Table 1 Transcription symbols

(0.5)

The number in brackets indicates a time gap in tenths of a second.

(.)

A dot enclosed in a bracket indicates pause in the talk less then two tenths of a second.

·hh

A dot before an ‘h’ indicates speaker in-breath. The more ‘h’s, the longer the in-breath.

hh

An ‘h’ indicates an out-breath. The more ‘h’s the longer the breath.

(())

A description enclosed in a double bracket indicates a non-verbal activity. For example ((banging sound))

–

A dash indicates the sharp cut-off of the prior word or sound.

:::

Colons indicate that the speaker has stretched the preceding sound or letter. The more colons the greater the extent of the stretching.

()

Empty parentheses/brackets indicate the presence of an unclear fragment on the tape.

(guess)

The words within a single bracket indicate the transcriber’s best guess at an unclear fragment.

.

A full stop indicates a stopping fall in tone. It does not necessarily indicate the end of a sentence.

Under

Underlined fragments indicate speaker emphasis.

↑↓

Pointed arrows indicate a marked falling or rising intonational shift. They are placed immediately before the onset of the shift.

CAPITALS

With the exception of proper nouns, capital letters indicate a section of speech noticeably louder than that surrounding it.

° °

Degree signs are used to indicate that the talk they encompass is spoken noticeably quieter than the surrounding talk.

Thaght

A ‘gh’ indicates that word in which it is placed had a guttural pronunciation.

> <

‘More than’ and ‘less than’ signs indicate that the talk they encompass was produced noticeably quicker than the surrounding talk.

=

The ‘equals’ sign indicates contiguous utterances.

[

Square brackets between adjacent lines of concurrent speech

]

Indicate the onset (and end) of a spate of overlapping talk.