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Website localisation: Asymmetries and terminological challenges
Abstract
Traditionally, website translation has been considered a process moving from the global to the local, or from the major to the minor, and has largely been termed localization. Yet, the various meanings and interpretations of the term create the need for more specific terms that designate specific types of localization such as the cases where a locally generated website, created in a locale with 'minor' presence on the international market, needs to be provided in a language that is considered 'major' in cyberspace, e.g. websites into English as a lingua franca. In such cases, the website content transfer follows an opposite direction, i.e. from the local to the global. We would like to capitalize on the major-minor metaphor as a methodological tool for cases emerging as a quasi-opposite process to the prevailing conceptualiza-tion of localization, in an attempt to highlight differences which might justify new terminology. It will be argued that the concept of locale from which the term localization stems does not apply when a culturally undefined audience is addressed, and a new term will be proposed.
Localization is everywhere in our digital world, from apps to websites or games. Our interconnected digital world functions in part thanks to invisible localization processes that allow global users to engage with all sorts of digital content and products. This book presents a comprehensive overview of the main theoretical, practical, and methodological issues related to localization, the technological, textual, communicative, and cognitive process by which interactive digital texts are prepared to be used in contexts other than those of production.
Localization in Translation provides an interdisciplinary introduction to the main practical and theoretical issues involved in localizing software, web, video games, and apps. It discusses the many technological, cultural, linguistic, quality, economic, accessibility, and user-reception issues related to the different localization types. It also provides an updated overview of localization in an ever-changing technological landscape marked by advances in neural machine translation and AI. Each chapter includes a basic summary, key questions, a final section with discussion and assignments, as well as additional readings. Online resources with additional questions and assignments are included on the Routledge Translation Studies portal.
This is the essential textbook for advanced undergraduates and graduates in translation studies and translation professionals engaged in localization practice.
The chapter starts with a distinction between different types of products and services. This provides the basis for the standardization-adaptation debate. Subsequently, the discussion shifts to global innovation and product development and demonstrates how different types of innovations may have rather different implications for the innovating company and the market as a whole. Next, we look at the international product life cycle, which is used to explain foreign investment patterns as well as to describe revenue and profit patterns of products. The chapter closes with a look at the counterfeits, an increasing and potentially dangerous aspect of global marketing.KeywordsProduct dimensionsProduct typesServicesStandardizationAdaptationLocalizationProduct life cycleNew product developmentInnovation cubeDisruptive innovationCounterfeits
The Android system operates on many smartphones in many locales. Websites and web tools have their own requirements in day-to-day life. To reach the maximum users, the app and website should handle all the resources such as text strings, functions, layouts, graphics, and any other static data that the app/website needs. It requires internationalization and localization of the website and app to support multiple languages. The basic idea of this chapter is to present an approach for localizing the Android application according to the location data that the app received from the device, but many users do not allow the “access location” feature so this approach will be a dead end in this case. The authors have proposed some other techniques to achieve this feature of localization and internationalization by implementing the “choose language” service so that the app can itself optimize its content and translate it into the user's native language.
Nowadays there is a pressing need to develop interpreting-related technologies, with practitioners and other end-users increasingly calling for tools tailored to their needs and their new interpreting scenarios. But, at the same time, interpreting as a human activity has resisted complete automation for various reasons, such as fear, unawareness, communication complexities, lack of dedicated tools, etc.
Several computer-assisted interpreting tools and resources for interpreters have been developed, although they are rather modest in terms of the support they provide. In the same vein, and despite the pressing need to aiding in multilingual mediation, machine interpreting is still under development, with the exception of a few success stories.
This paper will present the results of VIP, a R&D project on language technologies applied to interpreting. It is the ‘seed’ of a family of projects on interpreting technologies which are currently being developed or have just been completed at the Research Institute of Multilingual Language Technologies (IUITLM), University of Malaga.
