I've been following the game localization/translation discourse, and there's something which I think hasn't been mentioned yet but is very important regarding the divide between how professionals and laymen use the word "localization" and its dangers.
[thread]

First, just to clear things up, the "industry professional" definition of localization is the process necessary to prepare a game to be prepared for foreign release. This includes translating the text, redrawing the UI, writing the promotional copy, preparing the manual,
dubbing, timing and writing subtitles, designing the foreign cover and logo, etc.
If localization is like preparing dinner, translation is like slicing the vegetables. It's an important step, sure, but it's just a single step.
Now, what has "localization" come to mean for the
average joe? Changing certain details during translation so that the translated text, rather than strictly following the original, focuses on being more easily viable to its "foreign" target audience. According to this definition, "translation" is instead a more literal,
strict rendering of the text in another language.
So, people use a word to describe something different than its original meaning. Big deal, you say. The problem here is that, when you frame it like that, you necessarily create a dichotomy between translation and localization.
You can either have a translation, where onii-chan itadakimasus his onigiri, or a localization where big bruddah eats his hamburgers. This comes from the belief that there are "literal" translations which are 100% true to the original. No such thing exists.
By the very nature of translation, meaning is lost and added with EVERY SINGLE WORD. So, every single translation in existence makes certain compromises to make the text more understandable to its target audience.
Even if I write "onii-chan said he'd eat his onigiri", which, by the way, would immediately confuse most readers, I've already made compromises. You see, when he ate, he didn't "taberu" the onigiri, he "itadaku" them. And, if you speak Japanese, that already tells you a lot.
And when he "said" that, he didn't just "iu" it; he "ossharu" it. When you choose an English word to express these Japanese concepts, you lose some of the meaning. So much for literal translation! Those sneaky translators, they were "localizing" right under your nose!
So, I hope we are now on the same page and you agree that every translation has to do that. But not all translations are the same, you say. "onii-chan said he hate his onigiri" might be "localized", but not as much as "big bro said he ate his goddamn hamburgers", you say.
And you'd be right. Which is my whole point. There is no such thing as "translation vs. localization". There are just several translations on a smooth scale which goes from "as foreign as possible" to "as domestic as possible". Which side of the scale is right?
That's definitely a story for another day. I just want people to understand that compromise is inherent in all translation, and how many loanwords you leave in there ultimately doesn't necessarily make a translation more genuine.
And this (gestures towards the thread) is why using the term "localization" like that creates a false dichotomy in that nuanced scale which is "foreignization" vs. "domestication".
Thanks for reading all of this and Merikuri to all my oniichans & oneechans.

More from For later read

The common understanding of propaganda is that it is intended to brainwash the masses. Supposedly, people get exposed to the same message repeatedly and over time come to believe in whatever nonsense authoritarians want them to believe /1

And yet authoritarians often broadcast silly, unpersuasive propaganda.

Political scientist Haifeng Huang writes that the purpose of propaganda is not to brainwash people, but to instill fear in them /2


When people are bombarded with propaganda everywhere they look, they are reminded of the strength of the regime.

The vast amount of resources authoritarians spend to display their message in every corner of the public square is a costly demonstration of their power /3

In fact, the overt silliness of authoritarian propaganda is part of the point. Propaganda is designed to be silly so that people can instantly recognize it when they see it


Propaganda is intended to instill fear in people, not brainwash them.

The message is: You might not believe in pro-regime values or attitudes. But we will make sure you are too frightened to do anything about it.

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**Thread on Bravery of Sikhs**
(I am forced to do this due to continuous hounding of Sikh Extremists since yesterday)

Rani Jindan Kaur, wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh had illegitimate relations with Lal Singh (PM of Ranjit Singh). Along with Lal Singh, she attacked Jammu, burnt - https://t.co/EfjAq59AyI


Hindu villages of Jasrota, caused rebellion in Jammu, attacked Kishtwar.

Ancestors of Raja Ranjit Singh, The Sansi Tribe used to give daughters as concubines to Jahangir.


The Ludhiana Political Agency (Later NW Fronties Prov) was formed by less than 4000 British soldiers who advanced from Delhi and reached Ludhiana, receiving submissions of all sikh chiefs along the way. The submission of the troops of Raja of Lahore (Ranjit Singh) at Ambala.

Dabistan a contemporary book on Sikh History tells us that Guru Hargobind broke Naina devi Idol Same source describes Guru Hargobind serving a eunuch
YarKhan. (ref was proudly shared by a sikh on twitter)
Gobind Singh followed Bahadur Shah to Deccan to fight for him.


In Zafarnama, Guru Gobind Singh states that the reason he was in conflict with the Hill Rajas was that while they were worshiping idols, while he was an idol-breaker.

And idiot Hindus place him along Maharana, Prithviraj and Shivaji as saviours of Dharma.