Each line in English, and a note where the English can’t carry it.
Example study: household shopping habits · group 2 · clean verbatimverbatim†
M = moderator · R1 to R5 = respondents
O óleo mesmo, eu achei mais caro que no mercadinho aqui do bairro. Tem que ficar esperta.
Cooking oil, for one. I found it pricier than at the little grocery store here in the neighborhoodneighbourhood. You have to stay sharp.
Translator’s note Ficar esperta: stay alert, don’t get caught out. The feminine ending (esperta, not esperto) shows a woman speaking about women, possibly herself; the English “you” can’t mark that.
E na hora de pagar, como é que vocês pagam essa compra?
And when it’s time to pay, how do you pay for all that?
No cartão, parcelado. Se der pra dividir em três sem juros, eu divido.
On the credit card, split into payments. If I can spread it over three months with no interest, I do.
Translator’s note Parcelado (sem juros): a card purchase the store splits into monthly payments, often interest-free. Common in Brazil for everyday purchases as well as large ones.
† A fictitious focus group. We made it up to show our transcript format; the six people at the table don’t exist.
We translate transcripts of interviews and focus groups recorded in Brazil into English, either beside the Portuguese or on their own. The Portuguese is reviewed first, and the English is translated from the corrected version. If a phrase means more than the dictionary says, a translator’s note sits next to it.
In the two-column version each turn of the Portuguese sits next to its English, under one timestamp and one speaker label, so a colleague who reads Portuguese can check the translation line by line. The English-only version keeps the same labels and timestamps, so a line quoted in a report still points to the right moment in the recording. The full sample has both, and you can ask for a pilot on your own audio.
When we add a translator’s note
A note goes in when a word does work the English can’t do on its own: an acronym from the health system, say, or an idiom that a literal translation would turn into nonsense. Notes explain language and context. They don’t interpret what a participant meant; that part is your analysis.
Translator’s note UBS (Unidade Básica de Saúde): a primary care clinic in the SUS, Brazil’s public health system. Micro-area: the households assigned to one community health worker. P1 at 00:00:11
Translator’s note Estar em cima (literally “be on top of”): colloquial for close, frequent follow-up, nearer to “keep checking on” than to “stay on top of.” P1 at 00:00:33
Translator’s note Dar um jeito: to find a way around a problem with whatever is at hand; close to “make do” or “work something out.” P1 at 00:00:50
Who writes the English, and in which spelling
The same team checks the Portuguese and then translates it, so the person writing the English has already worked through the transcript in Portuguese. When a word is hard to make out, the translator can go back to the recording instead of guessing from the page. For specialist subjects, a postgraduate consultant in the field can work with the translators, if you agree beforehand.
American spelling is the default. Choose UK spelling and the translation follows it: neighbours, programme, analyse. If your team keeps a style sheet or a list of preferred terms (how to render agente comunitária de saúde, for instance), send it with the files.
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Cooking oil, for one. I found it pricier than at the little grocery store here in the neighborhoodneighbourhood. You have to stay sharp.
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[inaudible 00:41:44] …and the store brand too, it’s gottengot a lot better.
† Two lines from the fictitious focus group.
Guides and screeners go the other way
Discussion guides, screeners, and stimulus materials are translated into Brazilian Portuguese before recruitment starts. A moderator in São Paulo should be able to read the guide aloud without rewording it on the spot. For agencies, the page on focus group transcription for agencies shows where this sits in the schedule.
For academic studies, we also translate consent forms and participant information sheets for the CEP, the Brazilian research ethics committee that reviews them in Portuguese.
Program reports and policy texts in Portuguese can also come into English, for team members who don’t read the original.
EN · the guide as written
So, to start, tell me a bit about what a typical day at the clinic is like for you.
PT-BR · read aloud
Então, pra começar, me conta um pouco como é o seu dia a dia na unidade.
“Me conta,” the way people say it. “Conte-me” is correct on paper and stiff out loud.
Younas and colleagues, writing in Nursing Open in 2022, make the case for printing participant quotes in the original language as well as in English, so readers can see what was said before it was translated.1
A two-column transcript makes that easy: the Portuguese for each quote is already next to the English you cite.
“Not always. So we find a way. Sometimes I go back late in the afternoon, after hours, because in the morning nobody’s home.” (P1)†
Nem sempre, né. Aí a gente dá um jeito. Às vezes eu volto no fim da tarde, fora do horário, porque de manhã não tem ninguém em casa.
† From the fictitious interview on our sample page.
When the paper itself needs work, Agência Rivera does English editing and journal formatting for scientific authors. For the rest of an academic study, see transcription for qualitative studies.
Ask for a quote
Discussion guide or screener? Send it here