Grammar in Action – Commas with Introductory Elements

A few weeks ago we looked at using commas with introductory elements (and when not to use them). I thought these examples and their counterparts were great examples of those rules.

After the game they headed out to celebrate their win.

After the game was over, they headed out to celebrate their win.


Watching the movie while eating our popcorn, we decided to make this our new Sunday night tradition.

Watching the movie while eating our popcorn IS our Sunday night tradition.

Grammar in Action – The Principal's Principal Principle

Principle and principal are homophones that often cause confusion for writers and transcriptionists. I find myself sometimes having to stop to think about which of these to use, even though I know the rules.

Principle is a noun that refers to a law, attitude, code or belief.

Principal can also be a noun, as in when referring to the principal of a school. However, it's often an adjective meaning main , foremost or most important.

And we decided together, in principle, which steps to take next.

The principal focus of the team was to decide which steps to take next.

Text Expanders In Action – Multiline ShortKeys Part 2

Mandi already posted about how nice it is to be able to create ShortKeys with multiple lines, and I wanted to add one thing that is very important to remember when you do so. You need to remember to either account for the space that activates the ShortKey or remember to delete it.

For example, look at this example from Mandi's post:

:enter::enter:_[Applause]_:enter::enter:

If you just enter the the ShortKey suggested, "appl," you then also need to type a "space" for the ShortKey to expand (if you use the suffix keys such as a space for activation.) However, this puts you one space into the line you end on. To fix this, you're going to need to hit "backspace" to get to the beginning of the line. You could also take out one of the "enters" and use the extra enter for expanding your ShortKey.

This is just something to keep in mind when creating multiline ShortKeys to keep your formatting correct. Whichever way you prefer to handle it is up to you, but I'd suggest picking a way and sticking to it so it's not another thing you need to remember for each individual ShortKey.

Text Expanders in Action – Multiline ShortKeys

Another one of the things I love about SKs is that you can create multiline text expanders. You could add a whole page worth of text, complete with paragraph spacing, or a text expander for some of those nonverbal notations we talked about before.

For example, let's say that I'm transcribing a presentation, and I need to notate applause on it's own line:

Blah, blah, blah

[Applause]

Blah, blah, blah

I can create a ShortKey that does it for me. So, for example, I might type appl and my ShortKey would like this:

:enter::enter:_[Applause]_:enter::enter:

(The : should really be <>, but they disappear if I type them that way!)

Now, when I type appl at the end of a line, it will add the hard returns before the [Applause] as well as after, and I can keep typing without missing a beat.

Text Expanders in Action – Temporary Inputs

I was working on a particular type of file I end up having quite frequently today when I realized I'd forgotten several of my ShortKey entries for terms they were using over and over and over again. Luckily, as I posted about in Methods for Creating ShortKeys, I do have fairly regular methods that I use to create my inputs.

This particular time I was saved with a few of my favorites. I'd forgotten that I had added "mni" to expand to "my name is" the last time I had these files because of how frequently it's used. When you're dealing with 20 or more files, having to type that is not my idea of a good time.

Additionally, when I do have situations like this where I'm going to be transcribing something unique over and over and over again, I set up a temporary ShortKey for it. I tend to keep my temporary ShortKeys the same things and change them when I come across these situations. In this particular group of files I made one for an introduction. My input is always the same, "tyfc." What the ShortKey is changes based on the files I'm working on, but it usually looks something like this:

Thank you for calling Transcription Talk where we talk about everything relating to transcription. How may I help you today?

And I'm thankful for my temporary ShortKey 17 times today. It is the best feeling to be able to take a nine-second break at the beginning of each file to stretch my hands out.

Text Expanders in Action – Names

I use a very simple method for creating text expanders for names that I type frequently. I use the first two letters of the first name and the first two of the last.

For example, I used to type a radio show on which politics was frequently the main topic. I had text expanders for many of the candidates set up using this method.

Shortcut	Output
hicl	Hillary Clinton
joed	John Edwards
jomc	John McCain
miro	Mitt Romney

By always using the same method I can easily recall what my shortcuts are even if I haven't used them in a while!

Don't forget to enter to win a copy of ShortKeys! You can enter to win through Sunday night.

Grammar in Action – Regardless vs. Irregardless

Oftentimes both regardless and irregardless are used to mean "in spite or" or "anyway." However, while regardless does mean in spite or, irregardless is a double negative. The "ir" on irregardless means it actually would mean "not in spite of."

Despite irregardless being a double negative and, therefore, incorrect, many people often use it in everyday language. In fact, most dictionaries now list it as a "nonstandard" word because of its popularity and usage in everyday speech. This could be important when you have a verbatim file that wants you to capture all words, even incorrect ones, or on a file that wants you to clean up the speaker for errors such as this.

In practice, regardless should be used as such:

I went to the wedding, regardless of the fact I did not have a date.

