If a short false start includes the crucial meaning, like the speakers correcting themselves,

be sure to include it.

D Queremos incluir partes más claras, es decir, convenciones lingüísticas a estas
O directrices.

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

-No sé si sigo enamorada. -O sea, ¿qué -No sé qué ponerme para la fiesta. -O sea, ¿y el
sugieres? ¿Que deberíamos terminar? vestido rojo?

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, reducción de texto, muletillas, palabras de relleno, relleno, tartamudeo,
tartamudear, balbuceo, balbucear, repeticiones, interrupciones
‣
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:
¡Dios mío!
¡Vaya por Dios!
¡Madre mía!
¡Vaya!
¡Guau!
¡Hala!
¡Ay, no!
¡Buah!
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,
interjecciones, puntos de exclamación, exclamaciones, exclamación, muletillas, palabras de
relleno, omisiones, omitir, omitir palabras
‣
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 Spanish Channel on
Discord. Sharing is caring!
🔑
Search keywords: consistency, consistent rules, consistencia, normas de consistencia,
garantizar consistencia, consistencia del texto
‣
7. Special Content
‣
i. Proper Names & Titles
◦ Capitalize them accordingly. ◦ In case of transliteration from
non-Latin languages, check the most common transliteration
Proper names
and use that 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

names might stray from standard conventions.

◦ Run proper searches to transcribe them accurately. ◦ Use

Titles (books, movies, etc.)
italics. ◦ Use sentence 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, capitalisation, capitalise, nombres propios, cómo escribir nombres
propios, ortografía de nombres propios, títulos, nombres de productos, nombres de emos,
nombres de marcas, mayúsculas, minúsculas
‣
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

¿Qué coño está pasando? ¿Qué c*** está pasando?

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

🔑
Search keywords: profanity, curse words, blasfemia, groserías, palabrotas, ordinariez,
tacos, decir tacos
‣
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, no me dijistes que tenías tres hijos».
Audio: «El coso era enorme» (but they meant «oso»).
Audio: La dije que viniera.
DO DON’T

Linda, no me dijistes que tenías tres hijos. Linda, no me dijiste que tenías tres hijos.

El oso era enorme. El coso era enorme.

La dije que viniera. Le dijera que viniera.

🔑
Search keywords: incorrect grammar, grammar issues, grammar violations, error
gramatical, problemas gramaticales, mal uso de la gramática
‣
iv. Acronyms & Abbreviations
 DON’T hyphenate acronyms.
 DON’T use periods in abbreviations where it is not needed.
DO DON’T

Me dijo de estar aquí a las 5:00 p. m. ¿Puedes Me dijo de estar aquí a las 5pm ¿Puedes
apagar la TV? Las noticias sobre la UNESCO apagar la T.V.? Las noticias sobre la U-N-E-
no eran del todo ciertas. S-C-O no eran del todo ciertas.

💡
Etcétera 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.
🔑
Search keywords: acronyms, abbreviations, abbreviated words, acrónimos, abreviaciones,
palabras abreviadas
‣
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

shane@happyscribe.com shane at happy scribe dot com

💡
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, páginas web, correo electrónico
‣
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

-¿Qué dices, Frank? ¿Crees que es buena -¿Qué dices, Frank? ¿Crees que es buena
idea? -¿Acaso lo dudas? Es como... bum. idea? -¿Acaso lo dudas? Es como... bum.

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

https://www.wikilengua.org/index.php/Onomatopeya

💡
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, onomatopeyas, sonidos, sonido
atmosférico, expresiones con sonidos
‣
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, onomatopeyas, sonidos, sonido
atmosférico, expresiones con sonidos
‣
viii. Religious References
Use numerals and follow conventionally written formatting for chapter/verse references of
religious texts.
DO DON’T

Hechos 27:1 (Audio: Hechos 27 Hechos 27 dos puntos 1 (Audio: Hechos 27

versículo 1) versículo 1)

🔑
Search keywords: religion, religious, verses, religión, religioso, versículos
‣
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

◦ Narration ◦ Unfamiliar foreign words and phrases which do ◦ Proper names ◦ Foreign
not appear in the nominated dictionary for your language ◦ loan words which appear in
Titles of books, periodicals, works of art, albums, movies, your language’s nominated
TV shows, radio shows, video games, etc. ◦ The speaker is dictionary, e.g. okey,
not in the scene(s), not merely off-screen, behind a door, or marketing, kite surf, etc. for
out of shot ◦ Dialogue that is heard through electronic media,
such as a phone, television (especially if we see the television
and hear the audio), computer, loudspeaker, non-sentient
robots, robotic voices or AI, etc ◦ Songs ◦ Referring to Spanish
specific words said by the speaker (metareference), e.g.: la
misma palabra vértigo me genera mucha ansiedad

