🏄🏿‍♂️QUICK-SURFING HACK🏄🏼‍♀️The CTRL+F (or Command+F) function works in open toggle

lists. If you want to quickly close all the toggle lists to check the list of the sections at a glance
click on CTRL+Alt+T (Command+Alt+T).

What should you do?

1. Post the file name on the channel “unworkable-projects” on Discord.
2. Report the file as “unworkable” on the Editor and select either “No speech: there
is nothing to transcribe” or “Inaudible: it is impossible to transcribe because the
audio cannot be heard”.

3. Unclaim the job. Never submit it as “Done”.

💡
If a file with no/little/very poor audio is submitted as “Done”, no payment will be
processed.
💡
If there is very little audio in the file (less than 20% of the total length), flag it
immediately by sending an e-mail to [email protected].
Quality tip: If the speaker says “The children play with the… How do you say that? The qìqiú.”
when they mean “The children play with the ball”, DO type it as “The children play with the… How
do you say that? The [foreign language 00:00:00]”. DON’T type “The children play with the ball”.
In this example, the interviewee is using a word from his native language that is not known to
the interviewer: it is not a case of code-mixing or loan word, but a case of communication loss.
Even if you were to speak Chinese and know the word, please don’t add it as it is not relevant in
this specific context.

💡
DON’T confuse the flavour with the accent. The speaker can be speaking Dutch for
Belgium with an English accent.
💯
Quality tip: Before claiming your job, check the flavour requested. This will help you
anticipate some of the challenges of the file you will be working on and apply the
relevant linguistic conventions for that specific flavour, like the appropriate spelling and
punctuation preferences, accent, and other factors.
💯
Quality tip: In case of multiple English accents, unless otherwise specified, please use
the British spelling.
🔑
Search keywords: locale, flavour, localisation, adaptation, accent

3. Style & Tone of Voice

The style and tone of voice of speakers should be reported faithfully. This doesn’t refer
to the intonation, but rather to the usage of a formal or informal language (i.e., the
register). Stick to the following pillars when working on a file:
Be Avoid long sentences/paragraphs. Look for natural points in the speech, like shifts in
concise topic, emphasis, or references, and start a new sentence.

Be
Never add content, paraphrase, or rearrange the order of speech.
accurate

Never use standard informal contractions for formal speeches and vice-versa. e.g.: if
Be
the speaker says “I’m” don’t type “I am”. The same applies to other grammatical
proper
contractions like they’re, who’s, etc.

💡
What should I do when speakers use non-standard informal contractions when
speaking? Always use expanded forms as per standard conventions: gonna → going to
wanna → want to gotcha → got you gotta → got to y’all → you all
💯
Quality tip: Before completing your job, run a quick search looking for unnecessary filler
words using CRTL+F (or Command+F).
🔑
Search keywords: contractions, contracted forms, informal tone, formal tone, formality

Text Reduction
 Unless otherwise specified, DON’T use unnecessary filler words, feedback words,
interruptions, false starts, and repetitions.

Affirmative answers: uh-huh/mm-hmm Negative answers: uh-uh/nuh-uh/mm-mm

5. Interjections
As part of speech, interjections are exclamations that express speakers’ reactions or
feelings. They are grammatically independent of the rest of the sentence where they
appear. Only the interjections below are allowed in transcriptions and subtitles:
Oh my God!
Oh, dear!
Oh my!
Oh boy!
Wow!

6. Consistency
Consistency means taking decisions on how to tackle specific items and applying the
same approach throughout a file.
What items should you apply consistency to? Punctuation, capitalization, numbers,
dates, spelling, symbols, terminology, interjection rendering... Be sure to stick to these
guidelines to ensure the highest level of consistency!
The more the consistency, the greater the user experience.
💡

By keeping the consistency, Scribes will be able to increase precision by reducing ambiguity and
preventing loss of meaning in case the transcriptions/subtitles are going to be translated into
other languages.

Quality tip: You run a search for a proper name and you want to be sure the correct spelling is
applied also when files on the same topic arrive in bulk, do you? Or do you opt for one out of
several accepted spelling for a single word? Then use the “Glossary” option and add some
specific terms there to help grant consistency. Check the section “Terminology” for more
details. To check internal consistency in the file you are working on, use the CTRL+F
(Command+F) option to navigate through the file and check all instances by typing the first
three characters or potential variants.

Still in doubt with some specific items? Post your issue on the English Channel on Discord.
Sharing is caring!

Search keywords: consistency, consistent rules

1. General Information
‣

i. Service Level
What type of transcription/subtitles does Happy Scribe offer at the moment?
Happy Scribe does not provide Verbatim transcription at the moment. We currently
offer clean-read transcripts and subtitles.
A clean read transcript aims to make the text legible, concise, and clear, without
changing the meaning or definition of speech, or the speaker's intention. Repetitions,
stutters, or false starts are left out.
In the case of repetitions, they are allowed if the speaker is intentionally repeating
certain words for emphasis.
The speech continuity should be granted by using the proper punctuation sign.
💯

Quality tip: Check the “Text Reduction” section for further details on how to edit the text
accordingly and “Punctuation” to know how to report long pauses.

If the file you are transcribing or subtitling has some embedded subtitles in your language,
please DO transcribe the speaker’s speech. DON’T mirror the embedded subtitles even when
they are slightly different from the speech spoken by the speaker.

