In ancient times of the Greek and Romans the comma was used to indicate pauses in
sentences. Transcriptionists can use the same technique.
However there are places where the use of comma can change the context of the sentence.
For example:
The CEO, Jack Hauser and Brett were present in the meeting.
This sentence implies that the CEO is Jack Hauser.
The CEO, Jack Hauser, and Brett were present in the meeting.
This sentence implies that three people were present at the meeting.
To ensure accuracy a transcriptionist needs to pay attention to the nuances in the
tone of the speaker.
Though the use of comma in general writing has decreased over the years, we transcriptionists
should not hesitate to use the comma to make things clear.
The website english.purdue.edu recommends the following use of commas
- Use commas to separate independent clauses when they are joined by any of these
seven conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet.
- Use commas after introductory a) clauses, b) phrases, or c) words that come before
the main clause.
- Use a pair of commas in the middle of a sentence to set off clauses, phrases, and
words that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Use one comma before
to indicate the beginning of the pause
- Do not use commas to set off essential elements of the sentence, such as clauses
beginning with that (relative clauses). That clauses after nouns are always essential.
That clauses following a verb expressing mental action are always essential.
- Use commas to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses written in a series.
- Use commas to separate two or more coordinate adjectives that describe the same
noun. Be sure never to add an extra comma between the final adjective and the noun
itself or to use commas with non-coordinate adjectives.
- Use a comma near the end of a sentence to separate contrasted coordinate elements
or to indicate a distinct pause or shift.
- Use commas to set off phrases at the end of the sentence that refer to the beginning
or middle of the sentence. Such phrases are free modifiers that can be placed anywhere
in the sentence without causing confusion. (If the placement of the modifier causes
confusion, then it is not "free" and must remain "bound" to the word it modifies.)
- Use commas to set off all geographical names, items in dates (except the month and
day), addresses (except the street number and name), and titles in names.
- Use a comma to shift between the main discourse and a quotation.
- Use commas wherever necessary to prevent possible confusion or misreading.
For the more technical minded here are some further recommendations
- Don't use a comma to separate the subject from the verb.
- Don't put a comma between the two verbs or verb phrases in a compound predicate.
- Don't put a comma between the two nouns, noun phrases, or noun clauses in a compound
subject or compound object.
- Don't put a comma after the main clause when a dependent (subordinate) clause follows
it (except for cases of extreme contrast).