💯
Quality Tip: In case of doubt about how to format a common foreign loan word, don’t

forget to consult your fellow scriber on the Spanish Channel Discord. Sharing is caring! 🙂

🔑
Search keywords: italics, titles, book, movie, italics, when to use italics, cursivas, títulos,
títulos de libros, libros, películas, cursiva, cuándo usar cursivas
‣
9. Language-specific Items
‣
i. Punctuation
Punctuation
Usage DOs & DONT’S
Sign

◦ Speaker’s
trailing off or
pausing ◦ Use the ellipsis symbol or three dots ◦ Use a capital
significantly ◦ letter after an ellipsis when the previous sentence is
… Ellipsis
Speaker’s finished. Otherwise, leave it uncapitalized. ◦ Do not put
cutting off and any space before the ellipsis
changing
direction

«» Quotation ◦ Direct speech ◦ Capitalize the first word of the quote when followed by
Marks (spoken, a “dicendi” verb and a colon, e.g.: Juan dijo: «Me voy». ◦
thought, or If a quote is nested within another one, use English
written) quotation marks “”. And if there’s another quote within
the second quote, use quotation marks ‘’. The rule would
be as follows: «”’...’”» ◦ Don’t use quotation marks on
several subtitles events in case of continuous subtitles
(just at the beginning) ◦ Don’t use quotation marks for
titles, unless they are part of the title itself ◦ Don’t use
quotation marks for referring to specific words said by
the speaker (metareference); use the italics instead: la
 misma palabra vértigo me genera ansiedad

◦ Put them inside the quotation marks if they belong to

Question & ◦ Questions ◦
¿? the quoted sentence
Exclamation Interjections
¡! https://www.fundeu.es/recomendacion/interrogacion-y-
Marks and shouts only
exclamacion-usos-de-los-signos-ortograficos/

◦ Lists ◦
Addressing ◦ Use the Ortografía de la RAE comma in lists of more
someone than three items ◦ Put it outside the quotation marks
, Commas directly ◦ After https://www.fundeu.es/recomendacion/comillas-uso-de-
interjections ◦ este-signo-ortografico/ ◦ Don’t use commas for marking
Improving parenthetical clauses (see Em-dashes below)
reading flow

◦ Put it outside the quotation marks unless in the case of

abbreviations
◦ Ending https://www.fundeu.es/recomendacion/comillas-uso-de-
. Periods
sentences este-signo-ortografico/ ◦ Don’t add another period 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
: Colons lists or ◦ Use to introduce direct speech
explanations

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

- Hyphens ◦ Compound ◦ Don’t use it for line breaks ◦ Never use en- and em-
names ◦ Abrupt dashes for all this
interruptions
and cutoffs of
speakers – no
space should be
added
afterwards. ◦
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., Cogí el
◦ Never use en-dashes or commas for this ◦ Don’t add any
coche de mi
spacing before and after an em-dash Ref.:
— Em-dashes hermana sin
https://www.fundeu.es/escribireninternet/la-raya-
preguntarle —
tambien-exist/
ella siempre
toma prestada
mi ropa sin
preguntarme
antes— y me fui
a la ciudad.

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

💡
What punctuation to use with interruptions?
Scenario Punctuation sign

The speaker interrupts

Ellipsis
themselves

The speaker is interrupted by Hyphen (no space before) Persona 1: Me preguntaba si-
someone else Persona 2: Estoy ocupada, no puedo hablar ahora.

The speaker is interrupted by Ellipsis (no spaces before, only after) Persona 1: Me
someone else and then resumes preguntaba si... Persona 2: Estoy ocupada, no puedo
with unaltered grammar hablar ahora. Persona 1: ... te gustaría acompañarme a
 comer algo.

💡
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?

