Dealing with a wide variety of clients from many different countries, one of the exciting things about working as a voiceover artist is the range of material you get to voice. Being sadly mono-lingual, all of my work is english speaking, but quite often there are unique challenges to be faced when dealing with customers who are trying to deliver a product in a second language.
Most of these can be circumvented just by asking the right questions. Getting as much information and understanding about what you're talking about is obviously key, but it's crucial to request prounciation guides for any brand names or unusual words you might not be familiar with. Though various websites on the internet offer prounciation, quite a few of them are automated and it is always best to check rather than second guess when in doubt. Even asking for a quick recording on a phone is usually the best solution to ensure recording time isn't wasted - perhaps one of the most frustrating expereinces is sacrificing a perfect take because of an unexpected inflection no amount of online resources could have highlighted.
Another aspect of my work I didn't really expect when starting out has been correcting and rewriting client copy to make sure everything is grammatically correct and is as effective as possible. For more corporate projects, this task has often been quite straightforward and largely about minor alterations in syntax. But for more commercial projects where there is a distinct build and rhythm to a pitch, this can be a much trickier proposition, effectively necessitating me to rework sales copy on which someone's marketing campaign depends.
Obviously, by working on such a large number of projects, you soon get a feel for what works and what doesn't. But it gets far trickier when a client insists that you record their script as written, regardless of whether it actually makes sense or not. Generally, I attempt to offer a compromise in such cases by recording a 'as written' version and then my own adaptation of the text, which may be technically 'better' (ie. make grammatical sense) but might not fit with other elements (for example, a video the client has already made but not sent me) which have already been finalised.
As ever, the key for the VO talent is to be as accomodating as possible and be seen to provide options rather than picking holes in what might not be a perfect script. It's a tricky line to tread, especially as you want to put your name and reputation behind everything you record and an archaic script can sometimes pose an obstacle to that, but ultimately it comes down to client satisfaction. Even if it's wrong.