module specification

This is both a designate module, offered to FT students and 2nd-year PT students, and a core module as part of the PG Certificate in Translation Technology.

The module will have a dual aim: to provide students with an awareness of translational issues peculiar to localisation, and to give them the basic practical skills necessary to develop further experience in a professional localisation environment. Students will gain an insight into the workings of the localisation industry and an understanding of the individual stages involved in the overall localisation process. They will receive practical training in the use of translation environment tools (TEnTs) and other programs used by localisation professionals.

TR7042 or equivalent

The aims of the module are:

1. To understand the main concepts involved in adapting a product (linguistically, culturally, and commercially) for the target locale
2. To gain an overview of the specific processes and materials involved in the task of localisation
3. To develop an awareness of the nature and structure of the localisation industry
4. To develop the basic practical skills necessary to begin working as a localiser using typical localisation tools
5. To appreciate the processes involved in providing both quality assurance and project management as part of a localisation project
6. To understand the major principles involved in localising both software and website material

The module syllabus will provide students with an awareness of translational issues peculiar to localisation, and give them the basic practical skills necessary to develop further experience in a professional localisation environment.
The module will provide for generic classes where students will study the background to localisation (the industry) and gain an overview of the processes involved in a localisation project. They will explore the use of localisation tools through a number of practical sessions focussing on more advanced use of the TEnTs taught in TR7042, thus developing their awareness of translation-related issues along with technical skills. They will also benefit from language-specific sessions with a practitioner who will guide students through group feedback sessions and individually supervised sessions in preparation for the localisation project to be produced as part of their final assessment.

Students will be encouraged throughout the module to actively engage with the module by participating in online discussions on selected localisation-related topics but also in self-study activities (this will be particularly beneficial for any associate distance-learning students).

By the end of this module, students are expected to have developed:

1. Their own strategies for tackling translation problems arising specifically in the localisation context
2. An understanding of the considerations that apply in dealing with different types of source material (including software and websites)
3. A set of basic, practical skills for handling the particular requirements of localisation work using the available tools, including more advanced work with TEnTs as begun in TR7042, and know how to apply these skills in a professional context
4. A sound practical and evaluative knowledge of the processes involved in the performance and management of a localisation project (including documentation, project evaluation and quality assurance)

The assessment will aim to test both the students' understanding of the translation issues involved in localisation and their practical skills in localising a piece of software and/or website material.

The assessment will therefore have 2 components, one practical and one evaluative. For the practical component, students will be given a set of source materials to localise using the techniques and tools taught during the module and taking into account the necessary procedures. For the evaluative component, they will produce a commentary describing the localisation process they conducted, highlighting a given number of technical and translation-related issues they encountered and explaining how they resolved such issues.

- Alcina, A. (2008) Translation Technologies, Target 20:1, pp.79–102.
- Cronin, M. (2012) Translation in the Digital Age. London, New York: Routledge [available as e-book from Library Services].
- Declercq, C. (2011) Advertising and Localization, in Malmkjær K. and Windle K. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Translation Studies. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, pp.262-274.
- Esselink, B. (2000) A Practical Guide to Localization. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
- Jiménez-Crespo, M.A. (2013) Translation and Web Localization. London, New York: Routledge. [available as e-book from Library Services].
- Pym, A. (2004) Localization from the Perspective of Translation Studies: Overlaps in the Digital Divide? [online]. Available at: http://www.elda.org/en/proj/scalla/SCALLA2004/Pymv2.pdf.
- Schäler, R. (2008) Linguistic resources and localisation, in Yuste R.E. (ed.) Topics in Language Resources for Translation and Localisation. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins [available as e-book from Library Services].
- Singh, N. and Pereira, A. (2005) The Culturally Customized Web Site. Customizing Web Sites for the Global Marketplace. Burlington, MA: Elsevier, Butterworth Heinemann [available as e-book from Library Services].

Blogs, Journals and Other Useful Resources:
- eMpTy Pages [blog]: http://kv-emptypages.blogspot.co.uk/ (on translation technology, localization and collaboration)
- Multilingual Computing [e-magazine]. Available at http://www.multilingual.com/
- TC World [e-magazine]. Available at: http://www.tcworld.info/.
- GALAxy Newsletter [online]. Available at: http://www.gala-global.org/GALAxy (on globalisation and localisation).
- Selected Works of Uwe Muegge [online]. Available at: http://works.bepress.com/uwe_muegge/.
- Localization, Localisation [online blog]: http://localizationlocalisation.wordpress.com/ (on globalisation, internationalisation and localisation).