Translation Solutions of Game Localization: Exclamative Utterances in The Genshin Impact Video Game

Authors

  • Bunga Sully Oktaviana Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang
  • Mazroatul Ishlahiyah Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23887/jpbi.v12i2.80245

Keywords:

Translation Solutions, Game Localization, Exclamative Utterances, Genshin Impact

Abstract

The burgeoning video game industry, localization has become a pivotal aspect of tapping into the global market. The rapid expansion of localization often leads to translators misinterpreting the storyline context within video games. This research aimed to analyze the typology and translation strategies used by translators to localize exclamative utterances in the video game Genshin Impact from English to Indonesia. This research employed a qualitative methodology with content analysis and document observation used as the approach. The study utilized Pym’s typology theory and Mangiron and O’Hagan’s translation strategies. The researchers collected 115 exclamative utterances from the video game Genshin Impact. The researchers found that translators only used six types of translation solutions to localize exclamative utterances including copying words, copying structure, perspective change, compensation, cultural correspondence, and text tailoring. Furthermore, the researchers also found that the translators only used three translation strategies in localized the exclamative utterances from English to Indonesian in the game Genshin Impact: proper names, culture-bound phenomena, and linguistic variation. The results showed that the translators demonstrated an understanding of the target language's culture that follows syntactic structures, language styles, and common expressions familiar to players. Future research is encouraged to develop further research on localization practices across different gaming genres to deepen the understanding of video game localization.

References

Adams, M. J. (2022). Tech Otakus Save The World? Gacha, Genshin Impact, and Cybernesis. British Journal of Chinese Studies, 12(2), 188–208. https://doi.org/10.51661/bjocs.v12i2.199.

Agusdinata, D. B., & Lukosch, H. (2019). Supporting Interventions to Reduce Household Greenhouse Gas Emissions: A Transdisciplinary Role-Playing Game Development. Simulation and Gaming, 50(3), 359–376. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046878119848135.

Al-Batineh, M. (2021). Issues in Arabic video game localization: A descriptive study. Translation and Interpreting, 13(2), 45–64. https://doi.org/10.12807/TI.113202.2021.A03.

Alwazna, R. Y. (2014). The Cultural Aspect of Translation: The Workability of Cultural Translation Strategies in Translating Culture-Specific Texts. Life Science Journal, 11(11), 182–188. http://www.lifesciencesite.com.

Angelia, C., Hutabarat, F. A. M., Nugroho, N., Arwin, A., & Ivone, I. (2021). Perilaku Konsumtif Gamers Genshin Impact terhadap Pembelian Gacha. Journal of Business and Economics Research (JBE, 2(3), 61–65. https://doi.org/10.47065/jbe.v2i3.909.

Beijer, F. (2002). The syntax and pragmatics of exclamations and other expressive/emotional utterances. Working Papers In Linguistics, 2, 1–21. https://www.sol.lu.se/fileadmin/media/forskning/workingpapers/engelska/vol02/Fabian.pdf.

Bilá, M., & Kačmárová, A. (2018). Is There Anything Like A Universal Typology Of Translation Solutions For Culture-Specific Items? Folia Linguistica et Litteraria, 24, 67–84. https://doi.org/10.31902/fll.24.2018.5.

Bushouse, E. (2015). The Practice and Evolution of Video Game Translation: Expanding The Practice and Evolution of Video Game Translation. In Expanding the Definition of Translation the Definition of Translation [Master Theses. University of Massachusetts Amherst. https://doi.org/10.7275/6952280.

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, &mixed methods approaches.

Filladsen, J. (2020). Translation based on cultural aspect: a study regarding how translating text different traditional in two countries. Applied Translation. https://doi.org/10.51708/apptrans.v14n1.1064.

Fraleigh, M. (2023). Approaching Classical Chinese Poetry in Early Modern Japan: Intralingual and Interlingual Translation Strategies in Rikunyo’s Remarks on Poetry. Sungkyun Journal of East Asian Studies, 23(2), 137–162. https://doi.org/10.1215/15982661-10773058.

Ghesquière, L., & Troughton, F. (2021). What a Change! A Diachronic Study of Exclamative What Constructions. Journal of English Linguistics, 49(2), 139–158. https://doi.org/10.1177/0075424220986612.

Gordon, E., & Sehirra, S. (2011). Playing with Empathy: Digital Role-Playing Games in Public Meetings. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Communities and Technologies, 179–185.

Hsieh, H. F., & Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qualitative Health Research, 15(9), 1277–1288. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732305276687.

Jarrah, S., Haider, A. S., & Al-Salman, S. (2023). Strategies of Localizing Video Games into Arabic: A Case Study of PUBG and Free Fire. Open Cultural Studies, 7(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1515/culture-2022-0179.

Jiang, S. (2023). Exploring Localization Translation Strategy under Cultural Compatibility Principle. Communications in Humanities Research, 3(1), 635–640. https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7064/3/20220527.

Jooyaeian, E., & Khoshsaligheh, M. (2022). Translation Solutions in Professional Video Game Localization in Iran. Games and Culture, 17(7–8), 1054–1074. https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120221077726.