Search keywords: verbatim, type of transcription

ii. No Speech in File or Poor Audio

You claimed a file but it:
 Has no audio.
 Has very poor audio.
What should you do?
1. Post the file name on the channel “unworkable-projects” on Discord.
2. Report the file as “unworkable” on the Editor and select either “No speech: there
is nothing to transcribe” or “Inaudible: it is impossible to transcribe because the
audio cannot be heard”.
 3. Unclaim the job. Never submit it as “Done”.
💡

If a file with no/little/very poor audio is submitted as “Done”, no payment will be processed.

If there is very little audio in the file (less than 20% of the total length), flag it immediately by
sending an e-mail to [email protected].

Search keywords: no speech, poor audio, unworkable, bad audio

iii. Songs
You claimed a file but more than 80% of the audio is a song or lyrics only.
What should you do?
1. DON’T transcribe the lyrics of the song and DON’T submit the file.
2. Post the file name on the channel “unworkable-projects” on Discord.
3. Report the file as “unworkable” on the Editor and select “Song: the majority of the
audio is a song (80%+)”.

4. Unclaim the job.

💡

If less than 80% of the audio is a song: - If the song takes less than 10 seconds, transcribe the
words to the song. Use italics. - If the song takes more than 10, use the proper tag. Check the
section “Notation Tag” below to know how to use the right one!

Search keywords: song, singing, lyrics, unworkable

iv. Foreign Languages

Scenario DO

The file contains at least 80% of the foreign Report the file by selecting “Foreign language[...]”. Unclaim
language in the spoken part. the job.

The file contains both English and a foreign

Please don’t copy the subtitles. Transcribe the English part
language but is embedded with English
only.
subtitles.

Don’t transcribe the foreign part. Use the proper tag and
The file contains both English and a foreign
transcribe the English part only in both transcriptions and
language but without embedded subtitles.
subtitles.

💯
Quality tip: If the speaker says “The children play with the… How do you say that? The qìqiú.”
when they mean “The children play with the ball”, DO type it as “The children play with the… How
do you say that? The [foreign language 00:00:00]”. DON’T type “The children play with the ball”.
In this example, the interviewee is using a word from his native language that is not known to
the interviewer: it is not a case of code-mixing or loan word, but a case of communication loss.
Even if you were to speak Chinese and know the word, please don’t add it as it is not relevant in
this specific context.

Search keywords: foreign language, foreign speakers, foreign tag

2. Flavour
Depending on the geographical area in which they are spoken, some languages can
have locales, also known as “flavours”. This is the case of Dutch, for instance, there are
two flavours: Dutch for Belgium and Dutch for the Netherlands.
Always follow the flavour as selected by the customer and displayed on your job
dashboard.

DON’T confuse the flavour with the accent. The speaker can be speaking Dutch for Belgium with
an English accent.

Quality tip: Before claiming your job, check the flavour requested. This will help you anticipate
some of the challenges of the file you will be working on and apply the relevant linguistic
conventions for that specific flavour, like the appropriate spelling and punctuation preferences,
accent, and other factors.

Quality tip: In case of multiple English accents, unless otherwise specified, please use the
British spelling.

Search keywords: locale, flavour, localisation, adaptation, accent

3. Style & Tone of Voice

The style and tone of voice of speakers should be reported faithfully. This doesn’t refer
to the intonation, but rather to the usage of a formal or informal language (i.e., the
register). Stick to the following pillars when working on a file:
Be Avoid long sentences/paragraphs. Look for natural points in the speech, like shifts in topic,
concise emphasis, or references, and start a new sentence.

Be
Never add content, paraphrase, or rearrange the order of speech.
accurate
 Never use standard informal contractions for formal speeches and vice-versa. e.g.: if the
Be
speaker says “I’m” don’t type “I am”. The same applies to other grammatical contractions like
proper
they’re, who’s, etc.

💡
What should I do when speakers use non-standard informal contractions when speaking?
Always use expanded forms as per standard conventions: gonna → going to wanna → want to
gotcha → got you gotta → got to y’all → you all

Quality tip: Before completing your job, run a quick search looking for unnecessary filler words
using CRTL+F (or Command+F).

Search keywords: contractions, contracted forms, informal tone, formal tone, formality

4. Text Reduction
 Unless otherwise specified, DON’T use unnecessary filler words, feedback words,
interruptions, false starts, and repetitions.
DO DON’T

She said they should not She s-s-said th-th-they should not be in-in-
Stutters & Stammers
be invited. So I didn’t. invited. So I didn’t.

She said, er, they, should not be, uh, invited.

Unnecessary filler She said they should not
And I was like, hmm, yeah, you know. So I
words be invited. So I didn’t.
didn’t.

She said they should not -She said they should not be invited. -Right. -
Feedback words
be invited. So I didn’t. So I didn’t.

Self interruptions, and She said they should not They sa... She said they should not be invited.
false starts be invited. So I didn’t. So I didn’t.

She said they should not She said they should, should not be, be
Repetitions
be invited. So I didn’t. invited. So I didn’t.

💡
What if an “unnecessary word” is the only answer of a speaker to a question? In that case, the
word cannot be considered unnecessary and it should be included in the text.

DO DON’T

Speaker 1: Did you go to the movie theatre? Speaker 1: Did you go to the movie theatre? Speaker 2:
Speaker 2: Yeah, last night. Speaker 1: And what Mm-hmm. Yeah, last night. Mm-hmm. Speaker 1:
about the movie? Did you like it? Speaker 2: Uh- Hmm. And what about the movie? Did you like it?
huh. Speaker 1: You’re not really talkative Speaker 2: Uh-huh. Speaker 1: You’re not really
today? talkative today, uh?