This chapter discusses research in translation studies on localisation, the set of translational processes associated with digital genres such as software, web content, video games, or apps. It analyses whether two decades of localisation research have had an impact on theorisations on translation in general. Has the irruption of localisation processes and associated research helped redefine or broaden the notion of translation within translation studies? Or, on the other hand, have the peculiarities of this process and its distinct interdisciplinary connections led to the consolidation of localisation studies as a distinct (sub)discipline? This chapter will argue that localisation has helped expand the limits of translation, while at the same time providing a platform for interdisciplinarity and to discuss the fuzzy borders of what translation is (or is not).
Open Access Book: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edit/10.4324/9781315121871/moving-boundaries-translation-studies-helle-dam-karen-zethsen-matilde-br%C3%B8gger?_gl=1*ypn6he*_ga*OTkzNDczNzg0LjE2NTc3MjEzODg.*_ga_0HYE8YG0M6*MTY4MzgxMDQ2OC4zNi4xLjE2ODM4MTA1ODYuMC4wLjA.
The goal of the Localisation Industry is to produce sites that "look like they have been developed in-country" (LISA 2004, p. 11), even when due to cost-effectiveness considerations international versions are frequently released for languages with multiple locales. Thus, the industry's discourse links quality in localisations to texts that are received as local productions, while its internationalisation strategies strive to erase certain dialectal and cultural differences. This paper researches the strategies applied by multinational corporations when dealing with neutral international version of localised websites. After a theoretical review of the interrelated notions of internationalisation, quality, neutral language version and localisation level, the empirical study researches the case of Spanish, one of the languages with the greater number of different locales. Following a corpus-based approach, the Spanish localisation strategies of the 600 largest US companies are analyzed. Detailed statistics for each model and locale are provided. In a second stage, a longitudinal study is presented that contrasts data collected in 2006 with the localisation strategies observed in 2009. The results show that multinational companies apply different strategies for the European and Latin American markets, while the largest US companies have gradually increased the Spanish localised versions of their websites. Additionally, the fuzzy US Spanish locale continues to grow despite the fact that this locale is not still internationally recognized and standardized.
In the midst of a shift from paper to digital texts, web localization represents one of the fastest growing sectors in the translation industry. In this paper, I will argue that Translation Studies (TS) has not devoted enough attention to this phenomenon, partly due to the lack of definition and delimitation of the object of study, and partly due to the quickly evolving intersection of technology, digital text and novel forms of language and culture mediation. In order to overcome this situation and promote new research in this area, this paper extends the prototype approach advocated by Halverson (1999, 2002) to the definition of web localization. This type of approach can help bridge the gap between industry and TS disciplines, providing a framework to classify exemplars of web-mediated communication more or less at the core of the study of web localization phenomena. The main features that this paper will propose as prototypical features of web localization in relation to other translational phenomena are: (1) that the object of the process is web digital genres (i.e. corporate websites, social networking sites, institutional sites), and that (2) texts are digital and hyperlinked. The proposed web genre classification by Jimenez-Crespo (2013a) will be reviewed as a potential foundation to identify exemplars of the web localization prototype.
The localization of websites involves translating and adapting content to specific local markets. This involves language technologies, and the degree of adaptation varies according to marketing criteria. Cross-cultural communication via websites, and of the elements that constitute the individual screens of each site, is one of the fastest-growing areas opened up by the era of electronic communications. The development of the Internet as an interactive medium is giving rise to a series of creative non-professional translation practices. There are several ways of relating the groups working on the different language versions of a website. Because of mixed strategies, most organizations preserve their global image while at the same time incorporating elements likely to enable regional synergies and appeal to local users. Website communication is such a fast-moving phenomenon. As websites increasingly use spoken and visual communication, more and more translations may be into voice files. © Editorial matter and organization 2011 Kirsten Malmkjær and Kevin Windle. All rights reserved.
