This document will take you through the steps to create a successful translatable voice-over narration.

1. T R A N S L AT I O N R E S O U R C E S

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Michaels & Associates Docntrain, Ltd. dba Michaels & Associates
11639 E. Wethersfield Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85259 USA
marketing@docntrain.com www.docntrain.com
Phone: 480-614-8440 Toll-free: 877-614-8440 Fax: 480-614-2775
Copyright © 2008 Michaels & Associates Docntrain, Ltd. dba Michaels & Associates. All rights reserved.
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A S U C C E S S F U L V O I C E - O V E R N A R R AT I O N I S T H E
R E S U LT O F S E V E R A L D I S T I N C T S T E P S :
1. The English narrative must be written for translation.
2. The English narrative must be translated into the target language.
3. The voice-over must be created in a studio.
4. The voice-over must be integrated into the training software.
To evaluate and price the services you need, you can:
1. Secure a Non-disclosure Agreement from the translation vendors you wish
consider.
2. Request a Proof of Concept (one or two pages) of your sample narrative.
3. Send a word count and ask for pricing. If the company is quoting pounds or
other non-USA currency, ensure you have a clear understanding of the
exchange rate. You may even lock in an exchange rate.
4. Send a brief RFP to learn about potential vendors’ processes, pricing,
experience in the work you desire to be completed and in your industry and
typical turnaround time. List the languages you will use. In spoken languages,
more than in written, there tend to be dialect differences. For example, the
Spanish of Spain is different from the Spanish of the Americas. Ensure you are
specific as to the target dialect or countries you are targeting for the
communication.
5. Complete an agreement of services so that neither you nor the vendor is
surprised by the services expected and fulfilled.
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The following is a short list of
translation vendors currently
Translation of Narrative
available.
There are many translation companies, and the industry is constantly in flux. Typically, a translation company will
Interpro Translation
have a few in-house translators and rely on a variety of contractors that are often paid around $15-20 an hour.
Solutions
The same contractors may be tested and under contract with several translation vendors. The range of cost per
www.interproinc.com
word of translation is typically 20 to 40 cents a word for first time translation, 12 cents a word for “fuzzy matches”
(text that has been translated before but has somewhat changed) and 7 cents a word for repeat words. Lionbridge
www.lionbridge.com
If you edit a document that has already been translated, using Track Changes or otherwise marking the changes
Oxford Conversis Ltd.
in the document will help minimize the cost of the next translation. www.oxford-conversis.com
Larger companies have greater overhead and may charge more. However, they may be able to more quickly turn Prisma
projects around. Smaller companies may have a lower cost but may not meet your needs in other ways. www.prisma.com
Transware, Inc.
If your organization has ongoing translation requirements, it can be cost saving to build a translation memory in a
www.transwareinc.com
software product like Trados. This way, the text that has already been translated is not translated a second time.
The software identifies the changed text for translation. The vendor will supply this third party product, and your Translations.com
organization will be free to move from one translation organization to another. Make sure your agreement with the www.translations.com
translation vendor includes who owns your translation memory. You can save cost by providing the translation TTC Creative Translation
vendor with a list of commonly used industry terms and their meanings, known unusual spellings or phrases and www.ttcweb.com
other text that may be difficult to translate.
Translation companies may want you to use their in-house proprietary software memory; but, you are then tied to
that translation company for some time. It is best to have flexibility and independence from a translation vendor.
However, it is cost effective to use one or two vendors to realize savings in cost negotiations and have a
repeatable process in place.
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The following is a short list of voice
over vendors currently available.
Creation of Voice-Over
Voices
10,000 talents in over 100 If the translation vendor you choose does not do the voice-over studio work, you will need to secure a vendor for
languages with 75,000 the voice-over. Vendors may have Web sites where you can listen to talent to choose the voice that will best
clients worldwide. Post a represent your organization. You can post jobs, select the voice and handle QA. Voices (www.voices.com) has an
informative video explaining how these organizations work.
job, select the talent, leave
a deposit and pay when
you are done.Solutions
www.voices.com
Procommss
Listen to voices from all
over the world. Have
experience in Flash,
PowerPoint and related
voice-overs.
www.procommss.com
Voice123
Select from existing voices
or post a project for
pricing. Many languages.
www.voice123.com
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Writing for Translation Guidelines
Even if there are not translation plans for your document, it is impossible to say today what might be
translated tomorrow, or into what language it might be translated. Whenever you write, assume that a
non-native speaker is going to have to read, understand, and translate it into another language.
Follow good writing practices
• Write clearly. Use simple sentence structures.
• Limit the number of nouns that qualify a noun.
• Repeat nouns instead of using backward-pointing pronouns like “it,” “they,” “this” or “these.”
• Put phrases as close as possible to the nouns that they modify.
• Avoid an informal style, such as slang or clichés.
