11.3 Verbatim Transcription: Tics, Substantive Words & Chopped-Down Speech

Blueprint topics 30301, 30303 and 30306 ask you to describe the procedure for chopped-down or slurred speech, best practices for tics and mannerisms versus substantive words, and the importance of transcribing verbatim.

What "verbatim" means

Guide to Judiciary Policy § 520.40.10: "Except as noted below, the transcript must contain all words and other verbal expressions uttered during the course of the proceeding." Then:

• (b)(1): "All grammatical errors, changes of thought, contractions, misstatements, and poorly constructed sentences must be transcribed as spoken."
• (b)(2): "In the interest of readability, false starts, stutters, uhms and ahs, and other verbal tics are not normally included in transcripts; but such verbalizations must be transcribed whenever their exclusion could change a statement's meaning."

The other listed exceptions (stricken material, recordings played, private communications) are covered in Chapter 10.

Why verbatim matters

• Credibility. A witness who answers "Yes" and one who answers "Well -- I -- I guess, yes" leave different impressions, and the change of thought stays in.
• Impeachment and perjury. Prior testimony is compared word by word.
• Appeals. The record is all the appellate court has.
• Neutrality. Selective "cleanup" favors whoever benefits from the tidier version.

Tics and mannerisms vs. substantive words

AAERT's Scalini key contains no uh or um at all, but keeps changes of thought (It's the -- actually, it's the identification area) and conversational words (you know words to that effect; Yeah.).

When a tic must stay

Keep a filler or stutter when leaving it out would change what the statement means:

• a hesitation that is itself the answer: Q. Were you drinking that night? A. Uh -- I don't -- no. The hesitation before the denial is meaningful, so the change of thought stays.
• a witness imitating a sound or someone else's speech;
• an attorney asking about it: Q. You said "um" there. Were you unsure? The earlier um must appear, or the question makes no sense.

Uh-huh and huh-uh

Because these can be confused in print, use the conventional spellings consistently: uh-huh = yes, huh-uh or uh-uh = no, mm-hmm = yes. Examining attorneys often ask the witness to answer "yes or no" for the record. Type everything: the sound, the request and the verbal answer.

Chopped-down and slurred speech

Chopped-down speech clips or runs words together: 'til, 'cause, gonna, wanna, gotta, y'all, kinda, five-ish.

The principles:

1. Type the words the speaker said, in standard spelling. Do not use eye-dialect spellings that imitate an accent (dat for that, wit for with). A pronunciation is not a different word.
2. Keep genuine word forms and contractions. AAERT's Scalini key has I come in around four and I stay 'til four or five-ish. Dictionary forms such as 'til, y'all and ain't are real words and stay.
3. For gonna, wanna and gotta, practice differs. Many court style sheets write going to, want to, got to, treating the clipped form as pronunciation. Others keep the clipped form when it is distinct. Follow the client's or AAERT's guidance, and be consistent.
4. Slurred speech from intoxication, medication, injury or a speech impairment is transcribed as the words spoken when you can make them out. Do not describe the slurring. If words cannot be made out after real effort, use (indiscernible) (Chapter 12).
5. Nonstandard grammar and dialect words stay: I ain't never seen no money is typed as spoken.

Profanity and slurs

Offensive language is part of the record. Type it exactly, with no asterisks or softening, unless the court orders otherwise. Omitting a threat or slur can change the meaning of testimony.

Practice passage

Audio (a witness on cross-examination):

uh I -- I -- I was gonna call him but um I didn't have his number y'know so I I just left it

One acceptable federal-style transcript (a style sheet that writes going to):

A.   I was going to call him, but I didn't have his number, you
know, so I just left it.

And with a style sheet that keeps the clipped form:

A.   I was gonna call him, but I didn't have his number, you
know, so I just left it.

In both versions the uh and um fillers and the stuttered I -- I -- I are omitted (they do not change the meaning), while you know, the witness's words, stays. If counsel then asked, "Why did you hesitate before answering?", the hesitation becomes meaningful, and a transcriber should reconsider keeping the false start: I -- I -- I was...

Summary

• Keep every word, change of thought, misstatement, contraction, clipped word, yes/no sound and profanity.
• Omit, normally, uh/um fillers, stutters and meaningless stumbles.
• Restore them whenever omission would change the meaning.