Miguel Á. Jiménez-Crespo. (2024). Localization in Translation. Routledge: New York, pp. 322, €36,79 (paperback). ISBN: 978 1032357300.

Dainora Maumevičienė, Kaunas University of Technology

The rapid growth of the language and translation industry, and the continuous development of language-related technologies, the evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and its application and implications on translation and localisation raise the need to reconsider and revisit certain linguistic phenomena in the scope of Translation Studies (TS). Localisation is one of the phenomena that has extended the boundaries of TS, as well as of translation as an activity and a profession. Due to its interdisciplinary nature, localisation has been marginalised for long both in TS and computer science. Certainly, different attempts have been made over the years, and various approaches have been used to examine localisation from different perspectives (O’Hagan and Ashworth, 2003; Pym, 2010; Munday, 2016), but this practice has been mainly treated either through the lens of computer science or of translation. Therefore, a holistic and comprehensive approach to the interdisciplinary phenomenon of localisation was missing in the scope of Translation Studies. With the publication of Miguel Á. Jimenéz-Crespo, titled Localization in Translation, the gap has been filled, and the phenomenon of localisation has been moved from the periphery to the centre of TS along with other interdisciplinary phenomena, and as an extension and a new paradigm in TS.

The volume by Miguel Á. Jimenéz-Crespo Localization in Translation, published by Routledge, ends the confusion among students in translation, novice translators and translation researchers, and places localisation as a phenomenon within the domain of TS. For this purpose, the author offers a comprehensive introduction to the key concepts and notions of localisation, its perception, its most characteristic features, the practical applications and challenges in software, webpage, video game and app localisation, while introducing insights on how localisation should be approached by translation theories, methods and paradigms in various research activities. Moreover, the book discusses what technological tools are available and could be used in processes and projects of localisation and what shifts AI and Machine Translation (MT) have already triggered and might cause in the future in the field of localisation and translation. The concept of ‘Localisation Studies’ is also entrenched as a name and a newly emerged subfield within the broader area of TS.

The title clearly indicates the intended readership. The words in this title leave no doubt that the edition targets everyone involved in the translation and localisation industry, and the language industry at large. Still, the intended readership of the publication is wider. It is argued that localisation is of an interdisciplinary nature and cannot be solely examined by linguists, practicing translators, translation researchers or software developers, engineers and computer scientists. Taking into account its ample focus and scope, and the topics, challenges and questions that are addressed in this work, it might be of great interest for researchers, professionals and trainees involved in intercultural communication, media creation, entertainment and other sectors. Indeed, as the first book of the kind to describe localisation from so many different points of view, the insights about localisation are valuable to a diverse audience that entails stakeholders ranging from academia — researchers, teachers and students in the field of translation, localisation and computer science — to the industry — translation practitioners, computer science specialists, software, video game, webpage and mobile app developers, creative content and media writers, and language service providers —, as well as decision makers. The publication might also be especially interesting for project managers, marketing and communication professionals, since it addresses the stakes in global product development, where localisation serves as a global marketing and sales strategy or is an imperative that needs to be pursued with an aim to enter new markets, earn good reputation and consumer trust, or to develop the universal design of a product in order to sell it globally.

The structure of the publication demonstrates that the edition was conceived and might be used as a handbook; however, it might be consulted in other non-academic or learning environments, for example, by localisation project management teams. Each chapter (13 in total, with an introductory one) begins with pre-reading activities, i.e., key questions, the number of which depends on the topic of the chapter. The questions introduce the reader with the main concepts, notions, terms or aspects to be explored, and serve as a very good warm-up or critical thinking task that can be applied before getting deeper into the chapter. Moreover, in the case the publication is to be used as a handbook in a localisation or translation course, teachers can modify the questions to define particular learning outcomes to be achieved after exploring the chapter. The summary section enumerates the key ideas covered and the main references used. Different examples, software print-screens, tables, figures and cases that are included in chapters allow readers to deepen their understanding. Throughout the entire text, the author also raises interesting questions for readers with the aim of making them critically reflect on their personal experiences and on localisation-related situations in their local contexts. However, even though such questions are rather useful, their emergence in the middle of the text is unexpected and sometimes they serve as distractors. In the classroom, the place of in-text questions could be reconsidered. All chapters conclude with discussion points, presentations or assignment tasks. These might be used in learning settings with students as further scenarios to instigate research and exploration of specific local aspects or might be addressed by localisation teams in certain projects. Notes and further readings are also added at the end of each chapter to be independently consulted, if needed.

