Transcription Notation

Extended square brackets mark overlap between utterances, e.g.:


Alternatively, we use // on both lines and align them to indicate overlap.

                                  // someone else talking at the same time 

An equals sign at the end of a speaker’s utterance and at the start of the next utterance indicates the absence of a discernable gap, e.g.:

A: Anyway Brian =
B: = Okay, okay

Numbers in brackets indicate pauses times to the nearest tenth of a second. A full stop in brackets indicates a pause which is noticeable but too short to measure, e.g.:

A: I went (3.6) a lot further (.) than I intended

One or more colons indicate an extension of the preceding vowel sound, e.g.:

A: Yea::h, I see::

Underlining indicates that words are uttered with added emphasis; words in capitals are uttered louder than the surrounding talk, e.g.:

A full stop before a word or sound indicates an audible intake of breath, e.g.:

A: I think .hh I need more

Round brackets indicate that material in the brackets is either inaudible or there is doubt about its accuracy, e.g.:

A: I (couldn’t tell you) that

Square brackets or double brackets indicate that some transcript has been deliberately omitted. Material in square brackets is clarificatory information, e.g.:

A: Brian ((the speaker’s brother)) said [ ... ] it’s okay.

This form of notation was developed by Gail Jefferson. A more complete description is found in Atkinson and Heritage (1984).

We adapted this presentation from Potter & Wetherell (1987: 188-189)

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This page last modified on August 01, 2003