Text in red should not be included, text in green should be. These are the accepted
spellings for the following:
Affirmative answers: uh-huh/mm-hmm Negative answers: uh-uh/nuh-uh/mm-mm
💡

If a short false start includes the crucial meaning, like the speakers correcting themselves, be
sure to include it.

D
We want to include clearer parts, I mean, linguistic conventions to these guidelines.
O

If conjunctions don’t work as such, but rather as fillers, please remove them. The same
applies to any other connectors (relatives pronouns, adverbs, etc.) when they don’t work
for the purposes they should.
DO DON’T

-I’m not sure I’m still in love. -So you’re -I’m not sure what to wear for the party. -So, what about
suggesting we should break? the red dress?

The conjunction connects the two This conjunction doesn’t connect the sentences,
sentences in this case. grammatically speaking. It should be omitted.

 Truncate further content exclusively where reading speed and synchronicity to

the audio are causing you issues in subtitles. Never omit meaningful content.
💯

Quality tip: If you spot an unnecessary filler word, run a quick search throughout the file by using
CTRL+F (Command+F) functionality and remove them all.

Interjections should not be treated as filler words. Check out the relevant section below
for further details.
🔑

Search keywords: text reduction, filler words, stutters, stammers, repetitions, interruptions

5. Interjections
As part of speech, interjections are exclamations that express speakers’ reactions or
feelings. They are grammatically independent of the rest of the sentence where they
appear. Only the interjections below are allowed in transcriptions and subtitles:
Oh my God!
Oh, dear!
Oh my!
Oh boy!
Wow!
DON’T use any interjections currently not included in the list or the reference.
DO reach out to add new interjections that you consider missing.
In the case of subtitles, interjections can be omitted to meet character constraints, if
their omission does not imply any loss in meaning.
💡

Exclamation marks can be used only for interjections and shouts. Check the relevant section
about punctuation to discover when they are forbidden.

Quality tip: How to distinguish filler words from interjections? If the phrases work as a reaction
from the speaker, they should rather be considered interjections. Unless you have been
instructed otherwise, ask yourself “Would omitting this item impact the core message the
speech is conveying?”. If the answer is “No”, it should be pretty safe to omit it.

Search keywords: interjections, exclamation marks, filler words, omission, omitting

6. Consistency
Consistency means taking decisions on how to tackle specific items and applying the
same approach throughout a file.
What items should you apply consistency to? Punctuation, capitalization, numbers,
dates, spelling, symbols, terminology, interjection rendering... Be sure to stick to these
guidelines to ensure the highest level of consistency!
The more the consistency, the greater the user experience.
💡
By keeping the consistency, Scribes will be able to increase precision by reducing ambiguity and
preventing loss of meaning in case the transcriptions/subtitles are going to be translated into
other languages.

Quality tip: You run a search for a proper name and you want to be sure the correct spelling is
applied also when files on the same topic arrive in bulk, do you? Or do you opt for one out of
several accepted spelling for a single word? Then use the “Glossary” option and add some
specific terms there to help grant consistency. Check the section “Terminology” for more
details. To check internal consistency in the file you are working on, use the CTRL+F
(Command+F) option to navigate through the file and check all instances by typing the first
three characters or potential variants.

Still in doubt with some specific items? Post your issue on the English Channel on Discord.
Sharing is caring!

Search keywords: consistency, consistent rules

7. Special Content
‣

i. Proper Names & Titles

◦ Capitalize them accordingly. ◦ In case of transliteration from non-Latin
languages, check the most common transliteration and use that
Proper names
consistently throughout the file. ◦ Diacritics should be kept in proper nouns
and names.

Company/brand/product ◦ Use the correct spelling and capitalization – some of them might stray
names from standard conventions.

◦ Run proper searches to transcribe them accurately. ◦ Use italics. ◦ Use title
Titles (books, movies, etc.)
case.

💯
Quality tip: The rule of thumb is always to check for spelling company/brand/product names by
doing a quick search. Always refer to the official websites to be sure to use the correct names.
In the case of book/movie titles, check them on the main online catalogues. If several different
spelling/formatting alternatives are available, choose one and be consistent throughout the file.
Add it to the Glossary!

Search keywords: proper nouns, spelling proper nouns, titles, product name, company name,
brand name

ii. Profanity & Curse Words

DON’T censor profanity or curse words. If they appear in the audio, transcribe them
word for word.
DO DON’T

What the fuck is going

What the f*** is going on?
on?

💡
Exception: If the curse words are censored and beeped in the audio, DO use asterisks in the
transcription/subtitles.

Search keywords: profanity, curse words

iii. Incorrect Grammar

 DO type the correct spelling in case of mispronunciation of words in the speech.
 DON’T fix incorrect grammar as spoken if the message is not altered.
 DON’T use the [sic] tag and don’t edit the speech.
Audio: “Linda, you didn’t told me you have three childrens.”
Audio: “That beer was huge” (but they meant “bear”)
DO DON’T

Linda, you didn’t told me you have three

Linda, you didn’t tell me you have three children.
childrens.

That bear was huge. That beer was huge.

🔑
Search keywords: incorrect grammar, grammar issues, grammar violations

‣
iv. Acronyms & Abbreviations
 DON’T hyphenate acronyms.
 DON’T use periods in abbreviations where it is not needed.

