FAQ

How much work can I expect?

The volume of work we handle depends entirely on our clients’ needs. For certain language pairs we receive more frequent requests, but we cannot guarantee any number of jobs per week or month. Once you do complete a job for us, the quality of your work will influence the likelihood of our team sending you additional projects, as project managers want to know that they can trust their linguists to deliver high-quality translations and/or transcripts.

Do I get to choose the jobs I work on?

A member of our team will typically contact you directly to offer you a specific job. As an independent contractor, you’re always free to accept or decline a job based on your schedule, personal commitments, preferences and interests, etc. That said, a linguist’s availability and willingness to accept jobs will certainly impact the likelihood of our team sending him/her jobs in the future.

How large are the projects I’ll be assigned?

The length of the text and audio files we handle depends entirely on the materials we receive from our clients. That said, when a translator or transcriptionist starts working with us, we normally assign shorter text or audio files.

How long do I have to complete the work I’ve been assigned?

Timelines vary from project to project. Sometimes we handle rush projects that must be completed within 24 hours; others might be high-volume projects jobs with rolling deadlines over the course of a month. Your project manager will specify an estimated or exact deadline when offering you a particular job.

How do I deliver my finished project?

Linguists typically upload their completed projects in XTRF. Your project manager will provide instructions specific to your project.

Can I listen to an excerpt of source audio before accepting a job?

Our ability to share excerpts of source material depends on the nature of the project. In any case, we always try to provide as much information as possible when offering a job to a linguist.

Who will edit my work?

Our network of linguists includes experienced editors and proofreaders with expertise in your language pair and familiarity with the field to which your job pertains. If you receive feedback from a freelance editor, the identity of the editor will remain anonymous (as is the transcriptionist's identity to the freelance editor). If your transcription is edited in-house, the in-house editor will know who you are.

What should I do if I can’t complete a project I’ve accepted?

Inform your project manager immediately . As soon as a linguist knows s/he cannot deliver a project on time, s/he must let us know as soon as possible so we can either reassign the project or request an extension from our client.

How long does it take to transcribe?

It varies. It depends on various factors, including audio quality, transcriptionist experience, software and hardware set up, as well as expertise with Word. It also depends on what type of transcription it is: mololingual, interpretrive, or double column. On average, a practiced transcriptionist can transcribe the following:

Monolingual (Source Language > Source Language): 12-15 minutes of audio per hour.

Interpretive (Source Language > Target Language): 8-10 minutes of audio per hour.

Double Column (Source Language > Source Language, Target Language translation): 4-5 minutes of audio per hour.

For tips on improving your productivity, see the Tips for Transcribing Tab.

I'm an editor, but forgot what editing entails. Can you remind me?

In brief, editing entails two steps: revision and feedback. Check out our editing refresher video as well as the transcription editing guidelines.

I'm an editor. How long does it take to edit a transcription?

Like transcribing, it varies. But perhaps the biggest factor here is the quality of the transcription, so in that sense the editor is somewhat at the mercy of the transcriptionist. Like transcription, other factors will play a part, including audio quality, experience, software and hardware set up, and expertise with Word. On average, a practiced editor can edit the following volumes (assuming that the transcriptions were done by an "average" transcriptionist):

Monolingual (Source Language > Source Language): 30 minutes of audio per hour.

Interpretive (Source Language > Target Language): 15 minutes of audio per hour.

Double Column (Source Language > Source Language, Target Language translation): 8 minutes of audio per hour.

I'm an editor. Will my comments/edits be shared with the transcriptionist? Will they be anonymous?

Your identity will remain anonymous. Your comments/edits will be shared with the transcriptionist if the project manager deems them constructive.

It's taking too long to transcribe, how can I make transcribing faster?

Check out our Tips for Transcribing tab, where you can find a lot of helpful suggestions for increasing your productivity.

If I am required to report the breakdown of English and a foreign language in a mixed audio file, how do I calculate this easily?

