How to provide an audio guide in Czech
A Czech guide is added to a guide that already exists rather than built from nothing. The English stops are translated, reviewed by someone who reads Czech, and narrated, and the Czech version then sits behind the same QR code the English version already uses. Nothing on the wall changes, and no second sign is printed.
In practice a venue works through it in this order, and the review step is the one most often skipped and most often regretted.
- Settle the regional variant and register before any translation starts
- Translate the English stops, keeping the source text locked while that happens
- Have a Czech reader review it, ideally someone who knows the collection
- Narrate the reviewed text, checking proper nouns and place names first
- Publish it behind the QR codes already on the wall, with no reprinting
What Czech needs from your layout
Czech runs around 10 to 20% longer than English.
Czech diacritics carry meaning, and the ů character in particular is often replaced incorrectly by systems that do not support it. Czech also uses different quotation mark conventions to English.
Czech and Slovak are separate languages
Czech and Slovak are close and mutually intelligible for most speakers, but they are distinct written languages. Publishing one does not properly serve readers of the other, and treating them as interchangeable is noticed.
Czech inflects through seven cases, so complete sentences translate well and assembled fragments do not.
Getting the Czech narration right
Narration in Czech raises questions that do not exist in English, and they are far cheaper to answer before a voice records anything than after.
- The ř sound is distinctive to Czech and is a reliable weak point in synthetic narration.
- Vowel length is meaningful and is often flattened by generic voices.
- Stress falls on the first syllable, which makes foreign names sound wrong unless checked.
Where Czech fits in your language plan
Across the New Zealand museums using Journey Pal, between 50% and 60% of guide use is in English. That is our own usage data, and it is worth knowing before committing to a long list of languages: local-language listening is usually the largest share, and translations extend a guide rather than being the reason for one.
That makes Czech an addition to a working guide rather than a prerequisite for launching. Get the source script right, publish it, then add Czech where your visitor numbers justify the translation and, just as importantly, where you have someone who can review it.
Frequently asked questions
Can we provide an audio guide in Czech at our museum?
Yes. The Czech version is translated from your English stops, reviewed, narrated, and published behind the QR codes you already have on the wall, so adding it does not mean new signage, a new app, or new hardware.
Do we need a separate Czech version of our signage as well?
Usually not. The physical sign can stay short and carry a QR code, with the full Czech text and audio behind it, which avoids reprinting signage every time the content changes.
How much longer will the Czech version be?
Czech runs around 10 to 20% longer than English.
Do visitors need an app to hear the Czech guide?
No. The guide opens in the visitor's phone browser from a QR code, and phone-language detection can take a Czech-speaking visitor straight to the right version when it exists.
Make this easier for your visitors
Journey Pal helps museums, heritage sites, zoos, and attractions deliver audio guides and translations through QR codes, with no app download required.