ABSTRACT
Previous experience suggests that it is useful to group symbols with reference to the phenomena they represent.
Utterances starting simultaneously are linked together with either double or single left-hand brackets:
[[ Tom: I used to smoke a lot when I was young Bob: [[ I used to smoke Camels
When overlapping utterances do not start simultaneously, the point at which an ongoing utterance is joined by another is marked with a single left-hand bracket, linking an ongoing with an overlapping utterance at the point where overlap begins:
[ Tom: I used to smoke [ a lot Bob: He thinks he’s real tough
3 4 5 6222 7 8 9 10111 1 2 3 4 15111 6 7 8 9 20111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40111 1 2 3 4 5
] Tom: I used to smoke [ a lot ] more than this Bob: I see
When there is no interval between adjacent utterances, the second being latched immediately to the first (without overlapping it), the utterances are linked together with equal signs:
= Tom: I used to smoke a lot= Bob: =He thinks he’s real tough
The equal signs are also used to link different parts of a single speaker’s utterance when those parts constitute a continuous flow of speech that has been carried over to another line, by transcript design, to accommodate an intervening interruption:
Tom: I used to smoke a lot more than this= Bob: [ You used to smoke Tom: =but I never inhaled the smoke
Sometimes more than one speaker latches directly onto a just-completed utterance, and a case of this sort is marked with a combination of equal signs and double lefthand brackets:
Tom: I used to smoke a lot= =[[ Bob: =[[
He thinks he’s tough Ann: So did I
When overlapping utterances end simultaneously and are latched onto by a subsequent utterance, the link is marked by a single right-handed bracket and equal signs:
Tom: I used to smoke a lot ] = Bob: [ I see ]=
Ann: =So did I
When intervals in the stream of talk occur, they are timed in tenths of a second and inserted within parentheses, either within an utterance:
Lil: When I was (0.6) oh nine or ten
Hal: step right up (1.3)
Hal: I said step right up (0.8)
Joe: Are you talking to me
A short untimed pause within an utterance is indicated by a dash:
– Dee: Umm – my mother will be right in
Unlimited intervals heard between utterances are described within double parentheses and inserted where they occur:
((pause)) Rex: Are you ready to order ((pause))
Pam: Yes thank you we are
In these transcripts, punctuation is used to mark not conventional grammatical units but, rather, attempts to capture characteristics of speech delivery. For example, a colon indicates an extension of the sound or syllable it follows:
co: lon Ron: What ha:ppened to you
and more colons prolong the stretch:
co :: lons Mae: I ju::ss can’t come Tim: I’m so:::sorry re:::ally I am
The other punctuation marks are used as follows:
. A period indicates a stopping fall in tone, not necessarily the end of a sentence.
