Multi-Language • Marketing Messages https://www.marketingmessages.com/category/multi-language/ Mon, 31 Jul 2023 14:36:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.1 Putting Patients at The Center of Your Healthcare On Hold Messages https://www.marketingmessages.com/putting-patients-at-the-center-of-your-healthcare-on-hold-messages/ https://www.marketingmessages.com/putting-patients-at-the-center-of-your-healthcare-on-hold-messages/#respond Fri, 28 Jul 2023 15:56:36 +0000 https://www.marketingmessages.com/?p=14358 Healthcare is constantly changing, especially in a post-COVID landscape. And just as the medical field is constantly undergoing changes and new evolutions, at Marketing Messages we have observed that the ways in which on hold messages are employed have also changed. It is no longer enough to keep static music playing while a disembodied voice … Continued

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Healthcare is constantly changing, especially in a post-COVID landscape. And just as the medical field is constantly undergoing changes and new evolutions, at Marketing Messages we have observed that the ways in which on hold messages are employed have also changed. It is no longer enough to keep static music playing while a disembodied voice recites hours of operation.

Delivering healthcare services has become more competitive and demanding, with a strengthened focus on putting the overall patient experience at the center of the healthcare provider’s marketing and communication strategy. Here are some of the ways that professional voice recordings have evolved in support of these important shifts in healthcare priorities.

Transitioning Healthcare On Hold Messaging from Selling Services to Imparting Patient Care Information

Since the COVID pandemic, there has been a growing need for expanding the communication vehicles through which information is communicated to patients that help them to proactively protect and improve their health, especially patients who are older, are afflicted with chronic conditions, and/or live in marginalized communities.

During the height of the pandemic, we saw a huge number of our customers in the healthcare field, from large tertiary hospitals to medical practices ranging from dental clinics to medical specialty centers, come to us asking for new healthcare on hold messages that would help convey vital information in a succinct and comprehensible form.

With more people than ever needing medical information, and the very act of going outside and interacting with others posing a danger, the phone systems became a vital outlet for communicating such information to as many patients as possible.

Guidance and protocols for protecting against COVID were the central priority, but providers also accelerated a trend that pre-dated the pandemic by a few years: focusing less on selling medical services and more on helping the patient through critical and sometimes lifesaving information. Some examples of this practical advice include:

  • Recognizing stroke symptoms and getting immediate help
  • Preventing falls in the home
  • Protecting adults from both tick and mosquito-borne illnesses (for ex. Lyme’s disease)
  • Adequately preparing for medical appointments
  • Getting vaccinated for COVID, flu, shingles, etc.
  • Preventing tooth decay and loss
  • Lowering blood pressure

Providing this kind of information serves a dual purpose: 1) keeping patients healthy, and 2) reinforcing the provider’s brand as empathic, caring, and patient-focused.

Keeping healthcare on hold messages current is critical to keeping patients informed.

To be effective in making your healthcare on hold messaging more effective, it is important to continually update the information to reflect new healthcare developments and knowledge and mirror evolving messaging projected by the provider’s other marketing and communications channels. Many challenges patients encounter are seasonal, so most of our healthcare clients update at least quarterly. Marketing programs and communications are often initiated or updated quarterly as well.
Using on hold messages to address the needs of diverse and underserved stakeholders.

As the American population becomes more diverse, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs increasingly take hold, there has been a growing push within the healthcare community to focus on historically marginalized and underserved populations. Many neighborhoods across the country are home to ESL (English as a Second Language) patients, so more and more healthcare organizations are recording their on hold messages in a variety of languages and dialects, or at least including non-English paragraphs within their English Messages-On-Hold programs.

Doing so is a good idea for at least one practical reason. If you are servicing a community of predominantly Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, or Haitian Creole speakers, among others, then you need to offer assistance that has the best chance of being understood by your callers. It is entirely likely that your organization will have to be of help to a patient or patient’s family who does not speak English.

We have also seen firsthand how much more supported patients and their families feel when the voice on the other end of the phone sounds like them. Callers feel much more comforted if they hear a voice that is personalized and empathetic, even if the message is recorded vs. live.

Also, diverse voice talents and professional translators can lend perspective that English-only speakers do not have. They know how to vocalize concepts in a way that would resonate more with native speakers in underserved communities, ensuring that your messaging is heard, and heard 100% accurately.

