| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| (.) | A very short (only just noticeable) pause. Sometimes referred to as a 'micro-pause'. |
| (2.6) | A timed pause, in tenths of a second. |
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The beginning of a noticeable rise in pitch. |
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The beginning of a noticeable fall in pitch. |
|
A: talk talk [talk B: [talk |
Square brackets aligned across adjacent lines show the start of overlapping talk. Some transcribers also use square brackets to show where the overlap stops. |
| .hh | In-breath. |
| hh. | Out-breath. |
| . | Gradually falling intonation to the point at which the full stop symbol is used. |
| ? | Gradually rising intonation to the point at which the question mark symbol is used, not necessarily an actual question. |
| ta(h)lk | 'Laughter' bubbling within a word. |
| < talk > <<talk>> | The talk between the angled brackets is slower than the surrounding talk. Double brackets means even slower talk. |
|
>talk< >>talk<< |
The talk between the angled brackets is faster than the surrounding talk. Double brackets means even faster talk. |
| ta- | A dash shows a sharp cut-off when the speaker suddenly stops producing a sound. |
| ta:lk | Colons show that the speaker has stretched the preceding sound. More colons mean the sound is more stretched. |
| (talk) | A guess at what was said, if the recording is not clear. |
| ( ) | Empty rounded brackets mean that the talk was unclear and the transcriber can't guess what was said. |
|
A: talk= B: =talk |
An equals sign shows that there is no noticeable pause between two speakers' turns. |
| talk, TALK | Underlined sounds are louder, capitals are louder still. |
| štalkš | Any transcribed talk between 'degree signs' is quieter than the surrounding talk. |
| → | A sideways pointing arrow is used to signal a significant line in the transcript, in the opinion of the analyst. |
| ((sobbing)) | Anything difficult, or impossible, to write down is shown in italics inside double brackets. |
| ((LS)) | Lip smack, the noise made by the lips as they part. |
talk 
talk