[asterisk-dev] 1.4 spanish sounds

[Michael L. Young]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: asterisk-dev-bounces at lists.digium.com [mailto:asterisk-dev-
> bounces at lists.digium.com] On Behalf Of Steve Totaro
> Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2007 11:29 AM
> To: Asterisk Developers Mailing List
> Subject: RE: [asterisk-dev] 1.4 spanish sounds
> 
> Wouldn't someone from Spain speak the "purest" Spanish?  Of course, anyone
> with "Patriotism" for their country is going to proclaim that they are the
> "Purest" and "Better".  England = Queen's English is purer than American
> English.
> 
> We had a guy from Puerto Rico do some translation from English to Spanish
> for a call center in Colombia.  The Colombians said that his translation
> for "refund" meant to "throw up or regurgitate".  :-)
> 
> I think that there may not be any "standard" localization for Spanish or
> English for that matter.  It may be people will be better served by
> creating their own versions of recordings based on real localization.
> 
> Thanks,
> Steve Totaro
> http://www.asteriskhelpdesk.com
> KB3OPB

I agree.  I speak Spanish as a second language and I have learned that you
have to choose which words to use based on the "local" audience.  Therefore,
you try and use "neutral" words that everyone understands.  Some words can
mean different things in different Spanish speaking countries.

I have looked at websites where a company has localized web pages, i.e.
Disney, insurance websites, in Spain and then looked at a Mexican website
and the way of saying things are different.  You understand what they are
saying but you definitely notice the difference.

The only thing you can do to the sounds in Asterisk is get a native Spanish
speaker (so that there isn't the strong English accent) and come up with a
basic set of sounds that every Spanish speaker would understand.  Then any
extra sounds for their local audience would have to be added on one's own
basis according to their needs.

Michael L. Young