acknowledge that the persons authorized hereunder are not assuming,
 nor is the Company assuming, any of my responsibilities to comply with
Section 16 of the Exchange Act.

Dated as of the 13th day of May, 2004.



/s/ John Shagoury
By: John Shagoury