If we insert irregardless into that sentence you get:

I went to the wedding, irregardless of the fact I did not have a date.

Many people use irregardless to mean the same thing, despite the double negative. Just something to keep in mind the next time you have a verbatim file or one where you're cleaning up grammar for a client.

Text Expanders in Action – Why I Love ShortKeys

There's no question that Shaina, Tara and I all love ShortKeys as opposed to Word's AutoCorrect tool. One of many reasons I personally love it is the hint window that pops up when you've typed one of your shortcuts. I have most of my ShortKeys memorized, so it's not as if I'm staring at it all day long – in fact, as I type, it probably pops up 5-10 times per sentence, and I never even glance at it most of those times. However if I've added a new ShortKey that I'm trying to use more often, I love being able to watch for the window as I type.

For example, let's say I was trying to start using govt for government but was having trouble remember what my ShortKey was. I might type gover and govmt and see that there is no hint window. Then, if I type "govt," I see this:

Knowing that I've type the right thing, I can hit the spacebar to make it expand and then keep right on going. It definitely makes it easier for me to put my text expanders into action.

Grammar in Action – Colons

As we covered in the post The Elusive Colon, a colon is used between two sentences when the second sentence is used to explain or illustrate the first. Additionally, if there are two similar sentences following the colon you would capitalize the first word of the sentence that follows the colon. However, if there is only one sentence following the colon you would not capitalize that first word of the second sentence.

Two sentences follow:

He was fully versed in VoiceXML: He studied it. He had a master's from an Ivy League school in the field.

One sentence follows:

He was fully versed in VoiceXML: he studied it.

Grammar in Action – Commas

Before you read this, I should warn you that I changed the names to Lion King characters in this example. My file wasn't really about Lion King characters. I just wanted to clear that up in case there was any confusion.

He was ranked number three by Rafiki, who was the organization's founder, and Zazu, who was the organization's first secretary general, preceded Mustafah, who was assassinated by Scar and the hyenas in the '90s.

I really did transcribe someone who talked like this. Every. Single. Sentence. It was a long file, but being that it was for one of my favorite clients, I pushed through, taking extra special care with my comma placement. The rules for this particular example can be found in Part 2 of Mandi's series on commas.

Research in Action – Verifying Search Results

One downfall of Google searches is that even an incorrectly spelled word or name can return dozens of results, giving the impression that it's spelled correctly. It is important when evaluating the search results page that we consider the sources as well as the context of the page.

For example, if you were to search coop de tat, it would return a page full of results. At first glance, you might think that the proper spelling should be coop d'etat. However, it's important to look through the list for reputable sites that would give a conclusive answer. Even the results from larger, reputable site (like findarticles.com, Harpers' Magazine and NOLA.com in this case) can be spelled incorrectly. These results do not give conclusive evidence that "coop d'etat" is spelled correctly; however, there is no indication of what the correct spelling is. In fact, the correct spelling is "coup d’état," but you might need to mark it as phonetic if you're unable to find that spelling and the conclusive evidence to support it through your searches.

If you're working on a financial earnings call, it's also important not to rely on the spelling from past transcripts as your confirmation, as there's no guarantee that that transcriptionist has confirmed the spelling.

Finding a Wikipedia page is often a good indication that you've chosen the correct spelling. (And as a side note, be sure to verify the spelling listed if a Wikipedia entry does pop up because sometimes you'll get the correct entry even with an incorrect spelling in your search.) Corporate, political and personal websites for the person, product or company in question or well-known industry websites for technical, business or financial terms are reliable sources to confirm spellings, as is the dictionary.

If however, you're left with any doubt, it's best to mark the word or name as phonetic and let the client review it themselves.

I'll admit that I sometimes find research very frustrating because it can significantly increase my turnaround time on a file. However, verifying names and terms is an important part of our job description, and it's important not to rush through this step.

Text Expanders in Action

I'm transcribing earnings calls again for the first time in a year, and I am once again using my favorite, by far, ShortKeys. They make me smile every time I use them, which is often.

You see, ShortKeys has a feature that allows you to insert other commands in your expanders, so I have:

55 = :backspace:%

I type, for example, 15 55, and I get 15%. I love it!


And the other one is:

ce = $0

Which means I type, for example, ce.96, and I get $0.96.


I don't do well with the shift+number keys, so these both allow me to transcribe much more smoothly without losing my rhythm every time they mention a number!

Grammar in Action – Question Mark Outside the Quotation Marks

As Mandi covered in her post on properly punctuating quotes, the question mark would go outside the quotation marks in this sentence because the question is the statement preceding the quote and not what is going on inside the quotes.

If you are firm on a decision that the committee doesn’t like they bring out their weapons and say, "Let's go"?

Another thing to point out in this example is the importance of paying attention to what it is you are transcribing. This sentence is a question; however, you needed to be listening to the tone and what the interviewer was really saying to know that. This attention to detail can be one of the things that sets you apart as a great transcriptionist.

