Unit 6. Velotyping. Element 2. Meta linguistic skills.
Turning non-verbal elements into verbal.
Type punctuation while keeping the pace of the speaker.
On completion of this training sequence...
you will be able to produce coherent text while typing
by extracting and combining the information conveyed with the speakers’ material.
identify which non-verbal elements need to be turned into verbal
for each LTA trained working context
by applying techniques like changing colours or font-size or inserting labels.
type punctuation while keeping the pace of the speaker.
This is the agenda of this presentation.
I will first recall the skills of the velotypist
to then concentrate on the meta-linguistic skills
with a focus on the typing of punctuation
which is essential during a typing performance
because it improves texts’ functionality
in terms of accuracy, readability and legibility of transcripts.
I will finally focus on main punctuation characters
that you will be requested to practice along the course
to develop, reinforce, and maintain the skill at hand.
The challenging speaker.
As you have seen a velotypist has to do many things at the same time.
In Element2 LO1 we have dealt with Meta-linguistic skills
meaning all those skills related to being able to improve textual
verbalization and typing skills at the same time
which is another set of skills a velotypist has to possess.
In particular, for a velotypist to be able and become a professional in the field
he or she has also to be able to process and guarantee
a good functionality of the final product
thus to guarantee accuracy, readability and legibility of the text produced.
This all involves firstly and foremost the ability of the velotypist
to perform a good analysis, synthesis and reformulation of the speaker’s discourse.
While you can only develop these competences by the time
and thanks to ad hoc exercises
you may be interested in knowing how this meta-linguistic skill works.
Indeed, this is exactly what we are going to see in the next section.
In this Element, Element 2, we will deal with the typing of punctuation.
Functionality of the text.
As we know, and as in any multitasking process
which involves doing different things at the same time
in typing, two main types of skills are involved:
understanding, aimed at comprehending the source text
and typing, aimed at making the most out of understanding under stressful conditions
and with a reduced processing capacity than usual.
Typing punctuation while keeping the pace of the speaker
is another important skill in order to render the functionality of the final typed text.
Important to such a good performance
are the ability to understand the communicative intention of the source message
to understand the red thread of the discourse
the capacity to select and produce the relevant information
and to divide between main and secondary ideas
and to deliver an accurate punctuation.
More, the capacity to identify the discourse connectors
while deducing meaning through context and extra-linguistic elements.
Last but not least
the ability to condense information
and to segment information in sense units.
This is the result of a good mix of accuracy, readability, and legibility
of the text produced as a final text.
In the case of typing
the most common method used to evaluate the quality of subtitles
produced in real time consists of assessing accuracy.
Needless to say
where quality is concerned there are also a number of other features to be considered
such as delay, positioning, character identification and speed
as well as factors relating to their reception by readers
i.e. comprehension and perception.
Readability is about arranging words and groups of words in a way
that allows the readers eye to access the content easily
and in a way that makes sense.
It’s important to understand what makes one typeface more legible than another.
But basically, legibility is the quality deriving from a text
which can be read and understood without much effort
also meaning that the message can fully and immediately reach the recipient.
And the main rules to follow when typing the text are typing in an orderly manner
while still keeping the pace of the speaker
and making sentences which are not too long.
Punctuation plays a paramount role in this structuring of the text.
Type punctuation.
We have already highlighted that using punctuation in typing
improves the readability and usability of transcripts.
As a fact, punctuation, used in the right place
significantly improves the readability of transcripts
and reduces the time it takes to edit them.
It is the use of special marks to enable readers
to understand a piece of writing.
Good punctuation follows the rhythms of speech
telling the reader to pause at the right points
and to organize the information in the document that he or she is reading.
It reduces misunderstandings and makes the writing clear.
But how important is punctuation, really
and which are the most commonly used punctuation characters in real-time subtitling?
We’re now going to dive into its importance in transcription
describing how we intend and how we use punctuation.
First of all, it is important to highlight
that punctuation marks fall under the domains
of both verbal communication and non-verbal communication
which includes any communication act except speech.
In particular, full-stop, comma, exclamation mark and question mark
are the marks used within the real-time subtitled communication context
and other signs are those used for the non-verbal communication.
Specifically for the non-verbal communication context
what I will explain will be a general overview
but it is important to bear in mind that the use of punctuation marks
depends on the country of reference
meaning that in different countries we make a different use of the punctuation marks.
While, on the other hand
the punctuation marks pertaining to the verbal communication
are generally shared in their use.
A full-stop marks the end of a complete sentence
that is not a question or an exclamation.
It looks like other marks
such as decimal points and abbreviation points in acronyms
but it does a different job.
It ends a unit of sense
and marks a similar, but longer, pause in the reading process than commas do.
When typing, you can also use periods at the end of phrases
that are not full sentences.
For example:
I like to break my writing up. You know.
Obviously, in typing, subtitles and lines are to be broken at logical points.
The ideal line-break will be at a piece of punctuation
like a full stop, more than a comma.
If the break has to be elsewhere in the sentence
the velotypist avoids splitting the following parts of speech:
Article and noun.
That is: the + table, a + book.
Preposition and following phrase.
That is: on + the table; in + a way; about + his life.
Conjunction and following phrase or clause.
That is: and + those books; but + I went there.
Pronoun and verb.
That is: he + is; they + will come; it + comes.
Parts of a complex verb.
That is: have + eaten; will + have + been + doing.
