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!