Conversation analysis (CA) uses symbols in the transcript to help readers ‘hear’ important aspects of the talk, like pauses, overlapping talk and changes in pitch and intonation. Below are some of the commonly used symbols from CA transcripts:
. , ? ¿ changes in intonation
↑ ↓ sharp rise or fall in pitch
Word or word emphasis on utterance or sound
°word° talk that is quieter than surrounding talk
WORD talk that is louder than surrounding talk
= latching from one utterance to a another with no gap
wo::rd lengthened syllable
> < or < > increase or decrease in speaking rate
$word$ talk in a smiley voice/ suppressed laughter
#word# creaky voice
~word~ shaky voice
[word]
[word] overlapping talk
( ) utterance could not be deciphered
(0.5)or (.) length of silence or very brief silence
.hhh or hhh inbreath or outbreath
((word)) description of behaviour/analyst comments