La médiation linguistique n’a de sens que dans la mesure où elle aide à établir une coopération à long terme entre les cultures. De ce postulat découlent plusieurs conséquences pour l’avenir de la traductologie. En premier lieu, il ne suffit plus de ne parler que de traduction, car il nous faut aussi étudier toutes les formes de médiation, y compris l’apprentissage des langues, au regard duquel la traduction doit se faire payer cher. Deuxièmement, il faut s’intéresser de très près au rôle des technologies en tant que facteurs de médiation, surtout dans la mesure où elles facilitent le travail en équipe et, par là-même, donnent lieu à un contrôle relativement anonyme de la complexité des informations. C’est l’ensemble de ces phénomènes que recouvre aujourd’hui le terme de localisation, qui connaît une grande vogue et non sans raison. Plus on opte pour les technologies de localisation, plus on soumet la traduction à l’internationalisation comme mode de production centralisé, plus on perd de vue les enjeux de la coopération entre cultures. Une telle médiation, en un sens postmoderne, laisse peu de pouvoir de décision individuel au traducteur humain, qui s’efface progressivement, sans autre éthique que l’efficacité. Parler de coopération dans ce contexte revient à affirmer un besoin éthique d’autant plus impératif.
This study analyzes linguistic versions of the Web pages of 1,140 universities in 57 countries via a content analysis of language use at three points in time over a five-year period. The results are partially inconsistent with previous theories of Internet multilingualism. As an alternative, we propose a tri-level multiglossia model in which the national language is the core language used to communicate with the native population of the country; English is the first additional language, aimed at an international audience; and other secondary languages target specific groups. Over the five-year period, the first level remained stable, the second increased, and the third increased the most. This suggests that even in the domain of higher education, the Web is becoming increasingly multilingual.
Web localization is a cognitive, textual, communicative and technological process by which interactive web texts are modified to be used by audiences in different sociolinguistic contexts.
This study focuses on the translation of the corporate websites of universities in the European Union. The main goal is to gain a comprehensive picture of institutional websites in higher education and try to shed some light on certain questions that have not been addressed so far in Translation Studies: Do all university websites have to be translated into English? Into which languages are online contents mostly translated? Are European language policies on multilingualism being effectively applied in the case of the Web? Are institutional websites localized for a particular market or rather globalized for the international audience? And finally, are university websites being adapted by professional translators? This paper reports on 800 corporate websites from universities of the 27 state members of the European Union.
Geert Hofstede’s legendary national culture research is critiqued. Crucial assumptions which underlie his claim to have uncovered the secrets of entire national cultures are described and challenged. The plausibility of systematically causal national cultures is questioned.
In their article "Marketing and Culture in University Websites" Shahla Simin, Manoochehr Tavangar, and Antonio Pinna begin with the issue of information and communication technologies in and raise the question of what influence technologies will have on different regions and cultures. Are the technologies contributing to the homogenization of cultures around the Western model or are other cultures using new media technology in culturally specific ways? If cultural differences are found, what role do they play? Simin, Tavangar, and Pinna base their analysis on Geert Hofstede's model of cultural dimensions and Norman Fairclough's concept of the commodification of educational settings. Selected university home pages are analyzed on the basis of two criteria: organization and graphical design. The analysis of the selected webpages indicates that there are differences in the depiction of local cultural values on the web and thus they follow different cultural trends.
Website localization poses new challenges to translators and translation studies.