You estimate what percentage of the foreign language is spoken in the audio and then calculate how many minutes that percentage is out of the total minutes. For example: Total 20 mins. of audio with 40% of foreign language spoken = 8 minutes.

If there's silence in the audio, do I have to listen to it?

Yes. If there are long periods of silence in the audio, please listen to the entire audio and time stamp these instances, then report the total minutes of silence to the project manager upon delivery. MLC will pay you at a reduced rate (the PM will specify the amount) for the silent portions you had to listen to.

How do I insert time stamps easily and fast because typing out the numbers is taking forever?

The fastest way to insert time stamps is by transcribing with transcription software. We recommend using Express Scribe. With Express Scribe, follow these instructions to insert time stamps:

Options > Other > Hot-Keys > Add > Command: Copy Time > Change (Press whatever key you want as the hot key. I use F1) > OK

You will now be able to insert a time stamp in the document by pressing F1 + Ctrl + V

If you want your time stamp to have the words "Spanish Spoken," "French Spoken" (or any other language, as applicable) before it with parentheses:

Options > Display > Prefix: ((Spanish Spoken > Suffix: )) > OK

What audio software do you recommend I use to play audio files when I transcribe (Windows Media, QuickTime Player, etc.)?

If you intend to work as a professional transcriptionist, we highly recommend you invest and use audio software specifically designed to help with the transcription of audio recordings. This software includes features that make it easy to rewind, fast forward, slow down or speed up audio, insert time stamps, etc. Using your computer's default audio player to transcribe will make transcription immensely more time consuming, since you will not have access to these features. At MLC, we use Express Scribe. Additionally, if you complement transcription software with a foot pedal, your productivity will increase even more!

How does the invoicing and payment process work? 

Refer to the Invoicing and Payment section of this document.

When one is certain that an “unintelligible” is a person’s name, a street name, or any other proper name, is it correct to write “(Unintelligible)”, with the “U” capitalized, even if it occurs in the middle of a sentence?

No. Only capitalize (unintelligible) if it begins a sentence. In other words, treat it as you would any other word regarding capitalization.

So does (unintelligible) get capitalized when the unintelligible portion is at the beginning of a sentence?

Yes. Again, treat it as you would any other word. For example: "I went to the park. (Unintelligible) went also but (unintelligible)."

What's the rule of thumb for when to use an "(unintelligible)"? What should I do if I kind of know what the speaker is saying, but I'm not 100% sure?

If the audio file you receive is of poor quality (lots of background noise, wind, static, etc.) or if it contains speakers that talk too fast, to low, or that are intoxicated, for example, it may be difficult to make out what  they're saying. In these instances, follow this rule of thumb to help you decide whether or not to use an "unintelligible":

If you are between 50-95% sure of what the speaker is saying, write the word(s) in parentheses. Example: "So you stashed the drugs inside the (cookie jar) in the kitchen?"

If you are below 50% sure of what the speaker is saying, use "(unintelligible)". Example: "So you stashed the drugs inside the (unintelligible) in the kitchen?"

Keep in mind that it's always a good idea to use an (unintelligible) over trying to completely guess what the speaker is saying. Also, if you choose to use parentheses over an "(unintelligible)", please make sure to take context into consideration: does what you transcribed make sense when you consider the rest of the dialogue?

My project manager did not provide me with any names, but a speaker spelled her name in the audio, J-A-N-E-T J-A-C-K-S-O-N. Do I still need to put it in parentheses?

No. Don't put it in parentheses. When somebody spells her or his name, that means that the name has been "confirmed." Bear in mind, however, that sometimes people misspell their names (because they are illiterate, nervous, etc.). If you are pretty certain that they have misspelled their names, then keep the name in parentheses, and when you transcribe it spell it either the way they (mis)spelled it or the way you know it should be spelled (just be consistent).