💯
Quality Tip: While hyphens should be used for compound names, be careful with prefixes
and suffixes. Check it out the exact rule here below:
https://www.fundeu.es/recomendacion/prefijos-seis-claves-para-una-buena-redaccion-817/

🔑
Search keywords: punctuation, interruptions, spacing rules, space, puntuación,
interrupciones, interrupción, regla de espaciado, espacios
‣
ii. Capitalization
‣
When to use upper case

Item 💡 Further Explanation DOs & DONT’S

First word
Standard sentences Sentences Vamos a volar un cometa Ella dijo: «Vamos a
of a
in quotes volar un cometa».
sentence

People Countries States Pablo Neruda España Castilla y León Ciudad

Proper Counties Provinces Cities Lineal Burgos Madrid Nilo Lagos de
nouns Rivers Lakes Falls Vessels Covadonga Salto Ángel, but: Las cataratas del
Institutions Genus Niágara Titanic Unión Africana Homo sapiens

When referring to specific Carolina del Norte se encuentra al norte de

Compass
geographic areas or part of Carolina del Sur y al este de Virginia
Points
proper names only Occidental.

Variables referred to in a
Variables sentence (NOT in an equation, La X marca el punto.
in that case, use lower case)

‣
When to use ALL-CAPS
Capitalized 💡 Further DOs & DONT’S
Item
Explanation

Match OST capitalization and avoid using all-caps in the

OST (On- On-screen text following cases: ◦ Handwritten notes ◦ Excerpts from
screen text) Forced Narrative books/papers ◦ Social 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 Item 💡 Further Explanation DOs & DONT’S

Debe ser difícil ser el jefe

Titles Job titles (check upper-case section)
ejecutivo.

Variables in an equation (NOT referred to Audio: 3 veces x Typed:

Variables
in a sentence, in that case, use upper case) 3x

Proper noun Ethnic group mayas, finlandés

Names of Tables Charts Figures Bigger sections apéndice C capítulo 13

charts/sections (NOT smaller divisions) diapositiva 3 página 100

‣
When to use Special Capitalization

💡 Further Explanation DOs & DONT’S

Capitalized
Item

Titles Books Movies Use sentence case

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

Items names websites/reference material the proper
capitalization
Acronyms
Institution acronyms AfD UNESCO Saas COVID-19 💯 Always check
Product types Diseases
the proper capitalization on reliable resources

‣
iii. Numbers
‣
1. General Rules
Item Rule DO

Trabajé en cuatro proyectos de

0-9 Numbers 0-9 are written out.
subtitulaje el mes pasado.

Numbers above 10 are written in Trabajé en 14 proyectos de

+10
figures. subtitulaje el mes pasado.

The above rules apply. Descriptors El mes pasado procesaron

Million Billion
are kept. Add unbreakable space tres millones de actas por un total
Trillion and above
after the figure. de 59 mil millones en todo el año.

Numbers at the beginning of a

Starting a Sesenta y seis nuevos Scribes se
sentence are written out regardless
sentence unieron al equipo.
of the actual amount or number.

Always after a figure. Shortcut

Unbreakable La inflación subió un 15 %. El
MacOS: option+space bar Shorcut
space teléfono me costó 300 €.
Windows: alt+space bar

‣
1.1 Exceptions
Item Rule DO

3.14 es el valor
Always in figures and preferably with a dot Ref.: aproximado de pi.
Decimals https://www.fundeu.es/recomendacion/decimales- El valor
coma-y-punto-son-ambas-validas/ aproximado de pi
es 3.14.

Dates Days and years always in figures El 9 de noviembre

de 1989 fue una
fecha crucial para
 Europa.

La mayoría nació a
principios de
los 90. / La mayoría
nació a principios
de los noventa.
In figures or written out, with an unbreakable
Los 90 fueron una
Decades & eras space after the article, but never with an -s at the
gran década. / Los
end
noventa fueron una
gran década. / La
década de los 90
fue una gran
década.

Estamos en el siglo
Centuries Always in Roman numerals
XXI

Medía 1,80 m. Era

Measurements Always in figures with an unbreakable space tan alto que tapaba
el sol.

Vivo en Calle de
Santa Teresa 6. Mi
Addresses Always in figures
código postal es
08012.

El número 5 es mi
Name of a number Always in figure
favorito.

El puntaje de sus
List of numbers Always in figures páginas web fue de
2, 5, 7, 23 y 28.

Es un genio. A los
3 años ya sabía
leer, escribía
Combination of
Always in figures poemas a los 9 y
numbers
resolvía problemas
de matemática
avanzada a los 12.
 -Su empresa tiene
Repeated
2500 empleados- -
numbers in
Always in figures 3500. -¿Perdón? -
consecutive
3500. Tenemos
sentences/capsules
3500 empleados.

Hechos 27:1
Religious
Always in figures (Audio: Hechos 27
references
versículo 1).

Nuestro número de
Phone numbers Always in figures with an unbreakable space teléfono es
+34 600 000 000.

El 5 % del público
Always in figures and with an unbreakable space
Percentages no estaba
after the figure
escuchando.

