Transcription FAQ:
How do I represent misspelled words, unusual grammar and punctuation, and special characters on the page?
We use semi-diplomatic transcription conventions, which means we ask you to transcribe the spelling, grammar, and punctuation as you see it in the manuscript. The transcription conventions for this event are listed at the bottom of each manuscript page in the FromthePage display.
Professor Liza Blake has shared shared a handy one-page key to these FromthePage transcription conventions.
You can also click to see sample transcriptions of the manuscripts (the Ayscough sample is here and the Sedley is here ) so you can see what your finished product might look like.
What are the buttons at the top of the transcription window?
The transcription window displays a series of buttons that will automatically tag common features (see examples outlined on Folgerpedia’s FromthePage Transcription Conventions page), no need to know xml. Professor Blake has created an easily printable handout of these conventions here: FromthePage Encoding Guidelines.
Do I have to add tags?
No! Feel free to just transcribe the text using the semi-diplomatic conventions.
What if I know xml and would like to do additional tagging?
This Folgerpedia page offers both examples of text features and their related xml tags.
What if there are errors in my transcription?
Please don’t worry about mistakes! These transcriptions will be reviewed and corrected by expert paleographers.
Help! I have a word I can’t figure out or a question about a recipe. What should I do?
Have questions about whether the letters you’re transcribing are actually a word? Try looking them up in The Oxford English Dictionary, if your library has access, or seeing if the word pops up in other recipe books by searching LUNA: Folger Manuscripts Transcriptions Collection or the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership collection.
Have questions about an ingredient? Check out the Dictionary of Traded Goods and Commodities, 1550-1820. And Google can tell you a great deal about the plants used in these manuscripts as well.
Questions about the properties of herbs and their current uses? There’s a handy guide at http://botanical.com. For a deeper dive, check out Anne Stobart’s post on The Recipes Project’s blog for links on plants and their uses in herbal medicine today.
Stumped by a tool or piece of cooking equipment? Look it up in the Manuscript Cookbook Survey’s database of kitchen artifacts (with pictures!).
Help! What if I have a technical issue with the FromthePage platform?
Please submit your queries through the Notes and Questions box at the bottom of your manuscript page and it will be answered by FromthePage experts.
Why FromthePage?
Our blog post outlines the benefits the new interface brings for integrating transcriptions in library catalogs.
Will my name be linked to this transcription project?
Yes! You’ll get credit for the work you’ve done. Also, check out “Your Profile” under the Sign In button in FromthePage for a list of the pages you’ve transcribed.
Does this Transcribathon have a social media presence?
Yes! Please use the tag #EMROCtranscribes.