(These symbols are from a system developed by Gail Jefferson; see J. M. Atkinson and J. Heritage (eds). 1984. Structures of social action: Studies in conversation analysis. pp. ix–xvi. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.)
[] | Brackets indicate overlapping utterances. |
= | Equal marks indicate contiguous utterances or continuation of the same utterance to the next line. |
( . ) | Period within parentheses indicates micropause. |
(2.0) | Indicates timed pause in approximate seconds. |
ye:s | Colon indicates stretching of sound it follows. |
yes. | Period indicates falling intonation. |
yes, | Comma indicates relatively constant intonation. |
yes? | Question mark indicates upward intonation. |
yes! | Exclamation indicates animated tone. |
yes‐ | Single dash indicates abrupt sound cutoff. |
yes | Underlining indicates emphasis. |
YES | Capital letters indicate increased volume. |
°yes° | Degree marks indicate decreased volume of materials between. |
hhh | Hs indicate audible aspiration, possibly laughter. |
•hhh | Superscript period indicates inbreath audible aspiration, possibly laughter. |
ye(hh)s | Hs within parentheses indicate within‐speech aspiration, possibly laughter. |
((cough)) | Items within double parentheses indicate some sound or feature of the talk that is not easily transcribable, e.g. “((in falsetto)).” |
(yes) | Parentheses indicate transcriber doubt about hearing of passage. |
↓yes ↑yes | Arrow indicates marked change in intonation. |
£yes£ | Pound signs indicate “smile voice” delivery of materials in between. |
[] | Brackets indicate overlapping utterances. |
= | Equal marks indicate contiguous utterances or continuation of the same utterance to the next line. |
( . ) | Period within parentheses indicates micropause. |
(2.0) | Indicates timed pause in approximate seconds. |
ye:s | Colon indicates stretching of sound it follows. |
yes. | Period indicates falling intonation. |
yes, | Comma indicates relatively constant intonation. |
yes? | Question mark indicates upward intonation. |
yes! | Exclamation indicates animated tone. |
yes‐ | Single dash indicates abrupt sound cutoff. |
yes | Underlining indicates emphasis. |
YES | Capital letters indicate increased volume. |
°yes° | Degree marks indicate decreased volume of materials between. |
hhh | Hs indicate audible aspiration, possibly laughter. |
•hhh | Superscript period indicates inbreath audible aspiration, possibly laughter. |
ye(hh)s | Hs within parentheses indicate within‐speech aspiration, possibly laughter. |
((cough)) | Items within double parentheses indicate some sound or feature of the talk that is not easily transcribable, e.g. “((in falsetto)).” |
(yes) | Parentheses indicate transcriber doubt about hearing of passage. |
↓yes ↑yes | Arrow indicates marked change in intonation. |
£yes£ | Pound signs indicate “smile voice” delivery of materials in between. |
© 2010 President and Fellows of Harvard College
2010
President and Fellows of Harvard College
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