Commas break sentences up into smaller parts
that are easier to understand.
They signify natural pauses
segregate pieces of information
and separate items in a list, whether nouns or adjectives.
Pausing for Breath.
You can use a comma to insert a natural break
between two parts of a sentence
or to join two short sentences.
For example:
He ran down the street as fast as he could, and tripped over his shoelaces.
Here, the comma together with "and"
joins the two sentences
"He ran down the street as fast as he could"
and "He tripped over his shoelaces.".
Commas of this kind reflect the fact
that you sometimes need to pause your train of thought
to make sense of the words.
Inserting additional information.
Commas are also useful when you want to insert groups of words
that add new information to a sentence
but which don't change its basic meaning.
For example:
Michael, who was taller than James, was the eldest of the children.
"Michael was the eldest of the children" makes sense on its own
but commas allow you to add the fact that "Michael was taller than James"
without simply sticking it awkwardly on the end of the sentence.
Separating items in lists.
You can also use commas to separate items in lists.
One fixed rule is that lists of three or more items
need a comma between the first and second items.
A comma is also needed between the second and third items
if the list has four items, and so on.
The exclamation point is a mark of punctuation in verbal communication.
To be effective
the exclamation point should be used in moderation.
At the end of a sentence
the exclamation point is a mark of terminal punctuation.
As such, it should not be followed by a period or question mark.
Some will use both a question mark and exclamation point for an exclamatory question
but only the exclamation point is truly necessary.
For example:
What in the world are you doing up there!
The question mark is used at the end of a direct question.
Indirect questions take a period.
For example:
What is she doing tonight?
OR I wonder what she’s doing tonight.
When a direct question occurs within a larger sentence
it takes a question mark.
Note in the example:
Would they make it on time? she wondered.
The colon has grammatical uses but also non grammatical uses.
Grammatically, it is used to introduce a list of items.
For example:
The bookstore specializes in three subjects: art, architecture, and graphic design.
In real-time subtitling, and as for the non-grammatical uses
the colon is used in order to introduce a direct speech
which cannot be turned into indirect speech.
For example:
She said: What’s your name?
Instead of she asked what her name was.
Moreover, colon is used for quoting citations
only in some countries among which is Italy.
Other countries use quotation marks, instead.
As for the non verbal communication
again, it is important to remark that what I will explain will be a general overview.
However, it is important to bear in mind that the use of punctuation marks
depends on the country the real-time subtitler works for
meaning that in different countries she or he makes a different use of the punctuation marks.
While, on the other hand
the punctuation marks pertaining to the verbal communication
are generally shared in their use.
The non verbal communication punctuation marks may include:
parentheses, in Italy
or brackets, in UK and USA
quotation marks, ellipses, in Italy
or dashes, in UK
and other signs always according to the country in question
for example the angle brackets.
We will now see these signs
the so-called paragraphematic signs for non verbal communication.
The parentheses indicate additional information or concepts
which are different from the spoken discourse.
Important to say is that bracketed information
should be an addition, not a substitution.
For example: (Michael laughs)
intends to pass the concept that besides the verbal speech
something is happening
which cannot be typed directly by the real-time subtitler.
Also, if a quotation includes a foreign word or phrase
that might not be understood
parenthese provide a translation to better understand the meaning of the whole sentence.
For example: I seldom spoke in French class.
When I did, I usually just said je ne sais pas (I don’t know).
Quotation marks clarify written language for both readers and writers
by marking quotations, titles, translations
and other words and phrases.
In typing, quotation marks perform the following basic functions:
Enclose direct quotations.
Direct quotations are quotations that are repeated verbatim.
For example:
President Franklin Roosevelt said:
“The United States of America have been suddenly and deliberately attacked
by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan”.
Titles of works.
Use quotation marks with titles of works and parts of wholes.
For example:
The first chapter in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is
“The Boy Who Lived”.
Highlight novel uses of words and phrases.
Use quotation marks around words and phrases
to indicate a special sense of use.
For example:
The motherboard is sometimes considered the “brain” of a computer.
Again, there is an important note to make here.
in Italy, quotation marks are not used to cite, rather velotypists use colon
in other countries they are used instead with these different uses.
An ellipsis is a set of three periods
indicating an omission.
It is also used for omitted material within a quoted sentence.
For example:
Jean argues that by simplifying one’s life
laws of the universe will appear less complex ...
At the same time
dashes are used in the place of ellipses
to mean that someone has been interrupted while speaking.
Again, a specific difference for the anglosaxon countries.
After this overview
a real-time subtitler should bear in mind
the concept that verbal communication and non verbal communication
are featured by several and different punctuation marks.
The fundamentals in this distinction is
that verbal marks of punctuation are almost shared in all countries
while they are country-specific in non verbal communication
and can change accordingly.
Summary.
In this LO we have introduced the main competence of the velotypist
the meta-linguistic skill in the form of typing of punctuation
as one important feature guaranteeing the functionality of a text in typing.
In particular we have dealt with two important aspects
a theoretical one that is the text functionality
whose characteristics are accuracy, readability and legibility
and a more practical one
on the use of the most important punctuation characters used by the velotypist
both for verbal and non verbal communication
in order to deliver an optimal target text to the reader.
This, too, has to become a mechanic and automatized action when typing.
To do so, typing punctuation is the exercise to start with.
In the homework session
we will see how to do this in practice.