Guidelines for recording Talking books
and Talking books with text
Appendix 1
24/10/2014
Contents
1
Introduction ......................................................................................... 4
2
General information about recording talking books ............................. 4
3
2.1
Recording talking books .............................................................. 4
2.2
Knowledge requirements ............................................................. 5
2.3
Partial delivery ............................................................................. 6
Special instructions ............................................................................. 6
3.1
Introductory features .................................................................... 6
3.1.1
Title (Introductory announcement) ......................................... 6
3.1.2
Information on §17 of the Copyright Act ................................ 7
3.1.3
Information on the talking book .............................................. 7
3.1.4
Publisher information ............................................................. 7
3.1.5
Back cover text ...................................................................... 8
3.2
Children’s books .......................................................................... 8
3.2.1
Introductory announcement, §17 of the Copyright Act and
Information on the talking book ........................................................... 8
3.2.3
3.3
Reading headings ........................................................................ 8
3.4
Page break and reading page numbers ....................................... 9
3.4.1
Reading page numbers ......................................................... 9
3.4.2
Page numbers in books with different languages .................. 9
3.5
Spelling ........................................................................................ 9
3.6
Abbreviations ............................................................................... 9
3.6.1
4
Publisher information ............................................................. 8
Abbreviations in notes and bibliographies ............................. 9
3.7
Foreign languages and archaic Swedish ................................... 10
3.8
Quotation marks, brackets ......................................................... 10
3.9
Omitted text ............................................................................... 10
3.10
Bold text, fine text, block text and italics .................................. 11
3.11
Footnotes in continuous text ................................................... 11
3.12
Register, bibliography ............................................................. 11
3.13
Images in the talking book ...................................................... 11
3.14
Tables ..................................................................................... 11
3.15
Symbols, formulas, program codes etc. .................................. 12
3.16
Closing announcement ........................................................... 12
Talking book with text ........................................................................ 12
4.1
Recording of talking books with text........................................... 12
4.2
Synchronisation ......................................................................... 12
4.2.1
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Page numbers ........................................................................ 13
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Guidelines for recording Talking books and Talking books with
4.2.2
4.3
Chapters without headings...................................................... 13
Introductory announcement and Information on the talking book
13
4.4
Image descriptions .............................................................. 13
4.5
The narrator’s addition for reading talking books with text ...... 13
4.6
Specialist literature for seeing .................................................... 15
4.7
Talking books for reading practice ............................................. 15
4.8
Special recording ....................................................................... 16
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Guidelines for recording Talking books and Talking books with
1
Introduction
The guidelines apply for recording under the authority of the Swedish Agency for
Accessible Media, MTM.
There may be deviations in exceptional cases and then in the first instance the
accompanying instructions for the book in question always apply. In the event of
uncertainty, please contact the purchaser.
Talking books are produced in accordance with §17 of the Copyright Act for
people who, due to a reading impairment, cannot read printed books or
inaccessible electronic text. This includes persons with, for example:
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a visual impairment
reading and writing problems
a physical impairment
a mental impairment
cognitive functional disabilities
MTM also produces course literature for university students with a reading
disability.
These guidelines apply for recording of talking books in DAISY format. MTM
currently produces two variants of talking books:
● A talking book is a talking book which only contains audio recording and
headings.
● A talking book with text contains text, audio and often images.
2
General information about
recording talking books
2.1
Recording talking books
Talking books replace printed books. They should follow the printed book as
closely as possible. The content of the book may not be changed and
additions may not be made. Only obvious printing errors may be corrected. In
the event of uncertainty, please contact the purchaser.
Both students and professionals as well as recreational readers use talking
books. It is common for the same title to be borrowed by people with
different types of reading impairments.
Books in foreign languages should normally be read by native language
narrators of the language in question.
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It is necessary for the narrator to have a good understanding of the text. The
narrator must also be attentive to the reading, otherwise the reader will lose
the trail.
Good recording entails that the reader can concentrate on the text’s content,
rather than on how the narrator conveys the text. This requires that both the
narrator’s voice and articulation are clear. Too strong dialectal characteristics
or a too pronounced accent steals attention and obstructs understanding of
the text.
Recording should take place with correct phrasing. Accentuations and breaks
should depict the text in a natural way. The reading pace should be adapted
to the book’s style and content. Breaks are also important between
paragraphs, for example, in lyrics. The break should be long enough for the
reader to understand that a new paragraph, for example, a new poem, story
or chapter will follow. This is particularly important in texts which do not
have headings, where misunderstandings can otherwise easily occur.
