Edited vs. Verbatim Transcription: What You Need to Know 2024

What is an edited and verbatim transcription? Knowing the difference between the two will help you get more out of the transcription that you can use for its whole host of benefits for your business.

Using a transcription service will save you time and money because it allows you to focus on business matters and your organization’s primary objectives.

However, it is worth knowing that a transcription service can be modified based on where the language is being used.  Fillers, sentences, and phrases don’t necessarily have the same meaning in all languages, that’s why.

For example, an American phrase or slang may have a slight or different variation when put in Arabic, French, Spanish, or Russian.  Aside from this, culture also has a role in a specific country’s language.

For this reason, you should hire qualified and expert translators who have a clear and complete understanding of the country and its language if you’re promoting your offers to different audiences across the globe. It is to ensure that the transcription’s significance and quality will reflect your entire business operation.

Foreign Language Transcription Challenges

Foreign language transcription is complicated because the transcribers should understand the meanings and cues from source and target languages for all the filler words, pauses, and laughs. 

Different countries have different variations when it comes to filler words; thus, they carry with them different meanings, which the transcriber needs to understand.

That is why it is essential to hire professional transcribers who have a complete understanding and knowledge of the source and target language so that the most suitable fillers can be inserted.

The same goes with the words to transcribe because they should transcribe similar meaning behind the laughs and gaps between the sentences.

Edited and Verbatim Transcription: What You Need to Know

Over time, the process of transcription has changed and evolved for the better. For this reason, organizations can expect better and more specified variations apart from a broader coverage of transcription.  But if you’re new to brand transcription, you must know the basic transcribing forms.  At its core, two commonly used forms are –

Edited Transcription

This is a form of transcription, which focuses on coming up with quality output.  This involves removing the unnecessary phrases or sentences, which are often excessive and grammatically incorrect. Even so, the main idea of the text is preserved.

When to use it? This type of transcription is commonly used by businesses that want to translate text in a specific foreign language. It is also used for printed material or a book because it uses a formal writing style.

Edited transcription also focuses on the document’s readability, making it more attractive, engaging, and useful for the target audience. It is also why edited transcription is often used in seminars, conferences, speeches.

Characteristics of edited transcription

• Improved readability and clarity with the entire script formalized

When to use it?

• Conference organizers and lecturers require this for the content of the lecture or conference
• It can be useful for business owners and those who wish to publish the transcribed content
• It is also for those who wish to have the text translated to a foreign language.

Verbatim Transcription

This form of transcription focuses on the non-verbal and verbal components of the discussion. It simply means that all the slang, fillers, and other details, which might have been omitted in intelligent transcription are maintained.

Verbatim transcription, without even saying, can be difficult because it deals with heavier and bulkier information that should be put in writing.

In the final written output, all the factors that the video or audio has recorded, including tone, emotion, breathing, background noise, and speech’s interruption are considered.

Needless to say, verbatim transcription is literally transcribing the content of the recording. But even if it seems complicated, it’s useful especially for research, campaigns, and new projects that the client wants to implement in the transcribed document.

Verbatim transcription also plays an important role in police investigations, court hearings, and even in job interviews.

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Characteristics of verbatim transcription

• Includes laughter, background noise, pauses, and other sounds
• Word-for-word transcription of the language
• Fillers and stammers are captured
• Incomplete sentences and throat clearing are also captured.

When verbatim transcription is useful

It takes more time and effort to complete a verbatim transcription, given its complexity and difficulty of elements to include in the output.

Even so, it’s useful for court cases, police investigations, job interviews, and market research studies because the reactions and behaviors of the person involved in the discussion is also taken into consideration for its importance in the research, for instance.

Transcription, nonetheless, is helpful for businesses especially in terms of publishing important documents and conducting market research.  It is also useful in reviewing meetings, discussions, and other related material with the goal of improving business services.

And when used to keep records of what customers are saying about a promotion or an offer, organizations can also get a clear picture of ways they can promote their offers, while also improving their overall campaign strategies.

Edited or verbatim transcription can also encourage better communication and coordination in the organization because it can provide all the people involved with precise references of discussions.

In summary

Verbatim transcription captures every spoken word and then transcribes it into text; thus, it includes all the grammatical errors, fillers, stutters, and interjections.

These characteristics make verbatim transcription complete or comprehensive. The verbal cues can offer insightful data found in the recording, giving a feel of the situation in which the discussion has taken place. The context, being exposed, is another advantage of verbatim transcription.

On the other hand, clean or edited transcription is a type of transcription that edits or cleans up the fillers, stammers, and repetitions. Unlike verbatim transcription, this form of transcription is also made free from grammatical errors, while ensuring that the message is clear and maintained.

For this reason, the transcriber doesn’t only transcribe the words from the recording but also makes sure that the output is easy to read and understand and with an excellent flow.  Thus, this transcription can also be easier to refer to than verbatim transcription.