Each new prompt that you create is called a default prompt. A default prompt is language-independent. If the logic of a particular prompt does not change from one language to another, the same prompt can be used for all languages. You will need to record the segments for all languages that reference the prompt, but you will not need to alter the prompt itself.
Only one language can be active at any one point during the execution of a voice application. The active language is identified by the value in the System : Current language system variable (SV39). When the prompt references a voice segment, it uses the segment ID and voice directory name to locate the required segment in the active language. As long as the ID for a particular voice segment is not changed when the segment is translated into other languages, the default prompt will find the segment it needs to play.
In some cases, the logic of a prompt may need to be altered for a specific language. For example, the system prompt that speaks the date (Date) uses U.S. English syntax to play the month, followed by the day spoken as an ordinal quantity, followed by the year. In other languages, the date syntax may be different. For example, the German version of Date will need to play the day, followed by the month, followed by the year. In such cases, you will need to create a language-specific version of the default prompt. The language-specific prompt for a particular language will be used instead of the default prompt when that language is the active language for the currently executing voice application. The inputs to the language-specific and default versions of a prompt, if any, must match exactly in number and type. Refer to Using languages other than U.S. English for information about modifying the system prompts for other languages.
All default and corresponding language-specific prompts for a state table are stored in the same prompt directory. When a state table encounters a PlayPrompt action, the system searches the specified prompt directory for the prompt to be played. If a language-specific version of the prompt exists for the active language, that version is played; otherwise, the default version of the prompt is played.