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Transcription Guide

• Transcription Guide Intro
  • Overview
  • Objectives
• 1. Basics
  • 1.1 Setup your transcription environment
    • 1.1.1 Use a transcript template
    • 1.1.2 Install the Autocorrect file
    • 1.1.3 Install the AppleScript shortcuts
  • 1.2 Fill out the info worksheet
    • 1.2.1 Transcript notes
    • 1.2.2 Cute moments
    • 1.2.3 Spontaneous speech time
    • 1.2.4 New words
  • 1.3 Transcribe and annotate
    • 1.3.1 Timestamps
    • 1.3.2 Line numbers
    • 1.3.3 Key codes
    • 1.3.4 Utterances
    • 1.3.5 Gesture form
    • 1.3.6 Body parts used in gesture
    • 1.3.7 Object used in gesture
    • 1.3.8 Gesture gloss
    • 1.3.9 Gesture orientation
    • 1.3.10 Motion and space description
    • 1.3.11 Context
  • 1.4 Checklist
• 2. What to transcribe
  • 2.1 Target speech
    • 2.1.1 Use the F key code for father speech
    • 2.1.2 Transcribe communicative sounds
    • 2.1.3 Do not transcribe foreign language utterances
      • 2.1.3.1 Do transcribe isolated foreign language words
    • 2.1.4 Experimenter is transcribed during literacy visits
      • 2.1.4.1 PCG speech also transcribed during literacy visits
      • 2.1.4.2 Child speech to PCG requires a code in key column
  • 2.2 Transcribe sibling-directed speech
    • 2.2.1 Multiple siblings
    • 2.2.2 Father as PCG
    • 2.2.3 Do not transcribe home school lessons
  • 2.3 Speech to other entities
    • 2.3.1 PCG speech
      • 2.3.1.1 When to place --- codes
      • 2.3.1.2 Interrupted --- codes
    • 2.3.2 Subject child speech
    • 2.3.3 Non-transcribed interactions require x or xc key codes
    • 2.3.4 Transcribe normally non-transcribed speech if child responds to it
  • 2.4 Reading requires r key code
  • 2.5 Prayer requires p key code
  • 2.6 Do not transcribe non-language sounds
    • 2.6.1 Note sounds in the Context column
    • 2.6.2 Non-language vs. unintelligible
  • 2.7 Do not transcribe PCG imitation of baby sounds
  • 2.8 Do not transcribe ritualized gameplay and song
    • 2.8.1 Note song name in Context column
    • 2.8.2 Transcribe spontaneous songs
    • 2.8.3 Novel and memorized lyrics together
  • 2.9 Multiple key codes
  • 2.10 x and xc key codes for non-transcribed speech
• 3. Utterance order
  • 3.1 One utterance per row
  • 3.2 Order utterances by speech onset
  • 3.3 Simultaneous speech onset
  • 3.4 Interrupted speech
  • 3.5 Dual primary caregivers
  • 3.6 Gestures without accompanying speech
    • 3.6.1 Gesture before speech
• 4. Utterance boundaries
  • 4.1 What is an utterance?
  • 4.2 Transcribe -- for pauses of 2 seconds or less
  • 4.3 Self-corrected speech is one utterance
  • 4.4 Self-interrupted speech requires multiple utterances
  • 4.5 False starts are one utterance
    • 4.5.1 A pause of more than 2 seconds requires a new utterance
    • 4.5.2 Unfinished utterances end with --
    • 4.5.3 Speaker stumbling over words is one utterance
  • 4.6 Utterances never span more than one conversational turn
  • 4.7 Utterances are never more than one complete sentence
    • 4.7.1 Conditional constructions in AAVE
  • 4.8 Use semantic and syntactic cohesion to determine utterance boundary
    • 4.8.1 A pause of more than 2 seconds trumps semantic/syntactic cohesion
    • 4.8.2 Use intonational contours to help determine utterance boundary
  • 4.9 Tag words and phrases
    • 4.9.1 Tags to transcribe on the same line
    • 4.9.2 Transcribe inverted auxiliary tag questions
    • 4.9.3 Tags to transcribe on a separate line
    • 4.9.4 Tags vs. multi-clause utterances
  • 4.10 Repeated words and phrases may be transcribed as one utterance
• 5. Word Transcription
  • 5.1 Transcribe verbatim, but not phonetically
  • 5.2 Transcribe indefinite communicative sounds
  • 5.3 Transcribe whole words only
  • 5.4 Only standard contractions are allowed
  • 5.5 Fused forms for children under 30 months
    • 5.5.1 When to use the fused form
