What are the Different Forms of Transcriptions, and What It is Used For?

The standard of qualitative research is to fix verbal and visual data – such as audio and video recordings of interviews, group discussions, field discussions, and interactions – in writing to be used for later analysis, or for creating a record. For this purpose, copies, so-called transcripts, are created from the recordings. During the transcription, the original information is transformed because transcripts are artifacts, i.e., legible fixations in static texts. In this respect, the audio and video recordings should be used repeatedly in the evaluation process. However, it should not be overlooked that these, in turn, fixations of sometimes very lively interactions.

Now, What Are the Most Used Types of Transcripts?

A transcriptionist must know how to perfectly represent phonetic, phonological, lexical, or morphological elements of a language through writing to carry out this work. Today, at Arabic

Interpreting Services, our translation company, we will tell you about the most common types of transcription.

Arabic transcription services are frequently required in conferences, interviews, conferences, meetings, court hearings, legal depositions, speeches, etc. Depending on the purpose of the transcribed text or audio for that matter, we can find different types of transcripts. Among the most used, the following stand out:

Literal or Expressive Transcription

It is responsible for transmitting the full content of the speech and the gestural or emotional context in which the communication takes place. All kinds of sounds are played word for word, including unfinished or repeated words, babbling, mispronunciation, fillers, hesitations, on-the-fly corrections, etc.

Natural Transcription

It is characterized by being the most common way to transcribe. How is it different from the previous one? In this case, the transcriber focuses on more transparent and more readable information, eliminating all information that may be irrelevant and sometimes confusing without eliminating the meaning and meaning of the sentences. Thus, the text will be much more explicit and more professional. In this case, fillers, babbling, hesitations, etc., are eliminated, and a slight re-composition of the syntactic order of the sentences is made. It is necessary to carry out some reformulations to clarify the texts, which will be marked in the text as a transcription note for the record.

Summary Transcription

It is nothing more than a summary of the main ideas collected in the speech. Above all, it is used in administrative and economic fields, where accurate data is needed.

Phonetic Transcription

This modality is rarely used in the business world. It consists of transcribing sounds into symbols, following international phonetic standards. That is why it is carried out by expert linguists.

When Is A Transcript Needed?

In the first place, the information collected in a recording is usually stored. It runs the risk of never being used, with exceptions, due to the work of having to listen to all the content again to find the information we are looking for. There are no sections here.

It is vital to write all the information revealed in this type of communication. Suppose we want to search for some specific data. In that case, it is much easier and faster to locate it in an ordered and classified dossier than in a long recording.

The critical information collected may be distributed in brochures, magazines, or reports both to company employees and those interested in the specific topic.

Forms of Transcription

There are various – and differently elaborated – transcription proposals for the writing. Kowal and O’Connell differentiate between four forms of writing:

• Transcriptions that use standard orthography, i.e., in which what is spoken, are reproduced according to the norms of written language. This means that dialect and other linguistic features (a slip of the tongue, accentuations, word expansions, or “ahem” and “hm”) are not taken into account.

• Transcriptions use the form of a literary transcription. Here, linguistic peculiarities such as elations and assimilations are taken into account when writing, pauses in conversation are indicated, and word breaks are noted.

• Transcriptions which, as “eye dialect,” endeavor to reproduce colloquial language proper to the sound.

• Transcriptions use phonetic transcription according to the International Phonetic Alphabet.

Final Words

This is not an easy task, as transcription is a process that requires effort and professionalism. At Arabic Interpreting Services, our translation agency, we have qualified professionals who know how to rise to the occasion and treat the transformation from oral to written or vice versa faithfully. For more information, please visit our site www.Interpreting-Services.Net