Language Localisation and Entertainment
Many people are unaware of what language localisation means, however it’s a big business within the translation service industry. It’s no secret that the visual medium is dominating the media world. Youngsters are spending their spare time playing the latest computer games, watching movies and even YouTube. Have you ever thought about what happens with these media products when they are shipped off to foreign countries? For instance, America gets a lot of Japanese cartoons and computer games, so how does that work linguistically?
Obviously, the scripts need to be translated and dubbed by a voice-over artist before the products can be released onto the American market. Aside from the language considerations, cultural practices need to be taken into account too. Some gestures may be nationally understood by the Japanese but have no meaning in America, so the content has to be edited accordingly. In addition, a localiser engineer with knowledge of programming and video is needed in order to make the necessary changes. This all makes up the localisation process.
I read an interesting quote by the French localiser for the Final Fantasy video game, Emilie Thore, who spoke about the impact of cultural influences on the localisation process. Thore said: “For the French version, we can’t really use accents. People don’t like them because it feels like discrimination in a way. In that respect, I’m really jealous of the English version. For example, it’s easy to use a wider range of expressions by making the character sound more American or sound more British.” So, now you know that the different language options for DVDs and games are a lot more dynamic than a simple translation.
This localisation is essential to the success of businesses in the software industry. Less than half of the software market is in English speaking countries, so it’s important to capitalise on the other 60% of the market. Localisation only costs 10% of the software development budget, yet it will bring in more than twice the revenue by globalising the product.
It’s by no means an easy job to manage such a project as knowledge of software engineering, languages and cultural practices are needed and so, when people are scathing of the computer game industry they should also think about how much work goes into these projects. It’s only all fun and games for the end users.