In general narrators should be restrained with dramatisation. Many readers
perceive exaggerated dramatisation as disruptive and as an obstacle for their
own interpretation of the text. At the same time it is important to convey
involvement and nuances in the text. The narrator’s personal liking or
disliking concerning the content may not impact the recording.
Narrators should ensure that the recording has a good audio quality. For each
recording session, narrators should ensure that the settings for recording are
correct in accordance with the producers’ instructions. The recording may
not contain external sounds such as turning of pages, coughing, background
noise, etc.
For recording children's books, narrators should strive to read with more
emotion than the norm for adults and use freer language for narrator
comments. However, narrators should avoid reading in an ingratiating way or
in a patronising manner to children.
2.2
Knowledge requirements
Narrators should have good general knowledge and be able to pronounce
words in the most common foreign languages (English, Spanish, German,
French). Other language skills are also valuable. A good feel for language and
confidence for using the Swedish language are naturally important. For
recording books in other languages than Swedish, the narrator must have
native language proficiency of the language or equivalent.
Narrators must be able to convey nuances and structures in a text by using
phrasing, accentuation and pace. The narrator should be approved by the
purchaser through a test recording. The assessment criteria includes voice,
reading, text contact and pronunciation.
Recording of talking books is divided into the following categories:
● Fiction for adults
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● Specialist literature for adults
● Fiction and specialist literature for children
● Lyrics
● Drama
● Talking books for reading practice
For books which are produced as course literature for students at college and
university, there are also requirements for narrators having subject expertise;
being able to pronounce technical terms correctly, interpret and convey
tables and make diagram comments in accordance with guidelines. Course
literature for university and college is divided into the following categories:
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General student literature
The humanities
IT
Medicine
Physics
Chemistry
Mathematics
Economics
Biology
Law, etc.
2.3
Partial delivery
Part deliveries of recorded course literature are often sent. Sometimes students
want parts of a book to be recorded before others. Images, tables and footnotes
are not included in partial deliveries. These features are recorded once the
continuous text is ready. Partial deliveries are not proofread.
Partial deliveries should always contain a special introductory announcement in
which the first phrase should state:
This is partial delivery [n] which includes pages [nn-nn], [title, author]
3
Special instructions
3.1
Introductory features
3.1.1
Title (Introductory announcement)
The talking book starts with an introductory announcement. The introductory
announcement contains information on the title and author, as well as
information on who produced the talking book.
Between the title and author, the narrator should add av for Swedish books and
by for English, etc. The following formulation should always be used after title
and author information:
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For Swedish titles: Denna talbok är framställd av Myndigheten för tillgängliga
medier (MTM) år [år för slutleverans till MTM]
Inläsare är[inläsare] vid [producent]
For English titles:
This talking book is produced by Myndigheten för tillgängliga medier (MTM), i.e.
the Swedish Agency for Accessible Media in [Year of delivery to MTM]
Read by [Narrator] at [Producer]
3.1.2
Information on §17 of the Copyright Act
Information on §17 of the Copyright Act follows after the introductory
announcement. The following text should be recorded by the book’s narrator:
This talking book is produced for persons with a disability in accordance with §17
of the Copyright Act. Unlawful distribution or transfer is punishable.
The following text is used for children’s books:
This book is produced for users of adapted media in accordance with §17 of the
Copyright Act. Unlawful distribution or transfer is punishable.
3.1.3
Information on the talking book
Information on the talking book describes which searchable headings are
included in the talking book, and whether anything has been deleted (for
example, image descriptions) or added (for example, new headings for image
descriptions).
Detailed information on navigation in, for example, a concluding feature should
be given locally. This applies to, for example, pictorial suites, footnotes at the
end of chapters and registers. Introductory information on the talking book then
lacks this information. The editor decides when and where such local
information should be provided and the narrator formulates this in accordance
with the editor’s instructions. The information is provided immediately after the
heading has been read. Read, for example:
List of notes. The list of notes has a new chapter at level 2 and every fifth note in
the chapter at level 3.
Local information on navigation may also appear in individual sections in the
continuous text when these deviate from the book in general. Say, for example:
This chapter contains fact boxes, examples and exercises at level 3.
3.1.4
Publisher information
In this feature the narrator should start at the top of the title page or earlier if
there is important information before the title page. All information should be
read (even the title and author) on the title page and its verso. If publisher
information is at the end of the printed book, the editor should move the
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publisher information to the specified location after Information on the talking
book. The narrator should then make a short comment that the publisher
information has been moved.