The object of translation, the Web, is a new type of multidimensional source material and
the translation of web material constitutes a new type of multilingual service. Translation
studies must try to integrate this new challenge as it has a ot to offer. On the other hand localization of websites brings some new aspects into translation studies as well. The fo allowing paper attempts to clarify the key concepts and to describe the new object of translation, as well as to develop a strategy to apply approaches from translation studies to website localization
With the growth of worldwide e-commerce, companies are increasingly targeting foreign online consumers. However, there is a dearth of evidence as to whether global consumers prefer to browse and buy from standardized global web sites or web sites adapted to their local cultures. This study provides evidence from five different countries as to whether global consumers prefer local web content or standardized web content. The study also measures how the degree of cultural adaptation on the web affects consumer perception of site effectiveness. INTRODUCTION It is expected that by 2005 the global online population will reach 1 billion consumers (www.nua.net/ surveys/). The Internet technology enables companies to expand globally at a fast pace across diverse cultures, political systems, and economies (Zhao and Levary, 2002). eBay, Dell, Yahoo, Amazon, Landsend, and many other companies have set up local web sites to reach online consumers across the world. This recent surge in targeting global online consumers has re-ignited the old debate of whether to standardize or localize the communication content on the web (Ju-Pak, 1999; Simon, 2001). The academic literature offers few studies that have looked into the issue of standardization or localization of the web communication content. Studies by Fink and Laupase (2000), Luna et al. (2002), Simon (2001) and Tsikriktsis (2002) provide some evidence of cross-cultural differences in perception of web site content, and support the use of localized web
The current paper reviews all high quality studies investigating the impact of the cultural congruency of websites on measures of website effectiveness. In order to be able to present a comprehensive overview of the findings, the various performance measures included in the different studies are integrated within the WEBQUAL framework [Loiacono et al. 2007]. Hypotheses are formulated and subsequently tested for the different effectiveness variables. Results are summarized using vote count and descriptive summary. The purpose is to generate robust conclusions, since the results of the individual studies are very scattered. The main conclusion is that the literature provides sound empirical support for the positive impact of cultural congruency on the performance measures "usefulness", "ease of use", "positive attitudes", "positive intentions", and "overall effectiveness". For some performance measures, however, support for the positive effect of cultural congruity is weak or missing. Based on this comprehensive, in-depth overview, research gaps are identified and suggestions for further research are provided.
For the discourse of localization, translation is often "just a language problem". For translation theorists, localization introduces fancy words but nothing essentially new. Both views are probably right, but only to an extent. This book sets up a dialogue across those differences. Is there anything that translation theory can gain from localization? Can localization theory learn anything from the history and complexity of translation? To address those questions, both terms are placed within a more general frame, that of text transfer. Texts are distributed in time and space; localization and translation respond differently to those movements; their relative virtues are thus brought out on common ground.
Anthony Pym here reviews not only key problems in translation theory, but also critical concepts such as cultural resistance, variable transaction costs, segmentation of the labour market, and the dehumanization of technical discourse. The book closes with a plea for the humanizing virtues of translation, over and above the efficiencies of localization.
This is a course on the main paradigms of Western translation theories since the 1960s. It adopts a view of translation that includes interpreting (spoken translation) but does not give any special attention to the problems of interpreting. The course is not primarily designed to make anyone a better translator; it is mainly for academic work at advanced levels, although it should be accessible to anyone interested in how the theories invite debate. The basic idea is that all the theories respond to the one central problem: translation can be defined by equivalence, but there are many reasons why equivalence is not a stable concept. So how can we think about translation beyond equivalence? The answers to that question have been more numerous than many suspect, and are often creative and surprising.
Non-governmental organisations set different goals than for-profit corporations. However, they need to be advertised in order to keep working. One of the basic means NGOs use in order to attract volunteers and donators is their website. Although the English language is considered as the lingua franca of the internet it seems to be inadequate when a global audience is aimed at. NGOs seem to have realized the need to communicate with potential donators or volunteers in their native language and have started providing localized versions of their websites. In this paper we are going to examine the persuasive discourse adopted by NGOs in their English, French and Greek website versions. According to Aristotle ( Rhetoric , 1356a) ( 2002 ) the three persuasive techniques used to change the audience’s beliefs are (a) pathos, which appeals to the audience’s emotions, (b) ethos , which establishes the good “character” and credibility of the author and (c) logos, which uses logic and evidence to convince the audience. Our aim is to examine both the use and the multisemiotic realization of the above mentioned techniques in different cultural contexts. For the needs of our analysis we will adopt methodological tools from the field of social semiotics ( image and text relation ( Barthes 2007 ) and the grammar of visual design and of colours ( Kress and Van Leeuwen 1996 , 2002 ). Translational theories such as Skopos theory ( Reiss and Vermeer 1984 ; Nord 1997 ) will provide the theoretical framework for the study of the adaptation techniques and strategies adopted when the Greek audience is addressed.