DO DON’T

She told me to be here at 5 PM Can you please She told me to be here at 5 pm Can you please
switch off the TV? The news they gave about switch off the T.V? The news they gave about the U-
UNESCO were quite inaccurate. N-E-S-C-O was quite inaccurate.

💡
Et cetera and its more common abbreviation, etc., are used to show that a list of at least two
items is incomplete. Either form can be used. However, choose an option and stick with the
same one throughout the file for keeping consistency.

The usage of periods in abbreviations may vary according to the flavour. US English, for
instance, consider both U.S.A. and USA as correct. If not otherwise specified, please choose
either form and be consistent throughout the file. Remember to always check the flavour and
add the selected option to the Glossary!

Search keywords: acronyms, abbreviations, abbreviated words

v. Websites & E-mail Addresses

 Websites should be transcribed as they are written normally in the URL.
 E-mail addresses follow the same rule.

DO DON’T

happyscribe.com happy scribe dot com

[email protected]
shane at happy scribe dot com
m

💡
What if the speaker spells out their e-mail address? Follow the rule for spelt-out items under the
section “Capitalization”.

Quality tip: Stick to “e-mail” hyphenated spelling.

🔑

Search keywords: websites, email, e-mail

vi. Onomatopoeias
Since we are currently providing clean transcriptions and subtitles, onomatopoeias
should not be included in the text unless they convey a meaningful message, i.e. they
are the only answer in a two-person dialogue or they are said by the speakers instead of
actual words, for instance.
Said DO

-What, Frank? Is it a good idea? -Are you joking? It -What, Frank? Is it a good idea? -Are you joking? It
is like... boom. is like... boom.

DO spell the onomatopoeias as per the list in the link below:

https://www.vocabulary.com/lists/240643
💡

Check out the “Text Reduction” section for more details on how and when to reduce the text
being compliant with our service level.

Quality tip: Onomatopoeias should be in italics.

Search keywords: onomatopoeias, sounds, atmospherics

vii. Atmospherics & Sounds

Since we are currently providing clean transcriptions and subtitles, atmospherics and
sounds should not be included. If the speaker is interrupted by either of them, only the
spoken speech should be typed.
🔑

Search keywords: onomatopoeias, sounds, atmospherics

viii. Religious References

Use numerals and follow conventionally written formatting for chapter/verse references
of religious texts.
DO DON’T
Acts 27:1 (Said: Acts 27 verse 1) Acts 27 colon 1 (Said: Acts 27 verse 1)

🔑
Search keywords: religion, religious

8. Special Formatting
Italics, Bold, and Underline
Happy Scribe Editor supports Italics formatting only. Stick to the chart below for its
correct usage.
DO use it for DON’T use it for

◦ Voice-over narration (no documentaries, no reportages) ◦ Unfamiliar

foreign words and phrases which do not appear in the nominated
dictionary for your language ◦ Titles of books, periodicals, works of art,
◦ Proper names ◦ Foreign loan
albums, movies, TV shows, radio shows, video games, etc. ◦ The
words which appear in your
speaker is not in the scene(s), not merely off-screen, behind a door, or
language’s nominated
out of shot ◦ Dialogue that is heard through electronic media, such as a
dictionary, e.g. rendezvous,
phone, television (especially if we see the television and hear the
zeitgeist, etc. for English
audio), computer, loudspeaker, non-sentient robots, robotic voices or
AI, etc ◦ Songs ◦ Metalanguage instances e.g. The word computer is
made of 8 letters

🔑
Search keywords: italics, titles, book, movie, italics, when to use italics

9. Language-specific Items
‣

i. Punctuation
Punctuation
Usage DOs & DONT’S
Sign

◦ Speaker’s trailing off or

◦ Use the ellipsis symbol rather than three dots ◦ Use a capital
pausing significantly ◦
… Ellipsis letter after an ellipsis ◦ Do not put any space before the
Speaker’s cutting off and
ellipsis
changing direction

‘ Apostrophes ◦ For possession ◦ In ◦ Don’t use apices or opening single quotes as apostrophes ◦
contractions ◦ For
 decades truncation Don’t use apostrophes as accents

◦ Capitalize the first word of the quote ◦ If a quote is nested

◦ Direct speech (spoken, within another one, use single quotation marks ‘’ ◦ Don’t use
thought, or written) ◦ quotation marks on several subtitles events in case of
Quotation
“” The speaker is on the continuous subtitles (just at the beginning) ◦ Don’t use
Marks
screen and is reading quotation marks for titles, unless they are part of the title
out loud itself ◦ Don’t use quotation marks for metalanguage reference
(see italics)

Question & ◦ Questions ◦

? ◦ Put them outside the quotation marks unless they belong
Exclamation Interjections and shouts
! within the quoted text
Marks only

◦ Lists ◦ Introducing
◦ Use the Oxford comma in lists of more than three items ◦
quotations ◦ Addressing
Don’t use it after conjunctions (so, but, etc.) ◦ Put it inside the
, Commas someone directly ◦ After
quotation marks ◦ Don’t use commas for marking
interjections ◦ Improving
parenthetical clauses (see Em-dashes below)
reading flow

◦ Put it inside the quotation marks ◦ Don’t add another period

. Periods ◦ Ending sentences to names or brands if they end a sentence e.g., I work at
Yahoo Inc. NOT Yahoo Inc.. ◦ Don’t use in acronyms

◦ Introducing lists or
: Colons ◦ Don’t use to introduce direct speech
explanations

