TranskriptionsNERSchrittfestival

Transkriptions, in its broad sense, refers to the process of producing a representation of information in another medium. The term is used in several disciplines to describe how something is copied or rendered into a different form that can be read, analyzed, or stored. In linguistics and biology the core idea is the transfer of information from a source to a retrievable representation, though the details differ substantially between fields.

In linguistic transcription, spoken language is converted into written symbols. This may be phonetic transcription, which records actual sounds, or phonemic transcription, which abstracts away some variation to capture underlying sound contrasts. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a common convention for phonetic transcription. Transcriptions can be broad, capturing general pronunciation, or narrow, detailing fine-grained articulatory differences. Transcription practices also distinguish between phonetic brackets and orthographic representations, and may include timing information for speech analysis.

In molecular biology, transcription describes the first step of gene expression: copying a DNA template into RNA. RNA polymerase binds to promoter regions and synthesizes a complementary RNA strand. Regulation occurs through transcription factors, enhancers, and silencers that modulate initiation and rate. Eukaryotic transcription involves a complex set of machinery and RNA processing, while prokaryotic transcription occurs in the cytoplasm and is often coupled with translation. Transcription is essential for producing messenger RNA, ribosomal RNA, transfer RNA, and other RNA species that guide cellular function.

Beyond science, transcription also refers to the conversion of spoken or recorded material into written text, a service widely used in research, media, and accessibility contexts.