双语 | Visually impaired couple carve out careers with voice

Video and photos by Lin Jianping

AUDIOBOOK narrator, music arranger, piano tuner, exhibition tour guide, instructor...Though being both visually impaired, Li Chunmeng and Lin Miaoyan have continued to advance their careers in Shenzhen through hard work and a shared passion for spoken language and musical instruments.

有声读物配音员、会编曲、钢琴调律师、展览导赏员、企业培训师……尽管李春萌和林妙艳都有视力障碍，但凭借个人努力以及对有声语言艺术和乐器的热爱，这对现居深圳的夫妇正不断开拓属于自己的事业。

Unlike traditional audiobook narrators who can see the book while dubbing, Li and Lin, both audiobook narrators, record while listening to books using a screen reading software that generates speech for them when the books’ contents get uploaded.

和普通配音主播看着书本配音不同，李春萌夫妇是用读屏软件一边听书一边录制的。他们将书里的内容导入软件里，便会有AI人声进行机械化朗读。

Li Chunmeng (R) plays the guitar while his wife Lin Miaoyan sings. 

“It was quite a challenge at first. We need to use the screen reading software on the computer. Furthermore, we cannot read it emotionlessly, but rather with personal understanding and touches,” Li told Shenzhen Daily in an interview June 2. “Auditory sense is certainly not as direct as visual sense,” Li explained. “So it would take a long time for us to practice.”

“一开始挑战还是挺大的，我们需要借助电脑上的读屏软件。另外，我们不能读得很机械，要带有自己的一些理解和处理。而且听觉肯定没有视觉那么直观，所以我们在练习的过程中还是用了很长时间。” 李春萌对英文《深圳日报》记者说。

Lin Miaoyan reads a book specially for the visually impaired with her hands.

According to Lin, she found that some of their friends had started narrating audiobooks about two years ago. “It was new to us, and we had no idea what would happen. But we found it interesting, and it could earn us some money, so it’s worth a try.”

妻子林妙艳告诉记者，她是在前两年发现有少部分的小伙伴在玩有声书配音。“因为我们一开始没有接触过，也不知道会怎么样，但是一接触觉得还蛮好玩的，而且还能有一些收入，所以就觉得这个事情还是可以去尝试的。”

Lin claimed that it is also an edge for them because she and her husband can work as partners. 

由于两夫妻可以随时搭档，林妙艳觉得这对于他们来说也是一个得天独厚的条件。

Li is also a part-time instructor at a company called Dialogue in the Dark, a music arranger, and does audio post production. His wife also works for the company in addition to being a piano tuner.

除了做有声主播，李春萌目前也在一个叫黑暗中对话的公司做兼职教练。他还会编曲和音频后期制作。妻子林妙艳也在同一家公司工作，另外她也是一名钢琴调律师。

Lin Miaoyan plays the piano at home.

“I’m primarily responsible for enterprise training and guidance for personal experience in a dark environment as an instructor,” Li said. “I can also assist with music arrangement if an original work has no accompaniment or requires any style, orchestration or effect.”

“我主要是做企业培训，还有针对个人在全黑环境中的体验导赏。如果一首原创作品没有伴奏，或者需要什么风格的，需要哪些配器，需要达到一个什么效果，我都可以帮忙实现。”李春萌说。

Although Li didn’t major in music arrangement, his keen interest in music has led him to foray into the music industry. He has opened an online store where customers can order audio recordings.

尽管没有系统学过编曲，李春萌对音乐有着浓厚的兴趣。他开了一家网络音频店，闲暇时间为有需求的客户进行音频制作。

Li Chunmeng plays the guitar.

His wife also secured one of the 15 spots available nationwide for China Braille Library’s audiobook narration training this year.

妻子林妙艳则参加了中国盲人图书馆开办的2022年有声培训，全国只有15个名额。

On April 23, World Book and Copyright Day, the couple won first prize in a municipal poetry and prose recitation contest for the blind, which ensured them a spot in a provincial competition. They also took first place in the provincial competition in May.

2022年世界读书日当天，深圳举办盲人诗歌散文朗诵选拔赛，这对夫妻凭借出色表现获得第一名，拿到了参加第十二届广东省盲人诗歌散文朗诵比赛的“入场券”。在五月的省赛中，他们也拿到了第一名的成绩。

Li Chenmeng narrates an audiobook.

“It surprised me because we were just trying out some new styles in the competition. It could have something to do with the theme we chose, and the fact that we were more relaxed and didn’t feel any pressure this time,” Li explained.

“其实挺偶然的，我觉得这个是有一点无心插柳的感觉，因为这次比赛我们只是想尝试一些新的风格，可能因为我们选择的题材，还有可能因为我们这次比较放松，所以就没有任何负担。”李春萌告诉记者。

The couple relocated to Shenzhen in 2019 after staying in Shanghai for a couple of years. “First-tier cities have relatively complete barrier-free facilities, and residents in these cities are more tolerant towards visually impaired people,” Lin said.

2019年，想要开辟新天地的李春萌和林妙艳从上海来到深圳。“一线城市的无障碍设施会相对完善一些，还有一线城市的主流群体对视障群体的包容度、接纳度也会高一些。”林妙艳说。

Li echoes his wife’s idea and believes that Shenzhen is very inclusive and friendly to people from different backgrounds. “Shenzhen can offer you a lot of opportunities as long as you are capable. The city is also more tolerant towards people with disabilities.”

李春萌也认为，深圳这座城市对不同的人群都很友好、包容。“只要你有能力，我觉得还是有很多机会的。深圳对残障人士相对来说理解包容度更大一些。”

“I once shared this message with my clients: No matter how complete the barrier-free facilities are, they still have limitations, but what is truly unlimited is people’s tolerance, that is, the tolerance of the mainstream groups towards the disabled groups,” Lin said.

“我之前跟我的客户在分享的时候说过一句话，无障碍它不管做到多完善，它都是有限的。但是真正无限的是人心的包容，就是主流群体对我们这种残障群体的包容。”妻子林妙艳说。

Editor/Kang Wei

WeChat Editors/Claudia, Jane