Should instances of onomatopoeia be transcribed? For example: “The dude came and (bam), gave him a slap.” If so, should these words be placed within parentheses or what?

Yes. If the sound is spoken and can be spelled (i.e., pop or bam) then yes, but if the person banged their fist on a table, then no notation would be used. Do not use parentheses in these scenarios and use a double dash. Example: "The dude came and -- bam -- gave him a slap." Another example: "I came out and heard some loud noises -- bang, bang, bang."

The project I'm working on has more than one audio file. The name of one of the speakers is spelled out in one of the audios, but not on the others. The speaker participates (or their name is mentioned in another one of the audios). Do I have to put that person's name in parentheses on the transcripts for the specific audios in which the name is not confirmed?

If a project has more than one file but those files share the same case number, then the names confirmed in one of the audios would be considered to be confirmed in the others (and would not have parentheses).

Should I include instances when one of the speakers (the listener) says only things like, "uh-huh," "oh," "hm," and so on? Otherwise what the other speaker is saying would just be a long paragraph.

For Law Enforcement or any other project that requires strict verbatim, yes, every utterance must be included, even if this interrupts the "flow" of the paragraph. If you're working on a General or clean verbatim project, ask your project manager.

I'm working on this project where one of the speakers has been talking for a very long time. Is it okay to have a really long paragraph?

If this is the case, break up the paragraph (insert a line) every once in a while to help the reader make it more digestible, so that the reader doesn't have to look at a massive brick of text. There's no exact answer, but do so after the paragraph starts getting "longish." Then insert a break after a new idea is introduced. Make an informed decision. This applies to general and law enforcement transcription.

Should words or concepts that are identified as such by a speaker be placed within quotation marks? For example: “Do you know what “to threaten” means?” "Please press the "enter" button."

Yes, words referred to as words or concepts, etc. should be put in quotation marks.

Should dates of birth be written with dashes or slashes?

Dashes read neater and are used in the header, however, in the transcript using a slash is acceptable as long as it is consistent throughout the transcript itself.

Should I use "rd", "th" or "st" when transcribing dates?

Use “st”, “rd” or “th” only when it’s necessary to maintain the speaker’s meaning, as when spoken with the word “the” -- "the 15th of July" -- and do not superscript.

Should months be transcribed as words or numbers?

If the speaker says a month in word form (i.e. July), transcribe in word form. If s/he says it in digit form (i.e. 7), transcribe it in digit form. For example:

Spoken: "He was born on May nineteenth nineteen twenty-five" / Transcribed: "He was born on May 19, 1925."

Spoken: "He was assassinated on two twenty-one nineteen sixty-five." / Transcribed: "He was assassinated on 2-21-1965."

How should I transcribe days of the month?

Days of the month are always transcribed as digits. For example: 

Spoken: "It was on July fifteenth." / Transcribed: "It was on July 15." 

How should I transcribe years?

If a speaker refers to a specific year, type exactly as he/she refers to it. Also, remember to use an apostrophe when the year has been abbreviated. Examples:

Spoken: "He was born in nineteen eighty-one." / Transcribed: "He was born in 1981."

Spoken: "I think it happened in eighty-six." / Transcribed: "I think it happened in '86."

When transcribing the time of day, when should I use "am" or "pm"?

Use "am" and "pm" only when the speaker says these words. For example, if a speaker says "It was six in the morning", the following applies:

Incorrect: "It was 6:00 am."

Correct: "It was 6:00 in the morning."

If a person contracts words like "I'm going to" and "going to" to "I'mma" and "gonna," respectively, should I write the contracted version or correct the spelling in the transcript?

Yes, write the contracted word. Other common contractions that you can write include, wanna, gonna, coulda, shoulda, woulda, kinda, outta, ya (contraction for “you”).

Can I use contractions like "wanna," "gotta," "I'mma"?

Yes, if you're transcribing in English. We don't use those contractions in translation. However, if the contraction is not common (i.e. havva) do not write it. Also contract common two words like: you're, he's, she's, we're, they're, I'll, you'll, I've, etc.