• Avoid contractions, such as: we’ll, haven't, won't, aren't, we’d, it’s, she’s, he’ll, etc.
• Avoid long strings of nouns. Reorganize sentences to include articles and prepositions that make
the meaning clearer.
• Avoid gerunds (nouns derived from progressive verb forms) in sentences; it can be unclear
whether to translate them as nouns or verbs.
• Avoid use of auxiliary verbs such as "shall be", "may be", "may have", and "should be."
• Be careful when using adverbs such as "when", "while", and "where", because they can have
many meanings, some of which are contradictory and can lead to incorrect translations.
• Ensure spelling and grammar is correct.
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Pay attention to dates and numbers
• Use the standard American format of commas as the thousands separator and periods
as the decimal separator. The translator can localize the number.
• When translating numbers, be alert to potential differences in meaning. The word
"billion" means "one thousand million" in the United States, but in other countries can
mean what Americans refer to as a "trillion."
• Avoid using the short forms of dates. The order in which the date is given varies from
country to country and could be interpreted incorrectly. The date "1/2/2001", for
example, could be translated as January 2nd or February 1st. Spell out the month
(abbreviating if necessary) and place it first. Do not use ordinal numbers (January 2nd);
use cardinal numbers instead (January 2).
Optimize translation output
• Do not use telegraphic writing: Telegraphic writing is a terse form of English in which articles, prepositions, and other small words are omitted
in order to reduce word count. Omitting these words makes the translation process more difficult. For example, the phrase "Empty file" could be
interpreted as "This file is empty", "Empty the file", or "An empty file."
• Use consistent language: Pick a single word to describe a single concept, and use that word every time, even if it seems monotonous.
• Use an article or a descriptor to clarify the part of speech of a word.
• Include relative pronouns even when they are not required.
• Write list items as complete clauses or complete sentences.
• Include the article in lists of nouns or noun phrases.
• Minimize ambiguity. Avoid homographs.
• Use words with their primary dictionary meaning.
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Be aware of differences in written graphics and metaphors
• There are cultural differences in graphics and metaphors. For example "wizards" are called "assistants" in some countries. A mailbox icon used
to represent e-mail might not make sense to readers in a region where mailboxes look different from the ones the author had in mind.
• Scenarios used as examples must be globally understood. Using a gourmet food company as a scenario for a demonstration, for example,
would seem very strange in countries where luxury goods are not common.
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Use recommended punctuation and formatting
• Always use commas correctly in coordinate phrases and clauses.
• Add two spaces after a full stop or a colon. Add one space after
a comma or semicolon.
• Use a combination of punctuation, capitalization and font to
identify a name such as an object name or a function.
• Do not use a dash as a punctuation mark.
• Avoid using a slash (/) for alternate values.
• Separate subordinate phrases and clauses from the main clause
with commas.
• Hyphenate word phrases that modify or qualify other words.
• In cases where the absence of a hyphen could lead to confusion,
one should be included.
• Use parentheses sparingly, and only when the enclosed material
is independent of the meaning for the sentence.
• Do not break up heading or introductory sentences over table
boundaries or into lists, as these may require significant rewriting
by the translators when the structure of the sentence changes in
another language.
Exploit product features
• Tag text that should not be translated.
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Review Form
Please rate each vendor on a scale of 1 to 5:
Proof of Concept Reviewer Form
Unacceptable
If you send several pages for a Proof of Concept to translation
or voice-over vendors, use this review form to summarize the Adequate
results. In-house or third party multi-lingual staff is typically Average
used to review a Proof of Concept.
Excellent
Outstanding
Company Content Grammar Punctuation Localization Formatting Notes
accuracy
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Narration Scripting Guidelines
There are many styles of voice scripts. The bias in this document, however, is toward corporate presentations, technical narration, promotional videos,
and instructional / interactive tutorials.
Document Format
Deliver scripts for voice talent electronically using a standard
Windows program like Microsoft Word. If using a database or other
word processing program, convert to a Windows .TXT file. Use the
following standards:
• Font Size - 14 or 18 point
• Font Style - Arial or Helvetica
• Sentence case
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Character Descriptions
Actors
When describing actors, remember the big three characteristics: gender, age and ethnicity and/or nationality. It is not prejudice to mention these items
in the script; it is just the opposite. By identifying the characters in this way, the writer can insure an equitable and fair mix of those three
characteristics.
Dialog/Narration
Dialog is a script written to be performed by a character in a production (for example, a
conversation between two employees or a customer talking to the camera). Narration is a script
written to be performed by a narrator. Usually the narrator is just a friendly voice welcoming,
explaining and directing the user. A narrator whose likeness actually appears in the program is
called a host, presenter or stand-up. When writing a script containing dialog and narration, it is
important to make clear who is speaking. Ambiguous statements like "someone at the table" slow
down the production and should not be used. In a long-form linear presentation, start each line of
script with the speakers name and leave a blank line between each different speaker.
