What is the difference between localization and translation?

[Gaile Gray.6029]

Hey Loc Team,

 

I warned you I was going to ask, and well, here it is. ;)

 

Can you explain the differences between localization and simple translation?

 

When I first started with ArenaNet I remember learning that there are significant differences, I think a lot of people would be interested in learning about these two different processes.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

A lot of us are unclear about what exactly localization is. Can you walk us through what happens in these three scenarios:

 

(1) Game jargon. How do you translate the class specializations? Do you look for translating the idea? or the sense of the word? Do the non-English teams push back against some jargon words because of how tricky they might be to convey or transition? Which specialization was the trickiest to port from English? English (and German) uses a lot of portmanteaus (e.g. Dragonhunter), but Spanish & French less so -- does this make things trickier? Is there are specialization (or other jargon) translation of which you are especially pleased with how it turned out?

 

(2) Character names. Some names clearly will fit in just fine: Taimi, Blish, Utumishi. When does a name need localization? When does it need localisation? Are the conversations typically quick & easy? Or, when there is a decision, can it generate... passionate discussions? Can you name any particular NPCs that we particularly interesting or awkward or funny to translate?

 

(3) Story dialogue. How much lead time do you get for new Living World episodes? (How much time do you want?) How many edits from the English do you get while in the process of localizing? Once localized, do the actors ever end up saying/doing something that makes you rethink the choices? (Are you present during recording sessions to assist?)

 

Thanks.

[Eruaph.4039]

I would have thought that translation was just a part of localisation. It would be nice to get a full list of everything the localisation team does so that we can fully appreciate all they do but I imagine it probably entails some of the following as well:

 

Changing for cultural taboos (e.g. showing skeletons in some cultures)

Changing jokes that are based on linguistic puns.

Checking for legal issues across varying countries.

Changes for other cultural differences (e.g. I remember reading something about a movie where there was a child throwing away some broccoli which in American culture is usually seen as a hated vegetable, but in one of the localisations they had to change that as it didn't make sense, because in that country it is considered a treat).

[Ayrilana.1396]

**Translation** - This applies to fairly literal, "word for word." This is often out of necessity. If you want to make sure that a person in Japan understands how to use a product (such as a medical device), it is important that the source and target-language text match up precisely.

 

**Localization** - This is a more involved process whereby the target-language content is adapted to more effectively convey a similar meaning or connotation in the target culture. Idiomatic expressions, puns and marketing material generally fall into this category, but localization can apply to any type of content based on what your business objectives are. The key point here is that your target-language version will often not be a literal translation. As an example, if you want to convey the phrase "Like father, like son" in Chinese, it would read as something like "Tigers do not breed dogs." Although this doesn't match up with the source content, it has the same connotation in the target culture

 

https://www.computerworld.com/article/2471149/mobile-apps/translation-vs--localization--and-those-other-long-words-.amp.html

[Ardid.7203]

> @"Illconceived Was Na.9781" said:

> (1) Game jargon. How do you translate the class specializations? Do you look for translating the idea? or the sense of the word? Do the non-English teams push back against some jargon words because of how tricky they might be to convey or transition? Which specialization was the trickiest to port from English? English (and German) uses a lot of portmanteaus (e.g. Dragonhunter), but Spanish & French less so -- does this make things trickier? Is there are specialization (or other jargon) translation of which you are especially pleased with how it turned out?

 

On this aspect I must say the Spanish translation for some of the elite specializations are really, really weird/ugly, specially for Latin American ears. Maybe the Mother Spain crowd find them less awkward, but at least most people I chat in game, from many spanish talking places tend to concurr with me.

"Chatarrero" doesn't really sound like "Scrapper" to me, it sounds like "Trash-guy".

"Quimérico" is literally "Chimeric" in spanish, which IMO doesn't relate with the desert and mirrors like "Mirage" do. "Espejismo" would have been a MUCH better name.

"Abrasador" remembers a barbecue, not divine fire.

