Finally had a chance to look at this month’s cover article of the SpeechTEK magazine. What a joy! I was very pleased to see that once again, the topic of Translations (which I often refer to as “Transgressions”) comes up in an attempt to raise awareness about the implications of simply taking content in once language and doing a straight 1:1 translation without any consideration for cultural issues and linguistic nuances. As the author pointed out, translations are “a quick, cheap, lousy idea.” (well said!)

As the article points out, in the particular case of IVR systems there are various syntax and grammatical issues to consider as well as code implications and underlying logic divergences derived from those structural differences – it’s not just a matter of word order!

Furthermore, the author makes a really good point about the dual nature of IVR and Speech Recognition systems in the sense that we should not only be careful about what we say and how we say it (the outgoing activity) but also about the incoming activity – what callers say, how they say it, etc.

Along with the list of Tricks of the Trade provided, things such as the use of a native speaker for reviewing localized Dialog are of utmost importance.

Finally, one of the topics that often comes up when dealing with countries where more than one variety of the same language are spoken (for example, Spanish in the US), is the issue of which “version” of the language should be spoken so as to accommodate various countries of origin – normally referred to as “neutral Spanish”. I loved the definition they used because it captures the complexity of finding that middle ground while still taking into consideration the technical/financial implications and realities which we often face in our projects – “the neutral version of any accent is the version that offends the fewest people”

Happy Reading!