All the chapters are logically and thematically interconnected, but the structure of the book enables readers to read separate chapters (for example, on video game localisation) without compromising a general understanding of the topic. The handbook also comprises a rather extensive and large list of publications cited and referred to in a bibliography which covers more than 30 pages. The index of the main terms used, and the list of figures and tables, followed by the main acronyms that are employed in the edition, make the book easy to use and to navigate for the reader.

The first chapter of the book, “Introduction”, presents not only the focus of the edition, but also the urgency, topicality and the need for such a book to be published. It also reveals what aspects were selected for the description of localisation and why, and how this book is structured. This section also explains the use of terminology and provides guidelines for instructors in terms of how the edition might be exploited in certain learning processes.

The second chapter is devoted to the presentation of the concept and notion of ‘localisation’ as a phenomenon. This section describes its features, defines the main terms that are related to localisation, provides possible definitions, overviews the origin and development of this activity, and explores the link between GILT (globalisation, internationalisation, localisation and translation) components and the place of localisation within the language industry and TS. Different in-text questions make readers to critically reconsider some peculiarities of localisation in relation to the readers’ context and in addition to other discussion or assignment topics, which are followed by notes and further readings.

The next chapter, entitled “Localization: minding the process”, sheds light on the dynamics of localisation by indicating and describing its main stages and some interrelated procedures. It introduces the levels of localisation, from initial planning to testing or related post-localisation activities. This section is useful for understanding how localisation projects should be planned and carried out, and might be especially handy for localisation project managers. Moreover, the main participants (agents) or stakeholders involved, the tools and technologies frequently used, as well as applicable international standards and standard terminology usually employed, are discussed.

The fourth chapter focuses on the conception of quality and quality assurance in localisation processes. ‘Localisation quality’ is conceptualised through a useful definition of this notion and a description of the main stages and processes involved in a typical localisation project. The chapter is also relevant since the author interlinks localisation quality perception with the wider context of TS. Jiménez Crespo proposes two models of how localisation quality might be assured, opposing error-based approaches, such as Multidimensional Quality Metrics (MQM), versus functional approaches. Internal and external quality, as well as error severity, are discussed with an aim to indicate certain limitations and challenges hindering localisation quality assurance.

The fifth chapter describes the significance of culture in localisation. This chapter, entitled “Culture in localization”, focuses on the definition of the term ‘culture’ and its perception. It also introduces the main cultural models (Hofstede’s, 1991; Hall’s,1997) that are often taken into consideration in localisation projects. The chapter also interconnects localisation with TS by means of revisiting the ‘cultural turn’ or ‘paradigm’ in the discipline. The discussion of whether global culture exists and if globalisation is possible makes the reader critically review the significance of ‘culture’ within a global perspective. The chapter concludes with a call for using the name of ‘intercultural communicators’ to replace the name of ‘localisation professionals’ or ‘translators’ in the future.

The sixth chapter, “Localization and digital interaction: interactivity, multimodality, usability and accessibility”, aims to draw the reader’s attention to all of these aspects. This book is a pioneering attempt to consider the issue of using localisation for making digital texts available, usable and affordable to users in general but with a special attention to users with special needs. While accessibility is often discussed in TS, research and debate about accessibility in localisation is not sufficient. The chapter is topical and focuses on the questions of how to make digital texts interactive, available and affordable, and what is the actual user’s experience when trying to ensure a universal design for localised products.

The aspects of multimodality and accessibility are pertinent to digital texts; therefore, the seventh chapter, “Localization: texts and digital genres”, revisits again one of the central concepts in TS, i.e., the text. The chapter explores the definition and the notion of the term ‘text’ through text linguistics, discourse analysis and TS, and, at the same time, it broadens this notion by means of offering examples of ‘digital texts’, ‘hybrid texts’ and ‘genres’. Peculiarities of hypertexts are characterised with an aim to explain how such texts and digital or hybrid genres should be treated by localisers.

