Transcription and Translation
There may be rare instances where a recording is so perfectly clear that everyone can hear it, and it leaves no room for a challenge. However, this rarely happens, and a challenge often follows. When any portion of the sound file is challenged in the absence of a transcription/ translation, the only source of reference is the official record, which will have to be read every time reference is made to a specific portion of the recording. If someone challenges the use of a specific word, there is no transcription to reference for the word in question. Aside from a reading from the official record, the only other options are to rely on the memory of the interpreter, who may or may not be present in the courtroom during all proceedings, or to listen to the sound file each and every time a word or phrase is challenged. This method is not expeditious. For this reason, a transcription translation that stands up to scrutiny in the courtroom and meets legal evidentiary standards should always be used.
In order to produce a transcribed and translated text, a substantial investment of time is required. Ordinarily, the standard unit of measure for TT is one hour of work per minute of sound. Some practitioners working with very clear audio and simple content can produce a good product at a faster rate, while practitioners working with unclear and distorted audio may take even longer.
Initially, a recording may appear unintelligible or inaudible. Sometimes the voices in the recording overlap, or there are multiple layers of noise mingled with the dialogue. The poorer the audio, the more technical enhancement is required. Listening over and over to the recording and, sometimes, enhancing the sound file takes time. It is through multiple hearings and the use of professional equipment that the discourse eventually emerges from the fog of noise and overlaps. When the audio quality is very poor, the transcriber/translator may also need to put the task aside and come back to it later — the fatigue factor is very prevalent in TT work. Only this extended process makes it possible to go beyond the noise, distortions, and overlaps, to obtain a good final transcription, the first stage of the process.
The second stage is to prepare a translation into English of the transcribed audio recording. This phase often requires specialized library and internet research. Additionally, to ensure accuracy in the entire process, the practitioner must frequently consult with other members of the team possessing specialized knowledge in specific areas such as slang, regionalisms, or myriad technical issues.
The final product of this process is a two-column page placing both the foreign language transcription and the English translation side by side, so that easy reference and checking for accuracy is possible. The conventions recommended to produce this product in the most usable format will be fully detailed in NAJIT’s Transcription/Translation Guidelines, now under preparation.
Given all that is at stake in the courtroom, there is no room to cut corners in the forensic TT process. What may appear to be a savings in time and money may cost twice as much in the end, when the entire project must be redone. For this reason, it is to the benefit of all parties involved in the judicial process to familiarize themselves with the fundamentals of transcription/translation and all that it entails. There are very substantial reasons why onsite simultaneous interpretation of a sound file is not recommended.
Source: NAJIT.ORG