This bestselling text is a comprehensive overview of functionalist approaches to translation in English. Christiane Nord, one of the leading figures in translation studies, explains the complexities of theories and terms in simple language with numerous examples. Covering how the theories developed, illustrations of the main ideas, and specific applications to translator training, literary translation, interpreting and ethics, Translating as a Purposeful Activity concludes with a concise review of both criticisms and perspectives for the future. Now with a Foreword by Georges Bastin and a new chapter covering the recent developments and elaborations of the theory, this is an essential text for students of translation studies and for translator training.
Translation and Globalization is essential reading for anyone with an interest in translation, or a concern for the future of our world’s languages and cultures. This is a critical exploration of the ways in which radical changes to the world economy have affected contemporary translation.
The role of advertising can be perceived quite differently across cultures. Analysts, therefore, are advised to approach advertisements with some understanding of the expectations in a particular culture (Rotzoll 1985). Such advice is particularly important in translating advertisements since the various strategies and techniques employed for persuasion have to be adjusted in the target culture in order for the intended perlocutionary effect to be achieved. The 55 English-Greek advertisement pairs examined in this research indicate that the translator should be sensitive not only to conventions applying across genres in a particular culture, but also to conventions associated with genre-internal variation, as 'soft-sell' and 'hard-sell' approaches in advertising are shown to require different types of interferences, in the translation process, for appropriateness to be achieved.
This book traces the history of translation from the 17th century to the present day. It shows how fluency prevailed over other translation strategies to shape the canon of foreign literatures in English, and investigates the cultural consequences of the domestic values which were simultaneously inscribed and masked in foreign texts during this period. The book locates alternative translation theories and practices in British, American and European cultures which aim to communicate linguistic and cultural differences instead of removing them. It explains the way in which translation can be studied as a locus of difference and is suitable for students of translation at all levels.
Ten years ago, during the early days of the Internet, research was undertaken that looked for evidence of cultural convergence in the web sites of global corporations using Hofstede's cultural dimensions and country clusters. That study found little homogeneity. Since then, the Internet has matured and corporations have become more sophisticated in designing their web sites. Therefore, the main objective of the current project is to provide a longitudinal view of how national culture has changed over a ten year period by replicating the 1998 study and comparing the results. Findings suggest that there have been some changes towards homogeneity.
This edition has been replaced by a new edition and is no longer available for purchase.
A replacement of the author's well-known book on Translation Theory, In Search of a Theory of Translation (1980), this book makes a case for Descriptive Translation Studies as a scholarly activity as well as a branch of the discipline, having immediate consequences for issues of both a theoretical and applied nature. Methodological discussions are complemented by an assortment of case studies of various scopes and levels, with emphasis on the need to contextualize whatever one sets out to focus on. Part One deals with the position of descriptive studies within TS and justifies the author's choice to devote a whole book to the subject. Part Two gives a detailed rationale for descriptive studies in translation and serves as a framework for the case studies comprising Part Three. Concrete descriptive issues are here tackled within ever growing contexts of a higher level: texts and modes of translational behaviour — in the appropriate cultural setup; textual components — in texts, and through these texts, in cultural constellations. Part Four asks the question: What is knowledge accumulated through descriptive studies performed within one and the same framework likely to yield in terms of theory and practice?
Purpose
– The technology acceptance model (TAM) has been one of the most influential theories in the information technology literature, but it has not been used in the marketing literature to understand consumer acceptance of international web sites. Thus, the purpose of this study is to use TAM to study international consumers' acceptance and use of MNEs web sites designed specifically for their country.
Design/methodology/approach
– This study applies and extends the TAM to study the B2C international web sites of American and Japanese MNEs for Brazilian, German, and Taiwanese consumers. In total, there were 2,243 usable questionnaires and the structural equation modeling method was used to analyze the data.
Findings
– This study provides strong support for the applicability of TAM in explaining international web site usage in Brazil, Germany, and Taiwan and shows that cultural adaptation is an important explanatory variable that should be included in the TAM when exploring cross‐cultural issues.
Originality/value
– The value of this paper is that it not only extends the use of TAM to study user acceptance of international e‐commerce web sites, but also sees how the cultural adaptation of international web sites impacts the attitude and the purchase intention of consumers.
