In order to compile the parallel corpus, both the original English dialogues and the Italian dubbing dialogues are transcribed: we have opted for producing two types of transcripts, an orthographic one and a prosodic one, to enable us to carry out different kinds of analysis on our materials. Both transcripts have a tabular format with three columns: the first one includes the characters’ names and annotations on the scene; the second column contain the English dialogues and the third one the Italian dialogues.

Orthographic transcription This type of transcription has the aim of reproducing only the verbal elements of dialogue, following standard spelling and punctuation. In other words, in order to ensure that the corpus is machine-readable by means of dedicated software, these transcripts only include the verbal elements of discourse.

Prosodic transcription Prosodic transcription aims to closely reflect in written form the dialogues as they can be heard in the soundtrack: therefore, it includes hesitations, disfluencies (truncated words, mispronounced words and other imperfections that are typical of spoken language), pauses (short, medium and long), and annotations on how lines are actually delivered (i.e. emphatically, laughing, crying, whispering, etc.).

Our approach to transcription in the project is presented in the following paper:

Bonsignori, Veronica (2009)  “Transcribing film dialogue:from orthographic to prosodic transcription”, in Freddi M. and Pavesi M. (eds) Analysing Audio-visual Dialogue. Linguistic and Translational Insights, Bologna, CLUEB: 187-200. 12Bonsignori_1_-libre (1)

Moreover, in the first year of the project, we have collected a number of examples and practical cases taken from the actual transcription process. You can download our guidelines for orthographic transcription here (in Italian for the time being): 

Trascrizione ortografica – nuove regole_rev03

You can find our guidelines for prosodic transcription here:

Trascrizione prosodica – nuove regole_rev03

Both booklets will be updated regularly, as we revise the transcripts that have already been produced for the project. Transcribers are therefore invited to visit this page regularly to make sure they have the latest version.