Official documentation
CHAT Manual: Transcription Format (Unintelligible Speech and Other Symbols)
Brian MacWhinney, TalkBank, Carnegie Mellon University, n.d.
Read the originalRead on October 17, 2026
- What it is
- The electronic edition of the CHAT manual, the transcription format used by the TalkBank research database. Its transcription conventions include the symbol for speech that cannot be understood, and its rules for marking how many words were lost.
- How much weight it carries
- Maintained by the team that runs the TalkBank database and written for researchers who code recorded speech. It sets rules for one research format, not for legal or commercial transcripts, and the edition has no year on the page, so cite it as an electronic edition.
Facts taken from this source
- The CHAT transcription manual says that if you can tell how many words were unintelligible, you may write several xxx strings in a row.
“If you believe you can distinguish the number of unintelligible words, you may use several xxx strings in a row.” (Unintelligible Speech)
- The CHAT transcription manual says to use the symbol xxx when you cannot hear or understand what the speaker is saying.
“Use the symbol xxx when you cannot hear or understand what the speaker is saying.” (Unintelligible Speech)