D) Audio- and video-recorded data

Audio- and video-recorded data

• • since for linguistic research the speech itself is the subject of analysis, good-quality recordings are important
  • audio-recording will often be enough, but video-recording makes it easier to identify speakers (if there is more than one involved)
  • the act of recording makes the data less naturalistic (the Observer's Paradox)
  • ethical considerations speak in favour of asking permission first
  • linguistic considerations speak in favour of asking permission after the recording; allow participants to listen to the recording and ask for part or all if it to be erased
  • possibility of recording from TV or radio, but scripted speech may not be appropriate, so target passer-by interviews, afternoon discussion shows etc.
  • digital recording will yield better quality and there is software that can help with transcription
  • high-end MP3 recorders can be borrowed from the Chair of English Linguistics in the secretarys' office;

Transcription Software

Special transcription software can greatly simplify the task of transcribing interviews or recorded audio- and video data. There are many tools available for transcription. A short overview over popular tools for transcribing audio data can be found here.

At the Chair of English linguistics we currently use the slightly dated but still very functional version 1.5.1 of transcriber (freeware).

The PCs in this CIP Pool (U5/02.23) come with a preconfigured version of transcriber.

Sample Transcription

Transcriptions usually consist of two files: an audio file and a transcription file.

Installation of transcriber 1.5.1. on your private PC

If you prefer to use your own PC, please follow this set of instructions to install transcriber:

1. 1. Download transcriber: http://sourceforge.net/projects/trans/files/transcriber/1.5.1/Transcriber-1.5.1-Windows.exe/download
   2. Execute Transcriber-1.5.1-Windows.exe and follow the instructions on screen
   3. Download Bugfix: Waveform.tcl (right click + "Save target as...")
   4. If running, please close transcriber first.
   5. Copy Waveform.tcl to C:\Programme (x86)\Transcriber\lib\transcriber1.5\tcl\ (administrative privileges may be necessary)
   6. Done

Speech analysis software

For a more in-depth analysis of spoken data, we recommend specialised software such as:

• • praat
  • Wavesurfer