In addition to offering over 80 languages, we offer English-speaking voices that would be recognized as People of Color. Click here to hear sample demos of our Black and Hispanic voices

Use One Consistent Voice Across Your On Hold Messaging and Auto Attendant/Call Center Systems

In creating a branded, personalized voice that people will associate with your organization, it is a good idea to make sure that the same professional voice artist who handles your on hold messages also voices any auto-attendant prompts or phone-tree recordings that you need. That way, your patients and other stakeholders will be treated to a unified, consistent caller experience that is both pleasant for the customer and brand-building for your organization. If you’d like to hear sample voices across both applications in a healthcare environment, visit our Healthcare Voice Services webpage.

Find Out More

Get in touch with us today and we’ll be happy to discuss the important shift in healthcare messaging that the industry is undergoing. We enjoy answering any questions you might have and developing the best possible on hold messages for your audience.

We’re here to help whenever you need with whatever you need.

Marketing Messages has also expanded into the podcasting field with our podcast division, ModPod. Podcasts are a great tool for spreading the word about your services, your industry, and your organization. If podcasting is something you have any interest in, feel free to schedule a consult with us today.

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Coached Voice Recording Session for the Ideal IVR Experience https://www.marketingmessages.com/coached-voice-recording-session-for-the-ideal-ivr-experience/ https://www.marketingmessages.com/coached-voice-recording-session-for-the-ideal-ivr-experience/#respond Fri, 24 Feb 2023 21:14:16 +0000 https://www.marketingmessages.com/?p=13776 A professional voice services firm like Marketing Messages can and will go to all reasonable lengths to give its clients the best professional voice recordings possible. But even with trained voice talents and expert audio engineers combining their wealth of first-hand experience, there is still no guarantee that the completed audio is going to sound … Continued

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coached voice recording sessionA professional voice services firm like Marketing Messages can and will go to all reasonable lengths to give its clients the best professional voice recordings possible. But even with trained voice talents and expert audio engineers combining their wealth of first-hand experience, there is still no guarantee that the completed audio is going to sound exactly like what the client expected to hear when they wrote their latest natural language IVR application. This is not a matter of skill or effort, but of basic human truths. Voice User Interface (VUI) designers have specific visions for their projects, and those visions can be difficult to fully capture, even with written instructions. For those situations, the best approach is to ask about putting together a coaching session. Coached voice recording sessions are the ideal way to capture the exact sound you are looking for in your conversational IVR prompts.

What Is a Coached Voice Recording Session?

A coached voice recording session is precisely what it sounds like: A recording session during which the client is present alongside the voiceover talent and the audio engineer and can give live feedback and instruction as to how their script should be performed.

Recording the script in this way virtually guarantees that there will be no errors in the final audio. Mistakes in the scripting can be caught in real-time. The desired speed, tone, and energy can be fine-tuned until it is exactly what the client wants to hear. Suddenly, all the surprise and guesswork has been taken out of the audio recording experience.

This is especially ideal for IVR prompts since the voice user interface IVR prompts are often composed of sentence fractures that will be connected via automated, pre-recorded audio. The prompts themselves make very little sense unless you know how they are going to fit together and what existing audio tracks are going to be used to join them together. And without knowing what the script means, the voice talent and production staff can only make educated guesses about how the script should be performed.

Everybody Wins

A coached session is the very definition of an ‘everybody wins’ scenario. Obviously, the client gets their audio precisely as they always imagined it, with every kink and quirk ironed out during the session. When the final audio is received, the client knows precisely what they will get, making the installation and implementation process much simpler.

But from the behind-the-scenes perspectives, the people working on the audio win too. Voiceover talents and production staff appreciate coached sessions just as, if not more, than the clients. Having the client there to give notes and instruction means that everyone involved in the project can have a totally clear vision of the objective that they are chasing, and then work together to bring that vision into being. This is exponentially preferable to endless rounds of emails and phone calls trying to encapsulate tastes and preferences or having to redo the same audio multiple times to make corrections and changes.

Our Recent Success

Just this past month, Marketing Messages had the opportunity to do one of our most in-depth coaching sessions ever. The massive project involved hundreds upon hundreds of IVR prompts, with different sessions for both English and Spanish voiceover talents.

Because of the ease and convenience of modern technology, we could set up a session that involved a VUI designer in Seattle, a company representative in Texas, a voice talent in Connecticut, and an audio engineer in Maine. I mean, we’re talking about a group of people who are about as separate as people can get!