When a speaker both interrupts a word and changes direction, should a single dash or double dash be used. Which one of the following versions is correct: “There was one window ope- because the bathroom was between both rooms.” Or, “There was one window ope-- because the bathroom was between both rooms.”

The first version is accurate. The dash with the incomplete word already notes a pause or change in thought, so another dash is not needed. The double dash is for when a speaker interjects a thought into what could be - - or already is - - a complete sentence. In the sample I just typed, if you read it without the words between the dashes it still makes sense as a complete sentence.

For Jail Calls, is Q the inmate or the other way around?

Yes. For Jail Calls, things are reversed: the inmate is Q and the person receiving the call is A. Note this rule does not apply to other phone calls (911 calls, pretext phone calls, etc.)

When there is a long duration of music in the audio, does that need to be denoted and/or transcribed?

Only if your order notes indicate so.

Do I need to include non-linguistic information like tone, laughter, and crying?

As a general rule, no. Your project manager will let you know in advance if a particular project requires this to be done.

Should utterances in which a speaker is, for lack of a better word, imitating someone else (but not directly quoting that person) be placed within quotation marks? (Example: He’s not going to know what’s happening. He’s not going to be like, "Why are you asking me that?" Don’t worry.)

Yes. Due to it being a sentence/question within a sentence; also, without the quotes the sentence would read confusedly. So in the above example, it is already written correctly.

When the speaker changes direction in a question and goes on to a different idea, should there be a final question mark, and should the dash go before or after the question mark?

There should only be a question mark if a question was completely asked, so no. This is correct: "So again, where do you - never mind, let's move on."

When a speaker is interrupted by a new speaker while asking a question, should a final question mark be placed after the ellipsis?

Only if the speaker doesn't finish the question on their next turn to talk.

Can I use ellipses in the middle of an utterance or sentence? What's the difference between an ellipsis and a dash?

Do not use ellipses in the middle of a sentence, even if the speaker makes a really long pause while she or he is speaking. Here's the difference between ellipses and single dashes:

Single Dash [ - ]:

Used to mark hesitation: "You - you - you shouldn't have come." Single dashes may be introduced in the middle of sentences/utterances.

Ellipsis [...]:

Used to indicate that a speaker has trailed off or not completed a sentence. Ellipses are introduced at the end of an utterance or at the beginning of an utterance that has been previously cut off and is then being resumed.

How do I confirm an address? When should I give up trying to confirm it?

We recommend using google maps to confirm addresses. Once you have exhausted all spelling possibilities in the city or county in question and haven't found anything, place the name in parentheses.

I know that we're supposed to confirm addresses, but what if someone says something like, "I live on 7th Street," where the address couldn't possibly be misspelled. Do I still need to go online and confirm that such a street exists. What if I'm not sure what city this is in reference to? Do I still put the address in parentheses?

In those cases where you are 100% sure what the speaker said, such that the spelling couldn't be wrong, do not place it in parentheses. Some examples of this include: Main Street, University Avenue, [Number] Street. Again, the speaker must have pronounced it perfectly in order for you not to need to confirm it.

Do I need to confirm city names, country names, state or province names?

Only if you're unsure about the spelling. For example, if you're familiar with Honduras, and you know there's a city called San Pedro Sula -- and also know how to spell it -- then you don't need to confirm its spelling online. However, don't guess the spelling (i.e. "San Pedro Usula"); please do an online confirmation.

When a kid refers to his/her private parts by using a made-up word, (example, "este es mi pitulete" / "this is my [penis]"), how do we transcribe and translate that? 