Instructions for the feature Publisher information:
● All text should be read (logotypes and graphics which are difficult to read
do not need to be read)
● The copyright sign (©) is read as copyright.
● ISBN can now comprise of 10 or 13 digits. If in the printed book you
differentiate between these two number series, it is important not to
read the number series as though the notation 10 or 13 is included in the
number:
Example:
ISBN-10 91-32-33395-1 is read ISBN Ten [short break] 91-32-33395-1
ISBN-13 978-91-32-33395-8 is read ISBN Thirteen [short break] 978-91-32-333958
3.1.5
Back cover text
The back cover text and any blurbs or cover texts are read together in the
feature Back cover text. The feature is advertised with: Back cover text.
3.2
Children’s books
3.2.1
Introductory announcement, §17 of the Copyright Act
and Information on the talking book
Introductory announcement, information on §17 of the Copyright Act and
Information on the talking book and Back cover text for children’s books are read
in the same manner as above, see the sections 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.1.3 and 3.1.5.
3.2.3
Publisher information
In children’s books the feature Publisher information is placed last in the talking
book. Then the closing announcement follows: for Swedish – Här är talboken
slut, or for English – This is the end of the talking book.
3.3
Reading headings
Numbered headings should be read in a consistent manner; Chapter one,
Chapter two etc. or the first chapter, second chapter, etc. When the chapter
heading is missing in the printed book, a heading is created in the talking book
with the chapter’s three first words. These words should not be recorded as they
are repeated in the continuous text, instead it is important that silence of a few
seconds is recorded related to the heading.
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3.4
Page break and reading page numbers
3.4.1
Reading page numbers
All talking books have navigable pages. For a new page of the book, the narrator
should create a page break at the full stop of the previous or next page.
Page numbers are read in specialist literature for adults and in course literature.
Page numbers are stated in such literature even for the pages which lack
pagination. When a page is blank or consists of completely unnecessary material,
this should be stated. If a page only consists of an image which is published in
the talking book, the narrator says: Image page. If a page is blank, the narrator
says: Blank page.
Page numbers are not read in fiction, children’s books or in specialist literature
of a fiction nature, for example, biographies and travel books.
For reading page numbers with Roman pagination, the narrator says: Roman
figure, page 1. For other special pages, the page is read as it is stated in the
printed text. For example, the narrator says: Page B 1.
3.4.2
Page numbers in books with different languages
In books with summaries in another language than the language of the main part
of the book, page numbers are read in the book’s main language. Accordingly: In
a Swedish book with an English summary, all page numbers in the book are read
in Swedish.
3.5
Spelling
Words should be spelt out when this is necessary for clarity and understanding,
for example, for reading out internet addresses and names for which the
pronunciation deviates from the spelling, for example, Leicester. Note that
spelling out words can be perceived as disturbing by the user and should only be
performed when the editor requests this. Words are spelt out letter by letter by
syllable, that is, words are divided in the following manner:
s-y-l l-a b-l-e
Any genitive ‘s’ should not be included in the spelling.
3.6
Abbreviations
Abbreviations should only be read out if this improves understanding of the text.
If an abbreviation is generally accepted or occurs frequently, this should only be
read out the first time it occurs.
State upper-case and lower-case letters in abbreviations.
3.6.1
Abbreviations in notes and bibliographies
In general in lists of notes you want to have the opportunity to search for
individual notes and access information by each note. However, repeated
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references for the same work are often written as a.a (anfört arbete) in Swedish
or ibid(em) in English. For such cases the title and author are repeated for each
new note, while the abbreviation per se is not read at all. For the rest,
abbreviations in notes, references or bibliographies should not be read out.
3.7
Foreign languages and archaic
Swedish
Words and names in foreign languages should be pronounced correctly. Names
of countries, cities and famous people should be pronounced in accordance with
English usage where such exists (for example, Barcelona, London, van Gogh). If it
is impossible to produce the correct pronunciation of a foreign word, you will
need to spell it out.
Archaic verb forms should be read as they are written, read for example, vi gingo
in Swedish. However, old spelling forms should not be marked, read for example,
bliva instead of blifva in Swedish.
3.8
Quotation marks, brackets
While recording you should avoid marking or mentioning quotation marks and
brackets, for example, for lines and years.
When quotation marks are included in the text to mark or emphasise an
expression or word, it is sufficient to illustrate this only with the voice (short
break or change in vocal pitch). When quotation marks are around a quote, i.e. a
word-for-word reproduction or what someone has written or said, and only
when it is not clear in another manner that it is a quote, they should be read out.
