cultural focus in multimedia localization for russia, ukraine and other cis countries anatoly...
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Cultural focus in multimedia localization for Russia, Ukraine and other CIS countries
Anatoly Murzintsev, Head of Multimedia Dept.,
Janus WWI
DefinitionMultimedia localization — a mixture of
text,
sound
and
picture.
Definition
multimedia ≠ usual translation
Multimedia Localization
Case study
had great importance for the client
completed on time
with no mistakes whatsoever
Translation
Translation projectTranslation project for the large transnational
corporation.
Localization projectLocalization project of the training
course for the same client.
Russian multimedia localization
Russian – dubbing vs. subtitles
Voice-over or dubbing of the foreign language source.
Subtitles are used in much less extent.
Russian – dubbing vs. subtitles: exampleIn 2004, the game The Suffering was released in
Russia in two versions.
Russian – pay attention to quality
Quality of translation is very sensitive issue
BUT
Game publishers tend to lower the costs
Russian – pay attention to quality: examplesThe award winning MMORPG
“World of Warcraft” “Lord of the Rings Online”
Russian – language issues
Language itself and the accent are important.
Russian – language issues: example
In 2007-2008 about 80% of Russian game localizations were performed in Ukraine
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
% of game RU localizations
RussiaUkraine
Russian – experience
Last, but not least is the professional level of the voice talent.
Ukrainian multimedia localization
Ukrainian – language issues
Same as for Russian, if the person claims s/he speaks Ukrainian, it isn’t always the truth.
Ukrainian – language issues: exampleLatest “Terminator 4” movie.
«моторні хлопці»
Ukrainian – language issues
Going further old-fashioned Ukrainian, which is not used in usual life, is also widely used in dubbing project.
Ukrainian – language issues: exceptionsTV-series «Friends»
have been perfectly dubbed and most of the
Ukrainians consider it as one
of the best dubbing works of the recent
time.
Ukrainian – language issues: exceptionsDisney’s «Cars» is also an example of
a good localization.
Ukrainian – general rule
Before making the choice for one voice talent or another you have to make sure voice talents speak modern Ukrainian, which is used by ordinary people.
Ukrainian – dubbing or subtitles?
Opposite to Russia, subtitles are widely used in Ukraine.
The fact is that almost every Russian TV-show or TV-series as well as movies are subtitled in Ukrainian.
Ukrainian – quality
Quality is also an issue when localizing into Ukrainian.
As of 2010 most of the Russian TV-series are being translated by machine translation engines.
Other CIS languages – AzerbaijaniThe most important thing when dealing with
Azeri is to understand that people in this former Soviet republic do speak Russian.
Other CIS languages – Kazakh
Kazakhstan has its own particularities – even if the movie has some other source languages, it has to be dubbed in Kazakh with Russian subtitles or vice versa.
Almost all of the Turkish and Korean movies broadcasted in Kazakhstan are dubbed in Kazakh with Russian subtitles.
Other CIS languages – Georgian and Kirghiz
As for the Georgia and Kirgizstan – dubbing is used for everything, including Russian movies. Subtitles are not widely spread.
For Kirgiz, however , there is one important remark – Kirgiz voice-over and dubbing are performed by Kirgiz, living outside Kirgizstan, for instance in nearby China.
Conclusion
Each state -> its own distinguished features and particularities
НA special attitude towards their native
languages.
Important! Every person prefer to listen to his/her own languages
Thank you for your time!