For example:
(Mary) Where is Bob?
(Jim) He is not here yet.
(Mary) Oh, there he is now!
(Bob) Hi everyone!
(Narrator) Do not be late like Bob.
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Quotes are not necessary in the storyboard type format. When the only speaker in a production is the narrator, it is not necessary to include the word
narrator at all. Additionally, interactive or segmented productions may require a different file for each line of script or for a grouping. Always precede
the script with the file name. The file name should appear on a line by itself without any punctuation or special treatment other than possibly bolding. It
is not necessary to leave a space between the file name and the first line of the script. For example:
1013
(Mary) Where is Bob?
(Jim) He is not here yet.
1015
(Mary) Oh, there he is now!
(Bob) Hi everyone!
1020
(Narrator) Do not be late like Bob.
The most important thing to remember about scripting dialog and narration is to remember that you are writing
something that will be heard by the user not read. It is not as important to spell things properly as it is to spell
things in a way that makes the pronunciation very clear for the narrator.
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Punctuation and Pronunciation
Identify how acronyms should be pronounced in the audio script. For example: UNICEF is pronounced “you-neh-sef” as
opposed to spelled out as U-N-I-C-E-F.
Identify how names, terms or company-specific terminology should be pronounced in the audio script. Use tools such as the
Merriam-Webster online dictionary to provide audio examples of how a term should be pronounced. For example, click the red
audio icon next to the term Linoleic Acid: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/linoleic%20acid.
Punctuation
Use proper punctuation. This is important since it can change the meaning of a sentence.
Military-Speak
The military loves to leave out words in their technical manuals. A phrase like “Open the battery compartment”
becomes “Open battery compartment.” When writing narration while extracting information from manuals it’s very
easy to fall into that style. It does not, however, sound good when spoken out loud by a narrator. Narrators typically
try to speak in a friendly, but knowledgeable manner.
The military and government also love acronyms. Abbreviations frequently become words. The Antisubmarine
Warfare Command School might appear in narration as ASWCS. In reality it is pronounced “as wicks,” so “as-
wicks” should be substituted for ASWCS or put in parentheses immediately after ASWCS. Remember, you are
writing for the narrator; you are not writing a document to be read by the user. It is not necessary to put the actual
correct appearing acronym in the text, only the correct pronunciation.
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Other Conventions
• Parentheses should only be used for character identification and notes to the narrator on pronunciation. Unlike text the narrator does not read
out loud, both the word and pronunciation. So the phrase “…the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)...” should be written “…the Department
of Motor Vehicles or D>M>V….”
• Abbreviations: Separating characters are used to indicate letter and number pronunciation. The DMV should be spelled D>M>V.
• Never use the abbreviation “i.e.”, instead write out the sentence another way or use the phrase “for example.”
• Never use the trailing “(s)” to indicate singular or plural (for example, “consult the necessary manual(s)…”). Instead write it a different way or
write “manual or manuals”. Remember you are writing words that someone has to say out loud not just comprehend in their mind.
• The pronunciation of unusual words or words that are unique to the program should be written in simplified or phonetic form in place of the
actual word or in parentheses immediately after the word. Special pronunciation marks are difficult to use in word processing programs and
are easily mispronounced. For example, “…liquid oxygen is held in a cryo (cry-oh) tank…”
• Numbers are very tricky. 1040 could be one thousand and forty, one thousand forty, ten forty, or even one zero four zero or one oh four oh. So
the phrase “ten forty” should be written 10-40. Please do not write numbers out (for example, twelve thousand twenty one hundred
seventeen). The former number could easily be written out in the script as 12000-21-hundred-17 or 12,000-20-100-17.
Lists
• Etc: People don’t generally say “etcetera” when they talk, so avoid “etc.” in your Do this… Not this…
scripts as well.
• Lists: If including a list in your narration, do not include list numbers unless you The forward hatch, 1. The Forward Hatch
want the narrator to read them. Don’t forget the word “and,” and include it at the 2. The Flight Deck
beginning of the last item rather than on the end of the next to last item. The flight deck,
3. The Cargo Bay
And the cargo bay.
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Remember, even if there are no current translation plans for your documents, it is impossible to say today what might be translated tomorrow, or into
what language it might be translated. Whenever you write, assume that a non-native speaker is going to have to read, understand, and translate it into
another language.
Is your organization in need of assistance with audio narration or translation for a current or upcoming project? Our team of expert consultants is
here to help you sift through the many translation vendors, evaluate and price the services you need, and ensure a successful voice-over narration
outcome. Michaels & Associates – this is where the learning starts to get awesome.
marketing@docntrain.com www.docntrain.com toll-free: 877-614-8440
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