Would you help me with pronunciation assessment?

[alexpen]

Voice-over evaluation: which speaker would you choose?

29-12-2017


Perhaps, I can solicit more comments if I add a little intrigue to my previous posting:

Which speaker would you have chosen for a short commercial voice-over project? A decent English accent was the prerequisite.
​

There is one native in the bunch. And there is one more person of unknown origin who, it seems to me, speaks with a native accent. For the rest, English is a foreign language. The project was out-sourced to a freelance website.


PS I do not hire, or speak on behalf of out-sourcers of any projects. I am not going to gain anything commercially from this thread. I’d just like a second opinion from British English speakers, in the first place – if any of them would give it, of course. North Americans and Australians are also welcome since quite a few learners here choose American pronunciation over British.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Her pronunciation is correct. She has a very strong accent.

 

[alexpen]

Her pronunciation is correct. She has a very strong accent.

If she has a very strong accent, how can the pronunciation be correct? I don't get it..

 

[GoesStation]

Her accent is good, not strong at all to my ears. The only word I was unsure of was the name of the medical center, which would be spelled out in the video anyway.

 

[alexpen]

Any British English speakers, perhaps

Would like an opinion from that quarter, too ;-).

 

[alexpen]

I have decided to add a poll. The initial question was about speaker number 4.

 

[emsr2d2]

I'd go for 5 (Australian), then 7 (American). After that, I'd go for 4 out of the real people who are clearly non-natives and I wouldn't choose 2 or 3 at all as they are computer-generated voices.

 

[alexpen]

...they are computer-generated voices.

You can't be serious! No, they are real. No 2 studied in the US and learned some narration skills there, among other things.

No 3 I know the least about, but it is a pretty peculiar accent for a computer-generated voice, don't you think?

The Australian does the job professionally, seems to me.

What about No 1?

 

[emsr2d2]

#1's accent is too strong to be easily understood. I covered #1 when I said that would choose #4 out of the possible non-native speakers who are real people.

I just listened to #2 and #3 again and they still sound computer-generated to me. #2 sounds like Stephen Hawking with a foreign accent!

 

[alexpen]

#1's accent is too strong to be easily understood.

No 1 got the job, actually.

 

[alexpen]

I just listened to #2 and #3 again and they still sound computer-generated to me.

Voice #2 sounds a bit mechanical to me, too.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

No 1 got the job, actually.

She'll probably call me and tell my my computer is broken.

 

[alexpen]

She'll probably call me and tell my my computer is broken.

Not sure what you are getting at, but if my guess is right then this is one of the reasons I never answer cold calls.

 

[emsr2d2]

In the UK, and no doubt elsewhere, a common phone scam is someone cold-calling you and saying "We have detected a problem with your computer. I can fix it for [large amount of money] if you give me remote access to your computer". Sadly, many people, particularly elderly people who aren't tech-savvy and/or aren't aware of such scams fall for it. They give remote access to the caller, allowing the scammer to access supposedly secure details on their hard drive, and they also agree to pay the scammer over the phone by giving out their credit card (or even bank) details.

Such scammers are the lowest of the low and I'm angry that I have to share the planet with them.

 

[Tdol]

Any British English speakers, perhaps

Would like an opinion from that quarter, too ;-).

I chose #5.

 

[alexpen]

I chose #5.

The Australian has two advantages: the native accent and, seems to me, his professional skills.

 

[alexpen]

In the UK, and no doubt elsewhere, a common phone scam is...

Yes, we have had our share of scammers here, too, quite a few of them wearing business suits.