 

Finally, a very specific case: "Retornado" sounds great, but is not a direct translation of "Revenant", and it doesn't have anything to do with spirits. In my country Retornado is a political term for people who came back to Chile from forced exile after the Military Dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. It is a very charged and uncomfortable word, which tends to spawn strong political debates and conflict.

 

The rest are great, IMO. "Cazadragones" manages to sound better IMO than Dragon Hunter, although the meaning is still super awkward for this game...

 

And of course: "Tempestad" is 100% better than the first proposal of "Tempesteador". So in this case, this is a HUGE thank you for the localization team. You save me from lots of suffering.

 

 

[Bashkim Leka.3579]

Hello everyone,

 

At ArenaNet we define Localization as providing a game experience that feels native for our players. Localization when done well goes unnoticed because it feels natural, however great localization adds elements to the players experience that sends a message of extra care, the team is highly focused on that.

As an example, when we have a pun that has no equivalent in a target language, we must apply our creative skills and come up with an equivalent that is hopefully a pun and still relevant to the context. It can be tricky at times but having that extra human creative touch applied to the locale is what differentiates localization from translation.

 

I will leave the language specific questions to each language teams:)

 

Fun fact: GW2 has over 5 million words :)

[Kunzaito.8169]

There are some good/interesting questions that got threaded here when they should probably be their own threads. I hope they get answered. (That said, it seems like this month's subforum is not seeing much response action from the spotlight ANet team overall)

[Alexandra.8147]

Hey everyone,

I am going to try my best to touch on a lot of these great questions, but please bear with me since some of these questions technically could have entire books written on them. :)

When it comes to translation as a profession, it is purely a word-to-word translation process. Text translation in itself can be a complicated process, depending on which languages are being translated (it is much easier to translate languages from the same linguistic family, than opposing linguistic structures. An example of this would be translating English to Turkish/Korean (similar family) and vice-versa). Linguistic value carries the most importance in this type of work, as a skilled translator will put emphasis on certain syntax, sentence structure and linguistic value, in order to convey the closest meaning expressed in the original text in the target language.

Localization, on the other hand, takes translation one step further: the main emphasis is no longer on the 1:1 translation ratio (to convey the EXACT meaning of sentences or strings of words), but additionally, the language and content is adapted to the respective culture and customs of the target language. An example of this would be to avoid words/content that could offend people of that country and culture, or simply avoiding puns that only work in one language. The most important thing to note here, however, is that localization simply cannot function without great translation at its basis. Without linguistic finesse in the text translations, a team could never localize content – in a way, these two disciplines build off one another. The grammar and syntax of our translations need to fit the needs of the original English text in the case of GW2, in order for us to be able to further adapt the text, voiceover lines, etc. into the other languages.

Phew – ok! Now, let me get to some questions in detail:

Illconceived Was Na.9781, you asked about game jargon and character names! Both of these categories can be tricky to localize at times, depending on the individual terminology and the target language we are localizing for. I can speak specifically about some German examples, but I am quite sure the rest of the team also has some =) . It can be quite difficult to name certain NPC’s or even specializations sometimes, because the English name might not actually be a “traditional name”. In German this simply does not work. I’m going to give an example from outside of GW2 from the American English regarding names. In America, a child could be named Grace, Hope, Faith, or even Blossom. In German culture, this is not the case and additionally, calling a person a simply noun like “Hoffnung” [Hope] would sound very strange in a sentence! So when we encounter NPC’s with names of that sort, we oftentimes need to sit down as a team and decide how we want to name that character for the German player base. We would also need to consider if the name “Hope” indicates any kind of important characteristic of that NPC within the storyline. And if so, which German name would help to convey that to our players? Sometimes this is really challenging for us and involves compromising to find the best solution.

The other question posed was about LW content. The amount of time we receive to work on something always depends on the production process and the individual goals set for the specific episode. I think perfection would require infinite amounts of time, haha – but basically, I would love for all of us to have more time to work on things, simply to make the game even more enjoyable for all of you. I definitely always appreciate any kind of feedback that the players send us, because it helps to make our work even better.

 

[Gaile Gray.6029]

These are such informative and detailed answers. I loved learning more, and thank you both so much, Bashkim and Alexandra!