On the quantity and size of the audio files for the two parts of the ALD (ALD-I and ALD-II) and the “Speaking Atlas” (of ALD-I)
As is well known, all the interviews conducted during the two parts of the ALD were recorded in their entirety. As the table below shows, the resulting technical dimensions are considerable.
| Part of ALD | Σ files | size (GB) | duration (h:min:sec) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALD-I | 24 221 (mp3) | 87 | 1076:41:29 |
| ALD-II | 71 629 (mp3) | 137 | 521:23:02 |
| Speaking atlas | 29 740 (wav) | 1.02 | 6:31:36 |
The reason why the length of the interviews recorded for ALD-I has more than doubled is that two informants were always interviewed at each inquiry point and, as a result, not just 217 but 434 inquiries were carried out.
The increase in the number of audio files and their size observed for ALD-II can be explained, on the one hand, by the more complex linguistic structure of the recorded data and, on the other, by their subsequent computer processing according to more refined standards.
The total duration of the interviews conducted with our informants in the years 1985-1992 (ALD-I) and 2001-2007 (ALD-II) therefore amounts to around 1600 hours.
The relatively short recording time for the “Speaking Atlas” is explained by the highly standardised procedure during the fieldwork and the subsequent segmentation of the recorded sound files.