Translation Challenges in the Localization of Web Applications
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30827/sendebar.v27i0.4942Keywords:
localization, web applications, challenges, internationalization, translation memory systemsAbstract
This preliminary study aims at exploring the nature of challenges that translators face when they take on a localization project of a web application. Taking into account that localization is an activity constrained by time, process and economic resources, translators need to make use of their full skill set to overcome the various challenges imposed by the source text and the localization process itself.
For the purpose of this study, an ad hoc monolingual English corpus composed of the user interface strings of web applications has been used. Since multiple types of challenges are found in a localization project of this nature, this paper focuses on those related to internationalization practices and to constraints imposed by the translation memory segmentation process.
Although localization is a mature field and a great deal of guidelines and best practices is available for content creators and tool developers, as found in this qualitative study, localizers can still suffer the consequences of deficient internationalization practices and non-ergonomic translation tools.
Downloads
References
Abdallah, Kristiina and Koskinen, Kaisa (2007). Managing trust: Translating and the network economy. Meta: Journal des Traducteurs / Meta: Translators’ Journal 52 (4), 673-687.
Alonso, Elisa (2015). Analysing Translation Professionals in the Information Society and their Use and Perceptions of Wikipedia [online]. JoSTrans: The Journal of Specialised Translation 23, 89-116.
< http://www.jostrans.org/issue23/art_alonso.php> [Accessed 25 March 2016].
Alonso, Elisa (2016). Conflict, opacity and mistrust in the digital management of professional translation projects. The International Journal of Translation and Interpreting Research 8 (1), 19-29.
Alonso, Elisa y Calvo, Elisa (2015). Developing a Blueprint for a Technology-mediated Approach to Translation Studies. Meta: Journal des traducteursMeta:/Translators’ Journal 60 (1), 135-157.
Alonso, Elisa and De la Cova, Elena (2013). Introducción a la localización. Materiales docentes (An Introduction to Localisation. Training Materials). Seville (Spain): [self-edited].
Amant, Kirk S. (2001). Cultures, computers, and communication: Evaluating models of international online production. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication 44 (4), 291-295.
— (2003). Designing effective writing-for-translation intranet sites. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 46 (1), 55-62.
— (2005). A prototype theory approach to Web site localization: an analytical method for technical communicators. 2005 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference Proceedings, 101-107.
Austermühl, Frank (2001). Electronic tools for translators. Manchester: St. Jerome.
Asnes, Adam (2007). Change your encoding, change your company. Multilingual Computing and Technology. Getting started guide, 5-6.
Bernal Merino, Miguel Ángel (2007). What's in a 'Game'?. Localisation Focus The International Journal of Localisation 6 (1), 29-38.
Biau-Gil, José Ramón and Pym, Anthoy (2006). Technology and translation (a pedagogical overview). En Translation Technology and its Teaching. Anthony Pym, Alexander Perekstenko, and Bram Starink (eds.), 5-19. Tarragona: Intercultural Studies Group.
Bowker, Linda (2005). Productivity vs quality. A pilot study on the impact of translation memory systems. Localisation Focus 4, 13-20.
Brown, M. Katherine (2003). Trends in Writing for Translation. Multilingual Computing and Technology 14 (7), 4-8.
Bundgaard, Kristine, Christensen, Tina Paulsen and Schjoldager, Anne (2016). Translator-Computer Interaction in Action—an Observational Process Study of Computer-Aided Translation. Journal of Specialised Translation 25, 106-130
Christensen, Tina Paulsen and Schjoldager, Anne (2011). The Impact of Translation-Memory (TM) Technology. In Human-Machine Interaction in Translation: Proceedings of the 8th International NLPCS Workshop 41, 119
Colominas, Carme (2008). Towards chunk-based translation memories. Babel 54(4), 343-354.
DePalma, Donald (2015). The cloud: a translation business essential. Multilingual Computing and Technology, 26 (1), 26-27
Dragsted, Barbara (2006). Computer-aided translation as a distributed cognitive task. Pragmatics & Cognition 14 (2), 443-464.
Dunne, Keiran (2014). Localization. En Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Technology. Sin-wai Chan (ed.), 550-5563. Routledge.
Edwards, Kate (2015). The death of context. Multilingual Computing, 26 (8), 20-21.
Esselink, Bert (2000). A practical guide to localization. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing.
— y Cadieux, Pierre (2002). GILT: Globalization, Internationalization, Localization, Translation. The LISA Newslater: Globalization Insider XI (1.5).
Flint, Patricia, Van Slyke, Melanie Lord, Stärke-Meyerring, Doreen and Thompson, Aimee (1999). Going online: Helping technical communicators help translators. Technical communication, 46 (2), 238-248.
Herrmann, Achim and Sachse, Florian (2005). Internacionalización de aplicaciones de software. En Traducción y localización. Mercado, gestión y tecnologías. Detlef Reineke (ed.), 45-70. La Palmas de Gran Canaria: Anroart
Hoft, Nancy L. (1995). International technical communication: How to export information about high technology. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Horvath, Alan (2007). Think internationalization in everyday design. Multilingual Computing and Technology. Getting started guide, 3-4.
Hurtado Albir, Amparo (2001). Traducción y traductología. Madrid: Cátedra.
Jiménez Crespo, Miguel Ángel (2008). El proceso de localización web: estudio contrastivo de un corpus comparable del género sitio web corporativo. Tesis doctoral, Universidad de Granada
— (2009). The effect of Translation Memory tools in translated Web texts: Evidence from a comparative product-based study. Linguistica Antverpiensia 8, 213–234.
