A how-to transcription guide for beginners
As part of the Digital Sikh Exhibition, I volunteered to transcribe English MS 24, or History of the Phoolkian family, an 1821 text documenting the genealogy and affairs of a prestigious Sikh family from the Punjab region.
I went into the process with rudimentary palaeography experience and learned a lot — often the hard way — I felt would be beneficial to pass on to future transcribers.
Here are 10 things I wish I’d known before I started, that I hope will be of help.
1) Find a set-up that works for you. I was fortunate enough to have access to a digitised version of the manuscript, but I still experimented with working directly with the manuscript in the Reading Room. Both approaches have their advantages and come down to personal preference. However, it is hard to dismiss the power of zoom, especially when handwriting is small and faint.
I find using dual monitors, or a split screen, displaying both the manuscript and your transcript makes for much speedier work. A cup of tea also goes a long way.
2) Be consistent. I found it useful to refer to formatting guides for academic transcriptions. These are widely available online and can help you adhere to standardised styles and notation.
There are no hard and fast rules. I ended up creating two transcripts, an ‘official’ one to have on file, and an ‘accessible’ one for use in workshops, which omitted repetitions and inconsistencies in spelling to make it easier for participants to read. The presentation of your transcript will vary with the intended purpose or audience, so the best rule of thumb is to remain consistent throughout.
3) Context is your best friend. When read on their own, words, or sometimes more accurately, illegible scribbles, can make for infuriating enigmas. Do not make the mistake of getting bogged down. Instead, allow the surrounding text to guide you.
4) Flag problem areas. If you do find yourself stuck, make a note and keep going. If you fixate on getting past stumbling blocks, you will lose momentum and motivation — trust me. Keeping up a good pace with the knowledge that you can always revisit certain areas will make you feel far more accomplished. The first draft does not need to be perfect.
5) Keep track of model pages where the handwriting is clear. These are treasure troves. Handwriting is so variable, so if you find you can confidently read every word on a given page, keep a note of model letter forms to return to, and use these pages as a template or guide to help affirm or correct your transcript. I made many notes, along the lines of: ‘see page 68 for a good capital L.’
6) Read aloud and sound out challenging words. It helps to break down the syllables in a word and sound out potential options. This is often easier than working in your head.
When I finished my first draft, I had the inspired idea to have Word read out my transcript as I followed along in the manuscript. This saved me a fair bit of time scanning between the two documents and allowed me to pick up on mistakes. For example, a missing ‘and’ here or an additional ‘the’ there.
7) Reread, once you are acquainted with the handwriting. The first day I began working on this manuscript, I highlighted practically every other word. Returning to my first stabs after I’d finished my initial read-through made for a good laugh. As much as I wish there were robbers who ‘popped in Phoob’, they were far more likely to have ‘passed’ through Phool.
Once you learn to pick up on letter forms and vocabulary particular to your text, you can use these newfound skills to quickly correct previous attempts.
8) Make a glossary of unfamiliar words to research. This will be really useful to refer to later on, not only to corroborate spelling, but also to enhance understanding.
One word that made my ‘to-research’ list was ‘Sumbut’, which often preceded dates in the manuscript, i.e. ‘…in Sumbut 1780’. I came to learn that this phrase referred to a Sikh calendrical dating system 57 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar, which allowed me to re-date the manuscript to c. 1821.
9) Log your progress. I kept an Excel spreadsheet of the time I worked and how many pages I managed to get through. I found this really motivated me to set targets for myself and chunk down the workload. It was also a great confidence booster, as I could visibly see how much faster I was getting at transcribing over time.
10) Be kind to yourself. Transcribing is a test of patience and endurance, especially when tricky handwriting and unfamiliar vocabulary are thrown in the mix. It’s easy to get lost in the transcription process, especially if you feel you are moving at a glacial pace. Be reasonable, set achievable deadlines and look after yourself.
Best of luck and happy transcribing.
…
Images reproduced with the permission of The John Rylands University Librarian and Director of the University of Manchester Library. All images used on this page are licenced via CC-BY-NC-SA, for further information about each image, please follow the link in the caption description.