Knowles, R., & Koehn, P. (2018). Context and Copying in Neural Machine Translation. Proceedings of the 2018 Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing, 3034–3041. https://doi.org/http://www.aclweb.org/anthology/D18-1339.

Köksal, O., & Yürük, N. (2020). The Role of Translator in Intercultural Communication. International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 12(1), 327–338. https://www.yourdictionary.com.

Li, S. (2023). An Analysis of Cross-language and Cultural Issues in English Translation. International Journal of New Developments in Education, 5(4), 6–9. https://doi.org/10.25236/ijnde.2023.050402.

Liu, J. (2023). Impact of Culture on Genshin Impact Game Texts Translation. Journal of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences MAMEE, 2023. https://doi.org/10.54097/ehss.v13i.7888.

Malamatidou, S. (2016). Understanding translation as a site of language contact. Target. International Journal of Translation Studies, 28(3), 399–423. https://doi.org/10.1075/target.28.3.03mal.

Mangiron, C. (2018). Game on! Burning issues in game localisation. Journal of Audiovisual Translation, 1(1), 122–138. https://doi.org/10.47476/jat.v1i1.48.

Mihu, C.-C. (2023). Translating Identities: How Cultural Choices Shape Character Perception in Genshin Impact. East-West Cultural Passage, 23(2), 80–94. https://doi.org/10.2478/ewcp-2023-0014.

Murthy, A. K., & Ishlahiyah, M. (2023). Unsolved: The Translation Analysis of Culture-Bound Terms. E-Structural (English Studies on Translation, Culture, Literature, and Linguistics, 6(2), 152–169. http://publikasi.dinus.ac.id/index.php/estructural.

Neveux, J. (2018). Grammar and feelings: a study of Wh-exclamatives in Katherine Mansfield’s short stories. Etudes de Stylistique Anglaise, 12, 193–222. https://doi.org/10.4000/esa.538.

Nicmanis, M. (2024). Reflexive Content Analysis: An Approach to Qualitative Data Analysis, Reduction, and Description. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 23. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069241236603.

O’Hagan, M., & Mangiron, C. (2013). Game Localization: Translating for the Global Digital Entertainment Industry (1st ed.). John Benjamins. http://benjamins.com/catalog/btl.

Pym, A. (2014). Vinay and Darbelnet and the politics of translation solutions (pp. 1–14). https://usuaris.tinet.cat/apym/on-line/translation/2014_vinay_darbelnet.pdf.

Pym, A. (2016). Translation Solutions for Many Languages (J. Munday & Ed) (eds.)). Bloomsbury Academic.

Pym, A., Bei, H., Hao, Y., & Hu, K. (2020). A typology of translation solutions for Chinese-English (pp. 1–8). https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.10890.95680.

Rad, N. F., & Masoudzade, A. B. (2021). Translation and Localization: Analyzing Localization of Computer Games in Persian Translation Versions. Journal of Language and Translation, 11(2), 45–68. https://doi.org/10.30495/ttlt.2021.682808.

Rett, J. (2011). Exclamatives, degrees and speech acts. Linguistics and Philosophy, 34(5), 411–442. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10988-011-9103-8.

Riva, G., Waterworth, J. A., & Waterworth, E. L. (2004). The Layers of Presence: A Bio-cultural Approach to Understanding Presence in Natural and Mediated Environments. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 7(4), 402–416.

Ronan, P. (2015). Categorizing expressive speech acts in the pragmatically annotated SPICE Ireland corpus. ICAME Journal, 39(1), 25–45. https://doi.org/10.1515/icame-2015-0002.

Setyawan, R., Sajarwa, S., & Sutrisno, A. (2023). Cultural resistance and negotiation in video game Pamali: Indonesian folklore horror - The Tied Corpse. Diksi, 31(1), 50–61. https://doi.org/10.21831/diksi.v31i1.58597.

Shabitah, W., & Hartono, R. (2020). The Use of Newmark’s Translation Methods in Translating Forman’s Novel “I Was Here” From English into Indonesian. Journal of Literature, Linguistics and Culture Studies, 9(1), 63–75. https://doi.org/10.15294/rainbow.v9i1.37864.

Tang, H. (2023). Analysis of the Influences of Game Localization on Game Public Relations. Communications in Humanities Research, 18(1), 175–180. https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7064/18/20231157.

Volf, P. (2020). Translation techniques as a method for describing the results and classifying the types of translation solutions. Applied Translation. https://doi.org/10.51708/apptrans.v14n2.1171.

Yuan, C., & Guo, P. (2022). The Application of Newmark’s Text Typology Theory in Medical Translation. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 12(04), 429–437. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojml.2022.124031.

Yule, G. (1996). Pragmatics. In Oxford University Press. Oxford University Press.

Zhang, X., & Song, H. (2023). The Mukokuseki Strategy and the Application of Pivot Translation in the Localization of Japanese Games. Games and Culture, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120231216545.

Zhao, J. (2021). Translation Strategies of Metaphors in French Translation from the Perspective of Cultural Differences. 5th International Conference on Informatization in Education, Management and Business, 261–265. https://doi.org/10.25236/iemb.2021.043.

Downloads

Published

2024-08-25

Issue

Section

Articles