And yet, the sessions were a smashing success, and the massive project was able to go on without a hitch. Mistakes and errors in the script were caught on the fly. The VUI designer and the client’s brand representative were able to explain where in the call flow each prompt of the IVR script was, enabling a better and more cohesive vocal performance. Everyone could get on the same page and drive towards the same shared goal.

Set Up Your Own Coached Voice Recording Session Today

Coached sessions are the ideal way for any conversational script designer to get the exact sound they want from our voice talents. So, contact us today about setting up your own coaching session, so you can get your audio, just the way you want it.

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Translating Tips for a Global Market https://www.marketingmessages.com/international-approach-voice-messages/ https://www.marketingmessages.com/international-approach-voice-messages/#respond Fri, 20 Jan 2023 20:17:49 +0000 https://www.marketingmessages.com/?p=13715 Business is a global concern. As such, if you are a company with any sort of international component, and you almost certainly are, than it is important to cover a wide range of languages for your voice messages and other professional voice recordings. In the USA alone, you can reasonably expect callers to have English, … Continued

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International Approach To Voice MessagesBusiness is a global concern. As such, if you are a company with any sort of international component, and you almost certainly are, than it is important to cover a wide range of languages for your voice messages and other professional voice recordings. In the USA alone, you can reasonably expect callers to have English, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, or Canadian French as their primary language. This range only expands when you take into consideration Europe and Asia, not to mention the regional-specific variations on common languages that abound, depending on where you are located and what customer base you are trying to serve. Having an international approach to voice messages isn’t just smart, it’s downright necessary.

But there are some smart policies to have in place in order to get the best translations and the best voice recordings. One question that you should be prepared to answer before beginning a project is what items in the script should not be translated?

When Not To Translate

In our experience, customers doing global projects tend to insist that if nothing else, the company name should remain in English no matter what other languages are involved in a project. This consistency is important for a company trying to maintain a single global brand.

It is important to note that letters and numbers, even if they are displayed the same across multiple countries, and look the same when reviewing a script, are often pronounced wildly differently from one language to the next. Before submitting a script, ask yourself if your audience will be best-served by abbreviations and technical terms (things along the lines of “W-2s”) or numbers (like a phone number, for instance) or website information (such as “w w w” or the “dot” in dot com) being performed in the native tongue of the voice artist, or remaining in English no matter what language the rest of the message requires.

When developing IVR prompts for navigation through your phone system, this distinction applies to the titles of departments and the categories that a customer will maneuver through. And we have seen different approaches taken by different companies. Some clients ask that every single letter, number, symbol, and abbreviation be translated. Others cherry pick individual items and pieces of a sentence to remain in English, believing that this will assist not only with a customer’s navigations but with their own internal assembling of the IVR prompts.

Consistency

What approach you take is ultimately entirely in your hands, depending on what you think will best serve your system and customer base. But once that decision is made, it is vital to keep that same approach across the board. Do not have a Spanish voice talent read “w w w” using the Spanish pronunciation of those letters, while asking the French voice talent to read the same letters but using the English pronunciation. This sort of inconsistency will lead to confusion not only on your part as you try to sort out and assemble your recordings, but on the part of the vendors who are trying to juggle all your needs to deliver the finished product on schedule while meeting professional standards.

In all matters concerning on hold messages, IVR prompts, and other voiceover recordings and translating projects, it is always best to make confident, informed choices at the very beginning of the project, and to then communicate those choices to your vendors so they will know how to proceed without having to do extra diligence. That way, the process of creating and implementing your voice prompts can be as smooth and painless as possible.

Contact Us Today for an International Approach To Voice Messages

If you’re interested in taking an international approach to voice messages, then contact us today and we’ll be more than happy to provide you with all the resources and expertise we have to help you create the best message for the broadest audience.

Visit our website and fill out the form to download even more tips on creating multi-language IVR prompts.

We look forward to hearing from you!

