Transcription and Translation

Interview Synopsis

[included as part of the Interview Information Form which identifies the project name, interviewer name, narrator name, length of interview, media, donor form signed, and if the interview was transcribed]

“This interview was recorded on August 12, 2005, as part of the Ace School Oral History Project. During the interview, Jane Doe, the narrator, a former student at the school, discussed the following topics:

Her background and ties to Ace School
Her first memories of attending the school
The subjects taught in the school
The teachers
The school building exterior
The interior layout and what the classrooms looked like
Recess
Holidays and fun times
Her perspective on what her education there meant to her

This interview is one of 20 in the Ace School Oral History Project, a project of the Douglas County Historical Society. Narrators represent former students, teachers, school administrators, service personnel, community leaders and school board members. The interviewer is Mary Smith.”

https://www.nebraskahistory.org/lib-arch/research/audiovis/oral_history/Transcript.htm

CONSISTENCY = EFFICIENCY

If multiple people are working on the same project, use a “style guide” to ensure consistency: headers, font, format, abbreviations, capitalization, numbers
Always indicate change in speaker
Indicate time stamps at regular intervals, and when there is an inaudible portion
Whatever you do, be consistent
When in doubt, use Chicago Manual of Style

TRANSCRIBING IS AN ART, NOT A SCIENCE!

Common issues:

False starts
Run-on sentences
Non-verbals
Dialects / Slang
Filler words

REMEMBER THE GOAL OF TRANSCRIPTION

Should not embarrass the narrator or make them look foolish
Should capture the flavor of a narrator’s speech
Should be clarified when appropriate with the use of brackets

STANDARDIZE THE HEADER

(THIS IS YOUR METADATA)

[1] Document Name: AA00062074.pdf o Doe_diario_1889_ss

[2] Document Location: UFDC https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00076547/00001/pdf

[3] BIBid (bibliographic identification): AA00076547

[4] Transcribers Note: This section should include all information, comments, or explanations about the transcript not found in the original text.

Use Brackets To Indicate Anything You Added

[inaudible 00:33:04]

[end of interview]

My grandfather is buried there [pointing out the window], under that oak tree.

[laughing]

I work in the DCC [Digital Collections Center]every day.

[crosstalk 00:04:45]