Intelligent Verbatim Transcription

What is Intelligent Verbatim Transcription

We do not speak the way we write, where sentences have a clear beginning, a middle and an end. Listening to a conversation between two people one  hears plenty of incomplete sentences as the speaker’s train of thought wanders around the topic. The same word may be repeated several times as the speakers find ways to express themselves. Pauses for thought are represented by filler expressions such as: uh, um, kind of, sort of, like, and you know.

Transcription that aims to capture what was said, rather than exactly how it was said is called Intelligent Verbatim Transcription. When transcribing a speech or interview the main priority is usually to capture what was spoken about and not every “um” and “you know” used. The ‘filler’ words that people commonly use while they are thinking are left out.

Intelligent verbatim audio transcription allows the filler words, the repeats (i.e. because… because… because…) and other irrelevant material to be stripped out. Half-finished sentences and sudden changes of topic in the middle of a sentence are transcribed, and the change of direction indicated in the transcript.

The transcriber must remain totally objective, only eliminating material which is clearly surplus and irrelevant. Unless directed by the client, transcribers undertaking intelligent verbatim transcription must not correct grammatical errors, or adding or deleting content they think are improvements.

Intelligent Verbatim Transcription Service

Intelligent Verbatim (www.intelliverb.co.za) is a South African based language services company providing a full range of writing services including recording of meetings, hearing and conferences, and audio transcription of English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Sotho, as well as the other official languages used in South Africa.