Overview

This transcription relays the substance and styles of testimonies. It is important to note that the recording by Jeff Titon and Ken George titled “Three Testimonies” doesn't have the complete Testimonies collection from Alcheringa 4-1, only having three performances' captured audio, which are “I Wanted to be sure” performed by Rachel Franklin, “A Vision of Heaven” by Edith Cubbage, and “A Vision of Heaven” by Reverend John Sherfey. The first being performed at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, during an interview. Cubbage's was performed at her home in Stanley, Virginia, and the Reverend's was performed at the Fellowship Independent Baptist Church in Stanley, Virginia.

The transcribers, Ken George and Jeff Titon, use subtle techniques in signifying how each testimony is spoken by the performers, focusing primarily on volume and the length of time the performer takes breaks, while also keeping in mind the signification of the listener's response.

The list of tools/devices that the transcribers use on the page to make it more easily recognizable to the reader are as follows:

1. Line breaks

2. Word font

3. Word breaks

Also, with the transcription keeping in mind the listeners of the performances' responses, this is signified with brackets around the words that are spoken by them. This is massively important in showcasing that the space in which the performances take place involves everyone in the audience, too.

As I mentioned earlier, the devices like word fonts are used to help with intonation, too, and this seems to align almost flawlessly with the audio recordings of the performers, pinpointing exactly when the speakers get louder or quieter. One more keynote is how the transcriptions also use stage-like directions, particularly when a performer is crying, placing “[Crying]:” right before a part of a performance that contains it. So, although the visual transcripted texts may not be as appealing as the audio recordings, they are incredibly legible and help the reader better understand the performances.

Cubbage, Edith. (1977). A Vision of Heaven. Transcribed by Ken George & Jeff Titon. Audio accessed via Pennsound:

   https://media.sas.upenn.edu/jacket2/mp3/Alcheringa/Alcheringa_New_V4N1_2_Three-Testimonies_1978.mp3
   

Franklin, Rachel. (1977). I Wanted to be sure. Transcribed by Jeff Titon. Audio accessed via Pennsound:

   https://media.sas.upenn.edu/jacket2/mp3/Alcheringa/Alcheringa_New_V4N1_2_Three-Testimonies_1978.mp3
       

George, Ken & Titon, Jeff. “Testimonies.” Alcheringa 4-1: Ethnopoetics, edited by

   Jerome Rothenberg and Dennis Tedlock, Boston University Scholarly Publications, 1978.
   

Sherfey, John. (1977). A Vision of Heaven. Transcribed by Jeff Titon. Audio accessed via Pennsound:

    https://media.sas.upenn.edu/jacket2/mp3/Alcheringa/Alcheringa_New_V4N1_2_Three-Testimonies_1978.mp3
                

Page Creator: John Phillips

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