Transcription

“Oral history projects allow minorities to share their real narratives that would otherwise be filtered or excluded from the record. For Indigenous Peoples, the use of oral histories can also be a powerful means of decolonization. However, the interviewer needs to truly know the language of the interviewee to provide an accurate transcription and/or summary. Anything less is potentially harmful. Therefore, the capacity of minorities to have their oral histories effectively gathered is just as important as the interview itself. Once this is realized, and the people can amplify their own stories in their own way, emphasizing their own perspectives, then oral history projects become a formidable methodology in counter-hegemony.”

Dietrix Jon Ulukoa Duhaylonsod
Indigenous Archaeologist/Anthropologist,
Ka’uikiokapo & Adahi I Manaotao-ta Mo’na

“It is important for us to treat language rights, or the rights associated with choosing your langauge(s) of communication in private and public, as a human right when conducting oral history work. We must respect the language(s) of the places we work and forefront indigenous languages, but also celebrate the beauty of communicating in a multilingual society. The challenge in Hawaiʻi is how do we forefront the legacy of Hawaiian language revitalization while also honoring the languages of the multiethnic working class where Pidgin (Hawaiʻi Creole English) and other languages are used vibrantly.”

Micah Mizukami 
Associate Director, Center for Oral History,
Department of Ethnic Studies, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

“Transcription can be likened to translation, converting original documents into accurate, readable texts. Like all good translation, transcription is part craft and part art. An edition’s transcription style, its accuracy in implementation, and a clear statement of methodology are ways that users will decide whether or not they can rely on the edition. In developing a transcription style, editors consider the nature of their material and the needs of their audience. They will choose a method that authentically conveys the documents’ information, but also which can be consistently understood and applied by anyone working on the edition.”

Michael Stevens
Author, Editing Historical Documents: A Handbook of Practice