Tips for transcribing:
- if the word or phrase is long,
concentrate on transcribing shorter sections to begin with
- if you are transcribing a language
that you know, listen carefully to what the speaker actually says,
not how you think the words should be pronounced
- compare the sound you are transcribing with other versions of what you think is the same and neighbouring sounds said by the same speaker, e.g., if you think the sound is [ɔ] compare it to examples you have already transcribed of [ɒ, ɔ, o]
- read your transcription out loud
or pronounce it in your head, then compare this to what the speaker
said
- avoid errors due to IPA symbols having
different sound correspondences in languages you know, e.g.,
do not write [x] for [ks]
- do not allow handwriting
muscle memory to make you miswrite IPA symbols, e.g., do not write
[t] so that it looks like [+]
- make a first draft of your transcription,
do something else, then after a period of time come back and revise
your transcription
- make a note of your common errors
and pay attention to these points so as not to continue repeating
the same errors
Links
to other trancription exercises / phonetic symbol exercises:
Kevin Russel, University of Manitoba
go to "Practice" section
http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/linguistics/russell/138/index.html
new version
http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/linguistics/russell/phonetics/index.html
Henry Rogers & Michael Stairs, University of Toronto
Phthong
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/%7Erogers/phthong.html
Robert Mannell and Felicity Cox, Maquarie University
go to "Section B: Transcription"
http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/speech/phonetics/topics.html
Louis Goldstein, Yale University
go to "Listening Quizzes" section (no answers given)
http://www.ling.yale.edu:16080/ling120/index.html
John Maidment, University College London
Phonetic Flash
http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/johnm/flash/flashin.htm
