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Refining transcriptions: the significance of transcriber ‘errors’*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2009

Clifton Pye ,
Kim A. Wilcox  and
Kathleen A. Siren
Clifton Pye
Affiliation:
University of Kansas
Kim A. Wilcox
Affiliation:
University of Kansas
Kathleen A. Siren*
Affiliation:
University of Kansas
*
University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA.
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Abstract

This work describes the importance of the transcription process in studies of speech and language acquisition. Using data collected from a hearing child of deaf parents, the three authors derived independent transcriptions of the same speech sample and systematically compared their transcripts with each other and with the best estimate of the speaker's actual productions. The resultant transcripts were used to produce two descriptions of this child's phonological system, one based on a liberal estimate and one on a conservative estimate of the potential error in the transcripts. Discussion includes suggestions for deriving percentages of inter-transcriber agreement and the utility of such figures as a metric of transcription difficulty as well as transcriber ability.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , February 1988 , pp. 17 - 37
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

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References

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