Text Expanders in Action

For those of you who use text expanders on a regular basis, I wonder if you’ve ever had an experience like this before. I recently transcribed a file in which the speaker mentioned dozens of different political figures he had worked with. As he would describe them, he repeatedly used “noble” and “noble man.” I debated throughout the entire file whether I should take the time to stop and add a ShortKey for those words, perhaps nbl or nb for noble and nblm or nbm for noble man. I did not, however, ever actually do it. When I got to the end, I decided to see how many times he had used the word/phrase in this two-hour file, and I was amazed to see that I had type “noble” 21 times and “noble man” 18 times. I sure wish I had taken the 15 seconds or less (I just had my husband time me as I added them) it would have taken to add these two text expanders!

Grammar in Action – Maybe vs May Be

Learning when to use the word maybe versus when to use the words may be really isn't that hard once you understand their meanings, yet this is a common mistake I find when proofing transcripts. Maybe is an adverb meaning possibly. May be is a verb that means is possible. So substituting these two definitions when you're transcribing is an excellent way to tell which word(s) to use. This trick won't always work, but it should point you in the right direction.

It may be that she should listen to her mother.

Maybe he should wear the blue shirt.


Here's a great example from a recent transcript where they're both used in the same sentence. It's also a good example of a sentence where the above substitution trick won't work.

"All right, now, I'm going to share with you some language that maybe you may be familiar with or have read or have seen."

Research in Action -- Searching for Glossaries

One of my favorite things to do when I have a file on a specific topic is to search for glossaries. Whether it's an internet marketing glossary or one with Jewish divorce terminology, they can be a huge help all the way through a file.

Usually I just do a Google search for the subject matter with either "terminology" or "glossary" and see what I come up with. Sometimes sites dedicated to the topic will provide a glossary to define words that are commonly used. For example, with my Jewish file I found a very helpful glossary on the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance site that took care of the majority of my rabbinical court terminology.

Grammar in Action – Everyday versus Every Day

We talked earlier in the week about using everyday versus every day. Here is a great example where a speaker used both in consecutive sentences:

“This is an everyday thing. Every day, Monday through Friday we ship everywhere, to all different kind of clients.”

Research in Action

Earlier this week I was typing a file that dealt with computer software companies. The recording was done in a busy coffee shop, and understanding the participants was not always the easiest. At one point in the file the interviewee mentioned a company that sounded like "Ametrics." I couldn't find anything and continued with my file, marking the word.

A few minutes later the speaker mentioned the company was founded by a Paul Allen. Google quickly revealed the true name of the company to be Asymetrix, changed to Click2learn and then merged with Docent to become SumTotal, which explains why I had trouble finding concrete evidence for its spelling earlier. That search also yielded the interviewee's personal website, making future references much easier to find context for.

Grammar in Action -- Hyphens

Tara graciously covered the subjects of hyphenating compound modifiers here, and this week I came across a wonderful example. First my speaker used a compound modifier before the noun, which I hyphenated without hesitation.

I tried to do a two-year term and get out of it.

Then later he used a modifying phrase after the noun, thus not requiring the hyphen.

Like I said, I was trying to be in the office for the short term rather than the long term, but that didn't really happen.

Research in Action – Using Contextual Clues

"First it's a real pleasure for me to be able to present to you what we do at L'Oréal in the field of arthropod experimentation."

Say what??? Surely L'Oréal is not testing their latest skincare product on spiders, but that's what it sounded like the speaker was saying through his extremely thick French accent.

Now, a poor transcriptionist would have typed exactly what I typed above without a second thought. Yes, that's right. I've seen many, many transcripts with these kind of gross errors, simply because some transcriptionists do not take the context of the rest of the content of a transcript into consideration. While proofing I've seen numerous instances of a transcriptionist just typing whatever he/she thought he/she heard, without stopping to think that it has no relevance to the subject at hand and giving it another listen.

A so-so transcriptionist might do a few Google searches, not come up with anything concrete, and mark it as unverified in some way and moved on.

A highly-skilled transcriptionist will go the extra mile to figure out what the term in question is, especially when it is used extensively throughout the transcript. Searching for L'Oréal experimentation turned up nothing, as did a few other terms from later in the transcript. (Important point – sometimes you can find a really good resource on the subject by using other terminology, and it will help you figure out other terms by scanning the website.)

As luck would have it, a few more minutes into the file, the speaker mentioned "the HTE approach," and I thought, "Hmm, I wonder what HTE stands for?" A quick Google search of L'Oréal HTE told me that it's an acronym for High-Throughput Experimentation. Eureka!!! That's when it clicked that he was saying "high-throughput," and not arthropod (which I already knew, but I didn't have to mark it as questionable)!

It's so satisfying to be able to fill in the blanks like that. Call me crazy, but it's one of the reasons I love transcription!