Quotation marks should be read quote /.../ end quote.
Brackets should normally be marked with the voice. Only in cases where it is
necessary to avoid a misunderstanding (for example, when narrative focus
moves from the main character to author) or when a bracket covers several
sentences, the bracket should be stated. In these cases brackets are specified by
saying bracket /.../ end bracket.
3.9
Omitted text
In the printed book omitted text can be marked in a number of different ways:
three dots for a short break or three dashes for a long break. The marking can
also be surrounded by square brackets or slashes.
This marking should be stated if it is important for understanding of the text. In
such cases, say omitted text.
For long texts which are fragmentary, and where excluded paragraphs are
marked, an introductory comment on the text’s appearance is often sufficient.
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3.10
italics
Bold text, fine text, block text and
Bold text, fine text, block text and italics are not read out. When, for example,
bold text is used to emphasise a word or expression, this should be marked with
a clear emphasis. If a word or paragraph is marked for another reason, this
should be stated when necessary.
3.11
Footnotes in continuous text
When notes are read in continuous text, it is important that the reader
understands that this is a note and where the note starts and ends. Say:
note/end of the note. If the note is long, this should be stated before the note is
read.
3.12
Register, bibliography
In registers often several entries are collected below the same main entry, which
is then usually printed only once. If the register is not too extensive, the narrator
should always repeat the main entry in order to allow readers to understand
where in the register they are when they search quickly. Similarly, in
bibliographies excluded author names should be read out.
3.13
Images in the talking book
A significant part of the literature which is transferred to talking books contains
various sorts of images, for example, maps, diagrams, photographs, drawings or
art. When a book contains images, a selection of the images which are described
should be made. This is performed in accordance with instructions in Riktlinjer
för bildbeskrivningar 2007-01-01 (Guidelines for image descriptions 01/01/2007).
A comment on an image should always be initiated by reading the caption.
If the image is placed last in the chapter, the narrator should refer to the page
number which contains the image in the book. This applies regardless of whether
the page number is read or not:
On page [n] there is an image with the following caption...
3.14
Tables
When reading a table it is important to move from the entirety to details. In
tables first the table heading with columns and line headings should be
presented. It is up to the narrator to decide whether the table should be read by
line or column. The column and line headings may need to be repeated in order
to retain the context. However, very basic tables of a list nature can be read
continuously.
In some books tables are included as examples of how to present information.
Here the table’s individual values are uninteresting and a general comment on
the table’s design is adequate.
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3.15
etc.
Symbols, formulas, program codes
The narrator should inform about how symbols, formulas and program codes
etc. are treated. The information is provided the first time it appears in the text.
In program code a new line is stated, note that for recording of program codes it
is important that all characters are stated, including dots and spacing.
In certain books there are images which illustrate a program’s interface. These
images should only have general comments.
3.16
Closing announcement
There is no heading for closing announcement but the narrator should still close
the recording by: For Swedish – Här är talboken slut or For English – This is the
end of the talking book.
4
Talking book with text
All children’s books and a number of adult books are produced as talking books
with text.
In the future books in the special genres Talking books for reading practice,
Specialist literature for seeing and Special recording will be available as talking
books with text. Exceptions here may be books with a layout which does not
allow production of a text file in DAISY format.
For talking books with text, the same guidelines apply for recording as for talking
books with a few additions and changes. These are stated in sections 4.1 – 4.5
below.
4.1
Recording of talking books with text
The material which is to be recorded is sent from the purchaser as a DTBook file
and should be recorded without additions and changes. Additions and changes
may only be made in accordance with guidelines or in accordance with
instructions from the purchaser. Always contact MTM in the event of
uncertainty.
4.2
Synchronisation
Recording and synchronisation of text and speech takes place by moving forward
a cursor at each synchronisation point while recording is ongoing. For recording
Talking books with text it is important that recording takes place in a natural way
and is not impacted by navigation between the text sections on the screen.
Synchronisation takes place on the sentence, line or paragraph level. However, for
certain reading practice books with slow reading speed, synchronisation at word
level may be appropriate.
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4.2.1
Page numbers
Page numbers should always be specified by the page’s synchronisation point,
even if the placement is not the same as in the printed book. As page numbers
should not be read (children’s books, fiction and specialist literature of a fiction
nature, for example, biographies and travel books) silence of a few seconds
related to the page number should be recorded.