Los niños entre 1-

Always in figures unless at the beginning of a 12 años tenían la
Range of numbers
sentence entrada prohibida al
evento.

Dijo que llegaría a

las diez en punto.
Me tomé un café a
las cuatro de
la tarde. Me
desperté muy
temprano, a las
Always in figures unless “en punto”, “de la tarde”
tres de la mañana.
Time or “de la mañana” is included. Use the format
Audio: Son las
chosen by the speaker (12 or 24 h).
cinco y veinte
Type: Son las 5:20
Audio: Son las
diecisiete y veinte
Type: Son las
17:20. Ellos
trabajan 24/7.

Time estimation Always written out Nos tomó como mil

años encontrar el
 libro adecuado.

‣
2. Number Separators
Item Punctuation Sign DO

Decimals . Dot 3.14

Thousands of four
Altogether 3000
figures

Thousands of four Altogether with an unbreakable

120 000 15 500
figures or more space

. Dot in all figures No commas or 09.11.1989 El 9 de

Dates
, dots if the month is written out noviembre de 1989

Phone numbers units Unbreakable space 1 508 555 2232

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, números,
decimales, millones, fecha, hora, medidas
‣
iv. Date & Time Format
Forma
Rule DO
t

Date ◦ Follow the format used by Audio: La empresa fue fundada en enero de dos mil
the speaker(s), also in the diecisiete, uno del uno de dos mil diecisiete para se
 exactos. Typed: La empresa fue fundada en enero de
case of centuries
2017, 1.1.2017 para ser exactos.

◦ Follow the format used by

the speaker(s) ◦ “a. m.” and Audio: Ella siempre se despierta a las siete a. m.
Time
“p. m.” with unbreakable Typed: Ella siempre se despierta a las 7:00 a. m.
space

🔑
Search keywords: date, time, fecha, hora, escritura de fechas, escritura de horas
‣
v. Symbols & Currencies
Special rules apply to symbols and currencies as per the chart below:
Item Rule DO

J&J es uno de los grupos de

Ampersand ◦ Use only if part of a proper name or a empresas más grande. El equipo
& common acronym de R&D se han expandido
notablemente.

◦ Use only if included in the speech. ◦ Use

Me costó solo 50 céntimos. No
the currency symbols with figures only. ◦
me importa la fluctuación del euro
Symbols should go after the number with
o del yen. Son 17.45 $ cada uno.
an unbreakable space. In case of currencies
Currencies (DON’T type 17.45 dólares cada
with the same symbols (like Mexican pesos
uno.) Exception: Son 17.45 pesos
and dollars) happening within the same
por esta cartera, y 40 dólares por
project, we should write out the currency. ◦
la maleta.
Don’t convert.

◦ Use the percentage symbols with figures El porcentaje que mostraron no

Percentage
only. ◦ Add an unbreakable space between era real. El 5 % del público no
%
the symbol and the figure. estaba escuchando.

🔑
Search keywords: symbols, percentage, currencies, unbreakable space, símbolos,
porcentajes, divisas, monedas, espacio indivisble
‣
vi. Mathematical Items
Please stick to the rules below, unless otherwise specified:
Item Rule DO
 Use figures for numerals and
Math equations 20 más 4 veces 0.5 es igual a 22.
spell out math operators.

Alfa, omega y pi son símbolos

Greek letters Spell them out.
muy comunes.

Spell them out, but: use cm, m, Dibuja un ángulo de 270 grados.
Measurements km, gr, and kg abbreviated when Los radianes de pi son muy
preceded by figures. complejos. La mesa mide 85 cm.

Dos tercios de la población están

Fractions Spell them out.
desempleados.

Trigonometric Calculemos el coseno de

Spell them out.
functions 1 radián.

Audio: 3 veces x más 4 veces y

Use symbols and don’t spell out igual a 23 Typed: 3x más 4y
Variables the math operator. Check igual 23 La X marca el punto.
capitalization rules here. Añade un ejemplo y habla con
CS.

Use superscripts/subscripts (the Audio: x a la sexta Typed: x⁶

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

🔑
Search keywords: numbers, math, mathematical, números, matemáticas, cálculos,
ecuaciones, ecuaciones matemáticas
‣
vii. Reference
Use the following references in case you have any doubts on items not included in these
language guidelines:
 Fundéu - Español Urgente: https://www.fundeu.es/
 Diccionario panhispánico de dudas: https://www.rae.es/dpd/
‣
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, términos, terminología,
glosario, préstamos
‣
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 Tag DO

Unintelligible or inaudible [inaudible

hh:mm:ss]
[inaudible 00:01:32]
words are stated.
Multiple people speaking
over each other causes any [diafonía [diafonía 00:00:52] Transcribe what is
one of the speakers to hh:mm:ss] discernible.
become unintelligible.

