To transcribe

Question

Dear teachers...Could you tell if I am right in the following interpretation?Do you have any more videos for me to transcribe?Are these the audio files I have to write out from?Could 'to write down/up' also be synonyms with 'transcribe'?I have to write those up.I've got new videos to write down [from].Thanks

Futurist · Accepted Answer

'Write out', 'write down', and 'write up' could each be loosely used to mean 'transcribe', if the context was clear. Although, personally, I would stick with transcribe. Write out, write down, and write up, each have their own distinct senses. Typically, 'write out' means to more fully formulate ones ideas by recording them in writing (e.g. I need to write out a shopping list). The phrase, 'write down' is usually used when one has a fully formed idea or set of ideas and one needs to record them so that one doesn't forget them (e.g. I must remember to write that joke down). 'Write something up' typically refers to recording recent events in a formal document or document for publication. A record of those events may already have been made in note form (e.g. I need to write up the results of my experiment).

You don't need to use the word 'from' with any of the above phrases. Where you've used the word in your example sentences, it sounds quite odd.

Offroad · Answer

Thank you very much Futurist... I understand it clearly now.

Clive · Answer

Hi,

Could you tell if I am right in the following interpretation?

Do you have any more videos for me to transcribe? This is acceptable, although really what you are transcribibg is the dialogue in the video.
Are these the audio files I have to write out from? No, say 'transcribe'.

Could 'to write down/up' also be synonyms with 'transcribe'?
Write down - Yes. It's a transitive phrase, ie you write down something.

Write up - No. This phrase means 'write the necessary information abbout something, write notes about something'.

I have to write those up. = I have to write notes about these videos.
I've got new videos to write down the dialogue from [from].

Clive

Futurist · Answer

I've never heard 'write up' used in the way you describe, Clive (i.e. writing notes, writing only the necessary information). And it's not a sense recorded in the OED. The principal definition given by the OED is

To put in writing a full account, statement, or record of (something); to give an elaborate description of, describe fully; to pen or write in full or detail.

which is why I think that writing up an audio file is loosely synonymous with transcribing it. One is, after all, recording in writing and in full what's in the file.

I also don't think it's much of stretch to use 'write out' in this context. The first definition of 'to write out' that the OED gives is:

To make a (fair or perfect) transcription or written copy of (something, a rough draft, etc.); to copy out; also, to transcribe in full or detail, as from brief notes or shorthand.

I would always say 'transcribe'. The word is precise, short, and widely understood. But, in a casual context, I think ‘write out', ‘write up', and ‘write down' are all OK.

To transcribe

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