Meet 'Aussie Karen' - the voice in your GPS
見過 GPS 聲優「澳客凱倫」
Ever wanted to put a face to the female voice in your GPS? Well now you can, as 'Aussie Karen' tells her story.
想為 GPS 的女聲配上真人的臉嗎？且讓「澳客凱倫」現身說法。
Looking out my window onto the crowded street below, I couldn't help daydreaming. I feel so at home here, I thought.
望出窗外，看著下方人群熙攘的街道，我不禁作起白日夢來。我就像在家裡一樣舒服。
It was 2002 and I was living in New York. As a singer-songwriter from Mackay, Qld, I'd moved to the big smoke to chase my dream.
當時是 2002 年，我住在紐約。身為來自澳洲昆士蘭州的馬凱（Mackay）的歌手兼作詞家，我得搬到大城市，以追逐我的夢想。
And although I wasn't yet performing at Madison Square Garden, I was slowly building a name for myself in clubs and venues.
雖然我還沒有機會在麥迪遜花園廣場表演，但我還是在俱樂部與一些場子裡，逐步建立我的名聲。
Suddenly, my mobile phone interrupted my thoughts.
突然，手機鈴聲打斷了我的思緒。
'I have an audition for you,' my Australian agent bellowed down the line. 'An American company is looking for a native Australian female voice-over artist who's now living in New York.'
「有一場試聽的面試，」澳洲籍的經紀人在電話那一端說，聲如洪鐘。「有一家美國公司正在找人做旁白，條件是澳洲人、女性、藝術家、住在紐約。」
'That's me,' I replied. As well as my singing background, I'd also had experience in voice-over work.
「那正是我啊，」我回答。我不但有歌唱背景，也有旁白工作的經驗。
My agent explained that I would be the voice for some groundbreaking new technology that would be used in cars to help drivers with directions.
我的經紀人解釋說，我要為某種開創性的新科技配音，用在車子裡面，為汽車駕駛指引方向。
'The company wants a range of accents, including an Australian one,' she told me.
「那家公司要各種不同的口音，包括澳洲英文。」她說。
I scribbled down the address for the auditions and headed to the studio a few days later. Walking into the audition, I didn't feel nervous.
我匆匆寫下面試的地點，幾天後前往那間工作室。在走進試聽場地的時候，我渾然不覺緊張。
'Can you read these directions so we can get an idea of your voice's tone and pitch?' the man asked me.
「可以請妳唸這些交通指示，好讓我們瞭解妳的音質與音高嗎？」負責面試的男人問我。
Nodding, I read the information. 'At the next intersection, turn left,' I said.
我點點頭，唸出那些資訊。「在下一個路口左轉。」我說。
'You've got the job,' he announced when I'd finished reading. 'Your voice will be Aussie Karen.'
「這份工作是妳的了！」我一唸完，他就這樣宣布。「妳的聲音是『澳客凱倫』。」
'Great,' I replied, thrilled. The easiest gig ever!
「太棒了！」我回答，興奮地不住發抖。這是我有史以來最容易的演出！
The next week I started doing my recordings, still not knowing exactly how my voice was going to be used.
下個星期我開始錄音，但我仍然不知道我的聲音要怎麼用在新技術上。
I spent the first day reciting the alphabet several different ways. The next day it was the numbers one to 1000.
第一天我用多種方式朗誦英文字母。第二天則是從一唸到一千。
To make sure my voice sounded fresh, I could only record for four hours a day. And although I wasn't singing, I still enjoyed being in a sound studio and using my voice.
要讓我的聲音聽起來有活力朝氣，我一天只能錄四個小時。而且雖然我不是在唱歌，但能在錄音室裡善用我的聲音，我還是覺得非常快樂。
Over the next three weeks I recorded a phone book worth of streets and towns, as well as strange words and phrases such as 'Recalculating' and 'You have reached your destination'.
接下來三週我錄製了像電話簿一樣厚的街道與城鎮名稱，還有奇怪的字彙與句子，例如「重新計算中」與「您已經抵達目的地」。
On the final day of recording, I felt like I'd done a good job. But the technology wouldn't be available for a couple of years. So in the meantime, I focused on my music and kept singing and writing.
在錄音的最後一天，我覺得我完成的是一項了不起的工作。但幾年內這項科技不會上市。所以那段時間我還是專心在音樂上，歌唱與寫作不綴。
Then in 2005, I got a strange call from a friend in Australia.
到了 2005 年，我收到一通奇怪的電話，那是我澳洲的朋友打來的。
'I bought a GPS for Christmas and the voice on it sounds like you,' she laughed.
「我聖誕節的時候買了一台 GPS，那聽起來像是妳的聲音。」她笑著說。
'No way,' I gasped. 'That must have been what I recorded all those years ago.'
「不會吧，」我倒抽一口氣，「那是我幾年前錄的。」
All of my recordings suddenly made sense. Aussie Karen was the GPS voice!
突然我的錄音工作真相大白。「澳客凱倫」是 GPS 的聲音！
Over the next few months, I had an influx of calls from friends in Australia telling me I was in their car.
接下來幾個月，澳洲的朋友們不斷地打電話給我，說我就在他們的車子裡。
'I never realised that you had such a great sense of direction,' one joked.
「我從來不知道妳的方向感那麼好。」其中一個打趣的說。
Then my American friends told me that Aussie Karen was a setting on their GPS too! I had no idea how widespread it would be.
然後我的美國朋友告訴我，他的 GPS 選的也是「澳客凱倫」！我不知道這聲音可以這麼無遠弗屆。
Today, the GPS is in cars all around the world - and Aussie Karen is the most popular voice setting.
現在這款 GPS 已經安裝在全世界的汽車裡—「澳客凱倫」是最受歡迎的聲音。
It's been seven years since I recorded those directions, and in the meantime my singing career has really started to take off.
我錄製這些交通指示已經是七年前的事情了，在這段時間裡，我的歌唱事業蒸蒸日上。
Recently, I was even lucky enough to sing with Norah Jones and Cyndi Lauper.
最近，我很幸運地能跟諾拉‧瓊斯與辛蒂‧露波一起演唱。
But I still love that people throughout the world get to listen to my voice in their car.
但我還是很喜歡全世界的人們，能在車裡聽到我的聲音。
Hopefully one day, it will be my songs as well as my directions they hear.
希望有一天，我的歌聲能像這些交通指示一樣，傳遍全世界。
Source from here.
本文來自此處。
生字 / 片語
accent: 口音
a couple of: 兩個；一對。近年來有取代「several」（數個）的趨勢。
alphabet: 字母
a range of: 範圍；幅度
audition: 試鏡；試音
Aussie: 澳洲人，Australian 的簡稱
bellow: 吼叫；發出吼聲
big smoke: （俗）大城市
daydream: 作白日夢
gig: （俗）演出；表演
groundbreaking: 開創性的
in the meantime: 就在這段時間裡
influx: 湧入；匯集
intersection: 交叉路口；十字路口
make sense: 有意義
native: 本國的；本地的
nod: 點頭
pitch: 音高
recite: 朗誦
scribble: 潦草地寫下
sense of…: …感。例如方向感（sense of direction）、幽默感（sense of humour）
take off: 起飛
thrill: 使興奮；使激動
tone: 音色；音調
venue: 場地
voice-over: 配音
worth of: 相當於；等同於
