By: Ian Russell
From: The British Voice
Voice over artist, Voice Artist, Voice Talent, Voice Actor, and VO are all title variations of our profession.
I often get asked what exactly is voiceover? I usually describe it as “when you hear my voice but can’t see my face.” Sometimes I describe Voiceover as what I do and Voice Actor as what I am. But using the internet to find work opportunities is another thing entirely! When searching is it one-word ‘voiceover’, or two ‘voice over’, or is it hyphenated ‘voice-over’? So even in our native language, things can get lost in translation. When seeking business opportunities use all of them. Mix and match and see what you can find.
Voice Actor in different Languages
So what is a ‘Voice Actor’ called in other languages? How does it translate? And is there a business opportunity there? Here are a dozen that seemed to get to the essence of what being a voice actor encompasses:
Basque: ahots-aktorea Croation: glasovni glumac Czech: dabér
Dutch: stemacteur French: Acteur de doublage German : sychronsprecher
Latin: vox histrio Portuguese: dublador Spanish: actor de voz
Tongan: leʻo ʻo e leʻo Vietnamese: Diễn viên lồng tiếng
Korean: 성우 (this really looks like someone standing at a microphone
Voiceovers in different Languages
In English, the word ‘Narration’ can also be used to mean voiceovers and in Spanish, a similiar word ‘narración’ is used. Many countries use the English equivalent of voice over & voice-over (ie. Danish, Dutch, German, & Filipino) but here are some other translations that I’ve seen international casters use when casting voiceovers:
French: Voix-off Swedish: dubbning Finnish: Selostus Polish: lector Welsh: Troslais
Opening your voice up to an International Market
There is no doubt voice acting is a global market. The world is our client. These foreign variations (and many more) could also lead to a new way of looking for potential clients and leads. Try something like google.fr and use the term Voix-off Casting … a whole new world will open up!
And finally in a wonderfully serendipitous moment, here’s one for the Voiceover Calendar: World Voice Day is April 16th! Get your # ready!
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