transcriptionlike

Transcriptionlike is an adjective used in linguistics and related fields to describe representations, annotations, or processes that resemble phonetic transcription in form or purpose but are not standard phonetic transcription. It may refer to notations that capture surface forms, phonological features, or temporal structure of speech in a simplified or approximate way. The term is not a formal technical category and its precise meaning can vary by author or project.

In practice, transcriptionlike notations may be orthographic or semi-phonetic, use brackets or symbols to indicate probable segments, or provide time-aligned annotations that resemble IPA transcriptions without claiming full phonetic detail. They are commonly encountered in fieldwork notes, exploratory data analysis, or preliminary annotation stages, where the goal is to record speech data quickly and consistently before a formal transcription is produced.

The distinction from a published transcription is that transcriptionlike materials are often provisional, less formalized, and may be tailored to a specific research question or dataset. Researchers may label an annotation as transcriptionlike to signal that it is interpretive, approximate, or intended as a basis for later refinement.

See also: transcription, phonetic transcription, orthography, annotation.