An abstract is not available.
From the Publisher:Web globalization isn't just about expanding into new markets; it's about surviving in changing markets -- and it isn't easy. Beyond Borders: Web Globalization Strategies helps you hit the ground running. It offers great tips and hands-on strategies for setting up your site to "go global" and helps you avoid common mistakes that even Fortune 500 companies have made along the way. In the end, you will have guidelines and suggestions for bridging the borders between languages, cultures, countries, and -- ultimately -- people.
Discusses several concerns of translating "Languages of Limited Diffusion" (LLD) including: (1) the lack of knowledge of the language; (2) the role of word-for-word or computer translation; (3) translating from a translation or from the translator's native language; (4) common elements in the source and target languages; (5) uncommon languages' role in world literature. (MSE)
An analysis of applications and replications of the work of Geert Hofstede was based on a collection of citations of published and unpublished material. Four types of usage were found: citations, reviews, empirical replications, and as a paradigm. The role of Hofstede's work is illustrated by the number of citations, the widespread usage of Hofstede's culture types beyond citation as well as confirmation of the results and validation of the dimensions by empirical research.
The great majority of European States are multilingual — either because they contain within their boundaries autochthonous minorities who have conserved their language or because they are host to allochthonous minorities with various mother tongues which have been retained. The managing of linguistic diversity within the State has been and continues to be problematic — conservation of difference may cause ghettoization; assimilation undermines the identity and culture of the group which assimilates. These problems are multiplied and magnified in the case of the European Union, not only because of the sheer number of linguistic groups involved but also because of the nature of its power relationships. The management of diversity on such a scale is at the very least cumbersome and expensive. However, the easiest solution — intergroup communication effected through a single lingua franca — is not politically acceptable at the present time. Any of the possible contenders for such a role would meet with fierce resistance from some part of the Union. Nevertheless, there is, arguably, a need to construct a ‘community of communication’ if there is to be any evolution from the European Union as a free trade zone to the European Union as any kind of political entity.
Much thinking about digital cities is in terms of community groups. Yet, the world is composed of social networks and not
of groups. This paper traces how communities have changed from densely-knit “Little Boxes” (densely-knit, linking people door-to-door)
to “Glocalized” networks (sparsely-knit but with clusters, linking households both locally and globally) to “Networked Individualism”
(sparsely-knit, linking individuals with little regard to space). The transformation affects design considerations for computer
systems that would support digital cities.
In the marketing and advertising literature very few studies have addressed the issue of Web site standardization or localization, and there is a debate as to whether Web sites are culturally neutral or culturally sensitive documents. To address this confusion and deficit in the literature, this research studies how cultural values are reflected in American and Mexican Web sites. A content analysis of American and Mexican Web pages indicates that there are significant differences in the depiction of local cultural values on the Web.
The financial performance of European and Asian work units of one multinational company is examined as a function of the congruence between management practices and national culture. Using Hofstede's five national culture dimensions and analogous management practices, we find that work unit financial performance is higher when management practices in the work unit are congruent with the national culture.© 1996 JIBS. Journal of International Business Studies (1996) 27, 753–779
Translating/Adapting Websites for an International Audience: Towards a New Conceptualization Framework". Paper presented at the Post-graduate Workshop of the Doctoral School in Translation, Interpreting and Intercultural Studies
- Chiara Bartolini
Bartolini, Chiara. 2017. "Translating/Adapting Websites for an International Audience:
Towards a New Conceptualization Framework". Paper presented at the Post-graduate
Workshop of the Doctoral School in Translation, Interpreting and Intercultural Studies,
University of Bologna at Forlì.
In Translational research and translation practice in the Greek-speaking world, Collective Volume
- Parthena Charalampidou
Charalampidou, Parthena. 2011. "Website localization. A cultural approach to content transfer. "
In Translational research and translation practice in the Greek-speaking world, Collective
Volume, edited by T. Nenopoulou and Ε. Loupaki, 153-172. Thessaloniki: City Publish.