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Audio Transcription terminology: "inaudible" vs "unintelligible" + a corresponding Russian term
Thread poster: Nikita Kobrin
Nikita Kobrin
Nikita Kobrin  Identity Verified
Lithuania
Local time: 17:21
Member (2010)
English to Russian
+ ...
Jan 5, 2004

Dear colleagues experienced in Audio Transcription,

At the moment I'm transcribing taped police interviews. The recording quality isn't very high and there are some parts which I can't understand.

1) What would be the best word to write instead of those parts:

- {unintelligible}
- {inaudible}

or something else? Is there a commonly accepted term?

2) What would be a corresponding Russian term?

3) What kind of brac... See more
Dear colleagues experienced in Audio Transcription,

At the moment I'm transcribing taped police interviews. The recording quality isn't very high and there are some parts which I can't understand.

1) What would be the best word to write instead of those parts:

- {unintelligible}
- {inaudible}

or something else? Is there a commonly accepted term?

2) What would be a corresponding Russian term?

3) What kind of brackets would you recommend to use: (), [], or {}?

Regards,
Nikita Kobrin

[Edited at 2004-01-05 11:50] ▲ Collapse
 
lindaellen (X)
lindaellen (X)

Inaudible vs. unintelligible Jan 5, 2004

Nikita Kobrin wrote:

Dear colleagues experienced in Audio Transcription,

At the moment I'm transcribing taped police interviews. The recording quality isn't very high and there are some parts which I can't understand.

1) What would be the best word to write instead of those parts:

- {unintelligible}
- {inaudible}

or something else? Is there a commonly accepted term?

2) What would be a corresponding Russian term?

3) What kind of brackets would you recommend to use: (), [], or {}?

Regards,
Nikita Kobrin

[Edited at 2004-01-05 11:50]
 
lindaellen (X)
lindaellen (X)

Inaudible vs. unintelligible Jan 5, 2004

Inaudible means that you can't hear it, while unintelligible means that you hear sounds but can't make them out. I would use square brackets [], but I can't back that up with an authoritative reference. Would it be possible to put a ? in the brackets, which would indicate that you can't understand the word/phrase, but not necessarily say why.
 
Monika Coulson
Monika Coulson  Identity Verified
Local time: 08:21
Member (2001)
English to Albanian
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
I use [inaudible] Jan 5, 2004

Hi Nikita,

Nikita Kobrin wrote:

1) What would be the best word to write instead of those parts:

- {unintelligible}
- {inaudible}

or something else? Is there a commonly accepted term?


So far, I have always used the word [inaudible] and this has been OK with my clients.

2) What would be a corresponding Russian term?


Sorry, I cannot give any answers to this question, since I do not speak any Russian at all.

3) What kind of brackets would you recommend to use: (), [], or {}?


I use [], but I have seen that other colleagues use (). It is just a matter of preference I think.
Enjoy your assignement,
Monika



[Edited at 2004-01-05 15:10]
 
Jack Doughty
Jack Doughty  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:21
Russian to English
+ ...
In memoriam
Indistinct Jan 5, 2004

At BBC Monitoring, it is standard practice to put ("word indistinct"), ("3 words indistinct") ("passage of about 20 words indistinct"), etc., using round brackets.
Unfortunately we never had any contact with the Soviet/Russian monitoring service, so I have no idea what they use.
 
Wenke Geddert
Wenke Geddert
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:21
Member (2004)
English to German
+ ...
Inaudible Jan 5, 2004

I recently received instructions from an agency, which were as follows:

1. If you cannot understand what a speaker says, put (inaudible) or (several inaudible words) as applicable.
2. If a speaker is interrupted put --
3. If a speaker tails off then put …

Hope this helps.
 
kire (X)
kire (X)
Russian to English
+ ...
íåðàçáîð÷èâî Jan 5, 2004

I would use "íåðàçáîð÷èâî" as the most general Russian term. But I'm sure if you place this question on KUDOZ you'll get a lot more.
 


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Audio Transcription terminology: "inaudible" vs "unintelligible" + a corresponding Russian term







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