Yerelleştirme Kavramının Akademi ve Sektör Açısından Değerlendirilmesi
Büşra Çelik, Çağla Konuk, Sinem CanımKüreselleşme ile birlikte teknoloji dünyasının ürünleri ve hizmetleri dünyanın her yerinde ulaşılabilir hale gelmiştir. Yerelleştirme, bu ürün ve hizmetleri farklı pazarlara sunmak için uygulanan işlemlerden biridir. İnternetin yaygın olarak kullanılmaya başlanmasından sonra daha görünür hala gelen yerelleştirme, çeşitli akademik alanların çalışmalarına konu olmaya başlamıştır. Çeviribilim bu alanlardan biri olmuştur. Çeviri şirketlerinde zaten bir hizmet olarak verilen yerelleştirme, zamanla çeviribilim alanındaki araştırmalarda görünür olmuş ve araştırmacılar yerelleştirmeye çeviribilim perspektifinden yaklaşmışlardır. Yerelleştirmenin çeviribilim açısından ne anlama geldiği ve güncel gelişmeleri takip eden yerelleştirme türleri, akademik çalışmaların içeriğini oluşturmuştur. Günümüzde Mesleki Yeterlilik Kurumu’nca bir meslek olarak da kabul edilen yerelleştirme, birçok çeviri veya yerelleştirme sektöründe hizmetlerimiz sekmesinde yer alarak yaygın bir hizmet olarak verilmeye devam etmektedir. Yerelleştirmenin akademi ve sektörün ortak alanlarından biri olduğu söylenebilir. Bu çalışmada öncelikle akademide yer alan ulusal çalışmalar incelenerek yerelleştirme tanımı üzerine değerlendirmeler ve araştırmacıların kabul ettikleri yerelleştirme alt türleri derlenmiştir. Yerelleştirmenin tanımını ve özelliklerini belirginleştirmek amacıyla yerelleştirme ve çeviri ilişkisine de içerikte yer verilmiştir. Yerelleştirme sektörünün yerelleştirme tanımımı değerlendirmek amacıyla ise sınırlılıklarımız kapsamında belirlediğimiz bu hizmeti veren web sitelerindeki tanımlar sütun grafikleri şeklinde verilerek sayısal verilerle sunulmaya çalışılmıştır. İnceleme neticesine bu web sitelerinde verilen yerelleştirme tanımlarındaki bazı kavramların akademide yer alan kavramlarla aynı ya da benzer olduğu ancak sektörün farklı kavramlara yer vererek çeşitlilik sunduğu tespit edilmiştir. Yerelleştirme hizmeti veren web sitelerindeki tanımların içerdiği kavram çeşitliliğinin, sektörün çeviri algısından kaynaklandığı düşünülmektedir. Bununla birlikte incelememiz doğrultusunda sektörün sunduğu yerelleştirme alt türlerinin de akademiye kıyasla değişlik gösterdiği tespit edilmiştir.
Evaluating the Concept of Localization in Terms of Academics and the Translation Sector
Büşra Çelik, Çağla Konuk, Sinem CanımAs a result of globalization, technological products and services have become accessible all over the world. Localization is one of the processes that is applied to offer these products and services to different markets. It has become more visible since the widespread use of the Internet and begun being subjected to studies in various academic fields, with translation studies (TS) being one of these fields. Localization is a service that was already provided in translation companies. Aside from this, it has also become visible over time in research in the field of TS. Researchers have approached localization from the perspective of TS. What localization means in terms of TS and the types of localization that follow current developments have formed the content of academic studies. Also currently accepted as a profession by Turkey’s Vocational Qualifications Authority, localization continues to be provided as a common website service in many translation and localization sectors under their Our Services tab. Localization can be said to be a common area for higher education and sector work. This study first examines Turkish studies on higher education and compiles the evaluations on the definition of localization and its subtypes as accepted by researchers. As the study aims to clarify the definition and features of localization, the study’s content includes the relationship between localization and translation. In order to evaluate how the localization sector defines localization, the study presents the definitions from websites that provide this service that we have determined within the scope of our limitations using numerical data and presenting them in bar graphs. As a result of the examination, some of the concepts regarding the definitions websites provide for localization have been determined to be the same or similar to these concepts with regard to higher education. However, the industry offers diversity by including different concepts. The diversity of concepts that are included in the definitions from websites providing localization services is thought to be due to the sector’s perception of translation. However, the sub-types of localization offered by the sector have also been determined to differ with respect to higher education in line with our analysis.
With the developments in technology and globalization, great importance is seen in making products and services suitable for people living in different countries and being able to speak different languages in order not to fall behind. Localization is an important practice in order to do this and not become separated from the global world. Localization services have also developed alongside the technological developments. As a result, localization is no longer just a term used in academics but has also become a service in the translation industry. The lack of a common definition in the field of translation works regarding the concept of localization has led researchers to focus primarily on this concept and look for a common definition. Apart from these academic studies, localization has also been accepted as a profession by Turkey’s Vocational Qualifications Authority and included in the national qualification framework under the title of localization translator. While developments have occurred regarding localization in the world of translation studies, localization continues to be provided as a common service in many translation offices in the sector. The fact that localization has been conceptually evaluated in two different areas (i.e., academics and the translation sector) is an indication that this concept can have different and varied perspectives.
This article examines the meaning of localization and how academics and the localization sector have defined it and seeks an answer to the question of what similarities and differences exist among these definitions. The study additionally investigates the sub-types of localization as included in academic studies and as a service offered in the localization sector. For this purpose, the study evaluates the definitions of localization as presented in the literature, the relationship between translation and localization, and the sub-types of localization based on these definitions. In order to evaluate the localization sector, the study additionally examines the localization definitions and localization sub-types as found on the websites of the institutions providing localization services in Turkey and attempts to reveal the sector’s perception of localization. In order to limit the study, the keywords of localization service, localization in translation, website localization, software localization, game localization, localization and project management, localization tools, and localization were entered into the Google search bar on April 30, 2021, and the analysis was limited to just the first three pages -10 results per page- that were returned. Among the websites found on the first three pages, the sites that provide service in Turkey and that are in Turkish, that include the localization as a heading under their Our Services tab, and that describe localization or talk about the localization process under this tab have been selected for the analysis. As a result of these limitations, 38 websites emerged to constitute the sample of the research. In order to examine the findings in detail, the definitions for localization were divided into categories, and the definitions from the websites providing localization services were transferred to an Excel document under one of the following categories: target, source, or operation. In order to present the variety of concepts under these categories and show the results numerically, each category has been presented in the form of a bar graph.
When examining the results from the target category, the concepts of region, mass, language, and market are seen to come to the fore. When evaluating the results for the category of source, content is understood to come to the fore first, followed by source. When examining the category of operation, the concept of adaptation is seen to come to the forefront in the results regarding the translation sector. When analyzing these results, common concepts clearly are present in the definition of localization with regard to academics and the different definitions the translation sector offers for localization; however, the definitions in the sector are more diverse compared to those found in academics. This difference and diversity are thought to be primarily due to the lack of a commonly accepted definition of localization in the translation sector. In addition, this situation may also possibly be due to the sector’s desire to offer a wide range of services to its customers who request localization. Another result obtained from the analysis is that some of the websites that have defined the concept express localization as a process very different from translation and present definitions different from those found in the literature. The suggestion here is that research is needed on the perceptions of localization as expressed in these sites in order to reveal the reasons for the diversity and inconsistencies in the definitions.
