Applications
By Susan Berkley
When it comes to telephone applications, international definitely doesn't mean
universal.
Human factors we all take for granted in English, such as voice type and
tonality, don't necessarily translate into other languages. Getting your scripts
properly translated, recorded and digitized in another language can be a real
challenge for the harried project manager. What's worse, if your application is
not culturally specific, you inadvertently risk alienating or offending callers,
compromising usage as a result.
To avoid problems in any global application, three key areas must be addressed:
translation, talent selection and speech recording and digitizing.
Translation
A successful global application starts with a good translation. Here are some
tips to help you get it done as accurately as possible.
a.. Your script must be translated by a human, not a computer
Computer translation programs may be fine for translating emails, but they are
not yet sophisticated enough to properly translate telephony scripts with any
degree of accuracy.
Some real-life examples of really embarrassing translation mistakes computers
have made: in Japanese, the phrase "Falling short of expectations" became "The
shorts you expect to wear in the fall." In Russian "The President of the United
States visited Moscow" came out as "The US President is a monkey."
b.. Use experienced professional translators
Companies will often try to save money by having their scripts translated
in-house by someone who speaks the language. But this can cause unexpected
problems. If the translator is a non-native speaker, he or she may have learned
colloquial speech that is appropriate for conversation but not for business.
They may also be unfamiliar with technical terms or with the nuances of gender
and syntax. Even in the same language, telephony terms can differ from country
to country. In Great Britain, the pound sign is referred to as the "hash" sign.
In Canada, the pound sign is a "carr+," and in France it's a "di+se." In Latin
America the star sign is an "estrella," and in Spain it's an "asterisco" or an
"almohadilla."
Another decision that needs to be made is whether to use formal or informal
speech. In romance languages, such as Spanish, French and Portuguese, there is
both a formal and informal form of "you" (tu/usted, tu/vous). In Spanish or
French applications, the informal "tu" is inappropriate. But in Brazilian
Portuguese the informal "you" (v