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Let Our Multilanguage Experience Benefit Your Company https://www.marketingmessages.com/voice-recordings-multiple-languages/ https://www.marketingmessages.com/voice-recordings-multiple-languages/#respond Wed, 21 Sep 2022 18:00:56 +0000 https://www.marketingmessages.com/?p=13541 No matter how carefully you plan, deploying a multi-language project is a huge undertaking with numerous pitfalls that can result in major problems and delays. It is very easy for such a project to become even more complex than originally planned, and with increased complexity comes increased time, effort, and expense. Over the life of … Continued

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voice recordings multiple languagesNo matter how carefully you plan, deploying a multi-language project is a huge undertaking with numerous pitfalls that can result in major problems and delays. It is very easy for such a project to become even more complex than originally planned, and with increased complexity comes increased time, effort, and expense. Over the life of our company, Marketing Messages has provided audio in over 80 languages for countless clients across the globe. All our experience is at your disposal if and when you need professional voice recordings in multiple languages.

Shortcut Pitfalls

Part of any successful project is, from the start, acknowledging the things you do not know and making an effort to either close those gaps in your knowledge or at the very least to engage people and services who have a proven track record, and trusting them to help you.

This is a long way around to reiterating a stance that we have repeated ad nauseum: Do not think that you can just plug your text into Google Translate or some other free service and it will spit out coherent translations. Do not think that you can just have a co-worker who took a couple years of Spanish in high school record your self-produced translation and that this will in any way meet professional qualities of sound and coherence.

These shortcuts may result in complete auto attendant prompts, IVR prompts, or on hold messages, but the recordings will be of pronounced lower quality, may very well prove to be unintelligible to native speakers of the languages you are attempting to address, and communicate only disregard and disinterest to your customers and partners. There is, simply, no substitute for putting in the time and effort to make sure voiceover recordings are not only done, but done right. And the best way to ensure that they are done right is to engage with professionals who have done this work before.

A Global Network for Voice Recordings – Multiple Languages

Here at Marketing Messages, we not only have our own decades of experience to bring to the table, but we in turn rely on a global network of translators and voice over talents to bring their own expertise to each project.

Whether we are discussing the intricacies of the numerous variations on the Chinese language, or determining which words and phrases should remain in English in a script, the value derived from this kind of personalized service with a local perspective is incalculable. And beyond the practical benefits of your messages and prompts sounding better, when this amount of attention is paid to things like IVR prompts, items which your competitors may dismiss as unimportant, it tells your global customers that you care about them, and that you will go the extra mile to be of service.

Marketing Messages has developed our network of global talents over decades, and we only work with proven, trustworthy voice talents and translators who are reliable and credible. And should a voice talent become unavailable, we have replacements and alternates ready to go, making us prepared for just about any request that comes through the door.

We Are Here to Help

Professional voice recordings in multiple languages are a complicated matter, especially if this is the first time that you have been charged with creating them. Maybe you have been moved to a new role in your company and recordings have suddenly fallen under your purview. Maybe your company has only recently begun to expand to global considerations and you are facing an audience and scope that your business has not had to face before. These projects can absolutely seem overwhelming and intimidating.

Marketing Messages is here to help. We have a wealth of experience across virtually every kind of audio recording project you can imagine, and a trusted network of professional talents that can handle dozens upon dozens of languages from across the globe.

So make your life easier and give us a call or shoot us an email today to talk about your multilanguage project. Put our expertise to your work.

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Will Your Portuguese Recording Be Played for Brazilian or European Markets? https://www.marketingmessages.com/portuguese-recording-brazilian-european/ https://www.marketingmessages.com/portuguese-recording-brazilian-european/#respond Thu, 28 Oct 2021 19:00:07 +0000 https://www.marketingmessages.com/?p=12717 We have spoken in the past about how important it is to be aware of the variances that can exist within international languages, and today we’re going to talk a little about another language that is extremely important for anyone trying to create an inclusive voice message. Portuguese is the fifth most widely spoken language, … Continued

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Portuguese Recording Brazilian EuropeanWe have spoken in the past about how important it is to be aware of the variances that can exist within international languages, and today we’re going to talk a little about another language that is extremely important for anyone trying to create an inclusive voice message. Portuguese is the fifth most widely spoken language, with hundreds of millions of native speakers spread across the globe. Many places in America are densely populated with Portuguese speakers, who will obviously be better served if your IVR prompts and other messages have an option in their native language. But should you utilize a Brazilian or European Portuguese recording?

Quick history lesson! Portuguese spread worldwide in the 15th and 16th century as a result of Portugal creating a colonial and commercial empire that lasted up until 1975. Because of this, Portuguese took root in many places, especially South America, and became the dominant tongue. Brazil accounts for over 50% of the population of South America, and Portuguese is the native language for 99.9% of the Brazilian population.

And for how widespread Portuguese already is, it is also continuously expanding in usage. African nations are increasingly adopting Portuguese, and it is expected that tens of millions of more speakers are going to be added yearly.

So let’s say that you are interested in having at least one recording in Portuguese in order to address and direct clientele for whom that is their native language. But the decision-making process does not end there. Before prepping any kind of voice message or looking for any kind of voice translation, you should determine which version of Portuguese is the one you want.

Portuguese Recording, Brazilian & European – What’s the Difference?

There are two major variants that you might encounter: Brazilian Portuguese, and European Portuguese. As their names no doubt describe, European Portuguese is the original mother-tongue from Portugal, while Brazilian Portuguese is the version that evolved in Brazil and is now the dominant incarnation of the language across South America.

European Portuguese is the more formal of the two languages, whereas “Brazilian Portuguese has a unique rhythm that makes it stand out as soon as you hear it. It is very musical and quite clear. European Portuguese, in contrast, is rather fast. Actually, many learners claim that this is one of the reason why Brazilian Portuguese is much easier to follow.”

As we discussed in our Mandarin vs. Cantonese blog, the Brazilian and European versions of the Portuguese language are largely similar, with much of the distinction between them coming from the differences in pronunciation, stress, and speaking rhythms. A Brazilian Portuguese speaker will be able to understand a European Portuguese speaker, and vice versa, but the accents and delivery will make for an awkward and strained delivery.

And there are cultural differences separating the languages as well, the kind of thing that a word-for-word system like Google Translate would not know to catch. There are nouns and verbs that are shared by both versions of Portuguese but that mean entirely different things.

As one particularly drastic example, “rapariga” in European Portuguese is an innocent word that means “girl”. In Brazilian Portuguese, “rapariga” means prostitute. So. You’re going to want to be careful with these things.

Making Decisions

So are you going to want your Portuguese recording in Brazilian or European? The answer lies in what audience you are expecting to utilize the IVR prompts or listen to the Auto Attendant prompts in question. If you are in North America, you will most likely need to tailor your voice recordings to Brazilian Portuguese, especially if you are based out of California or Massachusetts, as these states are each home to hundreds of thousands of Brazilian Portuguese speakers.

But if you’re anticipating an overseas audience, then European Portuguese will probably be the better fit.

And there are other variations and dialects of the language beyond what we have described here. There’s Cape Verdean Portuguese, Macanese Portuguese… In India they have Damanese Portuguese and Goan Portuguese, etc., etc.

The important thing is to consider the audience your voice recordings are intended for, and to make educated choices based on what will best serve your needs. And once you have made your decision, engage with knowledgeable and experienced professionals for both the translation and the recording, to make sure your customers and partners are getting the best experience possible.

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Increase Customer Engagement with Multi-lingual Audio Guided Tours https://www.marketingmessages.com/multi-lingual-audio-guide/ Wed, 04 Aug 2021 13:58:24 +0000 https://www.marketingmessages.com/?p=12391 There are always more and more surprising, creative uses and deployment of audio and of professional voice recordings than you might expect. For example, you might, at first blush, have difficulty imagining what use a place like, say, a museum would have for a voiceover recording. Surely a live PA system and in-person guide could … Continued

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Multi-lingual Audio Guide listening in museumThere are always more and more surprising, creative uses and deployment of audio and of professional voice recordings than you might expect. For example, you might, at first blush, have difficulty imagining what use a place like, say, a museum would have for a voiceover recording. Surely a live PA system and in-person guide could cover any and all needs for the average visit. But as the world slowly opens again and people begin to travel to all the corners of the map they never had time for before, international travel is on the rise. For an audience who may not speak the native tongue but still want to experience their destination’s culture, you have to get creative. The tool we’ve seen get the most use is a Multi-lingual Audio Guide.

Multi-lingual Audio Guides have actually been with us for a while. The very first “ambulatory lecture” was invented in 1952 by Willem Sandberg, director of Stedelijik Museum in Amsterdam. The goal was to create an experience, “individually controllable by each visitor, which was content-rich, was personal to them, was available at any time, and suited learning styles not served by catalog, text panel, or label.”

The voice narration for these audio tours was broadcast through a closed-circuit shortwave radio, with versions in Dutch, French, English and German. Even over a half century ago, people needed to be mindful of a global audience! That being said, our understanding of what “global” entails has certainly expanded quite a bit. Nowadays, it is standard to at the very least include a recording in Spanish for general audiences.