The next four chapters (8 to 11) deal with different aspects of software, website, video game and mobile app localisation, with a separate chapter devoted to each specific topic. The idea and attempt to describe all types of localisation is of great value since no other work has so far described different varieties of localisation in one book. This approach will be much appreciated by the readers of the edition since it allows them to compare, contrast and draw parallels or identify differences in software, web, video game or app localisation through the pages of a single publication. The eighth chapter focuses on the key issues of software localisation, the perception of software as a product, the main software genres, the peculiarities and processes of localising software components, strings, elements and localisation kits, and the tools that are often applied. Chapter 9 defines features of webpage localisation in terms of addressing differences between static and dynamic webpages, poses questions of what needs to be localised and what needs to be translated, describes which are the main web genres, the basic HTML elements, and the file formats to be used to write web texts. The main stages in the development of a localised webpage are also introduced. Chapter 10 deals with issues of video game perception, and with the origins, localisation processes and the features of the video game industry in general. The chapter aims to indicate similarities and differences of video game localisation in comparison to other types of localisation and audiovisual translation. Chapter 11 reveals peculiarities of mobile app localisation by means of introducing the main processes in this area, the main genres of apps, and differences of app localisation as compared to other localisation types.

Chapter 12, “Perspectives in localization: from MT to AI”, is extremely relevant because of the recent development of both Machine Translation and Artificial Intelligence tools. The chapter discloses important trends related to the application of MT tools and AI in the process of localisation and the development of Large Language Models (LLM) and focuses on specific challenges and concerns of AI application in the process of localisation. The chapter concludes by presenting new perspectives and possibilities in this field, along with observations on the growing availability of translation to all via crowdsourcing and volunteer or fan translation.

The book ends with a final chapter, entitled “Researching localization”, which offers important insights on how and what type of research could be conducted in the field of localisation. It is an exhaustive chapter which successfully explains students, novice translators and experienced researchers what methodological and empirical approaches from TS and other fields might be applied when undertaking theoretical, empirical or applied research on localisation as an interdisciplinary phenomenon. Moreover, differences between academic and industry-led research on localisation are revealed. The chapter also draws the attention of readers to various challenges that researchers might face when conducting research on this field. Therefore, the list of possible and interesting research areas, research questions and planning stages for designing a research project is extremely useful for all those who are interested in localisation.

The edition contains many interesting print screens of software tools or webpages that serve as valuable examples for the reader. Yet, in terms of visibility, due to the small fonts used and the grey colours selected, the visibility of some illustrations in the hard copy of the handbook is sometimes poor. At the same time, the reader might notice that some of the figures apply different formatting rules. These technical issues affecting the appearance of the illustrations in the printed edition might be defined as a tiny drawback that is more dependent on publication standards. Still this aspect needs to be reconsidered in future editions of this publication with an aim to make the edition more usable. Another suggestion for the author is related to the types of cases presented. When reading interesting examples, the reader gets an impression that most of them are pertinent to major languages with large speaking populations. In the context of minor languages with small speaking populations and no LLM, cases in the field of localisation are completely different. Thus, it would be nice to introduce the readers to different cases, contexts and lessons learned. Still, the drawbacks mentioned before might be considered as small disadvantages that, overall, do not diminish the great value, urgency and significance of the work by Miguel Á. Jimenéz-Crespo. Taking into consideration the dimension of the volume and the scope of the aspects disclosed, this is a must-have resource and textbook for all who are interested in localisation and translation practice and research, as well as in global product development and its provision to all.

References

Hall, E.T. (1997). Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. Sage.

Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. McGraw-Hill.

Munday, J. (2016). Introducing Translation Studies (3rd ed.). Routledge.

O’Hagan, M., & Ashworth, D. (2003). Translation-Mediated Communication in a Digital World: Facing the Challenges of Globalization and Localization. Multilingual Matters.

Pym, A. (2010). Exploring Translation Theories (1st ed.). Routledge.

Dainora Maumevičienė

Kaunas University of Technology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities
E-mail: dainora.maumeviciene@ktu.lt