Transcription and Data Analysis

The ability to transcribe speech phonetically and to analyse spoken data phonologically is a core skill for AQA A-Level English Language. Whether you are examining accent variation, connected speech processes, or prosodic features, you need to be able to work with phonetic transcription and spoken data systematically and confidently. This lesson provides practical guidance on transcription methods, data analysis techniques, and exam strategy.

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Types of Transcription

There are several levels of transcription, each serving a different purpose:

Orthographic Transcription

An orthographic transcription is a written representation of speech using standard spelling. It captures what was said but not how it was said:

"I was going to go to the shop but I couldn't be bothered"

Phonemic (Broad) Transcription

A phonemic transcription uses IPA symbols between forward slashes to represent the phonemes of the utterance:

/aɪ wɒz ˈgəʊɪŋ tə gəʊ tə ðə ʃɒp bʌt aɪ ˈkʊdnt bi ˈbɒðəd/

This level captures the contrastive sound segments but not fine phonetic detail.

Phonetic (Narrow) Transcription

A phonetic transcription uses IPA symbols in square brackets to capture fine articulatory detail, including allophonic variation: