Universal Media

29/03/2023

Voice Recording Challenges in Amazigh (Berber) Languages

Berber (or Amazigh) languages are indigenous to North Africa, with over 25 million speakers spread across several countries. While these languages are rich in culture and history, they pose unique challenges when it comes to voice recording.

One of the main difficulties in voice recording in Amazigh is the lack of standardization. These languages have multiple dialects and variations, making it challenging to produce a consistent and uniform recording. Moreover, many of these dialects are not widely recognized, and there is no standardized orthography for the Berber language family.

This lack of standardization poses a challenge for voice recording, as it can be difficult to ensure consistency and accuracy across different dialects. Additionally, the absence of a standardized orthography makes it difficult to produce written materials that accurately represent the spoken language.

Another challenge in voice recording in Berber languages is the limited availability of qualified voice actors.

While there are many talented actors and performers in the region, there are few who have experience in voice recording and editing. This can result in recordings that are of poor quality or do not accurately reflect the nuances of the language.

Furthermore, Amazigh often use sounds and phonemes that are not found in other languages. These unique sounds can be challenging for non-native speakers to pronounce accurately, which can impact the quality of the final recording.

Despite these challenges, there is a growing demand for voice recording in Berber languages. As these languages become more widely recognized and appreciated, there is a need for high-quality recordings that accurately represent the diversity and complexity of the language.

In order to address these challenges, it is important to work with experienced voice actors who have a deep understanding of the language and culture. Additionally, it is important to invest in high-quality recording equipment and software that can capture the unique sounds and nuances of the language.

Voice recording in Amazigh presents unique challenges due to the lack of standardization, limited availability of qualified voice actors, and the unique phonemes and sounds used in the language. However, with the right tools and expertise, it is possible to produce high-quality recordings that accurately represent the rich cultural heritage of these languages.

We in Unimedia are open for the new challenging projects in Berber language: https://unimedia.io/voices/amazigh

18/02/2023

The Music of Amharic: Uncovering the Unique Sounds and Challenges of Ethiopia's Language

Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia, is a fascinating and complex language that boasts a rich history and unique sound. As a language model, I have analyzed the intricacies of Amharic and uncovered some unusual facts that will surely impress even non-speakers of the language.

Firstly, Amharic is a tonal language, which means that the meaning of words changes depending on the pitch of the speaker's voice. This feature can make learning the language a challenge for non-native speakers, as it requires mastering a range of tonal inflections that are not present in most other languages. In Amharic, there are three tones: high, low, and falling. A high tone indicates a question, while a falling tone indicates emphasis or stress. For example, the word "selam" with a high tone means "peace," while the same word with a low tone means "to pay."

Another unique aspect of Amharic is the use of the glottal stop, represented by the symbol "ʔ." This sound is made by briefly closing the glottis, which is the space between the vocal cords, creating a sudden pause in speech. The glottal stop is used in Amharic to separate vowels that would otherwise blend together, giving the language a distinctive staccato quality.

Amharic also has a rich system of consonants, with many sounds that are not found in English or other Western languages. For example, there is a sound represented by the symbol "č," which is a voiceless postalveolar affricate, similar to the "ch" sound in the English word "church." There is also a sound represented by the symbol "ž," which is a voiced postalveolar fricative, similar to the "s" sound in the English word "pleasure."

Despite its challenges, Amharic is a beautiful and musical language, with a melodic quality that is almost poetic. Its unique sounds and complex grammar make it a fascinating language to study and learn. If you are looking to challenge yourself and expand your linguistic horizons, then Amharic may be the language for you.

Amharic is a truly unique language that offers a fascinating glimpse into the history and culture of Ethiopia. Its tonal inflections, glottal stops, and complex consonants make it a challenging but rewarding language to learn. So, next time you hear someone speaking Amharic, take a moment to appreciate the music of this beautiful language.

Universal media, a global media company, has also invested in research and development to understand the unique sounds and challenges of Amharic, ensuring that our translations are accurate and respectful of the language's rich cultural heritage. Universal media understands the importance of preserving and promoting lesser-known languages like Amharic, and our work in this area has been instrumental in bringing the language to a wider audience.

Through our commitment to working with Amharic voice actors and their dedication to understanding the intricacies of the language, Universal media has become a leader in promoting linguistic diversity and cultural appreciation. Our efforts serve as an inspiration for others in the media industry to embrace lesser-known languages and promote cultural understanding through their work.

29/01/2023

Did You Know? 10 Fascinating Facts about the Albanian Language:

1. Albanian is the only language in the world with direct descendants of ancient Illyrian, a pre-Indo-European language.

2. Albanian is the second-largest language in the Balkans after Greek and is the only language in the Balkans that is not Indo-European.

3. The Albanian alphabet has 36 letters, including 4 unique letters: ç, xh, dh, and nj.

4. Albanian is a tonal language, meaning the meaning of a word can change based on the tone used to pronounce it.

5. Albanian has two dialects: Gheg spoken in Northern Albania and Tosk spoken in the South.

6. Albanian is the official language of two countries: Albania and Kosovo.

7. Albanian has loanwords from Greek, Latin, Ottoman Turkish, Slavic languages, and more recently, English.

8. There are Albanian-speaking communities in North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Italy, and Greece.

9. The Albanian language has been influenced by its neighboring languages, resulting in unique sound patterns and pronunciation differences.

10. Albanian has its own unique way of expressing numbers, with different words for cardinal and ordinal numbers.

We can assure you that we know everything about Albanian. That's why our voice over agency can suggest a top-notch Albanian voice over for a really affordable price!

https://unimedia.io/voices/albanian

03/01/2023

Afrikaans voiceover is quite a specific matter. Afrikaans is an official language of South Africa, also widely used in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, etc. There are Afrikaans (known before as South African Dutch) speakers in New Zealand, Australia, England and Netherlands. About ten millions of people in the world can speak this language.

Afrikaans has arguably the most curious historical background. It was deemed to be a dialect of Dutch before the beginning of the 20th century. The language does relate to the German group. As a result, people speaking Dutch and Afrikaans can understand each other without any prior preparation. There are three Afrikaans dialects, varying from each other with phonemes.

Naturally, Afrikaans narration is not widely used in modern communication, especially in media space. At the same time, the demand for authentic content has grown dramatically these days. So if you got lucky to work with South African audience, feel free to contact our team. Professional voice over in Afrikaans from Universal media will complete any audio instructions for video, apps, presentations, etc.



https://unimedia.io/voices/afrikaans

09/11/2022

Let us remind you about our voice over agency :)

Our company provides professional sound recording services. For the 8 years of our history we have recorded thousands of reels for our clients.

Our immaculate profile is well-deserved as we are fully liable for the result of our work and eager to find middle grounds when needed to make you happy.

All our sound designers are accomplished industry professionals with over 20 years experience working in sound recording.

Universal Media is your reputable partner in sound recording. Place your projects with us and you won’t regret it!

https://unimedia.io

22/03/2022

30/08/2021

Huge attention is paid to game design and screenplay in mobile and PC games’ development. However, there is more to that, the text and sound components, in particular.

Certainly, technical music and beautiful animation is great, but the player needs to get familiarized with rules and controls and then look deep into the story line.

At the same time, game characters have to speak the language of the end user. The lines of game characters should sound naturally to get the player involved and intrigue him.

Developers contribute a lot of time and effort to these attributes. But here comes a reasonable question: what to do with a huge store of elaborated and written lines, instructions, prompts that need to be localized for a certain market? Contact us! What we do?

- High-quality text voiceover

We can voice completed game description, dialogues of characters, the opening text etc. Our professional voiceover specialists are native speakers with modern language.

The characters would not speak like aliens or old-timers (unless the opposite designed by developers). We can find voices similar to original ones if required, so that the speech match the character and reflect his or her personality.

- Assistance with accurate translation

If you are not sure you’ve translated the text correctly, contact us anyway. We will proofread the content to make sure it is relevant and composed properly. There must not be any spelling or grammar mistakes in the game! Besides, our team can help you translate your text into any language from scratch.

- Content localization for international audience

Localization should be kept in mind during translation and voiceover. It’s particularly important if there are slang expressions, accents or a country’s cultural context has been involved in the game.

For instance, if you develop a game about Japan, we can help you reflect Oriental nuances of verbal etiquette in the very best way. You will be able to give an accurate translation of any idiom, wordplay as well as names and toponyms in the game with the help of our specialists.

30/08/2021

Norwegian could be confused with four other languages that have influenced it throughout the history.

However, despite certain similarity to Faroese or Icelandic, Norwegian is part of a Scandinavian group along with Danish and Swedish. According to latest population census, there are 4.5 millions of Norwegian speakers.

Notably, there are two official forms of the language in Norway: conservative Bokmal and rather modern Nynorsk. Education is provided in both of these options.

Besides, there is an archaic written form of the language called Riksmal, as well as a radical informal Hognorsk. An outsider would generally find it hard to understand this classification and consider the dialects of different isles.

If you don’t want to torture yourself choosing the most appropriate written language form for your program in Norwegian or don’t understand which vocabulary to use for presentation voiceover, don’t hesitate to contact our company.

Norwegian speakers from Universal media are native speakers with a large vocabulary and impeccable articulation. Our specialists guarantee success of your media project courtesy of savvy voiceover.