4.2.2
Chapters without headings
When chapter headings are missing in the printed book, a heading in the talking
book with the chapter’s three first words is created. These words should not be
recorded as they are repeated in the continuous text, instead it is important that
silence of a few seconds is recorded related to the heading.
4.3
Introductory announcement and
Information on the talking book
Introductory announcement and Information on the talking book are included in
the DTBook file.
The producer should write the producer’s and narrator’s name in the fields
which have been left blank within square brackets in the Introductory
announcement and Information on the talking book.
4.4
Image descriptions
The text which is included in the order material from MTM contains complete
written image descriptions. This means that the narrator only reads the
descriptions which are included in the text.
4.5
The narrator’s addition for reading
talking books with text
There are a number of features in talking books with text for which the narrator
should record more information than that contained in the text.
Between title and the first author name:
Swedish – av
English – by
Before the last author name (if there is more than one):
Swedish – och
English – and
Obvious spelling mistakes in the file
Should be read with correct spelling (if there is uncertainty about the mistake,
please contact MTM)
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Note reference (Represented as superscript character either asterisk/asterisks or
digit in red border with own synchronisation point):
Swedish – Not (nr)
English – Note (no.)
Note (stated inside a dashed box):
Swedish – Not (nr) … Slut på noten
English – Note (no.) … End of note
Do not forget to read the note number. If the note is long, this should be stated
before the note is read.
Comment (Represented with a grey border with grey text):
Swedish – Kommentar ... Slut kommentar
English – Production note ... End of production note
Caption (The caption is cursive and is right next to the image):
Swedish – Bildtext… Slut bildtext
English – Caption … End of caption
Image description (Represented with a grey border with grey text next to the
image):
Swedish – Bildbeskrivning ... Slut bildbeskrivning
English – Image description ... End of image description
Fact box, sidebar, examples and similar (Represented with a light blue toned
box):
State which type of content the box has, for example, for fact box, read
Faktaruta ... and Slut faktaruta in Swedish. In English read Fact box ...and End
fact box, for sidebar read Parallelltext… Slut parallelltext in Swedish.
For English books read Sidebar ... End of sidebar for all above features.
Block quotes (Reproduced as indented paragraph in italics):
Swedish – Citat... Slut citat
English – Quote... End of quote
Tables:
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Swedish – Tabell ... Slut tabell
English – Table ... End of table
N.B. If the table has a definition above or below the table (for example, Table
15), this is read as: Table 15…End of table
Roman numbering:
Page numbers are read as:
Swedish – Romersk siffra, sidan X
English – Page, Roman Numeral, X
Bullet points are read as:
Swedish – Romersk siffra, X
English – Roman numeral, X
Page number:
Swedish – Sidan X
English – Page X
Lists (numbered lists, bullet points, registers, bibliographies, etc. )
Registers are read as they are specified in file-set, without any additions: List...
end of list
4.6
Specialist literature for seeing
Specialist literature for seeing consists of richly illustrated specialised textbooks
where the images contain essential information which is difficult to portray in an
image description and where the talking book requires that the reader follows
the printed book. The narrator does not make any image descriptions but refers
to the images in the book.
The narrator should not comment on the images but guide on the spread and
refer to them, as readers are required to look in the book while they listen to the
talking book. The captions are always read. If there is text in an image or the
narrator for other reasons refers to an image, the narrator should describe which
images are on the page, so that readers can easily orient themselves on the
spread and know which image is being addressed.
Page numbers are read in both adult books and children’s books.
4.7
Talking books for reading practice
Talking books for reading practice are read at two speeds.
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The first version is read at normal speed.
The second version is read slowly and clearly and word for word. Long and
difficult words are read slower than short words, however the context of the text
may not be lost.
Introductory announcement, information on the talking book, back cover text,
foreword and closing announcement are read at normal speed in both versions.
It is important that the first phrase in each version contains information about
the title, author and recording speed.
Narrators of talking books for reading practice should be approved for this type
of recording.
4.8
Special recording
Special recordings should primarily be read for persons with a learning disability.
For special recordings, often books of the easy-to-read publishing house LLförlaget or other easy-to-read books with a basic plot and easy language are
used. They should be read at a calm pace, but retain the sentence intonation.
For books to be more varied to listen to, they can also contain music and audio
images or several voices. The music in special recordings should reflect the
atmosphere of the book. Audio images should be connected to the book’s text
and should be long enough to be perceived in a good manner. Musical or audio
images may not fade in and out during continuous reading, but should be placed
completely independently.
Introductory announcements are always read at normal speed.
When comments are provided on images, the narrator should use easy words
and expressions.
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