Sandberg’s shortwave radio broadcasting system was designed so that the signal would only be picked up by those visitors who tuned in through a portable radio receiver, with headphones, while they were inside the area covered by the radio system. In this way, Sandberg’s museum was often filled with groups of visitors walking through the galleries in silence as if they were all being directed by “an invisible force.”

Modern Updates

Of course, while the principle purpose of a Multi-Lingual Audio Guide is unchanged, the techniques for implementing an “ambulatory lecture” have evolved.

With the rise of Smart Phones, audio tours are now made available through platforms like Youtube or Apple Music. Modern audio guides are much easier to customize, allowing the visitor to select the length of the tour and how they explore all the offerings on display.

The British Museum, which is located in Britain, one assumes, boasts an audio guide that features 275 expert commentaries, audio, video, text and images that provide in-depth information, self-guided tours for exploring the museum, and a digital souvenir you can send to yourself with a list of everything you visited during your stay.

Other museums have also found ways to marry their voice narration with video and other visual components to make their tours as immersive, informative, and entertaining as possible.

As we said at the beginning, the possibilities for how audio can be used to engage an audience is limitless, bound only by your imagination. And if you make the effort to include voice translation in your projects, you can expand that audience to include as many people as possible.

We are not saying, of course, that a Multi-Lingual Audio Guide is a good idea for everyone and every business. But the audio guide was developed from a simple idea for how to improve customers’ experiences, then brought to life through ingenuity and improved with time and experience. So ask those questions of your own industry: What could improve the experience, and how can you bring that improvement to life?

For more information on the invention of guided audio tours, click here!

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Cantonese vs Mandarin Scripts Look the Same but Sound So Different! https://www.marketingmessages.com/cantonese-vs-mandarin-scripts/ Thu, 10 Jun 2021 19:00:23 +0000 https://www.marketingmessages.com/?p=12241 It happens all the time. A client will come to us with a burning need for some international voiceover recordings. They might need Spanish voice recordings for Spain, or French recordings for France, and all that is easy enough. But oftentimes when a customer comes to us with a need for recordings (and possibly voice … Continued

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Cantonese vs. Mandarin scripts Chinese lanternsIt happens all the time. A client will come to us with a burning need for some international voiceover recordings. They might need Spanish voice recordings for Spain, or French recordings for France, and all that is easy enough. But oftentimes when a customer comes to us with a need for recordings (and possibly voice translations) for China, they will ask for “Chinese”. But the Chinese language is a bit more complicated than that, as there are major differences between Cantonese vs Mandarin scripts.

To look at a Cantonese or a Mandarin script, you might be confused as to why there is such a difference. The characters are functionally identical to one another, whether you are looking at a Cantonese script or a Mandarin one. But it is in the reading of those characters, in the specific dialects used to shape those characters, that Cantonese and Mandarin are wildly different from one another.

Mandarin is the official language of China. It is the main spoken dialect of the larger cities, including Beijing, and is the primary dialect of northern and central China. In addition, Mandarin is the primary dialect of Taiwan. However, “Taiwanese Mandarin” is its own distinct dialect and requires a different voice talent than standard, “neutral” Mandarin.

Cantonese is a minority dialect, but this is where things get interesting. The vast majority of speakers in China utilize Mandarin over Cantonese, with an estimated 933 million Mandarin speakers rather than 63 million Cantonese speakers.

Diaspora

But! This is where things get a little more complicated/more interesting! You see, Cantonese is the primary dialect of southeast China, including the Guangdong Province. The Guangdong Province accounts for a disproportionally large percentage of the Chinese population that went to live abroad, and so even though Cantonese is the minority language in China itself, it is the primary language of the Chinese diaspora. Meaning that if you are encountering the Chinese language somewhere other than China, the dialect you are most likely hearing is actually Cantonese.

As one example, Cantonese is the primary dialect in Hong Kong. You will find that whilst most people, and businesses, in Hong Kong are fluent in Mandarin, the preferred dialect is Cantonese and using Mandarin in casual conversation might earn you some dirty looks.

So what does all this mean for you as you construct your on hold messages or IVR prompts? It means that you should approach the script for a new voice message by asking yourself who is your intended audience, and how can you best communicate with them? Ask yourself how and where these recordings will be deployed, and then tailor the messages to reflect that need.