If the term is completely made up (that is, singular to that kid, you've never heard it before) transcribe verbatim in the left column and, in the right column, copy the term and put it in parentheses. So in the example above, it would be transcribed as "Este es mi pitulete" and translated as "This is my (pitulete)." On the other hand, if you've heard the term before, then it would be considered slang and therefore a translation is warranted. Here's an example using the Spanish language: "Me tocó el pipi". This would be translated as "He touched my weenie" (no parentheses) because the Spanish word "pipi" is (more or less common) slang. Whatever you do, be consistent throughout. That way, if the editor believe's there's a more appropriate translation, she or he can easily perform a Find and Replace maneuver.

When is it appropriate to write Crosstalk? How should overlapping speakers whose voices can still be made out be transcribed?

If you can understand what the speakers are saying, do not use Crosstalk; instead, transcribe what each speaker says accordingly. Use Crosstalk when you cannot determine who is speaking NOR what is being said. In those cases where there are speakers talking over each other, and 1) you cannot understand what one or each is saying but 2) you know who is speaking each time, use (unintelligible) instead. In short, avoid the temptation to OVERUSE Crosstalk.

When the names of speakers in the audio aren't provided, what do I put in the header and title block?

Each individual should be given their own Q or A, with numbers as necessary (please see Riverside County exception in the Guidelines). The primary interviewer will be Q, the primary interviewee will be A, then each successive interviewer will be Q1, Q2, Q3, et cetera, and each successive interviewee will be A1, A2, A3, et cetera. Each Q and A should be identified as Man, Woman, or Child, as applicable, if names are not provided. For jail calls, remember that the inmate is Q and the person on the other line is A.

Note: For Riverside County transcripts, the primary interviewer goes first on the title block.

If there is a dispatcher radioing in on the audio, do I need to transcribe it?

Yes. Identify the person on the radio as Dispatch. If there are multiple dispatchers, identify them all as Dispatch (you don't need to differentiate them with numbers). However, you do not need to list the Dispatch in the title block. Sometimes with on-scene interviews, detectives leave their radios on and dispatches are heard in the background -- either intelligibly or unintelligibly -- throughout the audio. In these cases, DO NOT transcribe the dispatchers, as the conversation between the interviewer and the interviewee would be interrupted too often.

What do we do if someone mispronounces a word because they don't know the language very well. Should the word in question be put in parentheses or not? For example, "We're just (condacting) an investigation," where the speaker should have said, "conducting."

In the above case, do not place the word in parentheses and, also, correct the spelling. Even though it's not an exact science, make a distinction between grossly mispronounced words and slightly mispronounced words. The former should be placed in parentheses, the latter should not. If the mispronunciation only affects one letter or vowel and/or 90% of the word is pronounced correctly, then write the word correctly. Make an informed decision.

What if a person says a completely different word than they intended to say because of the fact that they are not native speakers and/or they are thinking in cognates? For example, a person speaking Spanish says, "Es posible que la persona no es mala, pero la acta es mala." They clearly meant to say "acto" ("action"), but didn't. Instead, they said, "acta," which means "certificate." This is also what the listener heard. So should this be translated as "It's possible that the person is not bad, but the action is bad" or as "It's possible that the person is not bad, but the certificate is bad."

If this is an interpretive (or single column) transcription, correct the speaker and write the corrected translated word (do not use parenthesis). For the above example, you would thus write, "...but the action is bad." If you're working on a double column transcription, write the word they actually said in the left column and on the right column write the corrected word. For the above example, "...pero la acta es mala" (left column) / "but the action is bad" (right column).

I've been provided by my project manager with a transcript that's partially completed with the other language, and I'm supposed to transcribe the timestamps only. What if the part that's already transcribed has multiple formatting and grammar errors. Should I fix them?

No. Transcribe the time-stamped portions only, making sure that what you do adheres to the guidelines and is error-free.

I've been provided by my project manager with a transcript that's partially completed with the other language, and I'm supposed to transcribe the timestamps only. What if the part that's already transcribed has serious errors such as misheard portions, omissions, or speaker identification issues. Should I fix them?

