I really believe that our listening skills can be improved by listening to the things that we like, not to the things that have transcripts. That’s what I’ve learned from my experience in English. I, for example, want to listen to podcasts/radio channels that French people listen to everyday or TV shows that they watch everyday. But since my listening skills are not that good at the moment, I don’t understand a significant portion of what I hear when I listen to them.
There are some podcasts in French that I want to listen to, but they don’t provide any transcripts. There are also some really famous comedy/sit-com videos that all French people have watched at some point and have an idea about. They don’t have any transcripts. Some of them occasionally have subtitles in French, but since they are intended for hearing-impaired people, they are not verbatim.
There are lots of companies around the world that offer transcription services. I am researching at the moment to learn which one is the best company with the lowest price tag. I want to get the full verbatim transcripts of “Gad Elmaleh” stand-up shows and “Un Gars Une Fille”. If there is anyone else here on LingQ who are also interested in these shows, we can share the cost. If there is a different French TV show/podcast that you and I might be interested and want the transcript of, we can also share the cost. Let me know.
This site here has lots of language experts visiting it every day. Why pay a company to do something we can do ourselves?
The transcripts have to stay private, anyway, because the original content you are referring to is in parts legally protected, so a company would mention legal issues hindering them from offering the service you ask for.
On a private basis, lingq users can do the transcripts and share them, e.g. via dropbox. I wouldn’t expect tons of transcribed tv shows by this method, though, because everyone here has limited time available.
PS: I am sure with a little repetition, you will understand much of what is said in French TV shows and films regarding your word count in French. I had much less words when I started watching French original material. Enjoy and have no fear
Well, to be honest, you don’t even have to be a native speaker to be a transcriber let alone a language expert. The thing is that this is an incredibly time-consuming operation, that’s why it is perfectly normal to pay someone for their time and effort. But as you said, it would be very good if some sort of demand-based transcription system exists on LingQ. For example, last year, before the election, I tried to find a transcript of the Macron-Le Pen debate, but couldn’t find any. I am sure there are lots of language learners here who want the transcripts of some audio/video that they are interested in.
