Sound Languages User Guide

The Sound Languages module allows you to set the global default language for sound prompts. The system will use the global language defined here unless the language is changed somewhere in the call flow, such as by an inbound route, extension, or the Language module.

The Sound Languages module also allows you to add or remove additional languages in various codecs. Several language packs are available. You can also define a language code for custom languages, which will allow you to install and use sound files for that custom language.

The system has hundreds of built-in sound prompts for both callers and users. These are core-sounds and extra-sounds.

Changing the Language in a Call Flow

Detailed instructions are beyond the scope of this wiki, but there are two general ways to change the language in a call flow.

Using the Languages module (not to be confused with the Sound Languages module), you can dynamically change the language used, anywhere in the call flow.

Many other modules have the option to change the language. Look for a "Languages" option, and visit the module-specific wiki for more information. For example, in the inbound routes module, you can set a language for a specific DID. If the French language is installed (confirmed by checking the Sound Languages module), you can choose French for the inbound route. Sound prompts would then be played in French for calls inbound to this DID, and this selection would carry over to other points in the call flow unless it is changed later in the flow.
 

Available Language Packs

The following languages are available as built-in options at the time of this writing:

• American English

• Australian English

• British English

• Spanish

• French

• Italian

• Japanese

• Russian

You can also install custom languages.

Where to Find the Sound Languages Module

• Log into the PBX GUI.

• In the top menu go to Admin

• In the drop down menu go to Sound Languages

How to Install and Remove Language Packs

1. When you arrive at the Sound Languages module, the Language Packs section is shown by default. Otherwise you can select it from the options at the right.

   

2. This screen displays a list of languages. (Note the list may be several pages long). Here is what the columns mean:

   1. Module: core-sounds or extra-sounds

   2. Language: The name of the language and its language code (i.e. "en" for English)

   3. Format: The codec (i.e. alaw, g722, g729, or ulaw)

   4. Available: The latest available verison

   5. Installed:The version installed on your system, if any

   6. Actions: A button to install or remove the language

      1.  = Download

         

      2. = Remove

         

3. To Install: Click the download button: 

4. To Remove: Click the remove button: 

5. When finished, click the Apply Config button to apply your changes.

How to Set the Global Language

1. From the options at the right, click the Global Language option to navigate to that section.

   

2. Select a language from the drop-down menu.

   

    
   

3. Click the Submit button.
    
   

   

4. Click the Apply Config button.
   

   

How to Define a Custom Language

You can add a new language code to your system in preparation for installing your own custom language sound files. This will create a directory in /var/lib/asterisk/sounds with the name of the language code you enter here. It will also make the custom language available for selection in other modules.

After you have defined a custom language, you can upload your own custom language recordings. You can also upload files via System Recordings and the CLI.

1. From the options at the right, click the Custom Languages option to navigate to that section.

   

2. Click the +Add New Custom Language button.

   

3. This is what the Add Custom Language section looks like.

   

4. Enter the Language Code (for example we're calling this "pi" for Pirate) and a brief Description to help you identify this custom language. This name will appear in other modules where you can select a language.

   

5. Here you can upload your custom language recordings. Either Browse your computer or Drag and Drop Multiple Files or Archives. Supported upload formats are: WAV, aiff, alaw, flac, g722, gsm, mp3, oga, ogg, sln, sln12, sln16, sln192, sln24, sln32, sln44, sln48, sln96, ulaw, wav, wav16, tgz, gz, tar, zip. This includes archives (that include multiple files, such as tar,gz,zip) and multiple files. If uploading an archive, the main sound files must be in the root of the archive with individual folders such as 'digits' and 'silence' as appropriate.

   

6. Once your file(s) is uploaded, the blue progress bar will be full and File to Upload will populate with the corresponding number of files.

   

7. Lastly check all file formats you would like this system recording to be encoded into.

   

8. Click the Submit button and a progress bar will let you know when you're finished.

   

9. Your new custom language will show up in a list. You can click the pencil button to edit or the trash button  to delete.

   

Additional Ways to Add Custom Recordings

1. If you SSH into your PBX and go to /var/lib/asterisk/sounds, you will see a directory with the name of the language code you entered earlier. In our example we see "pi" for "Pirate" in addition to the built-in English (en), Spanish (es), and French (fr) language packs on our system.

   

2. Another way to add sounds to your new language directory is to use the System Recordings module. If you do this, your new sounds will be placed inside a "custom" directory within the specific language directory. See the System Recordings Module User Guide for more information.