TRANSCRIBING GUIDELINES
Transcribing the interview is the most tedious part of the oral history process, but in many ways one of the
most important. A transcript provides future researchers a useful format to access information of historical
interest covered in an interview. Typically it takes between 3-5 hours to transcribe each hour of speech.
Please follow the format sample below and the Transcribing Style Guide available here:
http://www.baylor.edu/oral_history/index.php?id=23607
Reference Guidelines
• Proofread your transcript for grammar and spelling.
• Check the format and make sure spacing, punctuation, and capitalization are correct – additional tips
starting on page 2.
• Check for consistency.
Brackets [ ] are to indicate notes and words not present on the recording and added to the transcript. Example:
I never expected to find myself in a swamp in LA [Los Angeles]. If you are using a translator, or cannot
transcribe certain words in Vietnamese, please use brackets to indicate this and then HIGHLIGHT it in
yellow so that someone else can follow up + add TIMESTAMP. Example: I always drank sua dau nanh
[soy bean milk OR needs translation – 01:17:04] after school.
The em dash (—) indicates a hanging phrase resulting in an incomplete sentence, a parenthetic expression or
statement, an interruption by another speaker, resumption of a statement after an interruption, or a meaningful
pause on the part of the speaker.
Do not use ellipses (…) in transcribing oral history recordings because they give the impression that material
has been left out.
In the case of repeated words, phrases or syllables follow a middle course in transcribing these false starts,
leaving enough to indicate individual speech patterns, or emphasis, but not stuttering unless it’s intentional.
Do not type uh if the person repeatedly enunciate words with a hard consonant with an added, “uh,” as in and-
uh, at-uh, did-uh and so forth. Also delete all repetitive “ah,” “um,” “like,” and “you know.”
Nonverbal sounds or events should be recorded in parenthesis and italicized such as (laughs), (cries), or
(knocks at the door).
When speech is unintelligible, you can make an educated guess and add two question marks in parenthesis,
for example: Maryville (??) or Mayfield (??) [00:38:16]. If you cannot understand, type (unintelligible –
00:59:31). HIGHLIGHT in yellow + include the TIMESTAMP so that someone else can follow up.
If you are using a digital audio device, record the time about every five minutes. If you are using media
disks record: Track 1 ends; Tracks 2 begins. If there is a pause, type pause in recording. If you are
transcribing more than one track, combine them into one document. At the beginning of the first interview,
type, “Audio [Track 1],” and in between the two interviews, type, “Audio [Track 2].” At the end of the
interview, type “--End of Interview—“
If the interview contains a few Vietnamese words and/or phrases, use either footnotes to translate these words
and/or describe their meanings or in brackets described above. If the interview contains a significant mix of
Vietnamese and English, transcribe it as is, then translate the entire interview into English.