    • 5.5.2 Split fused forms if one of its parts is heard in isolation
    • 5.5.3 Check previous transcripts for isolated instances of fused forms
    • 5.5.4 Indicate expanded version of fused form
  • 5.6 Partial words are transcribed as the whole word
  • 5.7 Do not correct any speech
  • 5.8 Transcribe children’s words like adult words
  • 5.9 Sounding out a word
  • 5.10 Transcribing letter sounds
  • 5.11 Unusual use of “a”
• 6. Spelling Conventions
  • 6.1 Transcribe only conventionally recognized words
    • 6.1.1 Use the @ symbol for idiosyncratic words
    • 6.1.2 Use the & symbol for non-word sounds
  • 6.2 Every utterance must end with proper marking
    • 6.2.1 Only capitalize proper nouns and the pronoun I
    • 6.2.2 “Mom” and “Dad” are usually capitalized
  • 6.3 Repeated words and phrases
    • 6.3.1 Use two dashes -- for three or fewer repetitions
    • 6.3.2 Use the form word[xN] for N > 3 repetitions
  • 6.4 Use the @l symbol for letter names
    • 6.4.1 Use <letter>s@l for plural letters
    • 6.4.2 Use <letter>-'s@l for possessive letters
    • 6.4.3 Use <letter>@ln for letters when spelling names
  • 6.5 Transcribe compound nouns with plus signs +
    • 6.5.1 Plus signs for idiomatic phrases
    • 6.5.2 Other uses for plus signs
  • 6.6 Use underscores to connect multi-word titles
  • 6.7 Do not use apostrophes in proper nouns and certain fixed phrases
  • 6.8 Transcribe possesive marker as -'s
    • 6.8.1 Transcribe plural possessive markers as -'
  • 6.9 Spell out numbers
    • 6.9.1 Spell out made-up numbers
  • 6.10 Use the @f symbol for foreign words
  • 6.11 Use ie for diminutive nouns, y for adverbs
  • 6.12 Use the @n symbol for names that require anonymization
  • 6.12.1 Anonymization nesting
• 7. Unintelligible Speech and Babbling
  • 7.1 Transcribe unintelligible speech as ###
  • 7.2 Do not use ### for parts of words
  • 7.3 Do not transcribe pre-linguistic babbling
  • 7.4 Babble vs. unintelligible speech in older children
  • 7.5 Determining whether something is a word or not
    • 7.5.1 At least one of the syllables is present
    • 7.5.2 At least half of the phonemes are present
    • 7.5.3 The word appears in a clear context at least once
  • 7.6 Ambiguous uses of non-adultlike words
  • 7.7 Using ### for hard-to-decipher speech
  • 7.8 Phonetically reduced words
  • 7.9 Idiosyncratic words
  • 7.10 Meaningless but consistent baby words
• Cast Information
  • Cast Member Codes
  • Variant names
  • Who to include in the cast
• Spelling Conventions
  • FAQ
  • List of standard spellings
    • Communicative sounds
    • Animal sounds
    • Family relations
    • Abbreviated terms
    • Common brands
    • Idiomatic phrases
    • Compound Titles
    • Other
    • Letter sounds
• Reminders
• Submission Checklist
  • Fill out the info worksheet
    • Specify transcription version
    • List cast members and variant names
    • Enter spontaneous speech time
  • Run spell-check
  • Make sure there are no empty lines
  • Fill in line column completely
  • Place END markers in context column
  • Check the format of the transcript file name
• Revision History
  • Version 1.5.6
  • Version 1.5.5
  • Version 1.5.4
  • Version 1.5.3
  • Version 1.5.2
  • Version 1.5.1
  • Version 1.5
  • Version 1.4
  • Version 1.3
  • Version 1.2
  • Version 1.1
  • Version 1.0
  • Notes
• Frequently Asked Questions: Transcription
  • 1. Should I transcribe a sibling speaking to the subject child?
  • 2. How often do I need to place the --- symbol when a PCG is talking to someone other than children?
  • 3. Somebody adds a short phrase to the beginning or end of the utterance. Should I transcribe these on the same line?
  • 4. The child and the PCG start talking at the same time. Who do I transcribe first?
  • 5. When do I use the + or the _ symbols?
  • 6. How should I spell this word?
  • 7. Should I transcribe this as a compound word?
  • 8. Should I use an -ie or -y suffix?
  • 9. How do I transcribe a web address?