
We will now examine in greater detail the use of CLAN for interaction analysis.īecause the methods and instruments for digital recording are continually improving, we have found that it is best to document these processes through electronic documents posted on the web that can be continually updated. However, the transcripts produced by such unstructured systems are far more limited in terms of the support they provide for analysis, interoperability and data maintenance. By comparison, users can learn a relatively unstructured system as TransAna in a day or less. Because of these two weaknesses, initial learning of CLAN can require some days. A second challenge for users of CLAN is that the search programs currently have no user-friendly graphic user interface (GUI).
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To use the system correctly, users must learn how to format each transcription symbol in precise accordance with the CHAT manual. New symbols and characters can be added, but this must be done in a systematic fashion throughout the database and programs. These explicit definitions and formats must all be used accurately and unambiguously. The XML schema provides an explicit and unambiguous characterization of how talk is composed of words, turns, pauses, overlaps, prosodies, and other features of a detailed transcription. The major challenges of CLAN for its users derive from its strengths. Because all of these data are in CHAT, users of CLAN have good access to these databases for playback and further analysis. These strengths include:ĭatabase linkage: CLAN relies on the CHAT format that is used throughout the TalkBank () and CHILDES databases () – the two largest databases for spoken language. In this regard, these digital transcription editors differ markedly from Microsoft Word, since Word does not allow the user to link the transcript to the media.ĬLAN has four major features that recommend it to research on interaction. Since then, new editors such as ELAN, Transcriber, ANVIL, EXMARaLDA, Praat, Phon, and all incorporated this same feature. The idea of linking transcripts directly to media was introduced to systems like CLAN, COALA, and SyncWriter in the early 1990s. This form of linkage to the media is crucial in terms of allowing users to playback transcriptions to verify their accuracy. However, unlike Word, it allows the researcher to link individual segments of the transcript directly to the audio or video media. The editor uses many of the same conventions as Microsoft Word. įor transcription and playback, the relevant part of CLAN is the editor.
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All changes are documented in the CLAN manual which can be downloaded from. New versions with new, expanded and de-bugged features are continuously uploaded on the CHILDES website. The program is developed according to needs suggested by its users. The file format in CLAN is called CHAT and all files are saved as xxx.cha.ĬLAN has existed for more than two decades and has a large user community in several fields.

We will discuss the programs further in the sections 5 and 6 on Ancillary Analysis and Searching. The programs include 24 command-line analysis and search programs, 7 programs for morpho-syntactic analysis, and 35 utility programs for data reformatting ( MacWhinney 2000).

CLAN has two parts: the programs and the editor.