[otro idioma 01:02:02] Indicate where they

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

The speaker starts singing [canción 01:59:02] If it takes less than 10

[canción
and it is more than 10 hh:mm:ss]
seconds, transcribe the words to the song in
seconds long. italics.

General DON’Ts
 DON’T leave out the timestamp. [inaudible]
 DON’T use upper case/all-caps in any notation tags. [Otro idioma 02:03:55]
 DON’T use your own notations. (diafonía 02:03:55)
 DON’T include the name of the foreign language even though you spot it. [polaco
02:03:55]
 DON’T use [otro idioma 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, extranjerismo, otro idioma, diafonía, canción, música, etiquetas, préstamos
‣
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

Pablo Neruda
reasonably inferred from the Use speaker’s name label
Profesor Neruda
audio/video.

The speaker’s name cannot be

reasonably inferred from the Entrevistador(a)
Use job title or role labels
audio/video, but the job title or Profesor(a) Estudiante
role can be.

The speaker’s name cannot be

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

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

💡
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, varios hablantes, varios
interlocutores, muchos hablantes, muchos interlocutores, muchas personas hablando, varias
personas hablando
‣
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, párrafos largos, largos párrafos
‣
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

-Hola, mamá. -Hola, Pablo. ¿Cómo te fue - Hola, mamá. - Hola, Pablo. ¿Cómo te fue
hoy? hoy?
🔑
Search keywords: multiple speakers, various speakers, varios hablantes, varios
interlocutores, muchos hablantes, muchos interlocutores, muchas personas hablando, varias
personas hablando
‣
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

-Hola, mamá. -Hola, Pablo. ¿Cómo te fue -Hola, mamá. -Hola, Pablo. ¿Cómo te fue
hoy? hoy?

‣
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

Ellos han organizado una Ellos han organizado una

Noun
conferencia en Roma. confe- rencia en Roma.

Ellos han organizado una Ellos han organizado una

Subject/Pronoun and verb
conferencia en Roma. conferencia en Roma.

Ellos han organizado una Ellos han organizado una

Parts of a complex verb
conferencia en Roma. conferencia en Roma.

Ellos han organizado una Ellos han organizado una

Article and noun
conferencia en Roma. conferencia en Roma.

Preposition and the Ellos organizaron una Ellos organizaron una

following phrase conferencia en Roma. conferencia en Roma.
Conjunction and the Ellos organizaron una Ellos han organizado una
following item conferencia pero yo no fui. conferencia pero no fui.

Ellos organizaron una Ellos organizaron una

Subordinate clauses
conferencia a la que no fui. conferencia a la que no fui.

💯
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.
 Esta es una pieza/muy larga y verbosa,/de prosa/que nadie conoce/y que
nadie/recordará.
 María quiere/ir/a la tienda,/pero que yo sepa,/todas las tiendas/cierran/en el día de la
traducción.
 Me desperté/con jet-lag/a las 4:00 a. m.,/en mi nueva cama,/y rápido llamé/a Annie
Jayaraman/para contarle/sobre mi entrevista.
 Si no me hubieses dicho/no hubiera hecho/cita/para ir/a la clínica/que me
recomendaste.
 Hay muchísimos pacientes/que tienen/otros síndromes/en el cuello/vesical/y no
tienen/dolor.
 Es absolutamente/esencial,/porque muchas pacientes/tienen problemas/que ellas no
reconocen/como tales,/y muchas veces/hay antecedentes/de absusos/sexuales/en la
infancia.

🔑
Search keywords: line break, number of lines, salto de líneas, número de líneas,
separación de líneas
‣
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, salto de línea, separación de líneas,
límite de caracteres, caracteres por línea
‣
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 not anticipate speech by more than 1.5 seconds or hang up
on the screen for more than 1.5 seconds after speech has stopped.
 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 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.

🔑
Search keywords: cps, time sync, sync, caracteres por segundo, sincronización,
sincronización de tiempo, sincronización temporal, temporización
‣
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, vídeo vertical,
video vertical, vídeos verticales, videos verticales, modo retrato, videos moto retrato, vídeo
cuadrado, formato de vídeo, formato cuadrado
‣
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
human@happyscribe.com
 Be sure you have the spell-check option/extension/plug-in enabled on your browser.