doomwar
Member
Where's my hair?
Posts: 98
I Am A(n): Aspiring Voice Actor
Pronouns: he/him
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Post by doomwar on Jan 8, 2017 5:56:07 GMT -8
I usually try to pronounce the word using the more universal vowels (centralized 'A's, no schwas, etc), guess the tone of the word if it's Chinese (as all Chinese languages are tone-heavy and monosyllabic) in origin, break it in mora if it's Japanese or Hawaiian, then look up the IPA chart and audio of the word to see if I got it right. The only time I use straightforward English is when it's a loanword. Of course that's a lot of work, especially if the word is Chinese since not everyone is familiar with using tones as an indicator on what word it is, but what do you usually do when it comes to non-English words? (Or non-native language words if you're from a non-English country)
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duffyweber
Member
Posts: 220
I Am A(n): Professional Voice Actor, Semi-Professional Voice Actor, Audio Engineer
Pronouns: Any OK
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Post by duffyweber on Jan 8, 2017 7:22:21 GMT -8
It depends. If I'm reading a standard, common-use word, or a borrowed word as an English speaking character, I read it as an English speaker would. ("The money he stole from me got stolen from him!? HA! Talk about schadenfreude!"). We also say "Karry-okie" for Karaoke and not "ka-rao-ke." Tortilla also = Tor-tee-ya, and not nTorr-tee-jyhah. No effort is made to put a totally native accent on it, because it would sound weird.) If I'm doing an ad, and it's a term or proper name, I pronounce it as it is said natively, accent and all. If it's a random foreign word, I try to pronounce it as it is natively, but I don't affect any heavy accent (though, when pronounced properly, one tends to appear anyway. Example: "We're expecting a huge crowd. Be sure you cook plenty of baumkuchen, gravlax, and sopapillas." When using ANY foreign word, be ABSOLUTELY sure you know how to pronounce it. With or without affecting an accent, the pronunciation itself is important. Otherwise: vocaroo.com/i/s0rPHRde78g6 ; )
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Post by Rebekah Amber Clark on Jan 8, 2017 7:41:41 GMT -8
I usually look up the word pronunciation online, then double-check with the director/producer how they'd like it said and if I've mispronounced it.
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Post by JonoVO on Jan 8, 2017 19:29:41 GMT -8
I just go online to one of those word pronunciation sites and hear how it sounds, go back and practice the said word until I have it down, mess it up a few times, and then get it perfect.
I email the client to see if that is how it's pronounced. If not, I go back in and fix it for the client.
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Post by StringStorm on Jan 8, 2017 22:35:30 GMT -8
Google "[Word in question] pronunciation" and click the first link it gives me.
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Post by Caesár on Jan 13, 2017 8:38:16 GMT -8
I always look up the pronunciation of unknown words in general, especially since English is not my first language. Emma Saying has become one of my favourite YouTube channels
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