Transcription decisions

[Amber]

Hello all,

I'm studying the manuals and some existing transcripts as I learn to transcribe in CLAN, and I have some questions... I want to do some basic annotation of events such as the child turning a page or pointing at a picture (not necessarily accompanied by talk). Judging by the manuals it seems I can either transcribe an event like this as a turn, as in (1), or I can do on a dependent tier, as in (2)
 
(1) *CHI: 0 [&=turns:page]

(2) *CHI: 0
%com: [&=points:picture]

Does it matter which of these formats I use? And will it affect my later analyses of MLU etc (i.e., is an event counted as a turn but not an utterance if there is no accompanying talk indicated by the "0")? Finally, if both participants are pointing at the pictures simultaneously, would this go on a %com dependent tier?

Many thanks for your help.
Amber

[Brian MacWhinney]

On Jun 16, 2015, at 12:07 PM, Amber <ambal...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello all,

I'm studying the manuals and some existing transcripts as I learn to transcribe in CLAN, and I have some questions... I want to do some basic annotation of events such as the child turning a page or pointing at a picture (not necessarily accompanied by talk). Judging by the manuals it seems I can either transcribe an event like this as a turn, as in (1), or I can do on a dependent tier, as in (2)
 
(1) *CHI: 0 [&=turns:page]

No need for the 0,  you should just use

*CHI: &=turns:page .

Which section of the manual suggests use of 0?  I need to fix that.

(2) *CHI: 0
%com: [&=points:picture]

I would not use this latter format.  Which section of the manual recommends this.  I need to fix that.

Does it matter which of these formats I use?

You should use the format 

*CHI: &=turns:page.

And will it affect my later analyses of MLU etc (i.e., is an event counted as a turn but not an utterance if there is no accompanying talk indicated by the "0”)?

Material beginning with & is not counted as a word, but it is counted as a turn.

Finally, if both participants are pointing at the pictures simultaneously, would this go on a %com dependent tier?

If you want to encode that fact, you could note it on the %com line.  

—Brian MacWhinney

Many thanks for your help.
Amber

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[Amber]

The manual probably does not need fixing - I probably just need to drink more coffee. Many thanks for your help.
Amber