ELAN Fundamentals Walk-Through Guide

Required software and files

To follow along with this guide, you should have the following ready:
□ ELAN 6.6 installed (https://archive.mpi.nl/tla/elan/download)
□ An .mp4 video file and corresponding .wav audio file
□ the ELAN Template file (ELANTemplate.etf)

Creating a new annotation file from a template

□ Open ELAN. Click on the File menu → New.
□ Find the folder with your video and audio file under the Look in dropdown menu.
□ CTRL + click the files you want to add, then the >> button to the right to add them.
□ Click the round button Template under the >> button.
□ Find the folder with the template file using the Look in dropdown menu.
□ Click the template file, then the >> button to add it.
□ Click OK.
□ Save your file by clicking File → Save As; check the Save in location and give a good file name,
then click Save.

Configuring the tiers

□ Click on the Tier menu → Change Tier Attributes.
□ Click on the tier ‘A_Transcription-txt-xxx’ in the Current Tiers list.
□ Click into the Tier Name field. Change the letter ‘A’ to the speaker initials or another code.
Change the letters ‘xxx’ to the ISO code of the language spoken.
□ Click into the Participant field. Change the letter ‘A’ to the speaker initials/code/name. If using
the ELAN-FLEx-ELAN Workflow, use the same initials or code you used in the tier name.
□ Click Change.
□ Following the same steps, change the speaker initials/code and ISO codes for each of the tiers.
Remember to click Change after editing each tier.
□ When all tiers have been edited, click Close.

Adding new participants

□ To add tier structures for additional speakers, click on the Tier menu → Add New Participant.
□ Under Specify the new participant, enter the speaker’s initials/code/name.
□ The option prefix should be selected by default.
□ Under Enter the value to be replaced, enter the initials/code used in the tier name listed at
the top for the first speaker (e.g., ‘KCN’).
□ Under Enter the new value for replacement, enter the initials/code for the new speaker. Click
OK.
□ Click Close on the box that pops up. If necessary, repeat the steps to add more speakers, then
click Close.

Kelsey Neely & Vera Ferreira, 2023/09/06 1 of 2 Endangered Languages Archive

Segmenting the recording
□ Click on the Options menu → Segmentation Mode.
□ Click on the transcription tier for the first speaker so that it appears highlighted in red.
□ Play the recording until you reach the first part you want to segment, then pause. You can
click on the wave form to position the red marker line.
□ Press the Enter key to mark the beginning of the segment.
□ Play the recording until you reach the end of the part you want to segment, then pause again.
Reposition the red marker if necessary.
□ Press the Enter key to mark the end of the segment.
□ If you need to reposition the segment, you can hover over the black segment marks and move,
shorten, or extend the segment.
□ To change speakers, click on the transcription tier with their initials or code so that it appears
highlighted in red.
□ Continue making segments. Remember to periodically save your file by pressing CTRL + S.

Transcribing and translating the recording

□ Click on the Options menu → Transcription Mode.
□ Select the column types: Transcription, Translation. Click Apply.
□ Click into the first field of the ‘Transcription’ tier. The audio/video should play automatically.
Press the Tab key to re-play if necessary.
□ Type in the transcription.
□ Click into the first Translation field to the right and type in the translation.
□ Continue adding transcriptions and translations until you are finished. Remember to
periodically save your file by pressing CTRL + S.

Kelsey Neely & Vera Ferreira, 2023/09/06 2 of 2 Endangered Languages Archive