◦ Linking closely related

sentences ◦ Complex
; Semicolons ◦ Don’t over-use it
lists with commas within
items

◦ Compound names ◦
Abrupt interruptions
and cutoffs of speakers
– no space should be ◦ Don’t use it for line breaks ◦ Never use en- and em-dashes
- Hyphens
added afterwards. ◦ for all this
Separating letters in
spellings e.g., Happy is
spelt H-A-P-P-Y ◦
Introducing two
 speakers in subtitles (no
space)

◦ Marking parenthetical
clauses that are
grammar-independent
e.g., I took my sister’s ◦ Never use en-dashes or commas for this ◦ Don’t add any
— Em-dashes car without asking he— spacing before and after an em-dash Ref.:
he never asks when https://www.thepunctuationguide.com/em-dash.html
borrowing my clothes
anyways—and I drove
to town.

◦ Separating parts of the ◦ Look for double spaces and delete them ◦ Don’t include any
Single space
speech space after hyphen for introducing two speakers

💡
What punctuation to use with interruptions?

Scenario Punctuation sign

The speaker interrupts themselves Ellipsis

The speaker is interrupted by someone Hyphen (no space before) Speaker 1: I was wondering if-
else Speaker 2: Busy, can’t speak now.

The speaker is interrupted by someone Hyphens (no spaces before or after) Speaker 1: I was wondering
else and then resumes with unaltered if- Speaker 2: Busy, can’t speak now. Speaker 1: -you would
grammar want to come and grab a bite?

💡
Air quotations should be written as punctuation signs as well as any mention to “quote
unquote”. When you stop “working”, would you mind come and give me a hand with all this mess?

Search keywords: punctuation, interruptions, spacing rules, space

ii. Capitalization
‣

When to use upper case

Item 💡 Further Explanation DOs & DONT’S

First word of a Let’s go fly a kite. She said, “Let’s go fly a

Standard sentences Sentences in quotes
sentence kite.”

People Countries States Counties Regions John Smith USA Florida Yorkshire Molise
Proper nouns Cities Rivers Lakes Falls Vessels Paris Nilo Lake Victoria Niagara Titanic
Institutions Genus Ethnic Group African union Homo sapiens Mayans

When referring to specific geographic North Carolina is north of South Carolina

Compass Points
areas or part of proper names only and east of West Virginia.

People titles Formal job titles: ◦ referring Ms, Mr Chief Executive Officer John Smith/
Titles to specific people ◦ when representing a I’m John Smith, the Chief Executive Officer
company of Happy Scribe

Names of Tables Charts Figures Bigger sections Appendix C Chapter 13 BUT slide 3, page
charts/sections (NOT smaller divisions) 100

Variables referred to in a sentence (NOT

Variables in an equation, in that case, use lower X marks the spot.
case)

‣
When to use ALL-CAPS

Capitalized 💡 Further
DOs & DONT’S
Item Explanation

Match OST capitalization and avoid using all-caps in the following

OST (On- On-screen text
cases: ◦ Handwritten notes ◦ Excerpts from books/papers ◦ Social
screen text) Forced Narrative
Media messages ◦ Text messages ◦ Long passages of OST

Spelt-out When a speaker

Happy is spelt H-A-P-P-Y.
words spells out a word

‣
When to use Lower Case

Capitalized 💡 Further Explanation DOs & DONT’S

Item

Being a chief executive officer

Titles Job titles
must be tough.

Variables in an equation (NOT referred to in a sentence,

Variables Audio: 3 times x Typed: 3x
in that case, use upper case)

‣
When to use Special Capitalization

Capitalized Item 💡 Further Explanation DOs & DONT’S

Titles Books Movies Use title case

Brand-relevant Company names Product Yahoo! AirPods 💯 Check on official websites/reference

Items names material the proper capitalization

Institution acronyms Product AfD UNESCO Saas COVID-19 💯 Always check the proper
Acronyms
types Diseases capitalization on reliable resources

‣
iii. Numbers
‣

1. General Rules

Item Rule DO

I worked on four subtitles projects last

0-9 Numbers 0-9 are written out.
month.

I worked on 14 subtitles projects last

+10 Numbers above 10 are written in figures.
month.

They processed three million minutes

Million Billion
The above rules apply. Descriptors are kept. last month for a total of 59 billion over
Trillion and above
the year.

Starting a Numbers at the beginning of a sentence are Sixty-eight new Scribes joined the
 written out regardless of the actual amount
sentence team.
or number.

‣
1.1 Exceptions

Item Rule DO

3.14 is the approximate value of Pi. Pi

Decimals Always in figures
number’s value is approximatively 3.14.

Days and years always in November 9th, 1989 was a crucial date for
Dates
figures Europe.

Most of them were born in the early ‘90s. The

Decades & eras Always in figures
1990s were such a great decade.

At 6 feet, he was so tall that he blocked out

Measurements Always in figures
the sun.

I live on 6, Santa Teresa Street. My ZIP code is

Addresses Always in figures
08012.

Name of a number Always in figure The number 5 is my favourite one.

List of numbers Always in figures Their websites were scored 2, 5, 7, 23 and 28.

He’s a genius. He could read at 3, write

Combination of numbers Always in figures poems at 9 and solve advanced calculus at
12.

Repeated numbers in -I read that you have 2,500 employees- -

consecutive Always in figures 3,500. -I beg you pardon? -3,500. We have
sentences/capsules 3,500 employees.

