Accommodating non-English speakers is a bit more difficult than it might
seem, although I think it is a good thing to do.

We added Spanish language audio to the English audio in our main exhibit,
and some Spanish language labels, about 10 years ago.  With a language such
as Spanish which is spoken widely, there can be a lot of problems in
avoiding regional versions of Spanish.  We assembled a volunteer committee
of people from 5 or 6 countries to edit the text to make it understandable
to the widest possible Spanish-speaking audience, and to produce the text at
the proper label (the initial translation had been at an inappropriate
level).  We lacked funds to pay for a professional to record the audio, so
we recruited a volunteer with a widely-understandable accent (my wife, who
is from Quito) to make the recording.  The editing and the recording of a
small amount of text takes hours and hours.  A local radio station donated
studio time, I got to volunteer as the engineer, and several long evenings
later we had managed to record all of the tapes.

Foreign language labels (and audio) are a big commitment for a small museum
to make, but its well worth the effort.  Our Spanish-speaking visitors have
appreciated the labels and audio available.

John E. Simmons
Collection Manager, Natural History Museum
and
Coordinator, Historical Administration and Museum Studies Program
University of Kansas
Dyche Hall
1345 Jayhawk Boulevard
Lawrence, Kansas 66045-7561
Phone 785-864-4508
FAX 785-864-5335
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>
Why don't the major museums offer more for non-English speaking visitors? If
they do where are they? Does the lack of effort in this area lead to lower
attendance among resident non-English speakers? among foreign tourists?
>

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