Re: Verbatim transcription

From: haggis (haggis58_at_comcast.netnospam)
Date: 11/24/04 

Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2004 16:46:50 -0500

> However, I still wish I knew what these services mean by "verbatim." Does that
> mean if the doctor says" "Mary ain't had no chest pain today" that is what they
> are to type? Even simple subject verb agreement is to be typed incorrectly?

FWIW, we seem to get a standard group of exceptions: We are told to fix
grammar ("ain't" would never fly), fix slang (gods, I hate those--and
they seem to be getting more idiotic all the time), fix inconsistencies
(left/right, he/she) if we're certain or flag them if we're not, and. .
. now I'm having a brain fart (just woke up) and can't remember the
last. Basically, the caveat is to follow the BOS on common sense. Well,
except when it comes to something they specifically dictate (horrendous
punctuation) or meds (if you can't document something they've
misspelled, you put quotes around it). We're not allowed to transcribe
"vulgarity," though I'm afraid I wouldn't recognize it if I saw it (the
Osbornes have nothing on me, I fear. . .); we have orders to flag that
to editing.

There IS something almost liberating about verbatim, if you don't mind
the major case of TMJ fatigue from sucking wind and clenching teeth all
shift. Proofreading can take a fraction of the time (though I bet
editors/QA hate it, because they would have to proof everything to sound
to know the moronic mistakes were "correct"). When I would try to
question the logic of the whole verbatim thing, my supes always said we
have to give the clients what they want--thankfully, they eventually
reach a point where they decide it's more important to sound like they
have a brain than to worry about MTs changing their meaning.
Historically, I guess it swings back and forth and we're just on the bad
side of what they think they want.

Janice, you've already seen me bitch about what's passing for education,
but I think it's more a matter of not caring enough to employ experts to
inform students when they're wrong than setting out to teach them
incorrect terminology. No wait--we've seen both. Never mind.

Yeah, what you said.

Relevant Pages