Religious references Always in figures Acts 27:1 (Audio: Acts 27 verse 1).

Phone numbers Always in figures Our phone number is +34 600 000 000.
Percentages Always in figures The 5% of the audience was not listening.

Currencies Always in figures They should earn $3 million

Always in figures unless

Range of numbers at the beginning of a Kids aged 1-12 weren’t allowed to the show.
sentence

Always in figures unless It’s 5:20 PM. She said she would be here at
Time
“o’clock” is included five o’clock. They work 24/7.

It took about a hundred days to find the right

Time estimation Always written out
book.

‣
2. Number Separators

Item Punctuation Sign DO

Decimals . Dot 3.14

Thousands Comma 3,000

/ Slash if all in figures Comma if the month is 11/09/1989 November 9th,

Dates
, written out 1989

Phone numbers
- Hyphen 1-508-555-2232
units

Prefix () Rounded parenthesis (+39) 333-00-00-000

Ranges - Hyphen 1-12

💯
Quality tip: You found a number in the audio track of the file you are working on, but you don’t
remember how to handle that. Quickly surf the Guidelines by using CTRL+F (Command+F) and
search for the number type that is causing you troubles. Warning: Use an apostrophe for
truncated decades instead of a single quote mark.

🔑
Search keywords: numbers, decimals, million, date, time, measurements

iv. Date & Time Format

Forma
Rule DO
t

◦ Follow the format used by Audio: The company was founded on January twenty seventeen,
Date the speaker(s), also in the one one twenty seventeen to be exact. Typed: The company was
case of centuries founded on January 2017, 1/1/2017 to be exact.

◦ Follow the format used by

Audio: She always wakes up at seven am. Typed: She always
Time the speaker(s) ◦ Capitalize
wakes up at 7:00 AM.
AM/PM if stated

🔑
Search keywords: date, time

v. Symbols & Currencies

Special rules apply to symbols and currencies as per the chart below:
Item Rule DO

J&J is one of the biggest groups of

Ampersand ◦ Use only if part of a proper name or a common
companies. The R&D team expanded
& acronym
notably.

◦ Use only if included in the speech. ◦ Use the It was 50 cents only. I don’t care about
currency symbols with figures only. ◦ Use figures euro or yen fluctuation. It’s $17.45 each.
Currencies
with currencies. ◦ Symbols should go before the (DON’T type 17.45 dollars each.) They
number and close up. ◦ Don’t convert. should earn $3 million.

◦ Use the percentage symbols with figures only. ◦

Percentage The percentage shown was not real. The
Don’t add any space between the symbol and the
% 5% of the audience was not listening.
figure.

🔑
Search keywords: symbols, percentage, currencies

‣
vi. Mathematical Items
Please stick to the rules below, unless otherwise specified:
Item Rule DO

Use figures for numerals and spell out

Math equations 20 plus 4 times 0.5 equals 22
math operators.

Alpha, Omega, Pi are very common

Greek letters Spell them out.
symbols.

Draw an angle of 270 degrees. Pi radians

Measurements Spell them out. are quite complex. The table is 85
centimetres long.

Two-thirds of the population is

Fractions Spell them out.
unemployed.

Trigonometric
Spell them out. Let’s calculate the cosine of 1 radian.
functions

Use symbols and don’t spell out the Audio: 3 times x plus 4 times y equals 23
Variables math operator. Check capitalization Typed: 3x plus 4y equals 23 X marks the
rules here. spot. Add example and talk with CS

Use superscripts/subscripts (the Editor Audio: x to the sixth Typed: x⁶ Audio:

Superscript/Subscript
allows its usage). H2O Typed: H₂O

🔑
Search keywords: numbers, math, mathematical

vii. References
Use the following references in case you have any doubts on items not included in these
language guidelines:
 EF: https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/
 Merriam-Webster: https://www.merriam-webster.com/
 Cambridge: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/
‣

10. Terminology
‣

i. Domain Relevance
 Always refer to the context to catch the appropriate words or phrases.
o This is especially important for proper nouns or industry terminology.
 Lack of proper research might lead to accuracy issues and impact the final
quality of your job.
💯

Quality tip: Some foreign words have become part of the common terminology for specific
verticals. Depending on the industry, it is not uncommon to see how certain loan words have
become part of a specific industry domain. DON’T use tags for loan words or any foreign word
that is domain-specific. Example: The English term hashtag is part of the specific terminology of
Social Media almost across all languages. If the video that you are transcribing/subtitling is
about Social Media, then you needn’t use any italics or tags when typing the term hashtag. If the
video you are transcribing/subtitling is not about Social Media, and the term hashtag is used,
then it should go in italics.

ii. Glossary
 The Editor allows customers and Scribes to add a specific set of terms that
should be used in one or multiple files.
Why should you stick to the glossary? Because this will:
 Ensure terminology consistency – internally and across related files.
 Speed up your task – you won’t need to search elsewhere.
 Minimize accuracy issues.
‣

iii. On-screen Text

Stick to the terminology of the on-screen text, unless:
 The on-screen text has typos. In this case flag this to the Admins.
 The glossary provided by the customer includes options that differ from the on-
screen text.
 The instructions state otherwise.
🔑

Search keywords: terms, terminology, glossary, loan word

11. Notation Tags

If the file you are working on has unclear, muffled portions of audio, you can use one of
the notation tags listed below, including a timestamp of the audio location.
Scenario Ta DO

Unintelligible or inaudible [inaudible

[inaudible 00:01:32]
words are stated. hh:mm:ss]

Multiple people speaking over

each other causes any one of [crosstalk
[crosstalk 00:00:52] Transcribe what is discernible.
the speakers to become hh:mm:ss]
unintelligible.

