Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

voix antenne

English translation:

continuity announcer

    The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2018-07-11 12:54:08 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)
Jul 7, 2018 21:52
6 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term

voix antenne

French to English Marketing Advertising / Public Relations Advertising services proposal
In a radio advertising proposal :

[message publicitaire] enregistré par la *voix antenne* au début de la météo.

When Googled, the first posts associate the term with "habillage sonore". I suppose it means the person animating the radio show, but I need help in finding the equivalent in English.

Any help would be most welcome.

Thanks
Proposed translations (English)
2 continuity announcer
4 +1 voice off

Proposed translations

7 hrs
Selected

continuity announcer

This is what it sounds like —the voice we are all used to hearing, yet has no actual 'personality'; the 'voice of the radio station', in a way, that makes the links between programmes, etc. Usually, in the UK, this voice would not be allowed to be used for commercials, as it would make the distinction between 'programme' and 'commercial' less clear.

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Note added at 7 hrs (2018-07-08 05:02:15 GMT)
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The way it is being used here seems to suggest it is "the voice of the radio station" — without being a "personality", somone like the late Terry Wogan, for example, who was a "star" and had his own programme, these people are to a large extent anonymous, and are just a "voice" that people will instantly associate with a particular radio station.
Way back in the day, on the BBC we had Alvar Liddel, who started as an 'anonymous' continuity announcer, moved up to presenting the news, and went on to become a reputed interviewer and commentator.



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Note added at 15 hrs (2018-07-08 13:50:05 GMT)
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Glad you found confirmation; it may be that this is a specifically GB term, certainly, it's the one used (even to this day) by the BBC, and very many independent companies to my knowledge.

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Note added at 16 hrs (2018-07-08 13:54:51 GMT)
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Of course, it helps when you have professional experience in the broadcasting world, instead of just as a passive listener, whose understanding is perforce empirical.

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Note added at 16 hrs (2018-07-08 14:00:26 GMT)
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Sometimes, smaller independent radio stations (and I've seen this specifically in the States) don't always use professionall-produced commercials, but just have the normal continuity announcer read out a brief advert for a local business; in the same way as thay might say "This programme has been brought to you by Acme Laundry, the best in town!"
Note from asker:
Thank you Tony, this is the answer I eventually found in a voice-off artist's CV after sifting through Google for a good while. Then checked it on Google and found a Wikipedia entry which confirms. Thanks for your help :-)
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks to all for your help."
+1
3 hrs

voice off

It refers to words spoken by someone who is not themselves a part of the story that's been told. In TV (as distinct from radio, as in Asker's question) this would be called "voice off-screen (VOS)".

https://screenwriting.io/what-is-the-difference-between-v-o-...
V.O. (voice over) and O.S. (off-screen) are similar terms, but they have slightly different applications. Both are used to indicate that dialogue is spoken by someone not currently seen on the screen; the difference isn't where the speaker is not, but where the speaker is.

It's the modern equivalent of the "narrator" of classic theatre, who explained to the audience some of the context that wasn't evident on stage.

It doe not necessarily refer to "the person animating the radio show".
Note from asker:
Thank you Robin, this was my second preferred option, but I found it was a bit too general in the context. Thank's for you help :-)
Peer comment(s):

neutral Tony M : 'Voice-off' is not a term really used in radio — by definition, all radio voices are 'unseen'! / Indeed... but I don't think that's quite the slant needed here, as there is no real opposition involved.
3 hrs
In radio the term "voice-off" is used to refer to someone who is "off the 'sound' stage".
agree GILLES MEUNIER : bien d'accord, j'ai un client qui traduit ce terme ainsi...
10 hrs
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