— (2009). El uso de corpus textuales en localización. Tradumàtica: traducció i tecnologies de la informació i la comunicación 7, 1-15
— (2011). To adapt or not to adapt in web localization: a contrastive genre-based study of original and localized legal sections in corporate websites [online]. Jostrans: The Journal of Specialised Translation 15, 2-27. <http://www.jostrans.org/issue15/art_jimenez.php> [Accessed 15 March 2016].
— (2012). Loss or Lost in Localization: A Corpus-Based Study of Original and Localized Non-Profit Websites[online]. Jostrans: The Journal of Specialised Translation 17, 136-165.
< http://www.jostrans.org/issue17/art_jimenez.php> [Accessed 16 March 2016].
— (2013). Translation and web localization. London/New York: Routledge.
Harcz, Daniel (2016). Taking liberty as a translator, Multilingual Computing and Technology 27 (1), 23- 25.
Kamerer, Laurie (2003). Avoiding a US-centric Writing Style. Multilingual Computing and Technology 14 (7), 22-23
Keller, Nicole (2011). Creating translation-oriented source documents, Multilingual Computing and Technology 22(7), 43.
Lagoudaki, Elina (2006). Translation memories survey 2006: Users’ perceptions around tm use. Proceedings of the ASLIB International Conference Translating & the Computer (28) 1, 1-29.
LeBlanc, Matthieu (2013). Translators on translation memory (TM). Results of an ethnographic study in three translation services and agencies. Translation and Interpreting 5 (2), 1–13.
LISA (1998). LEIT phase I final report. LISA Education Initiative Taskforce (LEIT), Report November, 22.
Lommel, Arle and Ray, Rebecca (2007). LISA globalization industry primer. Romainmótier: LISA.
Ludwigsen, Scott, Williams, Jeff, y Polis, Jennifer (2009). The Guide to Translation & Localization. Portland: lingo-systems.
Massion, Francois (2010). Automating translation quality management. Multilingual computing & technology, 21 (1), 41.
Mata, Manuel (2005). Localización y traducción de contenido web. En Traducción y localización. Mercado, gestión y tecnologías. Detlef Reineke (ed.), 187-252. Las Palmas: Anroart.
— (2009). Algunas pautas para el tratamiento de imágenes y contenido gráfico en proyectos de localización (II). EntreCulturas 1, 533-569
Medina, Ana and Ramírez, Cristina (2015). La localización de la sección" productos" en sitios web de empresas exportadoras agroalimentarias [online]. InTRAlinea: Online Translation Journal.<http://www.intralinea.org/specials/article/la_localizacion_de_la_seccion_productos_en_sitios_web_de_empresas> [Accessed 2 April 2016]
McKethan Kenneth y White, Graciella (2005). Demystifying software globalization. Translation Journal 9 (2), 1-8.
Morales, María Isabel Diéguez and Rodríguez, Rosa Mª Lazo (2011). El español en Internet: aciertos y errores en sitios web localizados del inglés. Onomázein: Revista de lingüística, filología y traducción de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, (24), 299-326.
Mossop, Brian (2006). Has computerization changed translation?. Meta: Journal des traducteursMeta:/Translators' Journal, 51 (4), 787-805.
Oliver, Antoni, Moré, Joaquim and Climent, Salvador (2008). Traducción y tecnologías. Alfinge, (20), 180-184.
O’Hagan, Minako (2009). Evolution of user-generated translation: Fansubs, translation hacking and crowdsourcing. Journal of Internationalisation and Localisation, 1 (1), 94-121.
Olohan, Maeve (2011). Translators and translation technology: The dance of agency. Translation Studies 4 (3), 345–357.
Paulsen Christensen, Tina and Schjoldager, Anne (2011). The Impact of Translation-Memory (TM) Technology. Human-Machine Interaction in Translation: Proceedings of the 8th International NLPCS Workshop 41, 119.
Pym, Anthony (2011). What technology does to translating. Translation and Interpreting 3(1), 1–9.
Safar, Libor and Machala, Jiri (2010). Best practices in localization testing. Multilingual Computing and Technology, 21(1), 28-32.
Pym, Anthoy (2010). Exploring Translation Theories. London and New York: Routledge.
Schäler, Reinhard (2007). Reverse localisation. Localisation Focus: the International Journal of Localisation 6 (1), 39-48.
— (2008). Linguistic resources and localization. En Topics in Language Resources for Translation and Localization. Elia Yuste (ed.), 195-225. Ámsterdam-Filadelfia: John Benjamins.
Sikes, Richard (2010). Five types of localization testing. Multilingual Computing and Technology, 14(7), 4-8.
Sichel, Barb (2009). Planning and writing for translation. MultiLingual Writing for Translation, Getting Started Guide, 3-4
Somers, Harold (2003). The Translator’s Workstation Computer and Translation: A Translator’s Guide. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Toon, Alison (2015). Going global via the cloud. Multilingual Computing and Technology, 26 (1), 26-27
Vine, Andrea S. (2002). Internationalization in Software Architecture and Design. Multilingual Computing and Technology 13 (3), 15-22
Wu, Ye, Offutt, Jeff (2002). Modeling and testing web-based applications. GMU ISE Technical ISE-TR-02-08.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Terminos de Licencia Sendebar.