[foreign language 01:02:02] Indicate where they begin

[foreign with a timestamp and the tag “foreign language”.
Portions of audio in a foreign
language Don’t transcribe non-English audio. If a file is mostly
language.
hh:mm:ss] or entirely in a foreign language, check “Foreign
Language” section.

The speaker starts singing and

[singing [singing 01:59:02] If it takes less than 10 seconds,
it is more than 10 seconds
hh:mm:ss] transcribe the words to the song in italics.
long.

General DON’Ts
 DON’T leave out the timestamp. [inaudible]
 DON’T use upper case/all-caps in any notation tags. [Foreign Language
02:03:55]
 DON’T use your own notations. (crosstalk 02:03:55)
 DON’T include the name of the foreign language even though you spot it. [Polish
02:03:55]
 DON’T use [foreign language 02:03:55] for loan words.
💡

At Happy Scribe we currently DON’T use any [guess] tag. When you are struggling with some
words, it’s safer to use the[inaudible hh:mm:ss] tag.

Quality tip: Do you want to use a tag accurately? Type [ on the Editor at the exact point you want
to add a tag and choose from the drop-down menu. Windows shortcut: Alt+0091 Mac shortcut:
Alt+Shift+ ^ key Punctuation and Tags When the tag is replacing a word, a phrase or a portion of
a sentence, DO use standard punctuation afterwards. However, when a tag is used to replace a
whole sentence or paragraph, DON’T include any punctuation sign after the tag.

🔑
Search keywords: foreign, foreign language, inaudible, crosstalk, singing, notation tag, loan
word

12. Transcription Specifics

‣

i. Multiple Speakers
In the case of multiple speakers, a labelling strategy should be followed.
Refrain from creating your own descriptive labels and rather stick to the following rules
based on different scenarios:
Scenario Rule DO

The speaker’s name can be reasonably John Smith

Use speaker’s name label
inferred from the audio/video. Professor Lee

The speaker’s name cannot be

reasonably inferred from the Interviewer
Use job title or role labels
audio/video, but the job title or role can Professor Student
be.

The speaker’s name cannot be

reasonably inferred from the Speaker 1
Use sequentially numbered labels
audio/video, nor can be the job title or Speaker 2
role.

There are too many speakers to Use group labels. Don’t use it as a Students
consistently track who says what (e.g. substitute for reasonable speaker Audience Camera
classroom discussion, focus group). identification. Don’t include any number. Crew

💡
What to do in case of crosstalk? Check the “Notation Tag” section. What to do in case of
interruptions? Check the “Punctuation” section.

Quality tip: Remember you must assign a speaker to all paragraphs, even if there are multiple
consecutive paragraphs from the same speaker. If the client provided the list of speakers, be
sure to stick to it.

Search keywords: multiple speakers, various speakers

‣

ii. Segmentation
 Avoid writing excessively long paragraphs, even if there is only one speaker in the
file.
 Look for natural points in the speech, such as a shift in topic, emphasis, or
reference, to start a new paragraph.
💡

How to assess whether a paragraph is “too long"? Check this out.

Long paragraphs are now warned by the quality check tool!

Search keywords: long paragraphs

13. Subtitles Specifics

‣

i. Multiple Speakers
 When subtitling, DON’T add any speaker label.
 Use hyphens (not followed by any space) to separate speech uttered by two
speakers speaking at the same time, or speaking too closely to each other –
putting them in one capsule preserves CPS limits and avoids fast transition from
one capsule to another.

 Only one speaker per line is allowed.

DO DON’T

-Hi mum. -Hi John. How was your

- Hi mum. - Hi John. How was your day?
day?

🔑
Search keywords: multiple speakers, various speakers
‣

ii. Segmentation
‣

1. Line Treatment

 Subtitles can have at most two lines, even in the case of multiple speakers.
 Try to always stick to 1 line unless the character per line (CPL) limit is exceeded.
DO DON’T

-Hi mum. -Hi John. How was your

- Hi mum. - Hi John. How was your day?
day?

‣
2. Line Breaks

Ideally, try to seek subtitles balance by keeping the first line shorter than the second
line.
However, remember that logical line breaks override subtitles balance.
Lines should be broken at logical points, matching a punctuation sign like a period,
comma or colon whenever possible. If the break has to be elsewhere in the sentence,
avoid splitting the parts of the speech in the chart below.
DON’T sacrifice logical line breaks to keep a pyramidal text distribution in subtitles.
Parts of the speech DO DON’T

They have arranged a conference They have arranged a confe- rence in

Noun
in Rome. Rome.

They have arranged a conference They have arranged a conference in

Subject/Pronoun and verb
in Rome. Rome.

They have arranged a conference They have arranged a conference in

Parts of a complex verb
in Rome. Rome.

They have arranged a conference They have arranged a conference in

Article and noun
in Rome. Rome.

Preposition and the following They arranged a conference in They have arranged a conference in
phrase Rome. Rome.
Conjunction and the following They arranged a conference but I They have arranged a conference but
item didn’t go. I didn’t go.

💯
Quality tip: Are you still struggling to understand what a logical point is? Have a look at the
sentences below for further examples. The ideal break places are marked by green slashes. The
orange slashes indicate where it would be OK to break if breaking at the green slashes were not
possible.

