Hello - The Smithsonian Institution has general guides to the various museums in different languages - see http://www.si.edu/ in the lower left hand corner. The Smithsonian also has some other information at http://www.si.edu/visit/foreign_language.htm . I've seen some exhibits with bilingual texts here at the Smithsonian - it is usually English and 1 other language (an example is http://www.si.edu/scmre/santos/mainmenu.asp). Best wishes, Ann N'Gadi Museum Conservation Institute -----Original Message----- From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ayumu Ota Sent: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 10:24 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Foreign Visitor Services I was assigned to review English translation hand-out of the permanent exhibition labels/captions and am interested to know how other museums are developing services for foreign visitors. Since I am working for a museum in Japan, my institution's first attempt is to develop English translations of web pages, a general brochure, and exhibition labels. It is possible to translate web, brochures, labels, audio guide scripts, videos, etc. into different languages. However literal translations may not be able to communicate meaning/concept to people with different cultural background. Do you develop texts by additional/background information for visitors who are not familiar with your culture? If so, who will be writing these texts (curators, educators) and how to decide what to include or omit (visitor evaluation?). Also, how do other institutions design, train, and evaluate guided tours in other languages? If inquiry methods are not common in one culture, does institution allow more didactic tour or try to incorporate inquires? Do you hire multi-lingual person to evaluate these tours? Any experiences/suggestions/thoughts will be helpful. Thanks in advance. Ayumu Ota Shibusawa Memorial Museum Tokyo, Japan www.shibusawa.or.jp ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).