Amazing and Fun Facts about Transcription

Understanding Transcription: Key Facts and the Value for Modern Businesses

Transcription, the process of converting spoken language into written text, has played an essential role in record-keeping and communication for thousands of years. Today, transcription is used by industries worldwide, from legal and medical to media and education. If you produce or manage audio and visual content, high-quality transcriptions can make a significant difference in your business operations.

The History and Origins of Transcription

• The earliest transcriptions date back to ancient Egypt, around 3400 BCE. Scribes were the first transcriptionists, responsible for recording important events and administrative information.
• Egyptian scribes held special status. Exempt from physical labor and taxes, they were vital to the administration of the Pharaohs.
• The invention of the printing press in 1439 (not 1429), by Johannes Gutenberg, began to replace handwritten transcription, allowing mass production of texts.
• Scribes continued copying manuscripts and literature by hand up through the 17th century.
• The word "transcription" entered the English language in 1598, documented by John Florio in his Italian-English dictionary.
• The first typewriter was invented by Christopher Latham Sholes in 1867, revolutionizing how written records were produced.
• By 1910, women made up 81% of the workforce in typing roles, largely because typewriters were marketed toward them on sewing machine stands (1910 study).
• "Transcriber" refers to a machine or software that converts audio or video into text, while "transcriptionist" is the term for a person who performs transcription.
• International Translation Day is celebrated on September 30th, honoring St. Jerome, who translated the Old Testament from Hebrew to Latin.
• In 1998, typing speed was considered fast at 40 words per minute, usually accomplished with just two fingers.
• By 2018, average typing speeds increased to about 50 to 60 words per minute, while expert transcriptionists could reach up to 120 words per minute.
• Transcription made video and audio content accessible to people with hearing impairments, helping them engage with media and information.

Surprising Facts About Transcriptions and Typing

• Transcribing one hour of audio can take between 4 to 6 hours for a professional transcriptionist (GoTranscript internal data, 2023).
• People speak at around 150–170 words per minute. On average, that's over 10,000 words per hour. This means people talk seven times faster than they can write.
• A skilled transcriptionist can type 80–100 words per minute, far outpacing the average person.
• The most frequently transcribed languages include English, French, German, Italian, and Russian.
• Decoding technical terms and unfamiliar language is one of the hardest tasks for transcriptionists.
• The typing speed world record is held by Stella Pajunas, who typed 216 words per minute in 1946.
• The fastest hands-free typist, Hank Torres, used facial-motion capture technology to type 25 words in 83 seconds (2011).
• About 56% of keyboard strokes are made using the left hand.
• Learning to touch type at a young age can double the speed at which someone masters typing, compared to those who start as adults.
• Research shows that girls are more likely than boys to pursue typing skills (study, 2014).

Transcription, Videos, and Speech Recognition Technology

• Transcribing videos improves SEO. Videos with transcripts generate more online engagement and are easier for users to find through search engines.
• Web pages that include video transcripts rank higher in search results than those that do not (BrightEdge, 2021).
• Companies invest in online video captions to expand their reach into new markets.
• Posts with social video generate 1,200% more shares than those with only text or static images (WordStream, 2020).
• About 85% of Facebook videos are watched with the sound off (Digiday, 2016).
• The global speech recognition market was projected to triple from $4 billion to $12 billion by 2022 (Statista, 2021).
• Microsoft has begun rolling out automated transcription for Office 365 video files, signaling broader adoption of AI tools.
• Transcripts help researchers and students by making lectures and presentations easier to search and reference using keywords.

Why Modern Professionals Need Transcription

Transcription is valuable across many fields. Today, podcast creators often turn episodes into blog articles, helping reach wider audiences. Legal and medical professionals use transcription to share recorded sessions, meetings, and conventions more efficiently.

• Transcriptions enable easier quoting and referencing in articles, reports, or social posts.
• Legal and medical documents require precise, searchable records for compliance and communication.
• Repurposing transcripts creates materials for blog posts, emails, and lead generation campaigns.

The Importance of Transcription for Search and Content Strategy

Transcription is not just about making speech accessible. It captures information from audio or video, bringing those words into a searchable, shareable format. Transcripts boost SEO by embedding keywords that help search engines understand the full context of your content.

• Improved accessibility means more people can consume your message, including non-native speakers and hearing-impaired audiences.
• Transcripts can become downloadable resources, social posts, or study materials for students.
• Repurposing audio or video content into blogs or reports saves time and increases content output.
• Google gives preference to content-rich pages, boosting rank for those with high-quality, keyword-filled transcripts.

Should You Transcribe Content Yourself or Hire a Pro?

Deciding whether to do transcription in-house or outsource depends on your time, budget, and need for accuracy.

• If you have experience, patience, and spare hours, self-transcribing may work for short audio files.
• If you want high speed and accuracy, or if you handle large projects, hiring professional transcription services saves time and ensures consistency.
• AI-powered automated transcription options are now widely available for fast drafts, with professionals providing proofreading and editing for accuracy.

Transcription Services Solutions from GoTranscript

Whether you need precise human transcription, speedy AI-powered transcription, or accurate closed captions and subtitles, GoTranscript offers a full suite of solutions. GoTranscript also provides transcription proofreading, text translation, and comprehensive audio translation services for global reach. Check out affordable transcription pricing and captioning rates, or order your transcription and captions online today. Make your content accessible, searchable, and ready to reach new audiences with GoTranscript.