 This is a very long,/verbose piece/of prose/that no one knows/and no one/will

remember.
 Mary wants/to go/to the store,/but as far as I know,/all the stores/are closed/on
Translation Day.
 I woke up,/jet-lagged,/at 4 in the morning,/in my new bed,/and right away I
called/Annie Jayaraman,/to tell her/about my interview.
🔑

Search keywords: line break, number of lines

3. CPL

The subtitles CPL should not exceed 42 CPL. Whenever exceeded, it is marked in red in
the Editor. If the line is over 42 CPL, you can either:
 Break the subtitle into two lines by pressing Shift+Enter;
 Split into multiple subtitles by pressing Enter to stay within this limit;
 Omit content without altering the core meaning of the speech. Check the section
“Text Reduction” for further details.
 Delete any blank space at the end of each line.

Quality tip: Did you have to break many lines to meet the CPL and you are afraid of having
messed it up with line-break rules? Be sure that no line ends with an article or a preposition and
watch out for those ending with an auxiliary verb – they might potentially contain issues.
Remember to check the time sync as well.

CPL for portrait mode is 32. For further details, check the section “Portrait Mode”.

Search keywords: line break, cpl, character limit

iii. Time Sync

‣

1. CPS

 The subtitle CPS (Characters per second) is an indicator of the comfort of the
viewer. A high CPS indicates that the viewer will have to read faster, making the
experience less comfortable.
 Values higher than 20 CPS indicate a degraded viewer experience, so you should
make an effort to try to reduce it when possible. Whenever exceeded, it is marked
in red in the Editor.

 There is a slight tolerance in exceeding the 20 CPS soft limit if the speaker talks
too fast and it is not possible to reduce the subtitle further without losing
meaning or worsening the final user’s experience.
💡

If the content is for children, the CPS should not exceed 15.

2. Sync

To be sure your text is synced with the audio and thus granting a great experience to the
final user, stick to the guidelines listed below (in order of priority):
  Subtitle appearance should coincide with speech onset. Subtitle disappearance
should coincide roughly with the end of the corresponding speech segment.
 Your subtitles should never anticipate the speech, so please avoid stretching the
subtitle event to the left. If needs be, you can slightly stretch the event to the
right. Remember that when stretching the capsule to the right, it will be hanging
up on the screen, so avoid to leave it there for too long not to worsen the final
users’ experience. The end of the capsule should match the end of the speech as
much as possible. The subtitles cannot stay on the screen more than 1.5
seconds after the speech has stopped under any circumstances.
 Avoid creating subtitles that straddle a shot change (i.e. a subtitle that starts in
the middle of shot one and ends in the middle of shot two). You might need to
split a sentence at an appropriate point or delay the start of a new one to
coincide with the shot change.
 To meet the 20 CPS limit, you can split or merge subtitles or slightly extend their
timespan.
💡

Use the timeline interface located at the bottom of the editor to synchronize the subtitles with
the audio and extend or shorten their timespan.

Quality tip: While you should aim to meet the CPS, it is paramount that the text on the screen
coincides with the speech – the final user’s experience is worsened when they have to read
something different from what they are hearing. Avoid pushing the text forward or backwards
to meet the CPS if this leads to a mismatch between speech and text. In the example below, for
instance, the third subtitle has been pushed back to meet the 20-character limit of the second
one (boxes in green show where the synced subtitles should be appearing). It means that a new
sentence in the speech would start while the previous subtitle is still on screen, this worsening
the final user’s experience, even though the CPS has been met. In general, always try to avoid
stretching the subtitle event to the left as this might lead to a mismatch between the start of the
text and the start of the speech.
🔑

Search keywords: cps, time sync, sync

iv. Portrait Mode and Square Videos

Portrait Mode
In some cases, you might find the video has been recorded vertically. This can be easily
identified because the picture will not cover the entire screen.
Please follow the adjusted criteria (in order of priority):
 Maximum 32 CPL
 Keep 20 CPS
 Ignore the number of lines appearing on the video, the font size will be adjusted
later.
Square Videos
In some cases, you might find the video has a square format (1:1). Please follow the
adjusted criteria (in order of priority):
 Try to stick to 36/38 CPL if possible
💡

How to adjust the criteria? 1. Open the subtitle Editor 2. Click on “Edit subtitle limits” 3. Adjust
the CPL accordingly
🔑

Search keywords: vertical video, portrait mode, video format, square video

‣
14. Useful Tools
Here is a list of life-saving tools for transcriptionists and subtitlers:
 Grammarly
 Language Tool
 Sound booster
o Chrome extension
 Background noise-cancelling extension
‣

15. Reminders
 Always check if there are specific instructions from the customer for a file. In that
case, the customer’s instructions prevail over these Guidelines.
 Never transcribe in an external editor (Word for example) and then paste the text
into Happy Scribe's editor.
 Be sure to run a spell-check by using Grammarly or any other available extension
available for your browser.
 If you struggle with some specific words or a part of the speech, be sure to run
some searches on the Internet. Check pages related to the topic of the file you
are working on for better results. If you cannot find the answer, reach out to the
Tribe on Discord and seek further support.
 Please note, once you have submitted a file, you cannot alter and correct the
text afterwards. If you accidentally submit a file, please reach out to
[email protected]
 Be sure you have the spell-check option/extension/plug-in enabled on your
browser.
‣

16. Version Log

Global updates