We at Lovely Voice are thrilled that our business is truly international and as previously mentioned in an earlier blog post we have clients in over 40 different countries, which we love.
However, when narrating for overseas clients we do receive a plethora of words and names that are tricky to pronounce and I am sure it comes as no surprise that we want to be 100% correct every time! We’re very, very fastidious and proud to be so.
Most of our clients are incredibly helpful in providing guidance with pronunciation but sometimes we have to do some extra research to ensure we get it right. In a quirky way it’s an enjoyable challenge as the sense of satisfaction when the client confirms they are happy gives us a real sense of achievement.
Our scripts make for “interesting” reading when complicated words pop up. We always write tricky words out phonetically and often add script notes as a reminder (e.g. “rhymes with…..” or “sounds like”). Then of course we practise the word within the sentence over and over to ensure it is delivered at a natural pace rather than rushed to “get it over with”.
This week I had a little dilemma when I was asked to narrate for an exciting new venture. The script started with “Assalamualaikum” which is a greeting meaning “peace be upon you”. The client very kindly gave me a video reference and I watched it intently. However, I couldn’t quite catch the correct pronunciation so rather than bother the client I decided to do my usual digging to see if I could find alternative examples to listen to. Unfortunately I didn’t find a slower version but many different examples, each pronounced slightly differently. I was then totally confused as to which version was correct.
Luckily after explaining my dilemma to the client they kindly came back with a recording of their voice plus a song containing the word. I eventually managed to make a successful recording for the client which they were very happy with but I might have saved myself some time if I hadn’t listened to the song first. It was such a catchy little number that I found myself being able to sing it before I could say it.
I hope this assures Lovely Voice clients and potential clients of our commitment to ensuring your recording sounds exactly as you would like it to be heard and that we’re not fazed by tricky names, words, places or technical, complex terminology.