By Grace Austin
Diversity goes hand in hand with cultural awareness and respect, and one of the most fundamental steps towards diversity and awareness is simply knowing the proper pronunciation of co-workers, clients, and potential customers.
A new technology, called ANTs, or audible name tags, was designed to aid in correct articulation. Founded by Vigen Nazarian, an Iranian immigrant, Nazarian’s own experiences with mispronunciation inspired him to create the product.
ANTS are embeddable icons that can be inserted into email signature fields, digital documents, and social media profiles. When the icon is clicked, a virtual business card appears containing one’s contact information, photo, and a pronunciation of one’s name, in one’s own voice.
ANTs work with email systems such as Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo!, and MSN. They can be embedded into digital documents like Word, PDF, and PowerPoint files. Audible Name Tags can even be attached to a QR (Quick Response) code and printed on business cards and other materials.