Determining whether you need Cantonese vs. Mandarin scripts is just one part of the process for creating messaging intended for a global audience. Marketing Messages offers voice talents in both dialects, so be sure to take a peek at our library of available voices.

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How We Aid Hearing with Voice Recordings for Starkey https://www.marketingmessages.com/aid-hearing-with-voice-recordings-starkey/ Tue, 01 Jun 2021 14:00:14 +0000 https://www.marketingmessages.com/?p=12217 Here at Marketing Messages, we are no strangers to projects that involve more than one language. While most jobs only require one voice talent, it is certainly not uncommon for a client to request multiple voice talents to cover a number of different languages from around the globe. And then there are the assignments we … Continued

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hearing aid voice recordings woman profileHere at Marketing Messages, we are no strangers to projects that involve more than one language. While most jobs only require one voice talent, it is certainly not uncommon for a client to request multiple voice talents to cover a number of different languages from around the globe. And then there are the assignments we receive from Starkey, a hearing aid company. Starkey requires 62 voice talents covering 31 different languages. Wrangling all those voice talents across the globe and assembling voice prompts to fit within Starkey’s technical specifications is a complex process, but all that complexity is worth it for the chance to aid hearing with voice recordings.

Starkey will use voice recordings consisting of one to two words as audio queues for their hearing aids, allowing their users to identify which room setting they’ve selected, adjusting audio levels to the appropriate volumes. In order to make sure that the hearing aids can help the largest amount of people possible, the voice recordings will cover 31 languages with options for both male and female voices – including everything from Hungarian to Hindi, from Indonesian to Welsh, and from Norwegian to Czech.

Some of these languages do not have a high demand among our client base. There’s not always a pressing need for Welsh recordings, for example. So, it takes time and skill to identify appropriate voice talents for each language. The task is doubly difficult for identifying male voices, as 85% of voice work is done by female performers. We maintain a strict vetting process to ensure that only the best professional voice talents are employed for this, or any, production.

And as if needing to wrangle that many voices in that many languages wasn’t complicated enough, there are also extremely stringent technical limitations for these voiceover recordings. The finished files cannot be any longer than 1.33 seconds, each, in order to properly function on the hearing aids. This requires working with our voice talents to identify synonyms if the length of a proposed word exceeds the limit. For example, our female Hungarian voice talent, Eperke, identified that there was an alternative phrase she could use in place of the provided translation that would both communicate the same information but better fit within the time constraints. After consulting with Starkey to approve this update, Eperke’s recommendations became the final version. Also, working within these time constraints required meticulous editing by our audio engineers.

Global Language Solutions

Each language has its own unique characteristics, sometimes requiring different treatment than others, and this problem is exacerbated when there are so many languages at play. We make it easy by having a standard process for both script management and audio processing, which helps us to deliver finished productions quickly and accurately. This process is supported by a deep bench of voice talents from across the globe that we can utilize, and an experienced production team that moves quickly and efficiently to edit huge amounts of raw audio into professional quality.

Ultimately, whatever difficulties this process entails are worth it for the knowledge that the finished audio will aid hearing with voice recordings. Like our work with the World Health Organization there is special satisfaction to knowing that doing good work will not only satisfy a customer, but also be of real help to people in need.

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4 Multi-Language Voiceover Minefields and How to Sidestep Them https://www.marketingmessages.com/multi-language-voiceover/ Fri, 02 Apr 2021 19:37:54 +0000 https://www.marketingmessages.com/?p=11884 In the latest episode of “Voices Carry” podcast, husband and wife hosts Jim Giebutowski and Janet Kraus discuss some of the ins and outs regarding multi-language voiceover, in particular some of the minefields that occur while recording professional messages. Being able to communicate authentically with a customer in their native language is a huge part … Continued

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Voices Carry podcastIn the latest episode of “Voices Carry” podcast, husband and wife hosts Jim Giebutowski and Janet Kraus discuss some of the ins and outs regarding multi-language voiceover, in particular some of the minefields that occur while recording professional messages.

Being able to communicate authentically with a customer in their native language is a huge part of establishing trust, credibility, and, eventually, sales. It is important that your voice messages can connect with a wide audience and having professional voice recordings is a major part of this, whether you are creating IVR prompts or on-hold messages. Multi-language voiceover professionals, like those on our roster of talents, have perfected this art.