No. Transcribe the time-stamped portions only, making sure that what you do adheres to the guidelines and is error-free. In addition, please make a note for the PM explaining the nature of the error and the time in the audio where the error occurred.  

I've been provided by my project manager with a transcript that's partially completed with the other language, and I'm supposed to transcribe the timestamps only. What if the timestamps actually include English and not the language I'm supposed to transcribe in? Should I transcribe the English?

If you’re able to confidently transcribe the English portion, please do. Otherwise, change these to "English" timestamps and write a note for the project manager in the “Notes for Project Manager” box letting him/her know about the English timestamps and approximately how many minutes (or seconds) of English were left un-transcribed.

I've been provided by my project manager with a transcript that's partially completed with the other language, and I'm supposed to transcribe the timestamps only. I notice that the names that appear in the part that's already transcribed are not put in parentheses. Those names also appear in the part I'm transcribing. Should I also not put them in parentheses?

No. Disregard the transcribed portions, and treat names as you normally would. So if the name has not been given to you by your project manager (i.e. is unconfirmed) place it in parentheses.

I've been provided by my project manager with a transcript that's partially completed with the other language, and I'm supposed to transcribe the timestamps only. The transcript indicates that only one person is speaking in a given timestamp, but in fact I hear two, sometimes even three different speakers. In short, the person who timestamped the foreign language portions did a lousy job at identifying how many speakers there were. What should I do?!

In this case, please do introduce new speaker identifiers, as applicable (Q1, A1, Man, Woman, etc.), and transcribe what each speaker says, rather than transcribing as if only one person uttered what in fact two or more people spoke, as this would be incorrect. When you deliver the file, indicate this issue to your project manager, and she or he will bring it to the attention of the person who inserted the timestamps.

I am asked to bold the text, but not the speaker IDs (A:, Q:, etc.). Is there a faster way to do this rather than highlighting the text in each segment and applying bold segment by segment?

Yes. Watch this video for instructions on how to do it faster. Know a different or better way? Contact us!

Do we use quotation marks when the speaker is reading something out loud?

Yes. You should use quotation marks to indicate that the speaker is reading. This includes the reading of the Miranda Rights by law enforcement officers.

I’m translating a Spanish transcription into English and one of the participants mistook a word said by the other for a word that sounds similar phonetically.  Literal translation would not show the reason for the misunderstanding. Should I translate the exchange using a phonetic equivalent to the misheard word to reflect the “sounded like” confusion?

Yes. But do so ONLY after carefully considering whether there are options which remain closer to the literal meaning of the word in question, and whether the phonetic equivalent could create more confusion for the reader of the transcript or the criminal investigation. 

Do we ever use semicolons [;] ?

It doesn't matter, as long as you use them correctly. Having said this, a period [.] will, in most cases, be able to replace a semicolon (as long as there is a subject and a verb).

Do we ever use colons [:] ?

For standard transcription, yes. For law enforcement transcription, no. For law enforcement, use a double dash instead of a colon in all those instances when you would normally use a colon (i.e., when the second sentence explains, illustrates, paraphrases, or expands on the first sentence or to introduce a list of items).

Do we ever use exclamation marks?

No, neither for standard nor for law enforcement transcription. We cannot interpret the emotion or affect of a speaker.

Is Crosstalk written with one or two parentheses or brackets?

For Law Enforcement, write as ((Crosstalk)). For standard transcription, write as [Crosstalk]. 

Do I have to capitalize (Unintelligible) or not capitalize it? If so, when?

Yes. Again, treat it as you would any other word. Capitalize it if it begins a sentence. For example: "I went to the park. (Unintelligible) went also but (unintelligible)."

When there's an unfinished word followed by ellipsis, I usually type a dash before the ellipsis. Is this okay?

Yes. This is the preferred convention. For example: 

A:     She said no, she sa-. . .

I want to insert a tab after the speaker ID in a double column template. How do I do that?

To tab in a double column template, press Ctrl + Tab.