However, despite this importance, there are several common mistakes and challenges. In this episode, Jim outlines the four most common challenges encountered by companies trying to create multi-language voiceover messages.

So, get cozy and enjoy episode two of the Voices Carry Podcast, and let Jim and Janet explain some of the intricacies and details of the audio world. You might just find some handy information for the next time you need to build some new multi-language voiceover messages. You might also hear a funny tale about some quirky co-worker, an anecdote about a party or two, learn to predict the future of voiceover, and finally learn a really simple cocktail recipe. In the world of professionally recorded voice messaging for IVR, Auto-Attendant, on-hold messages, narration, explainer videos, telecom codecs, and industrious audio editors with an ear for perfection – sidestepping multi-language voiceover minefields is a walk in the park.

If you don’t face the challenge of multi-language recordings…if you don’t clear those minefields…you could lose trust, lose credibility, lose sales. Avoid this at all costs. You might be wondering how when the answer is so very simple and elegant, it’s staring you in the ear.

No one wants to lose sales. Listen to this episode now

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Using Professional Voice Translators for Your Voice Messages https://www.marketingmessages.com/using-professional-voice-translation-voice-messages/ https://www.marketingmessages.com/using-professional-voice-translation-voice-messages/#comments Thu, 24 Dec 2020 15:15:39 +0000 https://www.marketingmessages.com/?p=9130 Today, we focus on using professional translators for voice messages. As we discussed in last week’s post, Choosing a Professional Talent for Your Voice Recordings, it is always a good idea to use professional Voice Artists for your organization’s voice messages, whether you are looking for a longer on hold message or for shorter Auto … Continued

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professional translators voice messages plaqueToday, we focus on using professional translators for voice messages.

As we discussed in last week’s post, Choosing a Professional Talent for Your Voice Recordings, it is always a good idea to use professional Voice Artists for your organization’s voice messages, whether you are looking for a longer on hold message or for shorter Auto Attendant and IVR prompts. Just because technology makes creating your own recordings easier does not mean you will easily end up with a professional product.

The same principle holds true for when you need to translate a message for your global audience. It may seem like a simple matter to plug your needed text into Google Translate and use whatever gets spit out. But these sorts of translation software often perform only ‘word-for-word’ translation and make an absolute mess out of syntax, punctuation, and the ordering of words. Even if the message is ‘technically’ correct, the result will read as gibberish to native speakers.

Other intricacies can be lost if you simply plug text into a translation software and use what it gives you without further verification. For instance: Not all countries use “AM” and “PM” to denote times, and using such references will be meaningless to your intended audience. A service like Google Translate is not going to know how to amend those times to fit a specific country.

But a professional translator will.

To provide the best service possible, and subconsciously remind your global customer and partner base that you respect them and will put in the due diligence needed, it is vital to use a professional voice translation service. Ideally, you would use the same vendor for translation as you would for voice recordings, as this cuts down on errors and makes the process go both smoother and faster. Often, a vendor will have talent on hand who both translate and record, or who have worked together for a long period of time. This will result in quickly, skillfully assembled professional voice messages.

You may think that another smart shortcut would be to have someone in the office who speaks the needed language provide the translation services. Again, you run the risk of losing both accuracy and consistency. Non-professional translators are susceptible to using colloquialisms, slang, and localized forms of their language, just as English speakers develop variations depending on where they are from. And one thing you don’t need a customer or partner worrying about when trying to negotiate through an IVR system is a garbled message with exclusive phrasing. It is also important that the translator understand the specific regional requirements of a given language. Recordings in Spanish may need to be different depending on whether the call is originating from Spain or Latin America, and professional translators for voice messages will be proficient in the respective regional idiosyncrasies.

While the use of voice translation services ensures linguistic accuracy, it can still be very useful to have a native speaker on staff review the translations before recording. That can ensure that the finished voice messages meet the requirements of all the stakeholders for the finished project. Once you have developed trust with your vendor, you can begin to skip this step and know that the translation has been efficiently and expediently.

We at Marketing Messages are ready to help, and pardon the pun, we want to put our money where our mouth is. For the month of January, we are offering free translation for up to 400 words in one language for any company who has not yet contracted with us for translation services in that language. This includes our current customers who have employed Marketing Messages for translation in other languages. Just click here if you’re interested in this offer, and we’ll be in touch!

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